The rare period of peace lasted all the way into the New Year.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages were unusually silent, none making any moves during this time.
It was as if everyone was making final preparations for the war that was about to erupt.
But anyone could see how tense the situation was—there was a strong scent of gunpowder lingering even in the air.
Finally, just as the New Year arrived, Sunagakure was the first to act.
...
Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a solemn expression as he read the intel in his hand.
It clearly stated that Sunagakure had mobilized in full force—several thousand shinobi were advancing toward the Land of Rivers.
"Hiruzen, this confirms that Sunagakure has made their move."
"Those thousands of shinobi are no joke. We should take precautions as soon as possible."
Mitokado Homura finished reading the report and immediately urged for deployment.
"Yes. The Land of Rivers will become our primary battlefield with Sunagakure."
"Have you decided who to send?"
Facing the questions from Homura and Koharu Utatane, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
"Orochimaru will head to the Land of Rivers battlefield"
"I've already ordered the Anbu to depart ahead of time. They'll gather intel while also delaying the enemy's advance."
"That will give us more time to complete our defensive works."
"This sudden action by Sunagakure leaves us with very little intel. We don't even know who's leading their forces."
"The situation doesn't look good."
Hearing that Orochimaru would be going to the Sunagakure battlefield, neither Homura nor Koharu had any objections. But Shimura Danzō held a different opinion.
"Hmph! Why not send Hatake Sakumo to the Land of Rivers?"
"In the last war, as long as he was present, Sunagakure couldn't gain the upper hand at all."
"I believe Hatake Sakumo is a better choice than Orochimaru."
Everyone present clearly understood Hatake Sakumo's strength.
They also knew about his long-standing grudge with Sunagakure's higher-ups.
After all, during the Second Great Ninja War, Hatake Sakumo had personally killed the son and daughter-in-law of Sunagakure's elder Chiyo.
"Sakumo can't be moved for now."
"Orochimaru is strong enough to serve as battlefield commander."
"And if the enemy learns that Hatake Sakumo is leading the main front, they might attack even more fiercely."
Hiruzen Sarutobi analyzed the situation reasonably, but Danzō objected once again.
"Don't tell me we have so little grievance with Sunagakure?"
"So what if there's a grudge? Hatake Sakumo is overwhelmingly strong—he can handle it."
"Hiruzen, this is cowardice! You're leaving such a sharp blade unused just to focus on defense?"
"If you ask me, we should make Hatake Sakumo commander and crush Sunagakure's main forces directly in the Land of Rivers!"
Danzō's words caused everyone to turn and look.
Crushing Sunagakure's main force? That wasn't impossible.
As mentioned, Hatake Sakumo had done it once before.
"Hmph! Danzō, do you think Iwagakure and Kumogakure are blind?"
"To crush Sunagakure's main force, how many troops would we need? If we commit too many to one front, Ōnoki the Tsuchikage and the barbaric Raikage will definitely enter the war immediately."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even smoke his pipe—he directly fired back.
"Hmph! You're overthinking it! If we defeat Sunagakure with lightning speed, we'll have time to pull back!"
"Shut up! That's pure fantasy!"
"You bastard! Hiruzen! When did you become so weak as Hokage?! The teacher made a mistake choosing you!"
"Danzō! You've gone too far! I am the Hokage!"
Seeing the argument heat up rapidly, Mitokado Homura quickly stepped in to mediate.
"Danzō, Hiruzen is right. The situation is only just unfolding—we can't commit too many forces to a single battlefield."
"Letting Orochimaru lead the Land of Rivers front is the best option."
"But if we're up against Sunagakure, we also need to prepare our medical-nin."
"Chiyo's poisons are not to be taken lightly."
Seeing no one support his stance, Danzō sat down furiously and shot a vicious glare at Homura, clearly displeased with the man who had once carried coffins alongside him.
Homura deliberately ignored Danzō's glare and turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Hiruzen, has the Anbu already deployed?"
"Will they make it in time?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down, took a puff of his pipe, and said:
"They should make it. As long as they can cause some disruption, that's enough."
"However, about Tsunade... sigh..."
Even Danzō didn't speak this time.
Tsunade, granddaughter of the First Hokage and one of the Three Legendary Shinobi, had unfortunately developed hemophobia and hadn't appeared before the public in quite some time.
She only cared about Shizune, who was still in academy—the niece of Kato Dan.
She had no interest in the affairs of the village. If her medical ninjutsu was absent in this war, no one could predict how things would unfold against Sunagakure...
...
At that moment, within the Land of Rivers.
Dozens of Anbu raced through the forest.
"Damn it, I hadn't even finished resting before they dragged me out to do grunt work!"
"So annoying!"
Gekko Chizan followed the main group wearing his mask, with teammates Haru and Rinkaku beside him.
"Hahahaha, that's the life of Anbu. You'll get used to it."
"Sunagakure is coming in strong this time."
"Thousands of shinobi on the move—it's no small matter. Our mission is just to lay traps and slow them down."
"It won't be too hard."
Even though Haru had a point, Gekko Chizan was still in a foul mood.
He had been chatting happily with Pakura at home, maybe even close to sealing the deal when the New Year came, and now—boom, war.
Damn Sunagakure, why couldn't they hold back?
What's more, the timing of their deployment didn't match what he had previously learned—they had moved earlier than expected.
Seems like the butterfly effect has taken hold. The future would have to be taken one step at a time, with extreme caution.
"By the way, who's the current overall captain of Anbu?"
"Didn't Hatake Sakumo retire?"
Gekko Chizan suddenly asked, and Haru laughed in response, his tone carrying a trace of amusement:
"The Anbu is full of elites. Even though Sakumo-sama has retired, Anbu remains the sharpest blade in the Hokage-sama's hand."
Although he didn't answer directly, Gekko Chizan suddenly thought of two people.
Two people he hadn't looked into very deeply.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's son and daughter-in-law!
"Stop!"
"Everyone, begin trap deployment."
"Number Six, Haru, Rinkaku, come here!"
The Anbu squad leader suddenly gave the order, and as he turned around—
Gekko Chizan's suspicion was confirmed.
Because the mask worn by the leader was one he had seen in his previous life.
Left side—Konohamaru's mom. Right side—his father, Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
The eldest son of Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi... Sarutobi Shinnosuke...
So he's the one temporarily leading the Anbu.
Hearing the command, Gekko Chizan and the other two quickly moved to his side.
Up close, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was quite tall. Even though Gekko Chizan had reached 1.8 meters over the past two years, he still had to look up slightly to meet his gaze.
"Number Six, you're skilled in concealment techniques. I need you to scout ahead. Haru and Rinkaku, support him."
"Try to identify the enemy's commanding officer—that's very important."
Gekko Chizan was also curious who the opposing commander was. Rasa had been defeated and injured by him, and he had already fought Kemaki before.
And yet, in such a short time, Sunagakure still dared to launch a full-scale war?
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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