When a hidden village goes to war, it must have a just cause.
Just like in the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo used the excuse of punishing the other villages for interfering with the Land of Rain's development.
In the Third Great Ninja War, the excuse was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, used by Sunagakure to justify their involvement.
After all, hidden villages still relied on contracts from nobles and merchants. Ruining their reputation could mean losing their livelihood.
These nobles and merchants were afraid of ninja seizing their wealth too.
But today, the Uchiha had handed them the perfect excuse on a silver platter!
One of the founding clans of Konoha, the last remaining founding clan—
Had publicly declared the dissolution of Konoha!
Nothing could be more persuasive.
And with Konoha's strength greatly diminished, anyone who didn't seize the opportunity now would be a fool.
It wasn't just the great villages like Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Even the smaller ones were starting to stir.
At Iwagakure...
"Excellent! Absolutely excellent!"
Ōnoki slammed the intelligence report on the table, his face lit up with glee.
"To think I'd receive such delightful news first thing in the morning! Hahahaha!"
He threw his head back in laughter, unable to hide his excitement.
Seeing the usually composed Ōnoki so elated, Kurotsuchi couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, what happened? Why are you so happy?"
She grabbed the report off the table as she spoke.
But the moment her eyes locked on the content, her pupils shrank.
"This...?"
She pointed at the report, disbelief written all over her face.
"Konoha has been destroyed... the Uchiha have defected... over a thousand ninja dead... the ANBU are nearly wiped out... tens of thousands of civilian casualties?!"
"This... this has to be a joke!"
She couldn't believe it. The contents were too outrageous.
But Ōnoki nodded with a wide grin. "This intelligence came from a spy I planted in Konoha over a decade ago. It's absolutely accurate."
"And if something this massive happened to Konoha, word would soon spread across the entire ninja world. So the report can't be fake."
He clicked his tongue. "To think the Uchiha clan that helped found Konoha would turn on it!"
"Not only that, they razed the entire village to the ground. What terrifying power!"
The mention of the Uchiha reminded Ōnoki of the time he and the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, were brutally crushed by Madara Uchiha.
"A powerful and fearsome clan indeed..."
"Tch!" Kurotsuchi scoffed.
"The Uchiha aren't all that. The report says they planted explosive tags and happened to trigger a volcanic eruption. That's what caused the destruction."
"For you to get this excited over one clan... Grandpa, you really are getting old. Maybe it's time to retire and name the Fourth Tsuchikage already!"
Ōnoki chuckled and shook his head. "Don't underestimate the Uchiha. Madara Uchiha, who co-founded Konoha with the First Hokage, once fought an entire village on his own."
"And he did it with the ultimate evolution of the Sharingan—Mangekyō Sharingan!"
He pointed at the report. "It says the leader, Uchiha Kaede, summoned a massive chakra skeleton that evolved continuously."
"I saw that very same technique on Madara back in the day. It's the most terrifying Mangekyō ability: Susanoo."
Ōnoki sighed deeply. "It seems the ninja world is about to change."
Kurotsuchi remained skeptical. "If Kaede really awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and had enough power to oppose an entire village, why would he defect?"
Ōnoki answered gravely, "Because Mangekyō is only the beginning. There is a higher level."
After his crushing defeat by Madara alongside the Second Tsuchikage, Ōnoki had become obsessed with understanding Uchiha power.
He learned from some older shinobi that Madara once went blind after awakening the Mangekyō. He regained his sight and power only after transplanting his brother's eyes.
From that point on, he reached new heights and stood above all others.
Ōnoki suspected the Sharingan underwent a new evolution after the transplant, which is what pushed Madara to his pinnacle.
But Kaede, based on the report, didn't have a brother to transplant eyes from.
Ōnoki muttered, "No matter how powerful you are, one day you'll go blind."
"But if you possess space-time techniques, we'll need to tread carefully before making a move."
Just as Kaede had predicted, Ōnoki was deeply wary of his space-time dojutsu.
After all, the battle that made Minato famous was when he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to annihilate 50 Jonin from Iwagakure in seconds.
After spacing out for a moment, Ōnoki turned to the curious Kurotsuchi who was still reading Kaede's profile with interest.
He grumbled, "Look at him—only four or five years older than you—and already a Kage-level ninja."
"And what do you do all day? Skipping work to sneak into my office. If I kick the bucket tomorrow, how are you supposed to lead Iwagakure?"
Kurotsuchi was talented, and Ōnoki had long groomed her to be the next Tsuchikage.
But being only ten years old, she had no interest in administrative duties.
She ignored his nagging and instead picked up another file on Kaede, tilting her head. "He's so young? Huh... he's kinda interesting."
Ōnoki sighed, seeing her fascination. He turned to the ever-silent Akatsuchi standing nearby.
"Go gather a team and find the Uchiha defectors. Don't engage—just observe."
"While we can't afford to antagonize Kaede, they're currently without a home. We may be able to recruit them."
"Understood," Akatsuchi replied, then went to make preparations.
Left alone with Kurotsuchi, Ōnoki muttered again, "Konoha's in chaos. I'm sure the other villages are already on the move."
"This is the perfect time to grab a slice of the pie."
"And with the Uchiha, one of the founding clans, declaring Konoha disbanded..."
"Ugh, Sarutobi and the rest of those geezers are in real trouble now."
His eyes flashed sharply, already planning his strike against Konoha.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a loud series of explosions erupted in the distance near Iwagakure.
"What now?!"
Ōnoki's face darkened. This was Iwagakure's territory!
Kurotsuchi smirked. "It's probably Deidara again with his 'art'..."
"Damn it!"
Ōnoki's eye twitched. Of course, that troublesome disciple of his.
He quickly flew out the window toward the source of the explosions.
Kurotsuchi giggled at his misery. "Ah, Deidara's path of artistic expression really is rough..."
She plopped into the Tsuchikage's chair, ignoring its significance, and picked up Kaede's profile again.
"Huh, looking closer... he's actually kinda handsome..."
Meanwhile, the other villages had also received the report about Konoha.
At Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, chose to remain neutral for now, much like Ōnoki.
His hands were tied. The Wind Daimyō had been squeezing the village's finances so tightly they could barely survive.
Even Rasa, as Kazekage, had to go gold mining in the desert just to support the village.
With Sunagakure in such dire straits, they didn't have the resources to fight Konoha even in its weakened state.
So watching and waiting was the best option.
"If a war breaks out, I'll finally have a reason to make the Daimyō pay up..."
On the other hand, the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, A, slammed his fist through a table in excitement.
"Yes! Finally a chance to crush those arrogant Konoha bastards!"
He immediately began mobilizing forces, declaring that they would attack Konoha within three days.
The entire village roared with anticipation for battle.
As for Kirigakure...
Well, the report was tossed under the Mizukage's desk like trash.
Obito was currently controlling the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and was busy purging bloodline clans within the village.
Even if Yagura saw the intel, he'd probably treat the Uchiha as cautionary tales—and double down on his massacre.
The smaller villages...
After receiving the intel, they too began preparing to follow behind the great villages and pick the scraps.
For now, the eyes of the entire ninja world turned toward the crumbling Konoha.
(End of Chapter)
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