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When the Third Kazekage went missing, Iwagakure saw a chance and attacked Sunagakure.
Kumogakure noticed Iwa was busy fighting Suna, so they declared war on Iwa and launched a surprise attack on the Land of Earth.
Danzō spotted his own opening. Konoha launched a surprise offensive against Kumogakure while sending forces to conduct military operations against Iwagakure and Sunagakure as well.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure took advantage of the chaos and attacked the coastal waters of the Land of Fire.
It took only half a month for the fighting to spread into a large-scale shinobi world war.
..............
Candlelight glimmered inside the security office on the western side of the Daimyō's estate in the Land of Fire's capital.
Manji ran a finger down an open deployment roster, puzzled by what he found. As commander of the Daimyō's personal guard—he stayed out of the front-line fighting. His assignment was to defend the country's heartland.
He'd been looking through the Hyūga roster for familiar faces from the original story. Instead, every name and codename was unfamiliar.
Something felt off. Where were Hiashi and Hizashi?
The Hyūga no longer had the Caged Bird Seal to worry about. Danzō wasn't about to send a clan with such a powerful kekkei genkai to die at the front.
He'd kept them close and assigned them to protect the Daimyō in the capital—yet Manji checked the list three times without finding a single familiar name.
"Come here," Manji called to a Hyūga guard on duty nearby.
"What can I do for you, Captain?" the guard asked, approaching with a bow.
"Does your clan have anyone named Hiashi Hyūga or Hizashi Hyūga?" Manji asked.
"No, Captain. We don't have anyone by those names," the guard answered after a moment's thought.
By now, the brothers should have been about the same age as Minato.
Manji was confused at first, but then he realized why.
He must have brought their ancestors along when he moved that group of Hyūga to Mount Myōboku. Hiashi and Hizashi were born there, not in Konoha, and had never visited the village.
That meant Hinata and Neji would also be born on Mount Myōboku.
"Never mind. Keep looking after the Daimyō," Manji said, getting to his feet.
..............
Mount Myōboku had become a huge city. Skyscrapers filled the skyline, and subway lines and high-speed trains connected the whole area.
It had been decades since Manji last visited, but coming back didn't make him feel nostalgic. For him, a few hundred years could pass in a blink, so a few decades felt like nothing.
Inside the Grand Sage Hall, Black Zetsu worked on government business at a computer while Fukasaku sat next to him, sipping tea and taking it easy. Together, they kept Mount Myōboku running smoothly.
A familiar surge of chakra made them both look up. When they saw Manji, they quickly set their work aside and bowed.
"Grand Sage! You're back!"
"No need for that. Carry on," Manji said, taking the seat at the head of the hall. "Have White Zetsu go to the Hyūga district and bring Hiashi and Hizashi to me. Right away."
White Zetsu received the order and pulled up Mount Myōboku's resident registry on a computer. He found their address in moments.
Soon, two young men wearing denim jackets and hoodies walked into the hall. They looked fresh-faced and inexperienced, and didn't have any special status in the clan.
The older Hyūga who came with Manji had many descendants. The brothers' father was just another regular clan member, so they didn't inherit any special status either.
When they were called before the Grand Sage, both lowered their heads and bowed, looking clearly nervous.
"Greetings, Grand Sage. May you enjoy everlasting good fortune and a long life," Hiashi said.
"Greetings, Grand Sage. May you enjoy everlasting good fortune and a long life," Hizashi repeated.
Manji looked at their faces and nodded to himself. These were definitely the two he remembered.
"Don't be nervous. I just wanted to meet you, that's all," Manji said.
The brothers were confused, but neither of them felt comfortable enough to ask why.
"What do you do for work?" Manji asked in a friendly tone.
Thinking he wanted to know how regular people were doing, they answered honestly.
"I just graduated from college. I'm doing an internship now," Hiashi said.
"Same here," Hizashi added.
"You've never thought about becoming shinobi?" Manji asked.
Both shook their heads.
"There's no use for ninjutsu here, Grand Sage," they answered together.
Manji agreed. There wasn't much need for ninjutsu on Mount Myōboku now. With scientific ninja tools around, almost no one wanted to spend the time learning all those techniques.
"Fair enough." Manji said with a nod.
..............
Two years into the war, the other four great nations decided to take out Konoha first. The village was once again fighting on several fronts.
That was fine with Danzō. He had always planned to unite the shinobi world. Things weren't going well for Konoha right now, but he still believed the village would win.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze became famous throughout the shinobi world and earned the nickname Yellow Flash.
Shinnosuke Sarutobi also made a name for himself alongside Minato, getting noticed for mastering all five chakra natures.
Seeing her two teammates achieve so much made Kushina impatient. After two years of war, she still hadn't been allowed to fight on the battlefield.
Danzō didn't want to risk anything happening to his jinchūriki. He kept Kushina in Konoha, refusing to send her out and saving her as his last trump card.
..............
In a cave in Amegakure, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan gathered a group of like-minded companions and founded an organization of their own.
"Yahiko, we should give our group a name," Nagato suggested with a smile, wiping rainwater from his forehead.
"He's right. It's time we had one," Konan agreed.
"Any ideas, everyone? Let's hear them," Yahiko said, breaking into a grin after a moment's thought.
A middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd. Rain stuck to his sideburns, and his face showed the marks of many years spent in war.
He had seen the struggles of the previous generation himself. Yahiko's new group reminded him of the Akatsuki that Tobi had started years ago.
"There used to be a group in Amegakure called Akatsuki," the man told him. "A man named Tobi founded it. They wanted to save this land from war, just like we do. Why don't we take up their name and finish what they started?"
"Akatsuki..." Yahiko repeated, immediately taken with the name.
Dawn. It was the perfect name for a group that wanted to bring light to a village stuck in endless darkness.
He had heard stories about the old Akatsuki. They truly wanted to save Amegakure—but Hanzō of the Salamander destroyed them.
After that, their founder Tobi disappeared. No one knew if he was alive or dead.
Most people said Hanzō's poisoned blade killed him. Others claimed they saw him escape to the north.
Hanzō never stopped searching for him.
That made many people think Tobi might still be alive.
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