The thirtieth year of Konoha was a year etched into the memory of the entire ninja world. In this year, due to the imbalanced economic development of the five great nations, the militant factions, seeking to change the status quo and gain benefits, gradually rose to prominence. Apart from the prosperous Land of Fire, such sentiments grew increasingly louder in other countries.
Fumori Masaki had anticipated this situation and had already prepared for border defense. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo were stationed on the coastal defense line to prevent an invasion from the Land of Water and protect the people of Uzushio, thereby facilitating the relocation of the Uzumaki clan to Konoha Village. Uchiha Kagami, who had experience fighting the Hidden Sand Village, went to the Land of Rain to discuss establishing a defense line against the Land of Wind and Land of Earth with Hanzō, and also to see his daughter.
As for the remaining Land of Lightning, Fumori Masaki intended to maintain the alliance, so he ordered Akimichi Torifu, who was serious but magnanimous, to guard the border. If a delay was impossible, he would personally go to intercept them. Skilled in wind-style chakra, he was the bane of the Hidden Cloud Village, and he was confident he could slay the Third Raikage in one fell swoop, deterring the Hidden Cloud Village.
In his heart, he didn't particularly wish for this outcome. His past experiences still left him with some affection for the Hidden Cloud Village. Of course, if the Hidden Cloud Village still intended to wage war, he could only offer an apology, then proceed with the necessary actions, as his roots were, after all, in Konoha Village.
Every day, Fumori Masaki reviewed intelligence from the border to assess the enemy's movements. One day, he determined that the Land of Wind was about to instigate war and sent a letter to Uchiha Kagami, ordering him to prepare.
Why did he make this judgment? It was because the latest intelligence mentioned that the Land of Wind's daimyo, who was fond of pleasure, had suddenly died. Regardless of the cause of his death, the ascension of a new ruler signified a shift in the Land of Wind's national policy. It was rumored that this new ruler was someone intent on improving the country's situation.
"The more such a person is, the less they will tolerate their country's poverty. They will certainly seek to achieve great deeds, expand their territory, and earn a reputation as a wise ruler," Fumori Masaki told Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who remained in the village.
"This is only human nature. If it were us, we wouldn't want to see our country in this state either, would we?" Mitokado Homura said.
"Indeed, especially the Land of Wind, a country with little potential but still possessing the power of a great nation. As long as there's a glimmer of hope, they might try to seize it," Fumori Masaki said.
"Once the Land of Wind instigates war, other countries will likely follow suit, for example... the Land of Water," Utatane Koharu said, looking at the two.
Fumori Masaki nodded and said, "We should also send a letter to Hiruzen and Danzo, telling them to pay attention to the movements in Uzushio. I'm not too worried about the coastal defense line; my main fear is that they might miss the best time to rescue Uzushio, and then it would be too late to regret it."
This intelligence quickly reached Sarutobi Hiruzen. Sarutobi Hiruzen was unaware of the situation in the Land of Wind, but when he learned from the intelligence that the Land of Wind's ruler had suddenly passed away, he made the same judgment as Fumori Masaki: that the time for the Hidden Sand Village to instigate war was not far off.
Therefore, the Land of Water, which was in a similar situation to the Land of Wind among the Five Great Nations, might take advantage of Konoha Village's attention being drawn to the Land of Wind to launch an attack.
In those days, Sarutobi Hiruzen had also ordered people to collect intelligence on the Land of Water, but the results were poor. Even Shimura Danzo, a master of intelligence gathering, couldn't find much valuable information. He had captured some Hidden Mist Village spies from private ships of the Land of Water, but these individuals didn't know much.
"Alas, I wonder when the Hidden Mist Village will raid Uzushio," Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed softly, his expression deeply troubled.
"Indeed, always being on tenterhooks like this is not a solution," Shimura Danzo said, flipping through the recently collected intelligence, and nodded slightly in agreement with Sarutobi Hiruzen's words.
Sarutobi Hiruzen rested his head on one hand, staring blankly at the wall. After a while, as if he had an idea, he lightly slapped his palm with his hand and exclaimed, "Danzo, I have a plan. You might want to hear it."
"Hmm? What plan?" Shimura Danzo asked, hearing this and rolling up the scroll.
"Since we can't determine the Hidden Mist Village's movements, why don't we try to lure the snake out of its hole? We'll deliberately entice them to raid Uzushio. This way, first, we can determine the time of the Hidden Mist Village's attack, and we can also prepare in advance to better protect the Uzumaki clan's evacuation. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?" Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly said.
Shimura Danzo immediately found this reasonable. They didn't need to keep waiting indefinitely; sitting idly by was not a good option, as it always carried a hint of weakness. If they took the initiative, they would have more cards to play. So, he began discussing with Sarutobi Hiruzen how to lure out this "snake" of the Hidden Mist Village.
No one knows what Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo specifically discussed; later generations only know of the great battle that occurred in Uzushio.
As Konoha Village expected, just three months after the new ruler of the Land of Wind ascended, intelligence of troop mobilization arrived, and even the Hidden Sand Village began to gather its forces. The first to be affected were the trade markets between the Land of Wind and Land of Fire. Konoha merchants, sensing trouble, withdrew in time, and most other merchants, smelling something amiss, also successively pulled out. The trade markets between the two countries had never been so desolate.
This also signaled the beginning of war. Not only Konoha Village, but also the daimyo and nobles in the capital had invested in businesses. The halt of trade directly harmed their interests. The daimyo of the Land of Fire, who was no longer very interested in expanding territory, was furious about this and issued an edict, hoping that Konoha Village would immediately go and teach the Land of Wind a lesson.
As a defender of righteous wars, Konoha Village certainly couldn't be the first to attack. So, despite the impact on business, Fumori Masaki was able to suppress the voices within the village and convey his meaning to the capital.
Although the daimyo was very angry, his ministers told him that the Land of Wind would certainly launch a war and that he absolutely must not pressure Konoha Village, but rather wait patiently. Moreover, Fumori Masaki promised him that he would win enough benefits for the daimyo to recover the losses incurred during this period, which finally made him curb his anger.
Even so, the daimyo was still very displeased. He hadn't expected Konoha Village's power to swell to such an extent that he couldn't even command them with a single word. Although there was no intention of betrayal and they would still bring him benefits, no matter how he thought about it... it was just so frustrating!
Fortunately, after only a week, the daimyo was no longer angry, because the Land of Wind suddenly launched an attack at that time, invading jointly from the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain, encountering fierce resistance from Uchiha Kagami. Regardless of the outcome, this marked the beginning of the great war known as the Second Shinobi World War.
News of the war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire quickly spread throughout the entire ninja world. The Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning had not yet made any obvious aggressive moves, merely sending troops to strengthen border defenses, outwardly stating their intention to protect their territory. Fumori Masaki did not dwell on this but rather sent envoys to inquire if they were willing to form an alliance again to punish the Land of Wind for disrupting the peace of the ninja world.
The Land of Earth, upon receiving Fumori Masaki's letter, did not immediately agree but maintained an ambiguous attitude. For the Land of Fire, which had formed an alliance with the Land of Earth in the previous Shinobi World War, this behavior from the Land of Earth could be seen as no longer being wholeheartedly with Konoha Village.
Fumori Masaki had anticipated this; from Onoki's later behavior, it was clear that he was an opportunist, very concerned about the interests of the Land of Earth, unwilling to act rashly, and might even act furtively behind the scenes. However, since it had no intention of intervening in the Wind-Fire war, Fumori Masaki temporarily ignored it and ordered Akimichi Torifu to strive for an alliance with the Land of Lightning. As long as an alliance with the Land of Lightning could be secured, the Land of Earth might abandon its own plans and join the efforts to punish the Land of Wind.
Currently, the only country certain to become an ally of the Land of Wind was, of course, the Land of Water. News of the war also reached the isolated Land of Water. The Third Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village couldn't help but smile when he saw this intelligence. He knew this was an excellent opportunity to improve the current situation.
The Third Mizukage understood that the Land of Water's island resources were limited, making it impossible to cultivate a large number of ninja like the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning. Therefore, he adopted the Land of Wind's elite troop policy, but with a slightly different approach: he implemented a brutal training method to enhance the quality of ninja.
This was actually the precursor to the later Bloody Mist era. Although it was Uchiha Obito's disgust with the Hidden Mist Village that led the Fourth Mizukage, under his control, to rule with internal cruelty and even instigate the Bloody Mist era, fundamentally, this brutal atmosphere was already sown during the Third Mizukage's era, though it had not yet reached the point of persecuting kekkei genkai clans.
Because of this action, the Hidden Mist Village and some nobles within the country became entangled in conflicts of interest, and their contradictions deepened, reaching a breaking point recently. The outbreak of the Shinobi World War meant that the Hidden Mist Village could divert its internal conflicts through external warfare. If they achieved a sufficiently good outcome, it might even alleviate the tensions between the Hidden Mist Village and other nobles.
Taking advantage of its closed borders, the Hidden Mist Village had long prepared for war, sending out ANBU to gather intelligence. He knew that Konoha Village's ninja were already stationed at the border to prevent his attack, but they certainly wouldn't expect that his initial target wouldn't be them, but Uzushio!
During the First Shinobi World War, it was due to Uzushio's actions that the Hidden Mist Village's sneak attack failed. Even the Land of Fire, relying solely on samurai armies, held out for nearly a month. This was all because of Uzushio's barrier and sealing jutsu. How could the Hidden Mist Village not resent this?
It was both to retaliate for the setbacks encountered in the First Shinobi World War and to make Konoha Village lose a strong ally. One must know that Uzushio's sealing jutsu and barrier jutsu were unrivaled in the ninja world; merely letting them exist was a huge problem. Therefore, the Third Mizukage planned to directly destroy the entire Uzushio. As for the Uzumaki clan members and their ninja scrolls, they would take what they could; what they couldn't take, no one else should benefit from either.
However, this was not something easily accomplished, as Konoha Village was watching closely from the side. Uzushio alone was not a significant problem for the Hidden Mist Village, not something they could easily crush, but with Konoha ninja involved, it would be different. Not only would they fail to achieve their goal, but they would also stir up a lot of trouble.
He heard that the commander of the Konoha ninja stationed at the coastal border was Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was very familiar with this person's reputation; it was this very person who had taken command of the Hidden Mist battlefield and, along with the Hidden Stone Village, driven them out to sea. Now, facing this old adversary again, the Third Mizukage felt as though he was confronting a fated rival, feeling both nervous and a thrill of excitement to finally avenge past defeats.
Of course, as an experienced ninja, he would certainly not act like a samurai, directly stepping onto the battlefield to fight to the death. While that might be passionate and exhilarating, it was not the way of a ninja. A ninja must seek opportunities in the shadows, striking at the opponent's vital points in one fell swoop. This holds true even in war.
The Third Mizukage believed that the opponent had made full preparations to receive the Hidden Mist Village's attack, and even if his own subordinates were well-rested and prepared, it would not be possible to determine a winner in an instant.
Wars between great nations are destined to be prolonged struggles, not decided by one or two battles.
Therefore, the Third Mizukage's strategic objective was to sever Konoha Village's wings, bringing this entire sea area under the control of the Hidden Mist Village, thereby striking at Konoha Village without suffering interference from the rear.
The opponent would absolutely not anticipate this. The Third Mizukage could deduce this from their Vigilance positions, a conclusion based on multiple investigations by the ANBU, which could be trusted.
If they went directly to Uzushio, Sarutobi Hiruzen would certainly detect their movements and send troops to aid. Therefore, the Third Mizukage planned a feint, launching a large-scale attack on a certain point of the coastal defense line to attract Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention, while he himself would order elite ninja and samurai armies to attack Uzushio.
Deception is a common tactic for ninja. If Sarutobi Hiruzen were fooled, it would only mean his ninja skills were inferior to others. In that case, wouldn't the losses of Uzushio be acceptable?
Thus, not long after, the silent confrontation between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Third Mizukage began. Both sides' intelligence ninja engaged in continuous clashes, investigating the opponent's movements, defensive priorities, or the residences of certain important generals. After a period of maneuvering, Sarutobi Hiruzen intercepted a secret message. After deciphering it, he learned the attack direction of the Hidden Mist Village's elite troops and samurai armies. After discussing with the Miyamoto clan, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately began to make arrangements.
When the Third Mizukage, as written in that secret message, led his troops out, he wondered if Sarutobi Hiruzen had received that secret message. If not, it would be too disappointing.
And when the ANBU sent to investigate reported the movements of Konoha ninja and the garrison, the Third Mizukage nodded. It seemed Sarutobi Hiruzen had fallen for the trap. Although he had brought people, it was merely to act as bait. He knew that if he hadn't come personally, he wouldn't have been able to delay Sarutobi Hiruzen.
However, his plan was a success. Uzushio was about to be destroyed. He wondered what expression Sarutobi Hiruzen would have when he learned this news.