Minato: "We'll do everything we can to prevent that." His answer was firm.
Two-vs-three isn't unwinnable—but if you can choose, who wouldn't prefer three-vs-two or even four-vs-two? It's our people who die; he isn't Danzō, lost in grand narratives and treating allies' lives like numbers.
"It's fine. For Konoha this is both a challenge and an opportunity. Besides vertical alliances, there's also horizontal diplomacy." Yorin said. "So now it's on intel and foreign policy.
I'll handle the shinobi side; you deal with the daimyo's court. No problem, right?"
"Ah, that again." Minato pulled a sour face.
"Those nobles are a pain. Sometimes I just want simple, pure shinobi business—simple, pure shinobi conversations."
"Give it up." Yorin snorted.
"You're the Hokage. You schmooze the suits—what, should I, the Anbu Commander, go instead? Face is everything to those people. Last thing we need is the Fire Daimyo cutting Konoha's war budget.
Even if, honestly, we're not that worried about their pennies anymore."
"Even so, they do rule the Fire Country. At least show them some respect." Minato said.
"Respect them even when they drag us down?" Yorin's tone stayed light, but the words made Minato wince. "You don't actually think daimyō want a reborn Ninshū Order, five great villages integrated into one, do you?"
"You mean… mm… oh."
The aristos despise shinobi as low-born—and fear shinobi power. Even a genin can butcher a platoon of normal soldiers. Samurai, shrine maidens, and monks who can use chakra still aren't on par.
"If I were a daimyo," Yorin went on, "I'd be very cautious with forces that strong and not fully under my thumb. I'd stoke village rivalries—keep them bleeding, keep them neither too strong nor too weak.
Just like they treat peasants—never full, never starving. Hungry enough to think about food, not rebellion. Isn't that… exactly Konoha's current situation?"
Minato's smile faded. He was quiet a while, then said, "I think you're being a bit alarmist. If we unify the Five, or at least keep Konoha dominant, Fire Country would welcome it… right?"
"Want to bet?"
"No! (instant)."
He'd seen Yorin "bet" Tsunade into ruin—every time, she lost the shirt off her back (and more). Minato was a family man; he wasn't about to copy his Jiraiya-sensei's generation.
Still—if Konoha's policy clashed with Fire Country's… what then? For a heartbeat he wavered.
It passed quickly. Yorin clapped his shoulder and asked:
"Do you love your brothers, or do you love gold?"
That question steadied Minato. Ask him a million times and he'll answer the same: brothers.
"I'm sorry," he apologized silently in his letter to the daimyo. The daimyo had favored him.
But: "If it comes to that, I choose the village. I may be a subject of Fire Country, but I am the Hokage of Konoha."
…
Meanwhile—while Konoha's Hokage and his would-be aide sketched out grand "world" plans—Kumo was holding its own "world" talk.
The envoys returned: Konoha was full of elites, united and tight; a hard target.
"In that case…"
Other channels reported the same. The Fourth Raikage A mulled it over: "A pity. But your choice was right. If the field favors us, we can be aggressive. If not, then 'morality' becomes a weapon—don't discard it lightly."
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
Not at all like certain doujin have you believe, the real Fourth Raikage is a straight-edged man—the only one who shut down Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, rattling him wordless. Iron-blooded, dominant, competent—he held Kumo like a well-oiled war machine. The Lightning Daimyo, also an expansionist, poured money into the army—no questions asked.
So Kumo had no rear-line worries. But: was the "obstacle" still Konoha—or someone else?
"Konoha's too strong. The Fourth Hokage is no featherweight. The Sannin live; Sarutobi lives. Danzō is dead—but Uchiha Yorin fills the shadow slot neatly. Compared to the old tug-of-war between Anbu and the Hokage's tower, today's Konoha is more united. Hard to crack… If only the secret weapon were ready—but the chakra cannon is far from deployable… Perhaps a joint strike with Konoha against Stone?"
After thought, A decided: send more envoys and spies—to Fire, Water, Wind, even Earth. Diplomats to pry and promise; agents to kill and steal.
Once Kumo's war engine starts, it doesn't stop easily. It takes a smashing victory—or a shattered face.
That momentum—the wheel of history—was beyond even the Raikage's control. Try to brake, and he'd meet Bismarck's fate—eclipsed by a clown who promises the crowd what it craves: war.
World War I. In shinobi terms: the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The latter half of Konoha Year 51 slid by in quiet frenzy—envoys churning, spies cutting. As Kumo's machine fired, the other four nations began rearming; suspicion spiraled, diplomacy knotted. The mainspring wound tighter and tighter, the world slid toward the abyss.
Uchiha Yorin was unhappy.
As Anbu Commander, others could slack—he couldn't. Daily intel triage and analysis is exhausting. Even with modernized workflows, a ballooning budget, a rapidly professionalizing Anbu (no longer a kids' club), there was still too much to do.
Today Kumo plots to kill an Earth noble and pin it on Konoha. Tomorrow Iwa hypnotizes a Wind elder to die in bed. It never ends. His temper was constant; only Nonō and Pakura under the desk could keep him "in character."
Even then, he had to jump to Mist regularly—coordinate intel, and, well, visit Mei.
(Tsunade: why do I feel—wait, why?)
After enough of this, he half-joked: I'm tired, let it all burn. He even thought of having Kushina cosplay Empress Dowager and issue a universal declaration of war. Shame he couldn't.
Not that Kushina lacked the fire—Yorin kept poisoning the well:
"Uzushiogakure—our own country; the only nation named for shinobi with a village as its core. Uzumaki were both the military and the rulers. Isn't that exactly what Konoha dreams of?
Revive Uzu—a shinobi nation. Better than a naked land-grab, with cleaner law. With Uzu back, Konoha has more room to maneuver with the Fire Daimyo. If they push us, Konoha can leave—merge with Uzu, become the Kono-Uzu state. How about it, Minato?"
"Er… well…"
Kushina: "Heck yes!"
As always, Minato was hard to sell; Kushina bought with one slide. Hokage's pillow talk softened him; he began to consider it seriously.
It was to Konoha's advantage—Uzumaki had been massacred. Even if Uzu revived, the scattered survivors wouldn't be many. Konoha would run it in practice.
Thus: on the surface, Uzu revived; in reality, Konoha opened a branch office. With Uzu revived and Mist an iron ally, even if Sand flipped, it'd be 3v3, not 2v3—better odds, fewer losses.
Once, Minato would never dream so boldly. But money emboldens—a trucking fleet and "health supplements" might sound tacky, but profits are profits.
"If… if all goes well, then reviving Uzu is one of our aims in the Fourth Great War—after Konoha wins and profits."
"—heck yes."
Kushina tuned out all Minato's caveats; she only heard "yes." She pounced, planting noisy kisses.
And though Yorin had pitched it, once she heard it, it was hers. If ditzy Tsunade could revive Senju and thrive, why couldn't she?
"Wait, Kushina—Yorin's still here…"
Minato was both pleased and embarrassed. Kushina didn't care.
"Let's step back, kiddo—godfather's taking you to see the world." Yorin sighed, scooped up baby Naruto, and vanished with a Flying Thunder God flash.