Several years earlier, the Land of Wind's Sunagakure had ignited the flames of war under the pretext of investigating the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. In truth, it was an attempt to redirect internal instability outward.
And the first to bear the brunt—
Was the fertile, prosperous Land of Fire. Konohagakure.
At first, the clashes were minor border skirmishes. Probing strikes. Testing reactions.
But slowly, inevitably, the situation escalated into full-scale war.
During that time, both Iwagakure of the Land of Earth and Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning began circling like wolves. Once the opportunity seemed ripe, each declared war on Konoha in turn.
Konoha's pressure became unprecedented.
Externally, it faced three of the Five Great Nations.
Internally, it still had to maintain balance among its powerful clans.
Nearly every available shinobi was mobilized.
Fortunately—
Kumogakure, notorious for stirring chaos, proved unexpectedly "helpful."
They first attempted to ambush Sunagakure. Then they turned around and stabbed Iwagakure from behind. Though not entirely successful, the disruption bought Konoha critical breathing room.
Seizing the moment while Suna was weakened and Iwa and Kumo restrained each other, and with the relentless brilliance of Minato Namikaze on the battlefield, Konoha crushed Sunagakure with lightning speed and forced them into a ceasefire agreement.
At the same time, Konoha severed Iwagakure's supply lines and shattered its frontline forces, rendering it temporarily incapable of launching large-scale offensives.
By that stage, the war's trajectory seemed clear.
Just as Konoha began to believe the end was in sight—
Kumogakure turned around and drove a blade straight into them.
Kumo had suffered setbacks.
Their ambush against Suna had been detected and repelled.
Their attempt to strike Iwa from behind had fallen into a trap.
Even the Third Raikage had died in battle.
And then—
They chose to attack Konoha.
It was the kind of decision that would have left the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, rubbing his temples in disbelief.
What exactly went on inside the heads of Kumogakure's war hawks?
As if that weren't enough—
The previously silent Kirigakure of the Land of Water declared war as well.
Konoha was once again dragged to the edge of collapse.
Though Iwagakure could not immediately resume a large-scale campaign, it remained fundamentally intact. At any moment, the flames could reignite.
Konoha had to station heavy forces along that border.
Sunagakure had signed a ceasefire—
But such agreements in wartime were little more than fragile paper.
If an opportunity presented itself, Suna could tear it up without hesitation.
For that border, too, troops were required.
Add to that the ongoing war with Kumogakure—
And Konoha had nothing left to spare for Kirigakure's invasion.
With no alternatives remaining, Konoha's leadership turned to the very clans they had long kept at arm's length:
The Uchiha.
And the Hyūga.
Both were powerful noble clans, their internal structures tight-knit and formidable. Their strength had always made the higher-ups uneasy.
Especially the Uchiha.
Their pride, their volatility—
And the Sharingan.
The ideology left behind by the Second Hokage had ensured that distrust never truly faded.
There were two primary reasons Konoha's leadership had hesitated to deploy the Uchiha en masse.
First—
They wished to isolate them. To prevent war merits from granting them influence within Konoha's core power structure.
Second—
The Sharingan awakened and evolved through intense emotional trauma.
On the battlefield, separation and death were constants.
Where others might weaken over time—
The Uchiha might grow stronger.
Those who survived war were tempered steel.
Though their numbers might shrink—
Their quality would leap forward.
In this very war, two Uchiha had awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
Each alone was worth an army.
Under such circumstances, Konoha's leadership had tried to limit Uchiha involvement as much as possible.
But Kirigakure's declaration of war left them no choice.
The Uchiha were finally deployed to the border.
Looking back over the entire Third Great Ninja War—
The other nations fought intermittently.
Konoha, meanwhile, simply changed opponents—
And kept fighting.
For nearly eight years.
The entire village was exhausted in body and spirit.
And now—
At last—
The war stood on the verge of ending.
"Jin," Minato asked after steadying himself, "what should we do next? Bring them both back to Konoha?"
The war wasn't officially over.
Complacency was dangerous.
Jin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Minato.
"What do you think?"
Minato paused briefly.
"The Third Raikage is dead. The Fourth hasn't formally taken office. Kumogakure is effectively leaderless."
"If we want to end the war, at the very least we should return their Fourth Raikage candidate to stabilize the situation."
He glanced at A and Killer B.
"Those two clearly share a deep bond. If A returns and takes control, negotiations may proceed more smoothly. With B as leverage, the ceasefire would be easier to secure."
Minato's proposal was logical.
In a village without a clear leader, factions inevitably surfaced.
If A returned to assume authority, B's status as a hostage would carry maximum strategic weight.
But—
That logic applied to most villages.
Jin smiled faintly.
"Minato… you're overlooking one thing."
"If this were any other village, your decision would be flawless."
"But Kumogakure is… different."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Do you believe that if we release A today, he won't gather troops tomorrow and threaten full-scale war to force us to return B?"
Minato froze.
After a moment, he couldn't refute it.
Kumogakure's reputation was well-earned.
They were infamous for aggressive brinkmanship.
Jin continued calmly.
"A is their Fourth Raikage candidate. Killer B is the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki."
"Neither is expendable."
"Only by holding both will Kumogakure sit properly at the negotiating table."
Minato frowned.
"Are you certain their leadership will reach consensus on that?"
Jin understood the unspoken concern.
Factional strife.
Internal power grabs.
He sighed lightly.
"Kumogakure's upper ranks aren't like ours."
"They're far more unified."
"And their Raikage advisor, Tōsui, is a smart man. He won't allow chaos."
"For now, we take both back."
He paused—then added casually,
"Oh, and when you report this… leave my name out of it."
"Just say it was your squad's accomplishment."
Minato's pupils tightened.
"Jin… wasn't this mission ordered by the Third Hokage?"
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