In a Japanese-style courtyard…
Everything felt serene and elegant.
A winding path of finely laid gravel curved gently through the yard, leading visitors as if into another world. On both sides stood carefully pruned bonsai trees—lush branches and vibrant blossoms competing for attention. Their colors shimmered softly in the sunlight, releasing a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Most striking of all were the irises.
White irises. Cambridge irises.
Their presence alone spoke volumes about how much the owner cherished them.
A small bridge arched over a narrow, winding stream. The water was crystal clear, fish gliding leisurely beneath the surface. When the breeze passed, ripples spread across the stream like silk. Beside the bridge stood a dense bamboo grove; leaves swayed and whispered softly, filling the air with a gentle rustle~ rustle~.
At the center of the courtyard sat an exquisite pavilion. Wind chimes hung beneath the eaves, chiming lightly whenever the breeze stirred—clear, melodious notes that made the world feel unhurried and peaceful.
Here, time itself seemed to slow, bathing everything in calm.
On a bright afternoon, Uchiha Ran lounged in his family courtyard, gently rocking in a chair as he enjoyed the stillness. At the center lay a small pond, its clear surface reflecting the surrounding trees and flowers.
He held a slender fishing rod. With a casual flick of his wrist, the bait on the hook glinted faintly.
The posture—handsome.
The result—empty-handed.
Ran closed his eyes, listening to birdsong and the whisper of wind through leaves, as if the world itself were in harmony.
He calmly re-baited the hook and continued fishing, fully committed to the life of a dedicated angler.
Suddenly—the line twitched.
Ran reacted instantly, reeling in hard. A golden koi burst from the water, glittering in the sunlight.
"Nice. I knew no fisherman stays skunked forever!"
Encouraging himself, Ran gently tossed the koi back into the pond.
"Get caught again, and you're not getting away so easily~"
The flowers released their fragrance, the pond shimmered softly, and Ran quietly enjoyed the simple joy of fishing—warm sunlight, clear water, drifting fish, and a rare moment where time seemed to pause.
Just then, Uchiha Mikoto approached, holding baby Uchiha Itachi in her arms.
"Ran, you're fishing again? You haven't gone on missions or trained for three days now."
There was confusion in Mikoto's voice. She genuinely couldn't understand it—Ran rarely seemed to train, yet his strength, especially his genjutsu, was skyrocketing.
"I am training, Mikoto-nee."
So Ran explained.
Ever since returning from the last mission, he'd found himself with nothing urgent to do.
S-rank mission rewards were no joke—three and a half shares were more than enough to last him a long time.
As for why he wasn't throwing himself into research?
"Well… just like getting paid to use the bathroom at work," Ran said cheerfully. "If you do it off the clock, that's a loss."
Same logic applied to research.
Why spend his own money when there was someone generous enough to fund it?
Enter: Lord Danzo.
Danzo was really rich.
And when he paid—he paid for real.
New research equipment?
Danzo: Buy it.
Not one set—three sets. Two for use, one as backup. No hesitation.
Experimental tools? Test subjects?
Danzo: Buy them. Capture them. Not enough? Get more.
Orochimaru handed over previous researchresults to Danzo Shimura, and Danzo's response was immediate:
"Results? Excellent. Increase funding. More funding. Even more funding."
In just over half a month, Danzo had launched what could only be described as a money-burning campaign, dumping absurd amounts of cash into research—and showing no signs of stopping.
Because of this, Orochimaru later spoke privately with Ran about their next steps.
Master and disciple reached a quiet agreement:
In the early phase, Orochimaru would focus on projects that produced quick, visible results—squeezing Danzo's finances dry first.
Only after that would they move on to long-term, conventional research.
Danzo was indeed generous with research funding.
But that only meant one thing—
This was not the real Danzo yet.
The true Danzo was the shinobi world's legendary chaos instigator.
As the saying went:
"Whether the shinobi world is in chaos or not—Lord Danzo decides."
Normally, the disappearance of Sunagakure's Third Kazekage should have been quietly smoothed over under the mediation of both villages' Kage.
Power transitioned smoothly.
No waves. No storms.
The shinobi world should have remained calm.
But then—
Lord Danzo began his micro-operations.
After clashing with the Hokage, an enraged Danzo blatantly violated orders.
To him, Hiruzen Sarutobi's commands were little more than background noise.
Danzo firmly believed that the Root was Konoha's shadow—its necessary darkness.
Whenever a situation threatened Konoha or could benefit it, Root had the right to act independently.
Even if that meant ignoring the Hokage.
And so—
A bombshell quietly spread through the upper echelons of every shinobi village.
"Is it confirmed? The Third Kazekage wasn't recuperating—he's missing?"
"So that's why Konoha and Sunagakure have been cooperating so closely lately… were they searching for him?"
"Ridiculous. I heard he disappeared inside his own village!"
"Hah! I thought he collapsed from overexertion in some woman's bed—turns out he just vanished. Dead, maybe?"
"Is the information reliable? Are the sources trustworthy?"
Inside the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure, a short elderly man wearing the Tsuchikage hat asked sharply.
"Old—ah, no, Tsuchikage-sama," replied the stout man beside him, Kurotsuchi's father, hastily correcting himself. "We've verified the source multiple times. The credibility is extremely high."
"This kind of scandal is something Sunagakure would never reveal," Onoki muttered. "And Sarutobi Hiruzen isn't the type to leak it either."
As he spoke, a familiar figure surfaced in his mind.
"It feels like him… but what exactly is he after?"
Onoki murmured to himself.
"Have you figured out who spread the information?" his son asked.
"If my guess is right," Onoki said slowly, "only Konoha's resident conspirator would pull something like this."
"Danzo Shimura?" His son frowned. "But what does he gain from it? Konoha has no real need for Sunagakure."
Onoki snorted.
"Don't worry about motives. If we seize Wind Country's territory first, do you think Konoha can force us to give it back?"
Under Onoki's command, a thousand-man shinobi force began to assemble.
He decided to strike first.
To test the strength of Sunagakure's new Fourth Kazekage.
If Rasa proved weak—
Then Wind Country's land was as good as swallowed.
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