"To think Iwagakure would be the first to strike..."
Currently, in the inner city of Unming City, Ren Uchiha stood behind a towering wall, gazing down at the chaotic ruins with a bizarre expression. He stared at Kitsuchi, who was standing before a crowd of Daimyo officials, speaking eloquently, while Rōshi stood behind him with eyes closed, looking thoroughly irritated.
Beside him, Minato was equally surprised. "I thought Sunagakure would be the first to move. After all, at this moment, they should be the ones most desperate to facilitate a tripartite alliance between Wind, Lightning, and Earth to invade Konoha."
Ren watched the two shameless Iwa ninjas below with amazement.
After arriving late several times in the past, Minato had developed a habit of placing Flying Raijin markers everywhere he went. With the aid of his Space-Time Ninjutsu, they had arrived at the scene almost at light speed, despite the minor delay caused by Kakashi.
Their speed was something other villages could only dream of reaching.
However, upon arrival, they found that the Iwa envoys had moved even faster. Almost as soon as the commotion started, those two had reached the pulverized Tenshu Pavilion and were now claiming to the officials that they had driven the assassins away.
Such a lie might fool civilians who didn't understand ninja speed, but Ren and Minato saw through it instantly. The very "protectors" claiming credit were the ones who had caused the destruction.
Ren pondered for a moment, connecting the current events with the intel he had summarized earlier. He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
In the original timeline of the Third Great Ninja War, a world-shaking battle of "one against ten thousand" occurred. It ended with the Third Raikage, A, fighting the Iwa army for three days and nights until he died of exhaustion.
Back then, the Raikage had entered the fray to buy time for the retreating Cloud forces. And under what circumstances would the Cloud need to retreat? Only if the war had been initiated by Kumogakure in the first place!
While Iwa and Suna were allied to invade the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass, Kumo had repeatedly tried to invade Konoha through the Land of Rice Fields, only to be stopped by Minato Namikaze. Having failed to make progress, they chose a risky move: crossing the sea to launch a sneak attack on Iwagakure.
The "meatheads" of Kumo had tried to use their brains for once, only to fall straight into the Third Tsuchikage Ohnoki's trap. The situation became so dire that Kumo had no way to retreat. In that moment of crisis, the Third Raikage had risked using the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu—which usually only transports objects—to reach the front lines and hold back ten thousand Iwa ninjas alone.
In other words: Iwa was already wary of Kumo, and Kumo already harbored intentions of invading Iwa!
And now, with the Iwa duo currying favor with the Land of Lightning, it seemed they were already laying the groundwork to sabotage Kumogakure during this period.
Looking at the broader picture: Kumogakure's advance through the Land of Rice Fields had been paralyzed by Orochimaru's "Kumo Collapse Plan." If they wanted to continue their strike against Konoha, they had only two choices:
Cross through the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Iron: But the Land of Iron was a neutral nation of samurai. Forcing a path through would be a grueling, bloody ordeal.
Pass through the Land of Earth: With Iwa's "help," they could invade Konoha together from the Land of Grass.
This second option was likely what both Kumo and Iwa wanted to see right now. Kumo could use it as a cover for their original plan to ambush Iwa, while Iwa wanted the opportunity to swallow the Kumo forces whole within the Land of Earth.
Ren finally understood the five-way struggle focused on the capital. Konoha chose to do nothing because Orochimaru's plan had allowed them to learn of Kumo's secret ambush plan against Iwa ahead of time. Iwa and Kumo were busy plotting against each other. Kirigakure was absent, likely embroiled in internal strife under Madara Uchiha's control.
Only Sunagakure were the "honest" ones—they likely genuinely wanted to kill the Lightning Daimyo, frame Konoha, and force the alliance to win the war.
"Ren, you should be able to see it clearly now. The Lightning Daimyo is obviously not here. If you jump in now, you'll only alert the enemy."
Minato turned to Ren, his analysis calm and cold. "The person you're looking for—the boy named Hidan—is not here. And the target of your revenge, the Third Raikage, is also elsewhere."
"Of course," Minato's gaze fell to the courtyard below. "If you want to strike now, kill those innocent officials, capture those two Iwa ninjas, and interrogate them for the boy's location... I will help you!"
Ren fell silent. He had expected a grand stage where members of all five nations would converge to assassinate the Daimyo. He had planned to descend in his Susanoo "Gundam" form, take them all on, cripple half of them, and force them to hand over Hidan. Then, he would help Hidan kill the Daimyo and wait for the Raikage to show up so he could finish his revenge.
He was prepared to go blind and become a rogue ninja for that outcome.
But after watching for a while... it was just a farce? The others were likely lurking in the shadows, refusing to show their heads. Striking now would likely yield no intel from those two. It would, as Minato said, only alert the enemy.
"I see what you mean..." Ren exhaled, scratching his head in frustration. "But then where the hell do I find Hidan? Damn it, this is annoying!"
He punched a stone brick on the wall, shattering it. In a city of hundreds of thousands, finding one boy was like finding a needle in a haystack. He had his "Gundam," but no target to shoot at!
I've drawn my sword, but I'm just staring at the horizon!
Minato patted Ren's shoulder, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "It's okay. There's still a chance. You learned from Kakashi what Konoha's stance is on the current situation, right?"
Ren looked up at Minato in surprise. "Isn't Konoha choosing to stay still and watch the situation unfold? What does that have to do with this?"
Minato's expression turned solemn and serious. "The opportunity lies in the upcoming Five-Kage Summit!"
"Originally, Konoha wasn't going to send me as an envoy. Because you were missing, the Third was worried I might lose my cool and strike the Raikage in public. However—"
Minato's voice grew heavy. "At that moment, Danzo Shimura came to me."
"He said... Konoha must absolutely not do nothing!"
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