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Several years earlier, the Sand Village of the Land of Wind attempted to redirect its internal conflicts outward by using the disappearance of the Third Kazekage as a pretext for war.
The first target was the Land of Fire.
Specifically, the Leaf/Konoha Village. A nation blessed with fertile land and abundant resources.
At first, both sides tested each other through limited border skirmishes. Before long, those clashes escalated into full-scale war.
During this period, the Stone Village of the Land of Earth and the Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning also began to stir. Once they judged the timing favorable, both launched their own offensives against the Leaf.
The pressure on the Leaf Village at that time was unprecedented.
Externally, it faced simultaneous conflict with three great nations. Internally, it had to balance the power of its major clans.
Nearly every available shinobi was deployed.
Fortunately, the Cloud Village lived up to its reputation as the most unpredictable force in the shinobi world.
They first launched a surprise attack on the Sand Village. Shortly after, they turned around and struck the Stone Village from behind.
This chaos bought the Leaf precious breathing room.
Taking advantage of the Sand Village's weakened state, the mutual restraint between Stone and Cloud, and Minato Namikaze's relentless battlefield performance, the Leaf struck with overwhelming speed.
The Sand Village was crushed and forced to sign a ceasefire agreement.
At the same time, the Leaf severed the Stone Village's supply lines and shattered its frontline forces, leaving Stone temporarily incapable of launching large-scale operations.
By this point, the situation had become clear.
Just as the Leaf believed the war was finally nearing its end and celebrations began to spread, the Cloud Village stabbed them in the back.
Cloud had already suffered setbacks against both Sand and Stone.
Their ambush against Sand had been exposed and repelled. Their attempt to strike Stone's rear lines ended in a trap that cost them dearly.
Even the Third Raikage fell at Stone's hands.
And then Cloud chose to attack the Leaf.
This decision was so irrational that even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could not make sense of it.
As if that were not enough, the Mist Village of the Land of Water, which had remained silent throughout most of the conflict, suddenly declared war on the Leaf as well.
Once again, the Leaf was pushed to the brink.
Although the Stone Village was temporarily unable to mount a large-scale offensive, it had not suffered lasting damage. It still possessed a large reserve of shinobi and could reignite the war at any moment.
The Leaf was forced to station heavy forces along that border.
As for the Sand Village, despite the ceasefire, the agreement itself carried little weight.
If Sand sensed an opportunity, it would not hesitate to tear it up and attack again.
As a result, the Leaf also had to maintain defenses along the Wind border.
With the ongoing war against the Cloud Village, the Leaf had no remaining manpower to respond to the Mist Village's sudden invasion.
Left with no other option, the Leaf leadership finally turned its attention to two clans it had always kept at arm's length.
The Uchiha clan. And the Hyuga clan.
Both were among the Leaf's most powerful noble families.
Their strength and rigid internal structures had long made the leadership wary.
The Uchiha clan in particular, known for its pride and defiance, had always been treated with suspicion by leaders still influenced by the Second Hokage's ideology.
There were two reasons the leadership had avoided sending Uchiha shinobi to the front lines.
First, isolation. They wanted to prevent the Uchiha from gaining influence through battlefield achievements and entering the core of village power.
Second, fear.
The Sharingan was unique among bloodline limits. Its awakening and evolution were tied directly to emotional turmoil.
And no place generated stronger emotions than the battlefield.
Where other shinobi might grow weaker from exhaustion and loss, the Uchiha could grow stronger.
Those who survived the war would emerge as hardened veterans.
The clan's numbers might shrink.
But its quality would rise dramatically.
And that was something the Leaf leadership had always feared.
In this very war alone, the Uchiha clan had already produced two individuals who awakened the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan.
Either one of them was worth an entire army.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that the Leaf leadership did everything possible to keep the Uchiha off the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the Mist Village's declaration of war pushed the Leaf to the brink.
With no other options remaining, the leadership was forced to activate both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans and deploy them to the border to resist the Mist's invasion.
Looking back at the Third Great Ninja War as a whole, the other four great nations fought in bursts. They paused, regrouped, and resumed.
Only the Leaf moved from one enemy to the next without rest.
For nearly eight years, the entire village had been pushed to its limits.
Now, at last, the war was finally coming to an end.
"Jin, what do we do next? Do we bring them all back to the Leaf?"
Minato quickly composed himself and looked toward Jin.
Until the war was truly over, vigilance was still required.
Jin did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked a question of his own.
"What do you think?"
Minato hesitated briefly before responding.
"The Third Raikage is dead, and the Fourth Raikage has not yet been chosen. The Cloud Village is leaderless."
"If we want to end the war, someone must return to stabilize their leadership."
"A has strong ties with the Eight Tails' host. If he is sent back, he could help negotiate internally and make the ceasefire talks smoother."
Minato's proposal was clear.
Release A.
Use Killer Bee as leverage.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been the correct approach.
Jin smiled faintly.
"You are missing one thing, Minato."
"If this were any other village, your plan would be sound. But the Cloud is different."
"Do you believe that if we release A today, he would not rally his forces tomorrow and threaten us with total war to force Bee's release?"
Minato froze.
After a moment of thought, he realized he had no counterargument.
The Cloud Village's reputation was well earned.
They were infamous warhawks.
Jin continued calmly.
"A is the leading candidate for Fourth Raikage, and Killer Bee is the Eight Tails' host."
"These are not assets the Cloud can afford to abandon."
"Only by holding both of them do we force the Cloud to sit properly at the negotiating table."
Minato frowned slightly.
"Are you certain their leadership will remain united?"
Jin understood the concern and let out a quiet sigh.
"The Cloud's leadership is not like ours, They are far more unified."
"And the Raikage's advisor, Dodai, is a capable man, He will not allow chaos."
"So we take both A and Killer Bee back to the village."
After a brief pause, Jin added another instruction.
"When reporting this mission, leave my involvement out of it."
"Say this was entirely your team's achievement."
Minato's pupils contracted sharply.
"Jin, this operation was not ordered by the Third Hokage."
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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