Among the Five Great Nations, the Cloud Ninja harbored the greatest ambitions, constantly challenging Konoha's dominant position.Primarily, Konoha's repeated concessions over the years had made the enemy increasingly aware of its weakness.
After the Uchiha clan massacre, the other side became restless, openly amassing troops at the border.
Konoha, in response, mobilized a large number of forces to reinforce the front lines. The two sides had been in a standoff for some time.
The Cloud Ninja were likely weighing their strength against Konoha's, deliberating whether or not to go to war.
The border skirmishes had dragged on for months. Eventually, the Cloud Ninja showed clear signs of preparing for full-scale conflict.
Aoba wasn't entirely sure how this battle would unfold. His own butterfly effect might have played a role.
In the original timeline, this conflict hadn't escalated into a full-scale war between villages. But now, things were uncertain. After all, Konoha was in a severely weakened state. Whether war broke out or not depended entirely on the Cloud Ninja's decision.
"Kamikawa Aoba, you've engaged Cloud Ninja multiple times at the border and have ample experience. This time, you are appointed as the captain of the supply convoy. Depart for the front lines immediately to deliver a batch of supplies."
"Yes," Aoba accepted the mission without hesitation, though his mind was already racing.
Supply transport was the most critical aspect of logistics. After all, shinobi were highly mobile, and ambushes along the way were all too common.
During the Third Shinobi World War, the Fourth Hokage had relied on the Flying Thunder God Technique to scatter and strike the enemy's rear, systematically wearing down both the Rock and Cloud Ninja, ultimately securing victory.
In a way, the Fourth Hokage had been Konoha's cheat code in reality. If he hadn't died, even with the Uchiha massacre, the Cloud Ninja would never have dared to provoke a war.
A single Minato Namikaze had been enough to intimidate the entire Shinobi World of that era.
Military operations demanded speed. The supply convoy was ready the same day. By nightfall, Aoba had already led his team out of Konoha.
The group consisted of thirty members, carrying a large number of Sealing Scrolls—standard practice for supply transport in the Shinobi World. Using conventional methods would have been too slow and made them far too conspicuous, leaving them nearly defenseless against enemy attacks.
The moment Aoba saw his team, he sensed something was off. The group was far too weak.
Out of the entire squad, he was the only Jonin, with Anko as the sole Special Jonin. The rest were all Chunin and Genin—and every single one of them was a civilian shinobi. There wasn't a single member from major clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho or the Hyuga.
The composition was glaringly obvious—they were undeniably bait.
"Hey, Aoba. You've been back for a while and haven't even bothered to meet up with us. Have you forgotten your old friends after being away for years?"
Anko, carefree as ever, munched on dango while chatting with him.
Aoba had gotten along well with Anko before. After all, she was Orochimaru's student, and he had been Orochimaru's assistant—they'd crossed paths often.
But after Aoba was purged, they hadn't seen each other again. Though Anko remained in the village, she had effectively been sidelined.
In the original timeline, it would take years before she was assigned as an examiner in the Chunin Exams. But by then, Konoha had already suspected something was amiss. Whether her appointment was a reinstatement or a setup for blame was unclear.After his return, Aoba didn't reconnect with Anko because he knew she was Orochimaru's resurrection vessel. His relationship with Orochimaru was far too complicated, and he instinctively wanted to stay away from her.
Unexpectedly, this mission had paired them together. Aoba even felt that Konoha was trying to kill two birds with one stone—using them as bait to eliminate both potential threats while squeezing out their last bit of usefulness. This tactic reeked of Danzo, the "Shadow of the Pot," and the title truly suited him. Aoba had thought the man wouldn't pay him any more attention, only to be immediately assigned a suicide mission.
Yes, in Aoba's eyes, if they were bait, then this squad was clearly meant to die. The Cloud Ninja were nothing like the half-baked Sand Ninja. Their current strength was on par with Konoha's, if not superior. And those reckless brutes from the Cloud struck with overwhelming force—if this squad was truly bait, their chances of survival were slim to none.
"Anko, don't you think our squad's composition is too weak? Out of thirty people, only the two of us have Jonin-level combat strength."
"What's the problem? We're still in the Land of Fire. Do you really think the Cloud Ninja would dare to infiltrate this deep just to ambush us?"
Anko made a fair point. But Aoba knew better. First, national borders meant nothing to those Cloud bandits. In his past life, many had praised the Cloud's internal unity, claiming it was an ideal place for defectors. But after living in this world, he realized the truth—the Cloud was the most ruthless ninja village in the Shinobi World.
Those savages came and went as they pleased across the continent. The small ninja clans and villages that once surrounded the Cloud had all been either absorbed or eradicated. In their relentless pursuit to surpass Konoha, they had scoured the world for secret techniques and Bloodline Limits, slaughtering countless minor clans and villages in the process. Yet most of the Shinobi World didn't dare utter a word of protest—because if you so much as objected, the Raikage might show up at your doorstep the next day.
Even before the Third War, they had boldly infiltrated Konoha to kidnap Kushina. Konoha was no minor village—it was one of the Five Great Powers at the time. But to them, it was just another place they could waltz into whenever they pleased.
What made them most dangerous was their brainwashing, which was even more extreme than Konoha's. Every Cloud operative sent to Konoha was utterly ruthless, willing to do anything to complete their mission—failure meant death. Their mentality was simple: even if they died, they'd make sure to leave Konoha worse off.
After the Third War, despite being the defeated party, their envoy team had the audacity to storm the Hyūga compound and attempt to kidnap Hinata, the clan's young princess. When they failed, they immediately turned the tables and played the victim.
The Cloud's entire demeanor gave Aoba a strong sense of militaristic aggression. This village was the root of chaos in the Shinobi World. They didn't even bother with excuses—if they could overpower you, they'd kill you on sight.
That was why, back when Aoba was stationed at the border, he had slaughtered without mercy. Not a single Cloud Ninja who crossed his path was left alive.Precisely because of this, he had a blood feud with the Cloud Ninja. One could only say that Danzo's decision to use him as bait was a stroke of strategic genius.
But for Aoba, all he wanted to say right now was, "I bought a watch last year."