For a ninja village that broke to be shelling out cash to fund foreign rebel factions? No matter how you looked at it, it was absurd.
"The Stone Village had been putting massive pressure on the Sand," Itachi said, his tone flat and eyes slightly narrowed. "Especially after the Sand was defeated by the Leaf last year. With the Fourth Kazekage dead in action and their One-Tail Jinchuriki captured, the Stone took full advantage. They launched a heavy incursion into the northern territories of the Land of Wind. It wasn't a full-scale invasion, but they seized several strategic chokepoints. The Sand's northern fortress was nearly overrun at one point."
"Oh? Is that so?" Kisame scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "Still, the faction they chose to back is pathetic. Did they honestly expect this trash to pose any real threat to the Hidden Stone?"
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Kisame despised the Hidden Sand the most.
His homeland, the Hidden Mist, was at least bloodthirsty and ruthless. They had earned their fearsome reputation with genuine moments of glory throughout the three Great Ninja Wars. The Leaf, Cloud, and Stone went without saying—each was a powerhouse in its own right.
But the Sand? Since its founding, it had never truly won a major foreign conflict. They either tasted initial success only to be crushed later, or they were routed right out of the gate.
It was a vicious cycle. Constant defeats led to constant decline, which inevitably bred internal conflict. The fact that the Sand still held its title as one of the Five Great Villages was frankly embarrassing. It was only their sheer geographical size and total population—despite being impoverished—that kept them at the table. Otherwise, their track record in the previous three wars would have seen them demoted long ago. It was a miracle they were still standing.
"It was just a planted seed, nothing more," Itachi said softly. "Since the Sand has no follow-up plan, we're done here. This outcome—along with the bodies—is enough to turn in the mission."
"Yeah," Kisame nodded in agreement.
As they stepped away from the carnage, Itachi formed a single hand seal.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
In an instant, a massive sphere of superheated flame erupted from his mouth, entirely blanketing the area. The bodies, the blood, and the ruined buildings were incinerated to ash in seconds.
Watching the roaring flames, a flicker of deep contemplation passed through Itachi's eyes.
The ninja world was shifting at a terrifying pace. With the very real threat of a new Great Ninja War looming, Itachi was deeply concerned for his village, and especially for his younger brother's safety.
I hope everything goes smoothly... The organization's plan is about to start. I need to get word to Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya soon, Itachi thought.
Reflected in the firelight, Itachi's expression grew cold and resolute. For his own personal sense of justice, and for the sake of his brother, he would not stop walking his chosen path. He firmly believed it was the right thing to do.
---
The ninja world was descending into a chaotic storm.
While the Akatsuki watched from the sidelines, waiting for the perfect moment to execute their grand plan, the board was already turning bloody.
In the northern territories, the Stone and Cloud had fully committed to the fight. In just a matter of days, the death toll on both sides had surged into the hundreds.
It was a brutal meatgrinder, and if Dodai hadn't arrived at the front lines with Killer B—the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki—the Cloud forces would have folded completely. Under the heavy, relentless strikes of the Stone Vanguard led by Kitsuchi, the Cloud had been steadily losing ground, with several strategic locations already falling into Stone hands.
Onoki's orders had been absolute: Even if you don't destroy the Cloud entirely, cripple them so badly that they can't threaten our eastern border for years.
Initially, the fiercely aggressive Stone ninja had pushed the Cloud back at every turn. But the momentum shifted the moment Dodai and B arrived.
Dodai's tactical brilliance was recognized across the ninja world, arguably second only to Shikaku Nara. Large-scale ninja warfare wasn't just two armies throwing jutsu at each other; it required meticulous strategy and resource management. Under Dodai's command, the Cloud began exploiting the terrain, layering their defenses, and bogging down the Stone's advance.
But the real anchor of the battlefield was Killer B.
Through sheer, overwhelming individual power, B managed to hold the line against both Kitsuchi and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. If he hadn't, the Cloud's casualty rate would have been catastrophic.
Even so, the Stone maintained the upper hand. The conflict had inevitably devolved into a brutal stalemate.
This was the harsh reality of warfare between major ninja villages. Unless one side could secure a crushing, overwhelming victory right out of the gate, the fighting always bogged down into a grinding war of attrition until one side broke, ran out of resources, or simply decided the cost was too high.
It perfectly highlighted the terrifying efficiency of Menma's prior strike against the Cloud. If Menma hadn't beaten the Fourth Raikage in direct combat, the Cloud could have easily absorbed the initial losses and dragged the Waterfall forces into a protracted war. Once the Leaf forces arrived to flank them, Menma would have been doomed.
History had seen this before. During the Third Great Ninja War, Minato Namikaze—Menma and Naruto's father—had single-handedly annihilated an elite Stone vanguard using the overpowered advantage of the Flying Raijin Jutsu. If Minato hadn't wiped them out instantly, the Stone would have established a permanent foothold, forcing a bloody, drawn-out war.
---
Now, the Stone and Cloud were trapped in exactly that kind of traditional, exhausting war. And the rest of the ninja world was watching closely.
The Stone's sudden, aggressive posture put an immense amount of pressure on the Hidden Leaf. While Onoki hadn't officially announced an alliance with Menma, the signs were clear as day. Leaf intelligence confirmed that Stone ninja had taken over garrison duties at Hozuki Castle (the Blood Prison). Coupled with their massive invasion of the Cloud, the math was simple.
Tsunade didn't hesitate. She immediately intensified diplomatic efforts with the Hidden Mist.
If Menma could lead the Waterfall to crush the Raikage and capture the Two-Tails, there was a very real possibility the Leaf forces could suffer the same fate. It wasn't about a lack of confidence; it was cold, hard realism. Tsunade had been incredibly wary of Menma's three Jinchuriki from the start.
Jiraiya might be stronger than the Fourth Raikage on paper, but the Leaf currently didn't have a Jinchuriki on the battlefield. Even if Menma couldn't defeat Jiraiya alone, what would happen if the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails joined the fight?
Tsunade had to prepare for the worst-case scenario. (She was, of course, entirely unaware that Menma possessed the ability to burn his own lifeforce to activate a god-tier combat state). Her priority was securing the Mist, bringing the Sand into the fold, and finding a way to fracture the Stone's alliance with Menma.
But both the Mist and Sand were playing coy.
The Mist vanguard under Mei Terumi and Ao had technically rendezvoused with the Leaf, but their willingness to actually push the offensive was highly questionable.
The Sand was even worse. As the Kazekage, Baki didn't just rush into things for short-term gain. He consulted the village elders, Chiyo and Ebizo. Their directive was simple: Wait.
The Sand was simply too weak. Years of consecutive defeats and economic starvation had left them with barely 10,000 active shinobi. The Waterfall might be far away, but the Hidden Grass was right on their doorstep, and the Stone loomed to their north. They couldn't afford a two-front war.
Unless Baki had an 80-to-90% guarantee of victory, backed by massive, tangible rewards, he wouldn't risk a single Sand shinobi's life. Two lost wars and two assassinated Kazekages had stripped the Sand of any margin for error.
Consequently, Baki fed Tsunade nothing but polite, non-committal excuses.
---
Deep inside the Hokage Building, an emergency council meeting was underway.
It was a closed-door session: just Tsunade, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura.
After hearing Tsunade's intelligence briefing, the room fell into a suffocating silence. Even Danzo—usually arrogant enough to demand unilateral action—kept his mouth shut. Rushing in blind, only to weaken themselves and let the other villages pick the meat off their bones, was strategic suicide.
"So, what are your thoughts?" Tsunade asked, leaning forward with her hands clasped on the desk, her gaze sweeping over the three elders. "Do we push the offensive, or do we hold our position and wait? Both options carry significant risks."
This was no longer just a tactical issue; it was an existential threat to the Hidden Leaf. Menma had openly promised retaliation against the village, and he was currently proving he had the firepower to back it up.
"To actually defeat the Fourth Raikage in a one-on-one fight..." Homura muttered, his face pale and etched with disbelief. "Is Menma Uzumaki truly that powerful?"