In the Sand Village, the Kazekage's office was shrouded in dim light. Through the narrow windows, the scorching desert sun occasionally broke through, casting a dull golden hue across the stone walls.
At the head of a long table sat the Third Kazekage himself. Elders of the village were seated on both sides of him. Among them, two stood out in particular—Chiyo and Ebizo. The brother and sister silently observed as one of the advisors finished his report.
When he fell silent, a heavy stillness settled over the room. The Kazekage slowly interlaced his fingers and began to speak.
"So, Konoha has already begun suppressing Kagero."
"Yes," one of the elders nodded. "Two of the Hokage's students are there now. Even with all our support and the mercenaries we sent, Kagero won't last long."
Chiyo let out a sarcastic chuckle.
"What useless allies we ended up with."
Ebizo glanced slightly at his sister and added quietly:
"We never placed much hope in them." He shifted his gaze to the Kazekage. "The real issue is this—if Konoha deals with Kagero quickly, they'll be able to mobilize all their forces with ease in the face of further threats."
The Kazekage nodded slowly.
"Exactly. That's why time is working against us. If we're going to attack, we must do it now."
Tension filled the room. One of the elders sitting at the far end of the table spoke cautiously:
"What about the Rain?"
At the mention of it, the Kazekage unconsciously clenched his fist.
"Hanzo has agreed to participate. But his demands are excessive."
Several people exchanged glances. Hanzo's name always evoked mixed feelings. Chiyo frowned slightly.
"And he's not someone to trust too much. Arrogant, greedy, and completely unpredictable. Until I finish developing an antidote, we can play along and agree to his terms—but afterward, we'll simply take what belongs to us."
The Kazekage smirked briefly.
"I don't trust him either. Hanzo is too slippery. But we truly have no other option right now. Onoki won't act until he's certain there's something in it for him."
Ebizo nodded.
"That's true. And no one knows exactly where the Tsuchikage will see that benefit. Still, with Hanzo on our side, things will become much easier. He's incredibly powerful—and once the Salamander truly enters the war, Konoha will be forced to split its forces."
The Kazekage remained silent, but Chiyo immediately continued:
"Let Rain begin their offensive from their side. We'll strike from another direction. I'll personally take a small unit through the Land of Rivers." For a moment, the room went quiet. "We'll create pressure deep within the Land of Fire."
Ebizo slowly shook his head and looked at his sister.
"Hanzo isn't a fool. He won't agree to take all the Leaf's fury upon himself first."
Chiyo smirked.
"Of course he won't. That's why he doesn't need to know."
Everyone in the room exchanged looks and turned their attention to her.
"Explain."
Chiyo continued calmly:
"We'll tell him we're launching the operation simultaneously. Rain attacks Konoha from one side, and we attack from ours. By the time Hanzo realizes what's happening, it'll be too late to retreat. His forces will draw all the attention, allowing us to secure the Land of Rivers."
Ebizo sighed quietly.
"You're as reckless as ever."
To which his sister only smirked.
"No. Just realistic."
The Kazekage remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded. In truth, he wasn't a brilliant strategist, often relying on his own strength, so now he frequently listened to more experienced voices.
"Very well. Begin preparations. We must strike before Kagero is completely crushed."
A couple of weeks later, at the border of the Land of Fire, a giant snake slithered slowly across the rocky plain, its scales scraping softly against the dry ground. Sitting atop its broad head was Kuro, calmly observing his surroundings.
Below, at the foot of a hill, lay several bodies. Their clothes were torn to shreds—some wore dark cloaks, others standard shinobi gear. But a trained eye could easily notice the matching elements in their equipment.
They were nukenin or at least those pretending to be. Kuro slowly swept his gaze across the bodies and let out a heavy sigh.
With each attempt, their disguises get worse. Looks like the Sand has stopped hiding altogether.
No sooner had he murmured this than a figure flashed behind him. A shinobi leapt from behind a boulder, sword raised high. The blade was already descending, aimed straight at the young man's neck.
But in the next moment, Kuro's body flared with violet light. A burst of lightning erupted from him, instantly striking the attacker and paralyzing his body.
"Ghh!" the shinobi choked as he was thrown several meters away. While still airborne, Kuro turned slightly, calmly raising his hand and extending two fingers forward.
"Dismantle."
The air before him trembled. An invisible blade cut through the space in an instant. The opponent's body froze for a fraction of a second—then split cleanly in half.
Both halves hit the ground with a dull thud. Kuro looked down indifferently. Over the past months of patrols, this had become a common occurrence.
At first, he had gone out with groups of other shinobi. But after mastering summoning jutsu, he managed to convince his sensei to allow solo missions. Even though Mikoto and Nawaki disliked it, Kuro wanted to test Sukuna's power in real combat—not just training.
He lightly tapped the snake's scales with his palm.
"Let's head back."
The giant snake obediently turned and slithered back toward their camp.
As he approached the fortified outpost, he dismissed the reptile and headed inside. To his surprise, the camp was unusually noisy. Shinobi hurried between tents, some packing equipment, while several jonin stood near the central command tent.
As soon as they noticed him, one of the chunin quickly approached.
"Nara! Orochimaru-sama is looking for you. Go to the main tent immediately."
Kuro gave a brief nod and headed inside, where nearly all the squad commanders had already gathered. Near the far wall stood Nawaki and Mikoto—allowed to attend such meetings only because Orochimaru was their teacher.
Noticing him, they nodded in greeting.
Approaching quietly, Kuro asked:
"What happened?"
Mikoto frowned and whispered back:
"Bad news."
But before she could continue, Orochimaru's voice rang out from the center of the tent. He stood before a spread-out map, surrounded by a dozen jonin.
"The report came an hour ago. The Rain Village has launched an open attack on our border."
A quiet murmur passed through the shinobi.
"Danzo's forces are holding for now," Orochimaru continued. "But if Hanzo himself enters the battlefield… the entire defensive line may collapse."
Several jonin exchanged tense looks. Hanzo's name sounded like a death sentence. In their eyes, even Orochimaru could not defeat him—only the Third Hokage could.
Orochimaru shifted his gaze to the map.
"But that's not all. Our intelligence has detected large-scale Sand troop movements."
Now the tension became almost tangible.
"They're preparing an offensive," Orochimaru said calmly, though even his eyes carried a trace of strain.
One of the jonin from the Inuzuka clan frowned.
"Then we should strike first."
Another, from the Yamanaka clan, shook his head.
"No. We can't act impulsively right now."
Just as the Inuzuka shinobi was about to launch into an angry retort, Orochimaru spoke again.
"If I move our forces to support Danzo, the Sand will pass through the Land of Rivers unhindered." His finger shifted to another part of the map. "But if we strike the Sand, the defensive line in the Rain will collapse."
Silence fell over the tent.
It was a carefully planned trap.
Orochimaru crossed his arms and continued:
"I've already sent a request for reinforcements to the village. But until they arrive, we'll have to manage with our own forces."
At that moment, Kuro narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the map. For years, he had trained relentlessly, preparing for this very moment.
The war had begun.