January 3rd, Konoha Year 52
Konoha’s diplomatic delegation delivered the bodies of the Hidden Cloud envoys to Kumogakure, where they were granted an audience with the Fourth Raikage, A.
The moment he learned that his envoys had been murdered inside Konoha...
The Fourth Raikage exploded with rage.
He immediately demanded that Konoha:
Find and hand over the murderer.Surrender another member of the Hyūga Main Family.Hand over the Flying Thunder God Technique, along with more than a hundred ninjutsu of every rank.Pay tens of billions of ryō in reparations.
At the same time...
Kumogakure began mobilizing its military.
January 4th
The news reached Konoha.
After hours of deliberation...
The village leadership unanimously rejected every one of Kumogakure’s demands.
Konoha also began mobilizing its shinobi forces.
January 5th
After receiving Konoha’s response...
The Fourth Raikage personally executed Konoha’s envoy.
Then...
He appointed the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B, as supreme commander of the battlefield.
Leading more than ten thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi...
The Kumogakure army marched toward the border of the Land of Fire.
That same day...
Danzō Shimura departed with several thousand Konoha shinobi to reinforce the front lines.
January 8th
The two armies finally clashed at the border of the Land of Fire.
After hours of brutal fighting...
Killer B personally led an elite strike force deep behind enemy lines.
Their target...
Konoha’s frontline command headquarters.
Commander Danzō Shimura was severely wounded.
Forced to retreat...
He withdrew to defensive positions near the border.
The first battle ended in a crushing defeat for Konoha.
January 9th
News from the front reached the village.
It was as if a dark cloud had settled over all of Konoha.
The once lively streets...
Had fallen eerily silent.
The laughter was gone.
The cheerful conversations had vanished.
Only a suffocating sense of dread remained.
On the second floor of an ordinary apartment building...
Naruto stood by the window, looking down at the gloomy streets below.
A faint smile slowly spread across his face.
That evening...
The two of them sat down for dinner.
Izumi rested her chin in one hand, barely touching her food.
Her appetite had vanished.
"Naruto..."
"Konoha lost yesterday..."
"Tell me..."
"Why didn’t the village accept Kumogakure’s demands this time?"
"Wouldn’t that have prevented more bloodshed?"
"If they were going to fight anyway..."
"Then what was the point of sacrificing the Hyūga Branch Family Head before?"
"Does Konoha only fight..."
"When it’s backed into a corner?"
"Can a village that only reacts when it has no other choice..."
"Really win?"
Naruto casually stuffed another bite of food into his mouth.
"The Cloud’s demands were too outrageous."
His answer was utterly perfunctory.
"...Yeah."
"They were."
"They asked for far too much..."
Izumi murmured quietly before falling silent again.
If the demands hadn’t been so excessive...
Would Konoha have agreed once more?
She wasn’t confused.
Deep down...
She already knew the answer.
She simply...
Didn’t want to accept it.
People instinctively protect themselves.
When reality threatens everything they’ve believed in...
They subconsciously refuse to face it.
Like someone who already knows...
That the person they love is a scumbag.
Yet desperately clings to denial.
Because the moment they truly accept the truth...
The pain becomes unbearable.
Izumi was no different.
Deep inside...
She already understood.
Konoha wasn’t as noble as she’d once believed.
Politics were filthy.
Some people...
Could simply be sacrificed.
Yet she refused to face that reality.
Because the Konoha she loved...
Was supposed to be strong.
Proud.
Compassionate.
A village where every shinobi would willingly shed their last drop of blood...
To protect every single citizen.
But everything that had happened recently...
Had shattered those beautiful illusions.
Her eyes drifted toward Naruto.
Even the son of the Fourth Hokage...
Had been sacrificed for the village.
The Nine-Tails had been sealed inside him.
His entire life had been ruined before it had even begun.
If his parents ever learned the truth...
They would surely hate the Fourth Hokage.
Is every so-called necessary sacrifice truly justified?
Did those who were sacrificed ever agree to it?
Would their families really accept such a decision?
If it were me...
I’d rather die on the battlefield.
Because that’s where a shinobi belongs.
Naruto glanced at her strangely while continuing to eat.
Seriously...
What’s with that sympathetic look?
Inside the seal...
Minato Namikaze suddenly shivered.
For some reason...
He felt an overwhelming wave of hostility directed straight at him.
January 10th
Kumogakure launched another offensive.
Konoha’s forces were pushed back again and again.
Just as total collapse seemed inevitable...
One of the Legendary Sannin...
Jiraiya arrived on the battlefield.
He personally forced Killer B to retreat.
Konoha’s morale instantly soared.
The second battle ended in a stalemate.
That very day...
The Hokage urgently appointed Jiraiya as supreme commander of the front lines.
Danzō quietly stepped down.
Meanwhile...
After hearing of Jiraiya’s arrival...
The Fourth Raikage decided to head to the battlefield himself.
January 13th
After three days of regrouping...
The Hidden Cloud launched another full-scale assault.
This time...
The Fourth Raikage personally led the charge.
At the same time...
An elite strike force bypassed the battlefield through the Land of Hot Water...
Entering the Land of Fire from another direction.
Their objective...
Konoha’s command headquarters.
Jiraiya found himself caught in a pincer attack between the Fourth Raikage and Killer B.
Badly wounded...
He was forced to retreat.
At the same time...
The command headquarters came under attack.
On that battlefield...
Shisui Uchiha awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He uncovered Kumogakure’s infiltration plan.
Killed nearly a hundred elite Hidden Cloud shinobi.
And successfully protected Konoha’s military supplies.
Even so...
The main battlefield ended in yet another defeat for Konoha.
Seeing Konoha’s steady decline...
The other great nations also began making their moves.
January 20th
After more than half a month of relentless fighting...
Konoha had been pushed back by over a hundred kilometers.
The Hidden Cloud Army had already crossed the border...
Establishing military camps within the Land of Fire.
The villages near the border were mercilessly slaughtered by Kumogakure.
The situation on the front lines grew increasingly dire.
Without enough top-tier fighters...
No one could truly stop the Fourth Raikage...
Or Killer B.
Although Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan...
He had only recently gained its power.
Against either the Raikage or Killer B...
He could hold them off for only a few minutes.
As for controlling the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki...
He had already attempted it.
But...
He could only suppress Killer B for a brief moment.
A Perfect Jinchūriki was extraordinarily difficult to control.
Because there weren’t one...
But two consciousnesses.
Even if one mind fell under a genjutsu...
The other could immediately break it.
With Shisui’s current ocular power...
He could barely control a single consciousness.
Hokage Office
Mito Homura slowly placed the latest battlefield report on the table.
Among the reports...
Was Shisui’s detailed account of his failed attempt to control Killer B.
The report clearly stated:
His Mangekyō Sharingan could barely control a single consciousness.
Since Killer B was a Perfect Jinchūriki...
The Eight-Tails could instantly break him free.
But as a seasoned politician...
Homura saw something entirely different.
Not failure.
But opportunity.
If the Mangekyō can control one consciousness...
Then...
Konoha already possesses a Jinchūriki who isn’t perfect.
He slowly raised his head.
"Hiruzen..."
"Send the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to the battlefield."
"As long as we loosen the seal slightly..."
"The Nine-Tails will seize control of the boy."
"Then..."
"Have Shisui use the Mangekyō Sharingan to subdue the Nine-Tails."
"If he succeeds in controlling the beast..."
"Konoha will gain another weapon powerful enough to turn the tide of this war."