During the Konoha Chunin Exams, Rasa the Kazekage and the Fourth Raikage, in league with the S-rank rogue ninja and one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, launched an attack on Konohagakure in an attempt to assassinate the Hokage.
The result: both the Kazekage and the Raikage were captured, while Orochimaru managed a wretched escape.
That same night, Konoha's intelligence department released the news to the public.
Spies scattered across the shinobi world spared no effort, relaying the message back to their respective villages at the highest possible speed.
For a time, the various powers of the world were shaken to their core by this explosive news, and their underlying dread of Konoha deepened by several degrees.
As expected, Konoha was still Konoha.
Even after the Uchiha clan had been decimated seven years ago, the village had still managed to recover its strength with incredible speed.
In Iwagakure
Even though night had fallen, the lights in the Tsuchikage's office remained lit.
Onoki of the Both Onscales, the Third Tsuchikage, stared at the latest report delivered by a high-speed messenger. His expression was grave, and his brow, marked with age spots, was furrowed tightly.
"What is it, Father?"
A tall, burly man stepped forward and poured a cup of hot tea for Onoki.
"How many times must I tell you? In the Tsuchikage's office, you are to address me as Lord Tsuchikage!" Onoki snapped, looking at his son with a sense of frustrated disappointment.
Currently, Iwagakure was suffering from a gap in talent between generations. Kitsuchi had an honest, simple nature—hardly the type Onoki felt comfortable entrusting the village to in the future.
"Yes, Father," Kitsuchi replied with a muffled laugh, not taking the scolding to heart.
Onoki seemed long since accustomed to this reaction.
"The winds of change are blowing through the shinobi world..."
Onoki slammed the intelligence report onto the desk. Kitsuchi stepped forward to take a look.
"The Kazekage and Raikage actually did such a thing... but does this have anything to do with us?" Kitsuchi was initially shocked by the upheaval during Konoha's Chunin Exams, but he quickly regained his composure, not seeing how it concerned them.
"Nothing to do with us?!"
Onoki looked at his son, a flash of disappointment crossing his eyes.
"The Raikage originally went to Konoha under the guise of negotiating ninja quotas with their high-level officials, but instead, he got mixed up with Rasa. Now, their gamble has failed, and they've been captured."
Despite his disappointment in Kitsuchi, Onoki patiently explained the deeper implications.
"Kumogakure was already inferior to Konoha; this blow only makes matters worse. And then there's the Sunagakure lot—as Konoha's allies, they committed a blatant backstab. Unless they provide a very good explanation, I expect..."
A good explanation?
How was that possible?
Given the personality of the current Hokage, no explanation would suffice.
This was precisely what worried Onoki.
If this were the era of Hiruzen Sarutobi's administration, perhaps Kumogakure and Sunagakure could have settled the matter by paying reparations or offering concessions.
But Kakashi Hatake was not like Hiruzen.
He was the type who couldn't tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes.
Now that his supposed allies had banded together to stab him in the back, Onoki didn't believe for a second that Kakashi lacked a counter-strategy. He wouldn't even be surprised if the man declared outright war on Sunagakure and Kumogakure over this incident.
Five years ago, during a single meeting at the Hokage's wedding, the aged and shrewd Onoki had already caught a glimpse of Kakashi's true character.
Young and aggressive...
If those words were used to describe an ordinary youth, they would be fitting. But Onoki did not believe the man Hiruzen Sarutobi had entrusted with the future of the village was a commoner of that sort.
If Kakashi chose to go to war, it wouldn't be out of emotional impulse, but because he had another objective entirely.
Moreover...
Onoki stared at the glaring names on the report.
The Kazekage and the Raikage...
Those two had essentially gift-wrapped a casus belli and handed it to Kakashi on a silver platter.
Judging others by his own standards, if Onoki were in Kakashi's position, he would never let such a golden opportunity slip by.
Disturbed by these thoughts, Onoki quickly penned a letter and handed it to Kitsuchi.
"Have someone deliver this to Kirigakure at top speed."
Kitsuchi took the letter, looking puzzled. "Kirigakure? Isn't this a matter between Konoha, Suna, and Kumo? What does it have to do with the Mist?"
"Just go!" Onoki shouted, nearly driven to a fit by his son's lack of insight.
Kitsuchi obeyed immediately and departed.
Watching his son leave, Onoki sighed. If his son had even thirty percent of that Hokage's schemes and foresight, he would probably wake up laughing from his dreams.
Kirigakure?
On the surface, this incident had nothing to do with the Mist or the Stone. But Onoki feared that the Hokage's "drunken intention was not in the wine"—that his true target was far broader.
Konoha was currently too powerful.
In the past, while Suna and Kumo were weaker than Konoha, they could at least act as a counterbalance. But with both the Kazekage and Raikage falling in Konoha, the strength of those two villages was now negligible.
They would never be able to stop Konoha.
If war broke out and Suna and Kumo were defeated, then the remaining powers—Iwagakure and Kirigakure—would be no match for Konoha on their own.
Therefore...
While the shinobi world appeared to be five Great Shinobi Villages moving in parallel, it was actually being split in two.
On one side were the four villages—Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth—along with several smaller nations. On the other side stood Konoha.
If the four villages continued to suspect each other and maintain a "not my business" attitude, they would simply be giving Konoha the chance to defeat them one by one.
Onoki sighed softly, gazing at the bright moon outside the window. A hint of melancholy appeared in his clouded eyes.
I hope the Fourth Mizukage can see the reality of the situation and stand together with us.
Once Konoha showed any intent to start a war, they had to cooperate immediately to resist the great enemy together.
By the time Kakashi returned home, it was exactly dinner time.
However, before he even reached the house, he spotted Sakumo Hatake crouching by the main gate, patting Pakkun's head.
"Have you seen the children?" Kakashi asked, somewhat surprised to see the man outside.
"I have," Sakumo replied, standing up with a smile as Kakashi approached. "Little Mirai looks a lot like Asina, while Ichigo has a bit of how you looked when you were small."
Asina was Kakashi's long-deceased mother. In his blurred memories, his mother had a gentle temperament, which didn't quite match Mirai's mischievous nature. But Kakashi didn't dwell on it.
"Why aren't you going inside?" Kakashi asked.
"It's dinner time. A Reanimated body can't eat—even if I did, I'd just have to throw it up later. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to be there, so I found an excuse to step out."
Looking at his father, Kakashi fell silent for a moment.
"Don't worry about it," Sakumo said warmly, patting Kakashi's shoulder. "To be able to return to the living world after death and see you, see Hikari and Kurenai, and meet my grandson and granddaughter... for me, that is already something to be incredibly happy about."
"Go on in, Kakashi."
Kakashi was about to speak when his eyes shifted slightly, catching sight of a familiar figure at the end of the road.
"Suit yourself, then. I have someone to meet first," Kakashi said. Leaving Sakumo behind, he walked toward the newcomer.
As he got closer, the man's identity became clear.
It was Asuma.
"Is my timing a bit inappropriate?" Asuma asked with a smile.
"There's no such thing. Do you want to come inside and sit for a while?" Kakashi shook his head.
"…I'll pass." Asuma looked at the lights of the Hatake residence in the distance and went silent for a moment before shaking his head with a grin. "If you can manage it, in this shinobi world that's about to fall into chaos, care to take a walk with this single dog?"
Hearing Asuma's self-deprecating remark, Kakashi didn't refuse.
"That boy... his wife already has dinner ready at home, so why is he leaving?" Sakumo grumbled from a distance, watching them walk away.
"Woof!"
Pakkun barked at his feet.
As the family's loyal hound, he understood everything clearly. But as a dog, he had no intention of explaining the reasons to his old master, Sakumo, until his young master, Kakashi, gave him the okay.
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