While the Konoha ninja forces and the Iwagakure ninja village were facing off in the Land of Grass, the Land of Lightning's army, originally mobilized to the border, suddenly began a large-scale transfer. Instead of approaching the Land of Rice, they turned and marched towards the Land of Grass. If it were just that, Iwagakure might have thought they were coming to help, but unexpectedly, the Land of Lightning suddenly issued a statement, declaring that after friendly talks with theage, they had decided to uphold the order of the ninja world. They stated that the three countries of Wind, Water, and Earth, which had disregarded the peace treaty and started a war for their selfish interests, must face severe punishment.
This sudden move by the Land of Lightning directly shocked all the high-ranking officials of the Land of Earth. They had never expected that, after agreeing to march together towards the Land of Fire, they would suddenly change their minds midway, form an alliance with the Land of Fire, and brazenly declare war on the other three great nations.
The high-ranking officials suspected that if it weren't for the Land of Lightning wanting to maintain a moral advantage, they might not even have declared war. Instead, they would have pretended to still be allies with the Land of Earth and, after the two sides met, launched a surprise attack on the Land of Earth's rear while its army was engaged with Konoha.
Even though the Land of Lightning made its declaration openly, the pressure on Iwagakure did not diminish in the slightest. Everyone was puzzled as to why the Land of Lightning, the most belligerent nation, would support Konoha. They should also understand the threat posed by Konoha. How could they let go of such a hard-won opportunity to suppress Konoha?
Regardless, the Land of Lightning's vanguard was about to reach the Land of Earth, and Iwagakure had to consider how to meet them. This sudden turn of events directly disrupted Iwagakure's deployment. Even the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, who had always supported Iwagakure, was somewhat unsettled at this time. He immediately summoned Onoki to the capital to inquire about the situation and whether Iwagakure was prepared to confront the Land of Lightning.
Although Onoki was under immense internal pressure, he couldn't show any of it in front of the Daimyo. He stated that while the Land of Lightning's declaration of war was unexpected, apart from Konoha, the Land of Lightning was already an anticipated enemy for Iwagakure. To some extent, due to elemental compatibility, Iwagakure had always regarded the Land of Lightning with more seriousness than Konoha, and had long been researching tactics for Iwagakure's ninja forces to counter the Land of Lightning's lightning-style ninja forces.
Under Onoki's earnest reassurance, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth finally firmed his resolve, declaring that he would fully support Iwagakure. In return, Iwagakure must exert its full strength. While a major victory was not demanded, losing the war was absolutely unacceptable.
Onoki solemnly promised, bowing deeply to the Daimyo. After the audience concluded, he disregarded his travel fatigue and returned directly to Iwagakure. Only after returning to the familiar village could he no longer maintain his composure, and in front of the village's high-ranking officials, he furiously denounced the Land of Lightning's treachery.
"I still can't understand why the Land of Lightning suddenly changed its mind at this moment?" Onoki's beard bristled with anger. "We had clearly agreed at the time. Although the Land of Lightning has always been overbearing, they are also straightforward in some aspects. They wouldn't be like a shameless scoundrel; at least they're a true villain, not some hypocrite!"
"The Land of Lightning's declaration stated that after friendly talks with the Hokage, they chose to join the side upholding order. Could it be that Kumogakure and Konoha have colluded?" one high-ranking official speculated.
Onoki frowned upon hearing this. He felt there was a lot of truth to the statement. Behind the Land of Lightning's betrayal, there must be Konoha's shadow. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the Land of Lightning to include Konoha in its declaration, stating that they would advance and retreat together.
"Speaking of which, before Kumogakure withdrew from the last Shinobi World War, they had fought alongside Konoha. After that, the relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure eased, and Kumogakure, after the Kin-Gin brothers' rebellion, also chose to follow a path similar to Konoha's," another high-ranking elder said.
"Hmm, and Konoha also pays attention to its diplomatic relations with Kumogakure. Honestly, if you really think about it, their relationship is much closer than ours with Iwagakure."
As the high-ranking elders spoke, Onoki gradually recalled past events. Konoha was indeed more enthusiastic towards Kumogakure. However, at that time, Onoki thought this was because Kumogakure had been an enemy, so they needed to be given more importance, unlike Iwagakure, which had been an ally back then. But now, it seemed Konoha might have had ulterior motives.
"Do you think Konoha was secretly contacting Kumogakure early on, planning to ally with them to deal with us?" Onoki tapped the table gently, silencing everyone. He swept his sharp gaze across each person's face and spoke.
Everyone started to frown, not daring to express their opinions easily, but their expressions suggested they leaned towards this speculation. Seeing this, Onoki felt increasingly uneasy. The scene from that day reappeared before his eyes: they had clearly fought side by side, yet the other party seemed to have never trusted him, as if believing he would one day turn against them.
Although Onoki was indeed leading Iwagakure to declare war now, he felt extremely dissatisfied that Konoha had been plotting against him even when their relationship was harmonious. He was convinced that this was a long-established plan, to make the belligerent Land of Lightning choose to fight for peace in the ninja world at such a critical juncture. It was not a relationship that could be cultivated in a short time; it would take at least ten years to achieve this.
—What a sanctimonious liar! I even thought he was a man of noble character back then, but he turned out to be so sinister and cunning.
While Onoki was complaining in his heart, he completely forgot that after inheriting the position of Tsuchikage, he had already regarded Konoha as his imaginary enemy. As for the ninja world order and righteous war mentioned by Fumori Masaki, he had never truly taken it to heart. If one were to analyze it in detail, his actions didn't seem to be any more noble, and Fumori Masaki, at least in maintaining the ninja world order, had contributed more and gained more than Iwagakure.
"However, that Fumori Masaki fellow is indeed impressive. To be able to persuade those guys from Kumogakure… I wonder what the Raikage was thinking, to agree to such a thing." Onoki mumbled, then shook his head, no longer dwelling on what was already done, but rather facing the village's predicament.
At the same time, the entire ninja world was shaken by the Land of Lightning's official stance. Only Iwagakure, which had been secretly in contact with Kumogakure, knew that Kumogakure had promised to send troops to the Land of Fire. Everyone else was constantly speculating about the Land of Lightning's true intentions, but generally, they all believed that the Land of Lightning's target was indeed the Land of Fire. Thus, at the moment the Land of Lightning officially declared, those who thought they were certain felt as if they had been slapped hard in the face, as if to remind them that this was not an illusion.
Even the Konoha ninjas who had initially prepared for battle were surprised, completely unprepared for the Land of Lightning's true target to be the Land of Earth. This undoubtedly took everyone by surprise. Those Konoha ninjas who had been angry at the Land of Lightning's aggressive actions felt they had wronged the other party and couldn't help but feel annoyed. Meanwhile, Konoha's propaganda department was also at work, promoting the Land of Lightning's determination and righteousness in maintaining the order of the ninja world.
If the Land of Lightning's army knew what the world was thinking, they would certainly be very puzzled, because their initial orders were to gather at the border. They themselves didn't know who the real target was until the Third Raikage announced to everyone that the enemy was the aggressors led by the Land of Earth, and that the Land of Lightning had allied with the Land of Fire. Only then did they understand who they were going to fight.
Of course, these ordinary ninja would never know how much verbal sparring had gone on behind the scenes of this matter. It should be known that Kumogakure had initially truly intended to join forces with the Land of Earth to send troops. Although Konoha had painstakingly cultivated relationships with Kumogakure's high-ranking officials for over twenty years, the number of pro-Konoha factions among all the high-ranking officials was still slightly inferior.
However, the pro-Konoha faction was led by the Third Raikage, and even though their numbers were somewhat insufficient, their voice carried a great deal of weight. It wasn't that the Third Raikage was truly very close to Konoha, willing to sacrifice Kumogakure's interests. In reality, it was because after the Kin-Gin brothers' rebellion, the Second Raikage, learning from the painful experience, decided to forge a path different from traditional Kumogakure, and their learning target was Konoha.
Through the joint Chunin Exams and Fumori Masaki's various performances after his inauguration, the Second Raikage became convinced that Konoha's policies could lead Kumogakure to a more advanced position. Therefore, under the Raikage's strong leadership, Kumogakure learned applicable parts of Konoha's policies at a speed far exceeding the other three ninja villages.
Although the Second Raikage died prematurely with his ambitions unfulfilled, he still passed on his will to his student, the Third Raikage. The Third Raikage, who inherited not only his teacher's will but also his teacher's name, naturally dedicated himself wholeheartedly to achieving his teacher's goals.
And in the process of personally putting it into practice, the Third Raikage grew increasingly alarmed. When he viewed Konoha's actions from the perspective of a leader, he finally realized the superiority of Konoha's policies and the benefits they could bring to the village. All the previously vague areas became clear, prompting him to ponder how Kumogakure should proceed in the future.
After the Land of Wind and Land of Water declared war, the Third Raikage carefully observed Konoha's war against Sunagakure and Kirigakure. Upon witnessing Konoha subtly suppress the opposing forces with less than their combined strength, the Third Raikage immediately understood. He realized this was the result of Konoha's well-planned strategies. It was precisely because of this that he recognized that if Kumogakure truly wanted to contend with Konoha in the future, they could not go against its path. If they followed the path of the aggressor nations, he believed that even if they could barely suppress Konoha's momentum, the cost would be far greater. Only by following the same path as Konoha, and moving faster and further than them, could they achieve what they desired.
It was from this moment that the Third Raikage decided to join forces with Konoha. He believed that this would secure long-term benefits for the village, but unfortunately, not everyone could see this. Although those around the Third Raikage supported this resolution, the others, due to their short-sightedness, preferred to wait for opportunities or aid the tyrannical.
This left the Third Raikage somewhat disappointed, feeling that they hadn't truly grasped the future trajectory of the ninja world and the direction of the new era. Even with the Raikage's leadership, he couldn't push it through regardless, as it could easily lead to internal conflicts within the village. The Third Raikage felt that at least a certain degree of consensus had to be achieved.
Fortunately, at this time, an envoy from Konoha arrived near the Land of Lightning. The envoy was Akimichi Torifu, one of the Second Hokage's direct disciples. He was cautious in his words and deeds, and his demeanor was steady, making him a very suitable candidate for negotiations. The Third Raikage praised Fumori Masaki for choosing the right person and then negotiated with the envoy through letters, expressing his intentions.
Konoha understood that with the Land of Lightning's warlike nature, it was impossible for them to remain neutral in this Shinobi World War; they were destined to participate. The only question was whether they would target the Land of Fire or the aggressor nations. Akimichi Torifu's suggestion was to ally with the Land of Fire, and he explained the advantages and disadvantages to the Third Raikage based on the General Staff's projected plans.
The Third Raikage was certainly willing to agree, but the opinions of the village's high-ranking officials still couldn't be fully unified. They believed that following the aggressor nations could also yield similar benefits, and there was no need to specifically join forces with the Land of Fire to fight the other three countries. It was at this time that Fumori Masaki personally wrote a letter, conveyed by Akimichi Torifu, saying that since the people within Kumogakure had little faith in Konoha, he would let them witness Konoha's power. Then, he invited the Third Raikage to arrange a battle near the neutral Land of Iron.
When the Third Raikage received this letter, he considered it for a long time before agreeing to the battle with Fumori Masaki. He understood Fumori Masaki's intentions. For various reasons, Konoha could not genuinely go to war with Kumogakure. Thus, the only way to demonstrate power was a duel between their leaders. Although in a real battlefield, high-level combat power is not the sole deciding factor, it undoubtedly has a significant influence. Using it to display Konoha's power was indeed very fitting.