Konoha Year 45, mid-December.
The two-and-a-half-year-long Land of Rain war finally came to an end at this time, following the signing of a cease-fire agreement between Konoha and Hidden Sand.
The day after the formal signing, the Hidden Sand Ninja, having lost a tremendous amount of strategic supplies, were forced to withdraw from the Land of Rain and return to the Land of Wind to recuperate.
Konoha also did not linger long in the Land of Rain. Under the deployment of one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, the defensive line was quickly pulled back within the Land of Fire's borders, leaving only five hundred ninja stationed at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, while the remaining nearly two thousand ninja followed Orochimaru back to Konoha Village, ending their long war careers.
Later in the same month, Hidden Cloud Village Ninja invaded the Land of Fire in force via the Land of Hot Water, formally declaring war on Konoha.
On Konoha's side, the command was handed to Akimichi Torifu, a disciple of the former Hokage, Senju Tobirama, leading three thousand Konoha Ninja to confront Hidden Cloud at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water.
This news left many strategists from other villages puzzled, and even plenty of Jonin within Konoha itself felt confused about the high command's decision.
The reason the Land of Rain war ended with such lightning speed was, without doubt, thanks mostly to Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
By all rights, keeping the momentum of this victory going, letting Orochimaru command again to repel the Hidden Cloud Ninja stationed in the Land of Hot Water, should have been the proper course of action.
Yet, the commander leading the Konoha Ninja against Hidden Cloud was not Orochimaru, but Akimichi Torifu.
It wasn't that anyone underestimated Akimichi Torifu's strength—as the former Hokage Senju Tobirama's disciple, a fellow student of the Third Hokage and other Konoha leaders, and with his mastery of the Akimichi Clan's secret techniques, his strength was naturally extraordinary.
Reputation, power, and political background—without question, he was a Hokage Faction ninja worthy of being entrusted with great responsibility.
However, there was one major flaw: Akimichi Torifu was simply too old. He was already a man in his fifties. No matter how you looked at it, a young, energetic candidate for Fourth Hokage like Orochimaru was a much better fit for the position.
No matter how much outsiders were suspicious, the Konoha high command gave no hints whatsoever. Some even suspected it was a ploy by the top brass—perhaps an undercover switch of generals, making a show with Torifu in charge, while secretly sending Orochimaru to the front to catch Hidden Cloud off-guard.
Thus, Hidden Cloud had no choice but to halt their advance and observe Konoha carefully, watching to see if Orochimaru had slipped to the front lines and replaced Torifu as commander-in-chief.
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Land of Grass.
The Konoha and Hidden Sand war in the Land of Rain had ended, but Konoha's battle with Hidden Rock in the Land of Grass was still raging fiercely.
In the dimly lit forest, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chouza advanced swiftly.
The three of them, as Konoha Village's new generation of young Jonin and all from top-tier Hiden Jutsu Ninja clans, were becoming widely known across the Ninja Realm as the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio, rising as the leaders among Konoha's younger elite.
"I didn't expect Orochimaru-sama not to be the main commander against Hidden Cloud. That really caught me off guard, Shikaku."
Yamanaka Inoichi remarked with a sigh.
In his mind, the battle against Hidden Cloud should have been led by Orochimaru, the one who bested Hidden Sand, not the already fifty-something Akimichi Torifu.
Saying so might seem disrespectful to the senior Torifu, but even if Torifu won against Hidden Cloud, there was nowhere higher for him to rise in Konoha's ranks. If he lost, he'd be utterly disgraced. No matter victory or defeat, this wasn't a good post for Torifu.
On the other hand, the young Orochimaru needed this war to fully solidify his standing within the village and make his final preparations to become the Fourth Hokage.
So Inoichi couldn't understand the high command's move—it was obvious that sending Orochimaru to deal with Hidden Cloud was the optimal strategy now.
Honestly, if Torifu served a few more years, he could retire peacefully. Now was not the time to send him to confront Hidden Cloud, especially not as commander.
"In the end, there are pros and cons,"
Shikaku sighed lightly.
"Oh? How so?"
"Letting Orochimaru face Hidden Cloud is, indeed, the optimal strategy and aligns most with Konoha's current overall interests. But what aligns with the village's overall interest doesn't always match the high command's interests. You guys need to see the difference."
And it's always the Hokage, Advisors, and the high command who guide the village's general course.
This is the struggle between old and new factions in Konoha.
So, keeping Orochimaru from facing Hidden Cloud, letting his fame cool off for a while, is not that difficult to understand.
Inoichi and Chouza were stunned, then fell silent.
The Sannin rose to fame in the Second Great Ninja War; Orochimaru was the most outstanding of them all. In every major war Konoha fought over the past decade or so, Orochimaru went to the most dangerous front, winning more often than not across hundreds of battles, one of the very few practical combat ninjas in Konoha qualified as a general.
His tactical style never stuck rigidly to conventions. Whatever would bring victory—no matter how despicable or ruthless—he'd use to secure Konoha's win.
As a result, the process carved deep, lasting scars into neighboring countries, especially the small ones, but it also secured stability for the Land of Fire and Konoha. In Shikaku's eyes, Orochimaru's contributions were undeniable.