Haseo's assessment of Konoha's position and situation in the upcoming Great Ninja War was spot-on. Anyone with even a little insight could foresee how things would unfold.
Looking back on Haseo's memories, it became clear that Konoha's current strength far exceeded what it "should" have been. During the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha had fought two fronts without suffering any real damage at all.
In terms of top-level ninja, there were figures from the previous generation like the Third Hokage and Danzo. Then came Haseo's own generation, followed by White Fang and the Sannin, then Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who were already growing stronger.
This unbroken line of elite ninja power had never seen a gap—it just kept going, an extremely terrifying fact that couldn't be ignored. Moreover, their strengths influenced each other too—figures like the Sannin, Minato, and Kushina naturally surpassed their originally expected growth paths.
There was no need to explain why this was happening.
All in all, Konoha was strong—perhaps even stronger than all four of the other great villages combined. Yet at the same time, it wasn't nearly strong enough compared to the era of the First Hokage.
And what about Haseo himself? Compared to the First Hokage, what was he really worth?
That was exactly the issue.
It was powerful—but not overwhelmingly so, not the kind of absolute dominance that could paralyze enemies with fear. Therefore, it created the perfect conditions for others to gang up.
Thus began the complicated rivalries among the four great villages forming loose connections.
Of course, one could imagine that their best possible coordination would simply result in mutual non-aggression agreements and focusing efforts on Konoha first. The four great villages could never form a completely unified alliance—they weren't trying to take on the legacy of the First Hokage either.
Kumo and Iwa, Iwa and Suna, Mist and Iwa—all carried deep-rooted hatred toward each other. How could they possibly form a true alliance?
So long as you don't provoke me, I won't attack you—but together we'll focus on dealing with Konoha. That must have been the kind of agreement they needed most, and the most likely one they could reach.
After dealing Konoha a serious blow, they'd go right back to fighting each other again. It was unavoidable because those underlying conflicts had never been resolved. Right now, those tensions were simply overshadowed by an even greater enemy.
In this world, there was always at least one Konoha ninja that everyone especially hated—someone prone to attacking other villages' Kage directly and threatening Jinchuriki, preventing these massive battle forces from entering the battlefield... Wouldn't eliminating such individuals be something truly satisfying?
While Haseo trained in Shikkotsu Forest, the four great ninja villages quietly began coordinating operations.
After Kitsuchi and A left Kumo, they silently entered the Land of Wind through smaller neighboring nations. As they approached Sunagakure, they no longer attempted to conceal their movements and openly showed themselves.
Of course, this wouldn't go unnoticed by Suna.
If the individuals who appeared were merely ninjas from Kumo or originally from Iwagakure, there was no doubt they would immediately become targets. But when shinobi from these two ninja villages—villages that should never mix—appeared together, even a fool should realize something suspicious was going on.
Enemies who suddenly got close? This kind of movement clearly carried the flavor of "political activity."
Then, under the tight surveillance of many Sunagakure ninja, the two entered Sunagakure and met with the Third Kazekage.
The "Strongest Wind Kage" truly stood out—he actually had an iron arm and an iron leg. His appearance and aura were clearly far above the riffraff outside. Fortunately, the Kage had lost his left arm and left leg on the same side; otherwise, it would've been like him setting out in search of the 'Wise Man's Stone' (a mythical artifact granting immortality).
Frankly speaking, neither A nor Kitsuchi were people known for diplomatic discussions. Upon arriving before the Third Kazekage, they quickly revealed their intentions entirely and asked if he was in.
Of course, the Kazekage would most likely agree. However, speaking so bluntly without leaving any room for maneuvering—if the Kazekage had a sudden change of heart, what if he turned into Konoha's spy?
They certainly could manage to escape in the Land of Wind, but within Sunagakure itself, could they really get away?
That'd be equivalent to suicide.
However, the Kazekage didn't seem to have any mental issues. The main reason, after all, was…just look at how he looked now. How could someone like him possibly defect to Konoha?
So they safely left Sunagakure, and when they departed, they weren't just two anymore—they became three: Kitsuchi from Iwagakure, A from Kumo, and Pakura, an elite young Sunagakure ninja.
This peculiar trio set off from Sunagakure, crossed the continent, then took a boat toward Tō—an unremarkable journey since with their strength, it was nearly impossible for Konoha to catch them.
But once they infiltrated the Land of Water, things started getting tricky.
At this time, Kirigakure was implementing a strict closed-border policy under high-pressure rule. Considering that in the previous great war, Kirigakure had been defeated precisely because of "invasion-style attacks" by Konoha, if they recklessly rushed into Kirigakure as they did in the Land of Wind, they'd surely be eliminated this time.
Even if they just encountered a Kirigakure squad on the border, battle would break out instantly… In this place, things were extreme—Kiri's ninja didn't care at all about the unique composition of this alliance between three major villages. In their eyes, anyone not from Kirigakure was fair game.
What was wrong with trying to kill enemies?
When the trio first encountered a Mist team, the fight broke out immediately. Ordinary squads were naturally no match for the three of them; they crushed the opposition without breaking a sweat.
At that moment, one big man suggested directly "eliminating" the Mist squad, however, this idea was stopped by the only woman in the group. After she explained her reasoning, the other burly man supported her opinion… It seemed women were just better at thinking things through.
This kind of encounter happened three times in a row, each ending in Mist's defeat. However, all captured ninja were eventually released.
Later on, Mist seemed to finally grasp the situation.
The fourth time, only one Mist ninja appeared before them, clearly not coming for battle.
He was a child-faced boy whose height made him look just like the Third Tsuchikage himself... After all, they were both members of the 1.5-meter club.
"Guys, please come with me... We've been waiting for you all this time. Just didn't expect to get three at once."
Those words made the three look at each other in confusion.
"Can we trust this kid?"
"He looks about twelve or thirteen..."
"But Mist wouldn't joke around about something like this, right?"
The extremely impolite conversation made Yagura Karatachi narrow his eyes. His right hand seemingly unconsciously rested upon the long black receiver hook behind his back.
This sudden display of hostility immediately put the other three into combat stance.
Yet no fight broke out.
"Everyone, the Third Mizukage is waiting for you," Yagura repeated.
"..."
This time, nobody questioned Yagura's words anymore. The aura he had just revealed had already proven his strength, confirming his "weight."
In any case, although this puzzle piece reeked like stinky dog shit...
Turns out even a stinky rotten puzzle piece can click into place after all.
(Volume 5, End)
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>