Taking advantage of the Third Kazekage's disappearance, Iwagakure immediately decided to attack Sunagakure.
When Kumogakure saw Iwagakure and Sunagakure fighting, they immediately declared war on Iwagakure and launched a surprise attack on the Land of Earth while Iwagakure was occupied with Sunagakure.
On Konoha's side, Danzo realized this was a good opportunity.
He immediately launched an assault against Kumogakure while also sending troops to conduct military operations against both Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
Far to the east, Kirigakure also realized they could take advantage of the situation, so they immediately launched attacks on the waters of the Land of Fire.
A ninja war was on the verge of breaking out. In just half a month, it had turned into a full-scale ninja world war.
———
[Land of Fire, Capital City]
Inside the garrison headquarters west of the Daimyo's residence, candlelight flickered.
Arisu's fingers brushed across the opened roster of military personnel, his brows slightly furrowed.
He was now the commander of the Daimyo's personal guard.
He did not take part in the frontline battles of the ninja war and was only responsible for protecting the core areas of the homeland.
Originally, he had wanted to see if there were any familiar characters from the original story.
But after going through the Hyuga clan's deployment records, all he saw were unfamiliar surnames and code names.
"Something's not right... The Hyuga clan shouldn't be these people. Where are Hizashi and Hiashi?"
Confusion arose in Arisu's mind.
After all, the Hyuga clan now had no Caged Bird Seal.
Danzo would never be willing to send a top-tier bloodline clan like the Hyuga to die on the front lines.
Naturally, he kept them close and assigned them all to protect the Daimyo in the capital.
But no matter how many times he checked, he could not find a single familiar name from the original story.
Arisu pointed at a Hyuga clan member standing guard nearby.
"You, come here."
"Commander, what are your orders?"
The clan member quickly stepped forward and bowed.
Arisu rubbed his forehead.
"Do you have anyone in your clan named Hyuga Hiashi or Hyuga Hizashi?"
The clan member lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Reporting to Commander, there are no clan members by those names."
A trace of confusion flashed through Arisu's eyes.
By this point in time, those two should have been about the same age as Minato.
The confusion quickly disappeared.
Arisu instantly understood.
Among the Hyuga clan members he had taken away back then were certainly the ancestors of Hiashi and Hizashi.
As a result, the brothers had been born and raised in Mount Myoboku from the beginning and had never set foot in Konoha.
In that case, future Hinata and Neji would also be born in Mount Myoboku.
Arisu's eyes narrowed.
"Nothing. Continue protecting the Daimyo."
———
[Mount Myoboku]
Skyscrapers stood everywhere.
Over the years, subways and high-speed railways had spread throughout the entire area.
Tall buildings filled the horizon.
It was a true modern metropolis.
Returning here after several decades, Arisu felt little emotion.
To him, hundreds of years passed in the blink of an eye.
A few decades were even more insignificant.
———
[Inside the Sage Hall]
Black Zetsu was reviewing government documents on a computer.
Fukasaku Sage sat nearby slacking off and drinking tea.
The two handled their respective duties and kept Mount Myoboku running smoothly.
Sensing the familiar and powerful aura, both man and toad looked up at the same time.
Seeing Arisu's return, they immediately put down their work and bowed.
"Great Sage! You've returned!"
Arisu waved his hand and sat down in the main seat.
"No need for formalities. Continue your work."
"Send White Zetsu to the Hyuga residential district and bring Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi to see me immediately."
White Zetsu accepted the order.
He immediately opened Mount Myoboku's household registration system on a computer and located the brothers' residence within moments.
Not long afterward, two young men wearing denim jackets and hoodies were brought in.
They were still young, with traces of immaturity in their faces, and were merely ordinary clan members.
After all, many descendants of the older generation of Hyuga who had migrated with Arisu still lived here.
At present, their father was also an insignificant member of the clan.
Naturally, the brothers held no status.
Having been summoned to the Sage Hall, both appeared somewhat nervous and respectfully lowered their heads as they bowed.
"Greetings, Great Sage! May your blessings be eternal and your lifespan reach the heavens!"
"Greetings, Great Sage! May your blessings be eternal and your lifespan reach the heavens!"
Arisu slowly opened his eyes and looked at them.
As expected, it was them.
"I summoned you simply because I wanted to see you. There's no need to be nervous.", Arisu spoke calmly.
The two were stunned.
Questions arose in their minds, but neither dared ask.
"What kind of work do you do now?", Arisu asked gently.
The two assumed Arisu wanted to hear the opinions of ordinary citizens and answered honestly.
Hiashi spoke first, "I just graduated from university and am currently doing an internship."
"Me too," Hizashi replied.
Arisu could not help asking, "Have you never thought about becoming ninjas?"
The two shook their heads together.
"Great Sage, learning ninjutsu is useless.", They answered in unison.
Arisu nodded.
There truly wasn't much use for learning ninjutsu in Mount Myoboku now.
Especially after the appearance of scientific ninja tools.
Who would still go through the trouble of learning all that?
"Very well. I respect your choice."
Arisu nodded.
———
Two years after the ninja world war began, the other four great nations all chose to focus on eliminating Konoha first.
As a result, Konoha once again found itself fighting on multiple fronts.
But this suited Danzo perfectly.
His goal had always been to unify the ninja world.
Although the situation was unfavorable, Danzo firmly believed Konoha would succeed.
At the same time, Minato Namikaze became famous throughout the ninja world.
He earned the title of the Yellow Flash.
At the same time, Hiruzen Shinnosuke also made a name for himself alongside Minato, becoming known as a new master of the Five Nature Transformations.
Seeing that both of her companions had achieved such fame, Kushina Uzumaki became anxious.
The war had already been going on for two years, yet she had never been sent to the battlefield.
Danzo feared that the jinchuriki might make a mistake, so he kept Kushina in Konoha and refused to let her fight.
He treated her as the final trump card.
———
[Amegakure, Inside A Cave]
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan gathered a group of like-minded companions and officially established their own organization.
"Yahiko, it's time to give our organization a name."
Nagato wiped away the raindrops sliding down his forehead and made the suggestion with a smile.
Konan nodded lightly, "Yes, we should have a name."
Yahiko rested a finger against his chin and thought for a moment.
Then he showed the bright smile unique to a young man and looked at everyone gathered around him.
"Everyone! If you have any good ideas, let's hear them."
From the crowd, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
Rainwater clung to his sideburns, and traces of war were etched into his face.
He had personally lived through the previous era.
Looking at the organization Yahiko had built, he could not help remembering the Akatsuki founded by Tobi years ago.
"Leader, years ago Amegakure also had an organization called Akatsuki, founded by a man named Tobi. Back then, they sincerely wanted to save this land soaked in war."
"Why don't we inherit that name and continue the wish they never managed to fulfill?", the middle-aged man suggested.
"Akatsuki..."
Yahiko quietly repeated the name.
A light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
It was a good name.
It perfectly matched their desire to bring dawn to Amegakure's endless night.
He had long heard the legends of Akatsuki.
They were a group of people who had genuinely wanted to pull Amegakure out of hell.
But Hanzo of the Salamander had wiped them out completely.
Since then, Tobi, the organization's founder, had vanished without a trace.
No one knew whether he was alive or dead.
Most people believed he had died beneath Hanzo's poisoned blade.
But others swore they had seen him fleeing north.
Over the years, Hanzo had never stopped searching for him.
Because of that, many secretly believed that the man called Tobi might still be alive.
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