"Pain!"
"It hurts so damn much!"
Obito Uchiha clutched his chest, feeling a pain like nothing he'd ever known.
Worse than when the rocks had crushed him and he was on the verge of death.
"Why does a disgusting place like Kirigakure even exist? They're sick!"
"They all deserve to die!"
"If this stupid war had never started…!"
"I wouldn't have almost died. Kakashi wouldn't have lost an eye. And Rin… Rin would still be alive."
"This world is wrong!"
He only forced himself to leave when he sensed Leaf ninja closing in. With one last heartbroken look at Rin's body, Obito vanished into the trees.
---
A messenger ninja burst through the doors of the Hokage Tower.
"Report!"
"Speak."
"Lord Hokage—"
The intelligence ninja quickly laid out the whole ugly story: how a Kirigakure elite squad had captured Rin Nohara, turned her into the Three-Tails jinchuriki, and tried to sneak her into Konoha to trigger a Tailed Beast rampage. In the end, Rin had thrown herself straight onto Kakashi's kunai to stop their plan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the desk so hard the wood cracked.
"What the hell is Kirigakure trying to pull?!"
Not only Obito couldn't wrap his head around it—Hiruzen was completely lost too.
They were supposed to be allies!
Kirigakure was barely hanging on thanks to Konoha's support. Attacking now was straight-up suicidal.
Plus, Hiruzen knew Yagura had the method to become a near-perfect jinchuriki. He could have just taken the Three-Tails himself. That would've been the smart play for the Mist.
Why target Konoha instead?
"No… something's off."
"This can't be that simple."
"Kirigakure has zero reason to do this."
"It brings them nothing but trouble."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
"So maybe Iwagakure or Sunagakure set it up? Trying to drive a wedge between us and the Mist?"
"Yeah… that makes sense."
"Onoki's definitely capable of something this dirty."
"And Rasa's already picked up a few of Onoki's shameless tricks."
Hiruzen took a slow breath and calmed down.
"The real question is… what do we do now? What's the best move for Konoha?"
Right then, another ninja rushed in.
"Lord Hokage! Great news!"
"Hm?"
The intelligence ninja was grinning ear to ear.
"Under Lord Orochimaru's command, we crushed the Rock army! We used Manda to destroy the Kannabi Bridge and killed Suma Shi! The Rock forces took thousands of casualties and have started retreating!"
Hiruzen's face lit up.
"Excellent!"
But the joy faded fast. A new worry crept in.
With Orochimaru's seniority and a victory this big, the village would remember his glory from the Second Great Ninja War. His reputation was about to explode.
Could Minato even compete with him for the Hokage seat after this?
And if he couldn't… would Hiruzen have to force the position onto Minato anyway?
He shook his head, shoving the messy thoughts aside for now.
"What about our casualties?"
The messenger hesitated.
"Lord Hokage… our losses were also heavy…"
Hiruzen sighed when he heard the number.
"This is war. Konoha never wanted any of this. We love peace. But those other villages just can't let go of their ambition. They keep creating all these deaths."
Soon after, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane arrived, both smiling wide.
"Hiruzen! We won!"
"That Rock Village was so obsessed with us. I'd love to see Onoki's face right now."
Homura looked straight at Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, we can't let this slide. Since we beat them, we need serious reparations to make up for everything Konoha lost in this war."
Koharu nodded.
"Exactly. Our losses have been massive."
"Iwagakure must take responsibility."
"Plus, now that the Rock's handled, we can focus everything on Sunagakure."
"That arrogant little desert village's gotten way too cocky. Time to teach them a lesson."
Suddenly—
Creak.
The door opened.
All three turned at once.
"Danzo?"
Danzo stepped in, clothes soaked in blood. He looked exhausted, but there was a satisfied glint in his eye.
Hiruzen asked immediately, "How did it go?"
Danzo grinned.
"I killed over twenty Uchiha. The rest ran like scared dogs. Too bad the village still has other enemies—I couldn't chase them too far, or I would've wiped them all out."
He noticed their expressions.
"Looks like you've got good news too?"
Koharu nodded.
"Yeah. Orochimaru led our army and crushed the Rock. They've pulled back."
Danzo's eyes brightened.
Before he could speak, Hiruzen cut in.
"But we also have bad news. An elite Kirigakure squad ambushed our ninja. Killed a bunch of them and turned Rin Nohara into the Three-Tails jinchuriki."
"Looks like they were trying to trigger a Tailed Beast riot inside Konoha. Thankfully, Rin sacrificed herself and stopped the plan cold."
The room went dead silent. All three stared in shock.
"Kirigakure attacked us?"
"Why?"
"Is this real?"
Hiruzen nodded gravely.
"The Anbu reported it directly. No mistake. The attackers were definitely Kirigakure's own operatives."
Homura looked confused.
"But that makes zero sense. Aren't we allies? Their situation is already terrible. Attacking us now brings them nothing but harm."
Koharu was just as puzzled.
"Homura's right. Even the Mist aren't stupid enough to pull something this suicidal. Could the Takechi clan have impersonated them?"
Hiruzen shook his head.
"It wasn't the Takechi."
"Still… their actions make no sense. I suspect there's something deeper going on."
Danzo suddenly snorted coldly.
"Whatever the hidden reason is, it doesn't change the fact that they attacked us. Our people are dead. Kirigakure has to pay for this."
"Even if there's more to it, that's their mess to clean up—not ours!"
"Besides, this is the perfect chance to cut ties with them."
"You already got what you needed from the alliance, Hiruzen."
"We held up our end."
"They struck first this time."
"We have no reason to keep bleeding for Kirigakure."
"Cutting them off right now is the smartest move for Konoha!"