Land of Water, Pulao Town.
At a food stall.
"How much for one?" Naruto inquired.
"Fifty ryo," the stall owner replied.
"I'll take one." Naruto handed over the money.
Two foreign merchants walked past him, conversing in low tones.
"I hear there's going to be a war." "It might not necessarily happen." "Let's hope so. If the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind go to war, our business will suffer." "Exactly…"
Naruto's chewing faltered. "Boss, do you know what happened between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind?"
"Hm?" The owner looked at him quizzically. "Are you joking, customer? Do I look like someone who would know about such things?"
"My apologies." Naruto offered an apologetic smile.
Mental Space.
"What's been happening recently?" Naruto asked, sitting cross-legged on Kurama's head, addressing Shukaku and Gaara who weren't far off.
"Recently? I was sleeping," Shukaku said with a shrug of his sandy paws.
"A few days ago, our sensor team detected an S-rank chakra source near the border with the Land of Fire. They believed Konoha had deployed a Jinchuriki in the Land of Wind, so a large number of ninja were dispatched to the border," Gaara explained succinctly.
"…" Naruto's brow twitched.
The only Jinchuriki from Konoha… is me.
"Where are you now?" Gaara asked. "Is there anything we need to do about this matter?"
He hadn't forgotten the ideals Naruto had shared with him. Aspiring to be Kazekage, he knew very well that if Konoha and Sunagakure went to war, a Fourth Great Ninja War would inevitably follow.
Neither Konoha nor Sunagakure would allow other ninja villages to remain neutral.
The ninja world was vast in some ways, yet small in others.
Vast, because it was composed of the Five Great Ninja Villages and countless smaller villages, clans, and individual ninja. Small, because whether or not a war erupted was largely decided by the Five Great Ninja Villages. Smaller villages couldn't even dream of participating; merely surviving a war between the great powers was a monumental stroke of luck.
"I'm currently in the Land of Water," Naruto said after a moment's thought. "Gaara, how is your coordination with Shukaku coming along?"
"We can already use the Tailed Beast Bomb," Gaara stated. "Also, I've been dispatched to the border between our countries as well."
"Understood." Naruto nodded slightly. "Isobu and I will head over immediately!"
"What do we need to do?"
"Mediate!"
Border Frontline.
Amidst the standoff, the main forces of both sides began to arrive on the battlefield.
"Ebizo?" Danzo grunted, looking at the opposing commander. They were all too familiar with each other.
This old geezer, unlike that old hag Chiyo, had controlled Suna's intelligence network from start to finish. Over the years, they had clashed in the shadows more than once or twice.
"It seems Konoha's younger generation doesn't have anyone capable enough either," Ebizo chuckled from across the riverbank.
"We're managing." Faced with his sarcasm, Danzo showed no emotional fluctuation, retorting sarcastically, "Still better than Suna, which needs an old man with one foot in the grave to step up."
Hearing this, Ebizo merely offered a faint smile.
"Lord Danzo, the men are in position," a Root ninja appeared beside Danzo, whispering into his ear.
Ebizo, on the opposite bank, watched this scene, his eyes narrowing slightly. He ordered, "Increase the number of scouts. Leave no blind spots."
Often, it's not your closest allies but your enemies who understand you best. Having clashed for many years, if one of them so much as twitched, the other could basically guess their next move.
"Lord Danzo, aren't we being too aggressive?" Kakashi asked quietly.
Although Danzo's arrival had revoked his status as temporary commander, he could still perceive such a large-scale troop movement.
"Konoha's might is not won through compromise!" Shimura Danzo glanced at him and reprimanded.
In the distance, a small, slender Iwagakure ninja moved carefully through the forest. Glancing back to ensure no enemies were following, he carefully pushed aside a patch of grass and entered a hidden tunnel beneath.
Inside the tunnel, several Iwagakure ninja focused their gazes on him.
"Captain Monga, the Suna scout team has been led to the Konoha squad's location," the small Iwa ninja reported with a slight nod to a burly man.
"Good work," the burly man acknowledged with a nod.
"One more thing," the small ninja said, remembering his unexpected discovery. "I found Kumogakure ninja."
"Oh? How many?" Monga's expression flickered. He wasn't surprised by Kumogakure ninja appearing on this battlefield, but he was surprised that their chosen 'audience seats' were so close to each other.
"Five," the small ninja replied. "Worried about sensor ninja on their side, I didn't get too close, so I couldn't see who Kumo's leader was."
"You've done very well." Monga patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"Leave the rest to me."
Boom!
On Sunagakure's side of the riverbank, several plumes of fire shot into the sky. The sound of the explosions instantly put both sides on high alert, tensions flaring.
"Lord Danzo, perhaps you could explain what just happened?" Ebizo asked, retracting his gaze from the explosions and looking across the river.
Did it fail…? Shimura Danzo's eyelids twitched slightly. He was just about to speak.
Boom! Boom!
Several massive explosions erupted on their side of the riverbank.
"Attack!" Shimura Danzo's eyes turned cold, and he immediately issued the order to advance.
"What's going on?" Ebizo's face darkened. He might have wanted to make a move against Konoha, but Sunagakure's current situation didn't allow for it.
"It wasn't our men," a Suna ninja beside him said.
"Damn it." Ebizo instantly understood: they had been played by a third party.
"Focus on defense!"
Hundreds of ninja clashed. In just a few breaths, the once crystal-clear river was stained red with the blood representing lives lost.
"Lord Danzo, we've caught a few rats," a Root ninja reported, appearing beside Danzo amidst the battle.
"Dispose of them," Shimura Danzo said without turning his head.
He naturally knew that both Suna and Konoha had been manipulated, but what did it matter? As long as the outcome was what he desired.
On the battlefield, ninjutsu of the five elements flew relentlessly, while taijutsu and genjutsu dazzled. Every ninja employed their most proficient techniques, striving for maximum killing efficiency.
In less than a moment, the riverbanks on both sides were rendered unrecognizable by the aftershocks of ninjutsu.
But neither Shimura Danzo nor Ebizo joined the battle immediately.
Soldier against soldier, general against general.
It wasn't yet their time to make a move.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!"
Just then, a calm voice echoed across the battlefield, followed by an enormous cloud of white smoke erupting in their midst.
As the smoke gradually dispersed, a giant turtle, comparable in size to a small mountain, slowly revealed its form.
"ROOOOAR!!"
Isobu threw his head back and roared, the colossal sound even drowning out the battle cries of the fighting ninja.
"Retreat!" Upon clearly seeing the massive creature, Shimura Danzo and Ebizo issued the same command simultaneously.
The deterrent power of a Tailed Beast far surpassed any ninjutsu.
Receiving the order, the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja quickly fell back. The almost palpable chakra pressure emanating from the beast had long since cooled their frenzied hearts.
"I'll give you two choices." A calm voice precisely reached the ears of every ninja.
Everyone stared intently. They saw a blond young man standing atop the Tailed Beast's head, looking down upon them as if he were a god.
"One! Stop fighting!"
"Two! I will make you stop fighting!"