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Land of Rivers – Leaf Forward Camp
After three straight days of Taiichi playing instructor to the medical ninjas, Yohei's squad finally wrapped their mission and returned to camp.
The second he got word, Taiichi split off a shadow clone to keep teaching, then headed straight for the mission handover point himself.
This patrol had covered the entire Land of Rivers—more of a show of force than simple scouting. With Sunagakure pushed back into the Land of Wind after their last big loss, Leaf needed to remind the local nobles and fence-sitters exactly who was in charge now. Armed patrols by elite jonin teams made the follow-up negotiations a lot smoother.
The mission hadn't involved much actual fighting, but the mental strain was brutal. It hammered home the truth of the ninja world: the weak get devoured, the strong do whatever they want.
When Taiichi finally saw Yohei and the others again, their faces hadn't changed, but their presence had. They carried themselves like adults now—hardened by the real world.
Still, the moment their eyes landed on him, the warmth was the same. These were still his comrades, his friends. If anything, the trials had only made their bond shine brighter, like diamonds forged under pressure.
"Yo! Minato-sensei, Yohei, everyone—I've been waiting three whole days for you guys," Taiichi called out with a grin.
Yohei lit up. "Taiichi, you're back already? I thought your solo mission was supposed to take a full month!"
He knew exactly why Taiichi had waited. The fact that Taiichi had dropped everything to meet them the moment they returned meant his Yang Nature Transformation had improved again. One more step closer to solving Yohei's eye problem for good.
Taiichi glanced around. The area was busy—lots of shinobi coming and going, and plenty of them still recognized him. He kept his voice low.
"Let's head to the tent. We'll talk inside."
Everyone caught the hint and followed without a word. Whatever Taiichi had to say, it clearly wasn't for open ears.
"Alright, let's grab some rest too. We've been on the move all day," Minato said, falling in behind him.
Once they were all inside the larger tent, Taiichi sealed the flap and layered a privacy barrier on top for good measure.
The others were dying of curiosity now. What could be so important that Taiichi was this careful?
"This intel came straight from Jiraiya-sensei. I don't think he'd mind me sharing it with you guys—just don't spread it around."
They all nodded, leaning in.
"The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure… is dead."
"What?!"
The shout was loud enough that the privacy barrier earned its keep. Without it, half the camp would've come running.
"You don't have to yell!" Taiichi shot Yohei a look. Of all people, he had the loudest reaction.
Minato stayed calm but clearly stunned. Saori and Kakashi were shocked too, but they kept it together. Obito and Rin were still processing—too new to fully grasp how massive this was.
"That's… the Kazekage," Yohei stammered, pointing between himself and Taiichi like he couldn't believe it.
"Exactly. And I saw it with my own eyes," Taiichi said, finally letting himself grin. He'd been holding onto this story for days.
He gave them the full rundown—his solo recon, stumbling onto the fight between the Kazekage and Sasori, the mutual destruction, and how he'd cleaned up the leftovers. He added just enough flair to make it entertaining. By the end, everyone was staring at him like he'd grown a second head.
Even the usually steady Minato looked a little envious. "Your luck is actually insane. That kind of opportunity… and you walked away with both bodies? Even I'm jealous."
The others nodded, still a bit dazed. But once the excitement faded, a heavy worry settled over the group. They weren't idiots. The Kazekage's death meant the war was about to explode again.
"Use this last bit of quiet time to train hard," Minato said, voice serious. "Once the war kicks off for real, there won't be any more easy days."
His words hit everyone right in the chest. Kakashi stood up first.
"I'm going to train." He left without another word.
Rin glanced at the others, then stood too. "I'll go check on him."
Obito was on his feet in a flash. "Rin, wait for me!"
With three people gone, Minato looked a little awkward. "Did I come on too strong with the lecture?"
Taiichi just smiled and shook his head. "You're only looking out for us, sensei."
Minato scratched the back of his head and stood up. "I should probably go check on them too. A jonin-sensei's job never ends."
He gave Taiichi a knowing look, then left the tent, leaving the space to Team Taiichi.
Now that they were alone, Yohei didn't hold back. "Taiichi, you already finished the breakthrough?"
Taiichi nodded with a small smile. "Just two days ago. If you'd come back any earlier, I would've had to disappoint you."
Yohei's face lit up with pure joy. If the tent weren't so cramped, he probably would've jumped three feet in the air.
"Then let's start right now! I can't wait any longer."
Saori looked just as eager. Even if they couldn't fully fix Yohei's eyes yet, pushing back the blindness by a huge margin would give him real time to grow stronger.
"Of course. Come here."
Yohei practically teleported in front of Taiichi and sat cross-legged, completely relaxed and trusting.
Taiichi rubbed his hands together, focusing. This test would prove whether his theory was right.
He formed the seals. A richer, warmer green chakra than ever before gathered in his palms. He slowly pressed both hands to Yohei's temples, letting the energy sink in as he carefully scanned and nourished the eyes.
First, the physical damage—eyeballs and optic nerves. Yohei had listened to his warnings. The Mangekyo usage hadn't been excessive. No major new damage.
Next, the special ocular power. There was no baseline to compare it to, but compared to right after awakening, the power had nearly doubled.
That growth rate was terrifying. Normal chakra reserves didn't increase this fast. It showed just how special Mangekyo power was—and how hard Yohei had trained.
Best of all, the ocular power wasn't rampaging and crushing the eyes like before. Regular training had made it calmer, more stable.
Taiichi suspected it wasn't just from practice. Yohei's relatively gentle path to awakening—without the soul-crushing despair most Uchiha went through—meant his Mangekyo had never carried that dark, corrosive edge.
"Yohei, activate your Mangekyo and use your technique," Taiichi instructed.
"Got it!"
Yohei trusted him completely. The three tomoe spun and merged into the pinwheel pattern.
The moment the Mangekyo opened, the once-calm ocular power surged, racing through the eye meridians at high speed and putting real pressure on the eyes.
When Yohei activated Susanoo with his right eye, the power in that eye exploded, hammering the internal structure.
But Taiichi's Yang-natured chakra flowed in like a soothing balm. It didn't fight the ocular power—it wrapped every cell, acting like a lubricant that eased the strain.
This was the true wonder of medical ninjutsu. Even though it was Taiichi's chakra, it caused zero rejection.
He could feel that if Yohei had Taiichi's current Yang level and medical skill, he might be able to solve the blindness problem on his own.
"Alright, close it."
The Mangekyo deactivated. The ocular power settled back down. After five more minutes of gentle nourishment, Taiichi withdrew his hands.
"How is it, Taiichi?" Saori asked first, her voice tight with nerves. She'd been just as anxious as Yohei the whole time.
Taiichi glanced at Yohei, who still had his eyes closed, savoring the feeling. He raised a finger to his lips, telling Saori to wait.
When Yohei finally opened his eyes, the world looked crystal clear again, like it had been washed by rain. Tears of pure joy slipped down his face.
"Taiichi… my eyes are sharp again! The treatment worked perfectly!"
Saori covered her mouth, eyes shining with happiness for her friend.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Taiichi said, voice steady. "This is only surface-level. The root problem isn't solved yet. The clarity will fade faster the more you use the Mangekyo.
But today's treatment proved my theory is correct. Whether it's your own physical growth or my Yang-natured chakra advancing further, both can suppress—and eventually eliminate—the problem completely. So whatever you do, don't lose heart."
"I won't. Not ever again!" Yohei wiped his eyes, sat up straight, and laughed out loud, throwing one arm around Taiichi and the other around Saori. He looked cockier than ever.
Saori saw that familiar grin and immediately smacked his arm off her shoulder. "Feeling cocky already? Watch it, or I'll fry you."
Lightning crackled around her. Clearly she hadn't been slacking either.
From high above the Land of Rivers camp, the view pulled back across the entire ninja world.
The upheaval in the Land of Wind had finally sent ripples everywhere. Sunagakure's massive search effort across their own territory was first noticed by Iwagakure, their closest neighbor. Not long after, Kumogakure got the news too.
At first, the other villages didn't grasp the full scale. They assumed it was just another routine Sunagakure operation.
Two days later, the truth spread like wildfire across the ninja world:
The Third Kazekage has disappeared.
Silence. Shock. Disbelief. Jaw-dropping astonishment—that was the universal reaction.
This was a Kage. The leader of one of the Five Great Villages. And he had simply vanished inside his own country. It was the kind of absurdity that made real life feel more ridiculous than any novel.
Iwagakure – Tsuchikage's Office
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was focused on paperwork when the door slammed open with a bang.
The pen in his hand jerked, leaving a long ugly streak across the scroll.
A vein throbbed on his forehead. "YELLOW EARTH! What the hell are you doing?!"
His son ignored the scolding completely. He rushed forward waving a scroll, face lit up with excitement.
"Father! Huge news! Massive news!"
"Idiot! In here you call me Lord Tsuchikage!"
Ōnoki snatched the scroll anyway and scanned it. Before he could even finish, Yellow Earth blurted it out.
"The Third Kazekage has disappeared!"
"What?!"
Ōnoki's eyes widened. He reread the report twice to be sure, then muttered, "So that's what Sunagakure has been searching for… their own Kazekage."
Yellow Earth nodded vigorously, still grinning. "Father, Sunagakure's about to fall into chaos. Shouldn't we—"
Ōnoki shot his son a look. "Disappeared? They're just lying to themselves. At a Kage's level, 'disappeared' means dead."
As an outsider, he saw the situation far more clearly than Sunagakure's own people. They were still clinging to false hope, thinking they could bring their Kazekage home. In truth, the longer they dragged this out, the more dangerous it became for them.
Ōnoki made his decision instantly. He looked at his son and ordered, "Call an emergency full council meeting right now."
No debate. No hesitation. It was simply the natural thing to do.
Less than thirty minutes later, the high-level meeting had already approved the Tsuchikage's proposal to declare war on Sunagakure.
The reason was simple: this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Kazekage's disappearance would trigger massive internal turmoil. On top of that, Sunagakure had split their forces across the country, leaving their border defenses dangerously thin.
Heaven had handed them a gift. Only a fool would refuse it.
The moment the meeting ended, Iwagakure's massive war machine roared to life. Weapons, supplies, and troops were mobilized at full speed.
In a single day, Iwagakure assembled a force of one thousand shinobi.
The Third Great Ninja War was about to begin in earnest.