Hokage Tower
Hokage's Office
"Slander!"
"This is slander!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed the intelligence report onto the desk, fury rising uncontrollably.
The document was an official, harsh statement from Iwagakure of the Land of Earth, accusing the Land of Fire of abusing its power, blatantly violating the shinobi code by publicly assassinating the Earth Daimyō—rendering the shinobi rules nothing but scraps of paper.
Iwagakure formally declared war on the Land of Fire.
Hand over the assassin—or meet them on the battlefield!
Hiruzen felt his blood boil as he stared at the declaration.
What did the assassination of the Earth Daimyō have to do with him?!
This was naked, shameless framing!
"Hiruzen, this is no longer about who the real culprit is."
Danzō Shimura spoke calmly, watching Hiruzen fume.
"The Land of Earth has officially declared war."
"Soon enough, the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning will follow."
"The assassination of the Daimyō is nothing more than a pretext."
"Their real target has always been us."
Danzō's eyes darkened as he sneered.
"It wouldn't surprise me if this was a play they staged themselves—just to justify the war."
He interpreted Iwagakure's actions with maximum malice.
While the Daimyō was the nominal ruler of the country, in reality—
Shinobi were the true power.
Under absolute force, Daimyō governed only economic affairs.
Military power? They had only outdated samurai.
If they wanted shinobi, they needed approval from their hidden villages.
Shinobi were the mainstream of this world.
If their numbers weren't limited, they'd even control the economy.
Hiruzen looked at the declaration again, then turned his gaze toward the window, overlooking all of Konoha.
"Someone, issue an announcement."
His voice was sharp.
That very afternoon, Konoha responded at lightning speed.
Official Announcement from Konohagakure of the Land of Fire:
The innocent need no defense; the guilty need no excuse.
The so-called assassination is pure fabrication—an unfounded accusation.
Ōnoki of the Two Scales is advised not to dig his own grave.
Do not say you were not warned.
— Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen
The response was short, sharp, and utterly uncompromising.
The entire shinobi world was instantly thrown into turmoil.
Not long after, the Lands of Wind and Lightning joined in, issuing statements condemning Konoha for allegedly disregarding the shinobi code and brazenly assassinating a Daimyō in public.
Hiruzen felt stifled as he read the two declarations.
Just as he was preparing a response—
BANG!
The office door was kicked open.
"Old man!"
"Why waste words with them?!"
"If they want war—then war it is!"
"We won the First Shinobi World War. We won the Second."
"There's no reason we'll lose this one!"
The intruder was aggressive and furious, showing not the slightest respect for the Third Hokage.
"Tsunade…"
"I'm not afraid of fighting."
"But we can't strike first."
"Otherwise, we give them justification."
Hiruzen tried to reason with his volatile student.
Tsunade slammed her palm onto his desk, eyes blazing.
"In that case, let me write the announcement!"
"Wait—Tsunade, what are you planning?!"
A bad feeling surged in Hiruzen's chest as he tried to stop her.
"Relax, old man."
"You don't trust my style?"
Tsunade grabbed the Hokage seal from his desk.
In all of Konoha, there was only one person who dared treat the Hokage seal like a toy.
And that person was Tsunade.
The next day, a new announcement from Konoha swept across the shinobi world.
It was nothing like the previous one.
The entire document was ferocious—its language so savage it was painful to read.
It viciously cursed the ancestors of the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Raikage alike.
It even outright called the newly appointed Fourth Raikage a little acorn.
The Tsuchikage wasn't even worthy of being called an acorn.
And the Third Kazekage? A pseudo-woman.
The signature at the end was equally unrestrained:
—Your Grandmother Tsunade
Kyusei rubbed his temples as he read the announcement circulating everywhere.
Impressive.
Powerful.
Absolutely Tsunade's style.
The statement caused an uproar throughout the shinobi world.
In the Land of Lightning, it was said that Fourth Raikage A smashed several desks on the spot.
The Kazekage and Tsuchikage were no calmer.
Especially the Tsuchikage—already fifty years old.
Mocked by Tsunade at his age, he completely snapped.
Short in stature—and lacking in other departments—this was the final straw.
"Mobilize troops!"
"Mobilize troops!"
"I want Tsunade dead!"
"I want Tsunade dead!"
Ōnoki's furious roars echoed throughout the Tsuchikage Tower.
Meanwhile, the Land of Water remained completely silent, playing dead.
Under pressure from Konoha, Kirigakure reluctantly issued a statement—
A long-winded plea for peace. Harmony. Negotiation.
Konoha responded immediately—in Kirigakure's name—with another announcement nearly identical to Tsunade's, cursing the leaders of the Lands of Wind, Earth, and Lightning from start to finish.
Yagura Karatachi, sitting in the Mizukage Tower, instantly recognized Tsunade's handiwork.
Another announcement—no profanity, yet insults everywhere.
Ōnoki finally exploded.
He rapidly assembled a force of 4,000 shinobi, personally led by his son Huangtu, and sent them charging toward the Land of Fire's border.
That single decision officially pulled back the curtain on the Third Shinobi World War.
At the same time, the Lands of Wind and Lightning—almost as if coordinated—each dispatched 3,000 troops toward Konoha.
The Land of Lightning's forces were led by Dodai, the trusted right hand of the Third Raikage.
The Land of Wind's forces were led by Ebizō, a pivotal puppeteer of Sunagakure.
Huangtu and Ebizō were both vital assets to their villages—though not core figures.
Dodai, however, was different.
He had commanded battlefields since the era of the Third Raikage.
His standing within Kumogakure rivaled even the current Fourth Raikage.
In fact, it was precisely because of him that the Fourth Raikage had ascended so quickly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen received the intelligence immediately—
And at once issued orders to prepare for battle.
To Read advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146