Shortly after the last Great Ninja War ended, Konoha, with its army of the dead, launched a trans-sea invasion against the Land of Water!
And the Land of Water was not about to take this lying down.
So, Konoha has an army of the dead, does it?
Our Kirigakure's reputation is well-known, and we have our own lackeys to run errands for us!
Thus, according to their alliance treaties, and also out of some fear of Konoha's army of the dead, Sunagakure and Kumogakure simultaneously dispatched support to the Land of Water while Konoha was invading!
Therefore, Kirigakure united with Sunagakure and Kumogakure, while Konoha stood alone.
The lone power, Konoha, began its assault on the united trio!
From this day forth, Konoha and Kirigakure were officially at war!
Land of Tea, atop a mountain locally known as Nameless Peak.
Of course, it's called a mountain, but it's really just a small hill… otherwise, it wouldn't be called Nameless Peak.
However, Nameless Peak didn't know that from today onward, it would have a much brighter name.
Because at this moment, on the summit of the small hill, a joint force of Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure's Ninjas was already in position.
Looking at the vast and mighty joint force of three Ninja Villages, a full dozen or so Jonin, over fifty Chunin, and nearly a hundred Genin… the Kirigakure's Jonin in charge, Mizu Komura, was somewhat puzzled: "Will the Konoha's forces really come through here?"
"Given their current military strength, fielding a force equal to ours would require their main force, right?"
"Would the main force take such a small path?"
"Can't say for sure!" Hearing Komura's words, the Sunagakure commander, Tomori Taiki, shook his head worriedly. His eyes held a lingering fear, as if recalling something terrifying.
"Konoha's army of the dead doesn't need to eat, sleep, and they can't die. Their Chakra seems never to run out."
"If it's that kind of army of the dead, they might very well come through here!"
Taiki's words were filled with intense fear.
"Oh?" Taiki's words caught the attention of the Kumogakure's commander, Ian. He asked curiously: "So, does that mean you, Tomori Taiki, have fought those dead before?"
"Is that true? Can you tell us more about it?" Ian looked curiously at Taiki.
"Yes, I'm very curious too!" Hearing this, Komura also looked over.
"Huu… Alright, since you want to know, I'll tell you!"
Taiki took a deep breath: "This happened when I was still guarding the border."
"That time, the Fourth Kazekage led a force to raid Konoha. Although it wasn't announced to the whole village, we border guards witnessed it directly."
"At that time, we were all very excited, thinking that facing a weakened Konoha, the Fourth's attack would surely succeed!"
"But we were wrong! Terribly wrong!" As he spoke, Taiki seemed to recall the scene from that day again.
That sandstorm-filled afternoon, and the person who emerged from the yellow sand, was a nightmare for all of them!
Just remembering that day made Taiki start trembling!
Seeing Taiki like this, Komura and Ian grew even more curious, but neither pressed him. They just watched Taiki quietly, waiting for him to recover from his memories.
"Here!" Ian even offered Taiki a cup of hot water.
"Thank you!" Giving Ian a grateful look, Taiki took the hot water and slowly drank it.
A good while later, he finally snapped out of the fear of his memories.
"On the afternoon of the second day after the Fourth left," Taiki continued: "We all believed that, given the Fourth's speed, he must have attacked Kikyo Castle by the previous night, and news should have arrived by then."
"So, although border patrol is very boring, we woke up early that time and went to the border to wait for news."
"But who would have thought that what we awaited wasn't news of the Fourth's victory, but… the Fourth Kazekage being pursued!"
Reaching this point, as if recalling the fear of that time again, Taiki paused to catch his breath.
But hearing about a Kage being pursued like this, how could Ian and Komura hold back?
"What happened next, what happened next?" Ian and Komura eagerly pressed.
"What happened next?" Taiki smiled self-deprecatingly, as if laughing at his own overestimation of his abilities back then.
Taiki continued his story: "What happened next..."
As he spoke, Taiki suddenly stopped. He looked at the two and asked a question: "If it were you, and you saw your Kage being pursued, what would your first reaction be?"
"Of course, charge forward! Whoever dares harm our Kage, we fight them to the death!" Before Ian could react, Komura said excitedly.
He had reason to be excited, as everyone in Kirigakure was a fanatical believer in Sora.
However, looking at the excited Komura, Ian felt utterly speechless.
After all, didn't everyone know their Raikage was killed by Sora right inside their own village?
Bringing this up now, wasn't it just asking for a fight?