Spring, Year 44 of the Hidden Leaf Calendar
This year, spring in the Land of Wind felt especially hot—probably because of the war. Rainfall was well below average, leaving countless Suna shinobi frustrated and disappointed after preparing extensively to collect and store water.
Of course, with how the war had escalated, the shinobi world was now in utter chaos. Orphans, corpses, abandoned infants, and numb, lifeless civilians littered the land.
And among all the affected nations, the Land of Wind had suffered the most.
It had become the main battlefield.
All five of the Great Hidden Villages were tangled in conflict here. The skies never quieted—booming explosions, jutsu detonations, cries of the wounded. Even the smaller shinobi villages had joined the storm, swept into a war consuming the entire shinobi world.
In just over a year, multiple minor nations and hidden villages had been wiped out. Countless rogue shinobi, war orphans, and displaced refugees had appeared.
By this stage…
No one could afford to take chances.
Whether the person appearing before you was a shinobi or a civilian—if they didn't wear your village's symbol, you assumed they were an enemy. To protect your own forces and maintain operational secrecy, the rule was simple:
Eliminate all unknowns.
It was the safest—and most effective—way.
Rasa still hadn't received any word from the advisors. It had been nearly six months.
Chiyo. Ebizō. Nothing. Not a single message.
Had his presence somehow disrupted the flow of events? Had he altered the story so much that those two… might never return to the village for a quiet retirement?
But none of that mattered now.
At this point in the war, only the God of Shinobi and his equally godlike best friend could hope to stop it. And neither of them were coming.
The Five Great Nations were all in.
Kumogakure had declared war against three nations at once—Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konohagakure.
Iwagakure had been forced to withdraw most of their shinobi stationed on the Land of Wind front to defend against Kumo's sudden, frenzied assault—and just to keep things interesting, they'd gone ahead and poked at Konoha's defenses, too.
As for Konoha?
They'd handled four-on-one before. What's three? A warm-up.
Of course, to deal with the pressure, Konoha had no choice but to initiate yet another round of early ninja graduations.
And Kirigakure?
They'd moved in force. Officially, they were waging war against Kumo and Konoha. Unofficially, they were also making trouble for Suna along the outer border—but so far, they hadn't launched any full-scale attacks.
Sunagakure, though…
Just holding their ground was already pushing them to their limits. Waging war against another village? Not happening.
Which meant, for now…
Out of the five great nations, Suna would have to sit out this round of "casual woodcutting exercises."
And former ally Kumogakure?
They didn't care about past alliances. First, they blindsided Suna with a surprise invasion. Then, they declared war on two more villages. And now, thanks to Kirigakure crashing the party, Kumo had taken Konoha's old title—
The one-village army. Four-on-one.
And yet…
They still weren't backing down.
Despite the massive pressure from three other villages, Kumo never eased their attacks on impoverished little Suna.
Their attacks kept growing stronger.
Rasa had no choice but to pause his precious gold refining operations and go all in—every capable shinobi had to report to the front lines.
As the war dragged on, the number of reinforcements simply couldn't keep pace with the casualties.
Even the puppets couldn't make up the difference anymore.
So he made the call.
He gave up his golden lottery dreams and ordered a complete mobilization. All resources were now devoted to war.
Besides, after six months of draws, he'd amassed plenty of valuable tools and gear. They wouldn't win the entire war that way, but it was enough to handle Kumo.
When Rasa stepped into the temporary medical tent, the air was thick with the smell of blood, herbs, and sand.
The tent was cramped, overflowing with wounded shinobi. Most couldn't even lie down—there weren't enough beds. Many were slumped against the walls or propped up on the floor.
The only reason Sunagakure hadn't collapsed already was because of Chiyo—the village's most famous medical ninja. But she was old, and after her, there was no one of her caliber. No backup. No future.
In fact, if something were to happen to Rasa…
Then what? A teenager like Gaara would be expected to step up?
It was a grim reminder of Suna's condition.
Low overall shinobi quality.
Underdeveloped medical ninjutsu.
A broken education system.
No money.
No manpower.
No resources.
This was Sunagakure's reality.
"Lord Rasa!"
Several medics looked up at his arrival and greeted him respectfully. The injured stirred, the tent coming to life. Those who were conscious returned his nods and greetings.
Those who weren't… well, he couldn't expect the dying to salute.
Over and over, Rasa had held the line at the border, driving back the Kumo forces, protecting what little ground still belonged to Sunagakure.
This war would go down as the moment when Rasa—the future Fourth Kazekage—made his name.
He moved slowly through the tent, speaking a few words to the disheartened, offering brief comfort. His eyes settled on Kana, who was working diligently, tending to the injured without pause.
Her medical ninjutsu had come a long way. For the majority of the wounded here, she was more than capable.
But as for those already halfway to death—barely breathing, no pulse…
Even if Chiyo herself stepped in, it might be too late.
Not every village could produce someone like Tsunade.
Rasa didn't linger. He left the tent quietly, not wanting to disrupt their work.
Outside, night was falling.
The sky was dim, the wind still hot. He stared out into the dusk and muttered to himself, "This war… has to end."
The words had barely left his mouth when—
Fwoosh!
A gust of sand kicked up, and a Suna shinobi dropped down to one knee in front of him.
"Lord Rasa, Lord Momu has arrived."
Elsewhere, in a more remote part of the Land of Wind…
A small Suna strike team gathered around a map spread out on the ground.
"Here. And here."
Chiyo tapped two locations on the unfolded map, her expression grim.
"We need to avoid these areas. If Konoha or Iwa or Kiri's recon shinobi catch us moving through here, it'll be a disaster."
The Land of Wind was crawling with scouts from other villages. It wasn't easy sneaking into Kumo territory—not without running into someone.
If they were spotted now?
No words. No warning.
Just combat.
That was how it worked during wartime. When shinobi from enemy villages met, there was nothing to discuss. You struck first—or you died.
They'd already run into enemy scouts several times along the way. Each time, they'd avoided a prolonged fight, retreating quickly and pressing on deeper toward Kumo's rear.
"We must avoid unnecessary conflict," Chiyo continued. "We're here to relieve pressure on Sunagakure, not create more."
She pointed to a narrow pass on the map.
"According to our latest intel, Kumo's supply convoys use this path to avoid border conflicts. If we strike here—quick and clean—we can cripple their logistics."
If Kumo's front lines stopped receiving supplies, they'd crumble quickly.
And when that happened?
The other great villages wouldn't waste the opportunity.
Chiyo's lips curled in a cold smile.
"Hmph. One against four… Looks like the Third Raikage really is losing it. No wonder he decided to step down early."
Kumogakure's arrogance had handed them this chance—
A real shot at victory.
"So, sister… when do we make our move?"
Ebizō frowned, tapping the map thoughtfully.
"We've been out here nearly six months. Sure, we've been posing as enemy shinobi to throw off Kumo's response teams, but Rasa's under a lot of pressure right now. We need to act."
Before he could finish—
"Tomorrow."
Chiyo's eyes narrowed. Her voice was calm but resolute.
"We strike tomorrow."
Winter had passed. Spring had come.
Tomorrow was perfect.
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