[Military Evaluation]
If the previous evaluations of the Third Hokage's domestic and diplomatic affairs had been watched by the leaders of other hidden villages with more of a detached, spectator mentality, the moment the title of "Military Evaluation" appeared, the atmosphere across the entire Shinobi World shifted.
The Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage—the Kages of every timeline, without exception, sat up straighter, their eyes fixed on the Sky Screen as if fearing to miss any critical information.
Secretaries and assistants quickly spread out maps and prepared pen and paper. The nerves of the entire Shinobi World tightened in that instant.
Especially in those timelines that were on the brink of war or already in the midst of one.
---
[Sunagakure · Kazekage's Office]
The period after the Third Kazekage's disappearance.
Chiyo sat in the main seat, her face tense and expression solemn. Seated before her were Ebizo, Rasa, and other high-ranking members of Sunagakure, everyone's gaze locked firmly onto the Sky Screen.
"Military evaluation…"
Chiyo repeated the words, her withered fingers lightly tapping the table.
"This might be the information we need most."
Ebizo adjusted his glasses.
"The Sky Screen previously revealed that after Konoha won the Third Great Ninja War, they took the initiative to make peace with Iwagakure and gave up a large amount of benefits. If this pattern holds…"
"Then even if we take the initiative to provoke a war, the worst outcome would simply be peace talks after a defeat. And as the 'victorious nation,' Konoha might treat us with leniency, just as they did with Iwagakure."
Rasa took over the conversation, his voice carrying a suppressed excitement. A flurry of whispers erupted in the meeting room, and the eyes of many people lit up.
"But sister."
Ebizo looked at Chiyo.
"The intensity of war will rise dramatically—battles involving thousands or even tens of thousands of Shinobis. Can… Sunagakure afford such losses?"
Chiyo fell silent, but she also thought of Sunagakure's current predicament.
The Third Kazekage had mysteriously disappeared, leaving the Village leaderless; the economy was depressed, and the number of missions had plummeted; young Shinobis had nowhere to display their skills, and internal resentment was building up.
It could be said that the Hidden Sand Village was already on the brink of exploding!
In that case… she would rather drag others down with them than explode alone.
A mutual loss was better than a one-sided victory.
"War can consume surplus of Shinobis."
A pro-war man suddenly spoke, his words chillingly cold.
"It can also divert internal conflicts. And besides… what if we win?"
What if we win?
The words echoed through the conference room.
Chiyo closed her eyes.
After a long while, she opened them, a look of determination in her gaze.
"Notify the border troops to enter Level 2 Combat Readiness. But do not take the initiative to provoke. We will make our final decision after the Sky Screen finishes broadcasting the entire content of the military evaluation."
"Yes!"
The order was quickly passed down.
The desert village of the Land of Wind began to quietly mobilize.
Meanwhile, the Sky Screen had begun its narration:
[Since Senju Hashirama ended the Sengoku period, the Shinobi World's mode of warfare was no longer small-scale clashes between Shinobi clans, but rather entered the era of military warfare between great nations.]
[While the frequency of combat decreased—there have been only four recorded Great Ninja Wars—but the intensity of warfare increased dramatically, with battles often involving thousands or tens of thousands of Shinobis.]
---
[Konoha, Year One]
Just these opening words alone made Hashirama's face to change drastically.
He stood on the cliffside, his body leaning slightly forward, both hands gripping the railing tightly.
"Four… Great Ninja Wars?!"
Hashirama's voice trembled.
"Thousands or tens of thousands of Shinobis… just how many people must have died?"
During the Sengoku period, even when the conflict between the Senju and Uchiha was at its peak, a single battle would involve at most a few hundred Shinobis. And even then, the tragic state of war had kept him awake at night.
And now the Sky Screen was telling him: in the future, the scale of war would expand tenfold, a hundredfold. Thousands or tens of thousands of Shinobis would slaughter each other in a single battle.
What kind of hell would that be?
Hashirama spoke in a low voice:
"In other words, wars of this scale will be the norm in the future?"
Just then, Madara's voice came from beside him.
"Hashirama!"
Hashirama turned his head and saw Madara with his arms crossed, his body leaning slightly back, his chin raised as he looked down at him with an almost mocking posture.
"It seems now that your 'one country, one village' system has not brought true peace. Our dream has not been realized!"
Madara's voice was loud, carrying far in the night wind.
The Shinobis on the construction site below seemed to hear him, some looked up toward the cliffside, but they couldn't make out the expressions of the two village founders.
"Wars between clans, at least, had hatred as a reason."
Madara continued, his voice barely containing his anger.
"If my father died at the hands of the Uchiha, then I would seek revenge for him; if my brother died under a Senju blade, then I would want to kill every Senju… though foolish, it was at least pure. But what about wars between nations? I'm afraid they are purely for profit!"
He turned to face Hashirama directly:
"Hashirama, tell me. If there will be four Great Ninja Wars in the future, with tens of thousands of Shinobis killed or wounded each time… then what was the meaning of us founding Konoha? Was it to concentrate scattered deaths into a single grand massacre?"
Hashirama opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He had no answer for Madara's question.
---
[Konoha, Year 60]
Hiruzen was sitting in the Hokage Office, and when the Sky Screen mentioned the "Four Great Ninja Wars," the pipe in his hand paused.
"Four…"
"In other words, after the Third Great War, there will be another?"
But he would likely be dead by next year, so he probably wouldn't be able to do much about it. He only hoped the Fifth Hokage could shoulder the responsibility, as he was, after all, far too old.
Right now, the only thing Hiruzen could think about was that his battle with Orochimaru, master against disciple, would happen a little sooner—and that no one else would get hurt.
"But who started it?"
Hiruzen pondered habitually.
"Suna? Kumo? Iwa?"
---
[Amegakure · The High Tower]
When he heard about the Four Great Ninja Wars, Nagato's pupils contracted slightly.
"Could it be… that I started it?"
He thought of his plan: to collect all the Tailed Beasts, create an ultimate weapon of war, to make the world feel pain, and then seek peace through that pain.
If the plan succeeded, it would indeed trigger a war that would sweep across the entire world.
"Did the plan succeed?"
Nagato wondered.
"If it succeeded, then I should have collected all nine Tailed Beasts. But the Sky Screen hasn't mentioned the Tailed Beasts yet, nor has it mentioned the Akatsuki…"
But if the Fourth Great Ninja War really was started by him, then his plan… might have succeeded.
But what came after success?
Did the world truly find peace through pain?
Or did it sink into even deeper chaos?
Nagato didn't know.
He could only wait for the Sky Screen to reveal more.
---
[Future Timeline · Top of the Hokage Rock]
Uzumaki Naruto stood at the highest point of the Hokage Rock. He had a bit of a beard on his face, but his eyes were still clear and bright, and his cloak, embroidered with the words "Seventh Hokage," fluttered in the wind.
"The Fourth Great Ninja War, huh…"
Naruto said softly, his voice scattering in the wind.
"No one expected it to end the way it did."
He remembered the scene of the Allied Shinobi Forces fighting side by side during the Fourth War. He remembered the people who had sacrificed themselves. He remembered Obito… and of course, the man who stood behind all this—Uchiha Madara—and even further behind him, Black Zetsu and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
It was a war that transcended Nations and Hidden illages, fought for the very survival of the Shinobi World.
Who could have imagined that so many conspiracies lay hidden behind that war? Even now, the Shinobi World was still fighting against the Ōtsutsuki clan!