[Raikage Office, Kumogakure]
"Iwagakure shinobi assaulted us with doton jutsu, suppressing our escape. Countless died, it was horrific", a genin spoke
After giving his report, another came in
"We were patrolling in the area, like any other day. The Land of Rice is known for its bountiful nature, but the horror that ambushed us this night was just...horrific. They were wielding their swords extremely skillfully. I did not quite see it, but there was a squad of elite shinobi ambushing our commander Marui. From afar, I could tell the battle was impressive"
And another one
"Poison in our backs, doton in front, and all of them were stone bastards!"
"Iwagakure"
...
After a long day of gathering reports, the Sandaime Raikage, A, was frowning.
"Sir, all 32 genins who escaped that dreadful day are sharing the same story. Why interrogating them again?", his assistant spoke
"Marui died", A muttered with anger, "Iwagakure definitely had a hand in it, but this elite squad seems slightly suspicious. I know the third tsuchikage. He is a coward, and there is no way he would leave an elite squad in the open, especially after the Stone Titan and Roshi, his jinchuriki, were assassinated by the Shimura clan. I heard rumours"
"What rumours?"
"Rumours regarding the Shimura clan. I heard the third Hokage has a frail position in his village. I assumed the massive explosion in the leaf was Tsuchikage Onoki's doing. However, it makes no sense. How could Onoki deal such an enormous blow to Konoha, when it was defeated by a single clan? No...The attack in Konoha came from within. It was Hiruzen's doing"
"Hiruzen?", the assistant muttered in surprise, "indeed, it would make the most sense. With the Shimura patriarch defeating Iwagakure by himself, he strengthened his position and became part of the opposition by default. But to think the third Hokage would be capable of such decesiveness..."
"Since we thought about it, Konoha most likely suspect their leader too. What better way to calm down the opposition?"
"Military achievements", the assistant answered with no hesitation
"Exactly...That's why I suspect that Iwagakure and Konohagakure, against all odds, worked together. First, to get rid of the Shimura clan. Second, to deal with us. Marui was killed too. We did not just lose an oustanding shinobi, a whole platoon was killed, a tailed beast captured. Onoki most likely gained back his jinchuriki in the process too, whereas the party losing is..."
"Us", the assistant shook his head in horror, "Then...if you understood the true nature of their scheme, why did you say nothing and just left?"
"Onoki and Hiruzen working together changes everything. The balance is broken. Even with their losses, Konohagakure is still the strongest village. Iwagakure will soon recuperate their strength if we do nothing. As for Sunagakure, they have done a good job at gnawing at Konoha's southern borders, but ultimately, they are too weak to do much more than what they are currently doing. I sent a letter to Kirigakure. I left out the details about iwagakure and konohagakure's alliance, making them attack the land of fire"
"Brilliant! Even if they are powerful, Konohagakure and Iwagakure cannot defend against three major villages at once!"
"When Iwagakure realizes their plight, trust me, they will be no allies of Konohagakure. I never trusted Onoki, and we still lost a jinchuriki. He is cowardly, but he is a master at what he does. Don't underestimate the stone's betrayals. Konoha will end up destroyed"
"This looks..."
"Promising? Yes. But something feels amiss. And I can't tell what it is. Perhaps I am overthinking it", A spoke in a doubtful tone.
The letter to Kirigakure had already been sent.
Konohagakure did not deny their attack on Kumogakure, reinforcing their suspicions.
Onoki, who heard about the rumours about him avenging Roshi by blowing up the Shimura clan, said nothing either. Pressured by elders himself, such an achievement gave him some breathing room.
Danzo had foreseen all of this. He did not target village's weaknesses directly. Danzo was a monster. He knew the people for the worse they could be. Their ego, their fear, their indecisiveness. At the end of the day, the second shinobi war, which should have already been ended by now, entered a second deadly cycle. And this time, he did not need to do anything.
Iwagakure retreated from Oto no Kami.
Kumogakure concentrated on the northern borders of the lands of fire.
Kirigakure concentrated on the eastern borders of the lands of fire..
Sunagakure pressured leaf shinobi in the south.
The chaos unfolded once more in the continent. Hundreds died on daily basis, sometimes thousands. Geniuses, who should have played a major role in the series, were killed before they could even be labeled as such
It was a dark era for the shinobi world, but a prosperous one for Otogakure who stabilized its foundations, and started to extend its reach to merchants and nobles from the Rice country.
For the next three years, the Shimura clan never once left Otogakure.
The Otogakure Sabotage Corps, led by Hebikaze shinobi, completed thousands of missions like machines, growing stronger and assimilating resources on Otogakure's stead.
The Kaonashi clan took the form of enemies, intercepting messages and replacing them with news of betrayals, fueling more conflict in the world.
The Kinzoku clan seldom supported the sabotage corps to deal with invaders, mercenaries and bandits who threatened the peace of Oto no Kami. The status quo was never once broken, however, and a strange request eventually found its way to the council room of Otogakure.