A vast stretch of desert.
Faint screams echoed through the air.
The ground was littered with corpses, blood soaking the sand until it was stained a deep red.
Not far away, a massive, dead tree loomed—its gnarled branches reaching out like twisted claws.
Several bodies were impaled upon its limbs, blood still dripping from the jagged wood.
This was hell on earth.
Obsidian stood trembling, his exhausted face twisted with hatred as he stared at the masked man before him.
Only five Iwa shinobi remained.
Their eyes wide with terror.
"This… this isn't human! He's a demon!"
One of them, Yi Yan, lost all composure.
Panic took over, and he turned to flee.
"Hey! Don't run!" Obsidian roared.
But before Yi Yan could get far—
A long wooden spike shot through the air.
Obsidian's pupils shrank.
"Move! Dodge it now!"
But Yi Yan never had the chance.
Thwack!
The wooden spear pierced straight through him.
His body stiffened.
His eyes widened in agony.
Then, all at once—
His body began to bulge and swell.
Sharp protrusions pushed outward from beneath his skin, tearing through flesh and muscle.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
Several jagged branches burst out from his body.
Within moments, he was nothing but a twisted mass of flesh and splintered wood.
Obsidian clenched his fists, glaring at the masked man in front of him.
"You bastard… who the hell are you?!"
The masked man vanished.
In the blink of an eye—
He reappeared right in front of Obsidian.
Obsidian froze.
A sharp pain shot through his gut.
He looked down—
A wooden spike had impaled him.
The masked man leaned in close and whispered, voice almost playful.
"Me? I'm just a man who loves peace."
Then—
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
Wooden spikes pierced through Obsidian's body from every angle.
Yet even as his flesh was torn apart, he refused to fall.
He kept his eyes locked onto the masked man—as if cursing him, even in death.
The masked man chuckled.
"Oh? That glare… terrifying."
A few seconds later—
Obsidian's body shuddered.
And then—
Thud.
He collapsed.
Lifeless.
With their leader dead, the remaining four Iwa shinobi lost all hope.
The masked man turned toward them.
His gaze alone was enough to make them tremble.
They gripped their kunai with shaking hands.
But it was useless.
"AAAAAAAHHHH—!"
Screams filled the air.
And then—
Silence.
The masked man strolled leisurely through the carnage, hands in his pockets.
He glanced around the battlefield, then scratched his head.
"Tch… What a mess. I should clean this up."
------------
Sakiya and the group soon returned to Konoha.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between the two villages was a cause for celebration.
Tsunade, who had carried the weight of the negotiations, finally felt some relief.
However, the issue of Iwa Shinobi's ambush still lingered.
Both Tsunade and Kakashi had their suspicions.
There was a high chance that Danzo was behind it.
After all, considering what happened when Konoha was invaded—when the Third Hokage was killed—why had Root failed to act?
Danzo had always been scheming, even attempting to seize power after the Third's death.
This wasn't something Tsunade would forget easily.
Determined to get answers, she decided to send an envoy to Iwa to demand an explanation.
Sunagakure had the same intention.
Since the mission would be dangerous, Tsunade chose Hayate for the task, given his ability to move undetected.
---
A week passed.
Tensions escalated.
---
Iwagakure – War Council
The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy.
Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat at the head of the table, his expression cold.
This was a pre-war meeting.
Yes—war.
Silence filled the room.
Onoki's gaze was sharp as he spoke.
"So, Konoha and the Sannin… they actually managed to defeat Obsidian?"
An elder hesitated before speaking.
"Onoki, are you certain about this? This is Konoha we're talking about."
Onoki scoffed.
"Konoha isn't what it used to be. It's nothing but an empty shell now."
His tone was decisive.
"We must move quickly. Gather supplies. Mobilize our forces. Catch Konoha off guard."
Silence.
The council room fell still.
No one dared to challenge Onoki's decision.
In truth, even if Obsidian's forces hadn't been wiped out, even if none of this had happened—
Onoki would have declared war on Konoha anyway.
All of this stemmed from an intelligence deal between Onoki and the Akatsuki not long ago.
That masked man… he actually had access to Konoha's internal personnel deployment—even the classified Anbu roster.
To verify this intel, Onoki dispatched a secret operative.
His name?
Deben Gongmin.
This man had been living comfortably in Rakura Town, but now, he was suddenly preparing to relocate to Konoha.
This wasn't a mere whim.
Onoki had spent years cultivating front organizations—and Deben Gongmin was one of them.
A wealthy businessman with a clean record, he was the perfect candidate to infiltrate Konoha.
Onoki was certain that the Third Hokage would not refuse someone of his status.
Of course, as an outsider, Deben wouldn't have direct access to classified information.
But by observing subtle details, he could confirm whether the intelligence was accurate.
And if the reports were true…
Konoha had never been weaker.
Not only had they just survived Orochimaru's attack, but more importantly—the Third Hokage was gone.
Onoki had a clear grasp of Konoha's actual combat strength.
As for their alliance with Sunagakure…
Onoki scoffed.
Sunagakure had already been beaten down in the last war.
That village had fallen beyond recovery.
If not for its worthless desert location, it would have been divided among the major shinobi villages long ago.
Frankly, neither Iwagakure nor Kumogakure had even bothered to finish them off.
And just as Iwa Shinobi finalized their war preparations—
A Konoha and Sand Ninja envoy arrived.
Onoki's lips curled into a knowing smirk.
---
Konoha
Tsunade was buried in paperwork when she suddenly glanced out the window.
Something felt… off.
A strange sense of unease settled in her chest.
"Why do I feel like something big is about to happen…?"
Bang!
The office door burst open.
Tsunade flinched.
She had squeezed the pen in her hand—and accidentally snapped it in two.
Tsunade frowned as she looked at the people who had just walked in.
Sakiya had a smug smile on her face, taking exaggerated steps as she slowly approached Tsunade.
Tsunade sighed at the sight of this overly confident girl.
"Why are you here?"
"Sakiya! Wait up... Sakiya! Phew..."
Tsuchiya Tsukigami finally caught up, bowing the moment he saw Tsunade.
"Hokage-sama!"
Sakuragi arrived right after, slightly out of breath, and greeted Tsunade as well.
Sakiya crossed her arms, dissatisfied.
"You're too slow."
Sakuragi and Tsuchiya exchanged exasperated looks.
[It's not that we're slow—it's that you took off like a maniac!]
Just as they were about to explain, Tsunade raised a hand.
"Enough. What are you doing here?"
Sakiya lifted her chin, looking as arrogant as ever.
"Hmph! I'm here for my promotion! Even the greatest beings across dimensions wouldn't dare question my power! But fine, I'll be merciful enough to let you grant me the promotion I deserve."
She flashed a smug grin.
"Now, hurry up and promote me!"
Silence.
Tsunade's expression turned icy.
After a moment, she slowly stood up, her blank expression making the room feel tenser.
Sakiya blinked, her earlier confidence fading as Tsunade stepped closer.
"Wh...what's wrong?"
Tsunade said nothing, closing the distance between them.
Sakiya, now flustered, instinctively backed away.
"You... you're going to promote me, right?"
Before she could react—
Wham!
A swift chop from Tsunade landed on her head.
"Wahhh!"
Tears welled in Sakiya's eyes as she clutched her head.
Tsunade, on the other hand, suddenly felt much better.
[Huh, that was oddly satisfying.]
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the office, moving so fast she almost seemed to materialize out of thin air.
Chihiro.
She immediately bowed to Tsunade.
"Apologies, Hokage-sama. I should've explained things better. You mentioned promoting Sakiya to Chunin, so I mentioned it to her. I didn't think she'd come running here like this..."
She had rushed over after hearing from Sakuragi and the others.
Tsunade blinked, realizing she had indeed mentioned something about that.
However, she glanced at the sulking Sakiya, who was still rubbing her head.
[This girl is a handful... No way I'm promoting her.]
---
Outside the Hokage Building, Sakiya stomped her foot in frustration.
"That mean woman! She said she'd promote me!"
Meanwhile, Tsuchiya Tsukigami stood there in stunned silence—holding a Chunin vest in his hands.
Chihiro, on the other hand, simply smiled.
It almost felt like Tsunade had denied Sakiya's promotion out of pure spite.
________
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