[Bang!]
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen suddenly slammed the table and stood up from his chair, staring in astonishment at the intelligence letter personally delivered by Danzō.
Each revelation in the report was more shocking than the last.
The name 'Crocodile', his claimed background, and even a simple sketch of his appearance.
Most alarming was how he referred to himself—as the King of the Desert, the founder of the Land of Wind, a divine sage who had contended in the same era as the Sage of Six Paths!
Then came a summary of his actions—
He had effortlessly defeated Rasa, the confirmed successor to become the Fourth Kazekage, in a one-on-one duel.
Even more outrageous, he had forced Rasa to kneel on one knee before him and pledge allegiance!
The next day—
He arrived in the capital of the Land of Wind, and in front of all officials, nobles, samurai, and commoners, he declared himself the first King of the Land of Wind and demanded that the current daimyō abdicate.
When the daimyō not only refused but also ordered nearby samurai and hidden shinobi to apprehend him—
Crocodile first scolded him as an unworthy descendant, then lifted him by the throat into the air, and in full view of the crowd, drained all the moisture from his body, reducing him to a mummified husk—so desiccated that even his robe disintegrated into dust.
Everyone present was petrified with fear.
The daimyō was dead?
And killed by his own supposed ancestor—what were they supposed to do now?
In short, the Land of Wind had already fallen into Crocodile's hands, though the situation remained unstable.
Given his power and methods, however, it likely wouldn't take long for peace to be restored.
Hiruzen could already imagine the kind of political storm the death of a daimyō would stir across the Shinobi World.
And sure enough—
Outside the walls of power—
Even the common folk, upon hearing the news, were stunned into disbelief, and once it was confirmed, they stood in dazed silence for a long time.
After all, this was a daimyō we were talking about—something like this hadn't happened in over a thousand years.
At least, not publicly.
And then—
Came the second letter on his desk.
It contained an order from the daimyō of the Land of Fire—
Commanding Konoha to immediately organize a shinobi army to subjugate Crocodile.
The tone was extraordinarily harsh, and the handwriting crude and frantic.
Clearly, it had been written personally by the daimyō in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
At the same time—
The daimyō of the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water had also issued similar orders to their own shinobi villages.
It was clear that Crocodile had thoroughly enraged the daimyō.
Because, for the first time, they felt a danger unlike anything they had ever experienced.
The death of the Land of Wind's daimyō had made these exalted figures suddenly realize—they too could be killed.
"Eh—how did things end up like this?"
Hiruzen muttered to himself.
He now felt that Crocodile's strength might not necessarily surpass that of Uchiha Madara or the First Hokage back in the day.
But in terms of sheer boldness, he far outstripped them—by who knows how many times.
The man didn't show a shred of reverence toward a daimyō?
Could he really be the first King of the Land of Wind?
But then… why a king, and not a daimyō?
There was no helping it.
Even the historical records preserved by the Five Great Nations could only barely trace back to the Warring States Period.
Anything before that had been passed down orally.
To the shinobi of the current era, the Sage of Six Paths was nothing more than a vague and mythical legend.
"Hiruzen, what are you hesitating for? Give the order!"
Danzō urged him coldly.
His mood was quite sour—not just because he had been inexplicably framed.
But also because the two Root squads he had dispatched near Rōran had abruptly lost contact not long after arriving.
"...It can't be helped."
Hiruzen nodded grimly. Now that the daimyō's command had arrived, he had no room to maneuver.
"Guards!"
In an instant, the sound of wind slicing through the air echoed.
Five ANBU shinobi swept in through the open windows on either side and landed in a half-kneel before him.
Once they received the Third Hokage's orders, they vanished with a flurry of movement—swish, swish, swish—to deliver the message to the major shinobi clans.
"Danzō, we can't just think about attacking—we also need to prepare to defend ourselves."
Hiruzen looked down thoughtfully at the intelligence report on the table. "It says here that Crocodile appeared directly in Sunagakure… and brought with him a sandstorm that engulfed the entire village."
Danzō nodded in agreement.
"According to the elder we planted in Sunagakure, the man possesses a sand transformation technique similar to the Hydrification Jutsu of the Hōzuki clan."
"He must have turned into sand and drifted through the air, bypassing the ground-based defenses!"
"Hmm, guarding against something like that… won't be easy," Hiruzen said, clearly troubled. "Especially since, according to the report, the sensory ninja of both Sunagakure and Kumogakure were completely unable to detect any chakra signature from him."
Danzō's expression grew grave.
No chakra signature—and a sand-based body?
Then wouldn't he be indistinguishable from an ordinary gust of wind and sand?
The only difference being that this windstorm possessed a human will.
For a while, neither of them could come up with a viable countermeasure.
"Ugh... Regardless, have the Barrier Corps set things up. If he really does attack the village, have them activate the Four Red Yang Formation at its maximum range!"
"And send someone to bring Jiraiya and Tsunade back immediately!"
Danzō did not object to Hiruzen's commands.
In fact, he was already planning to ask Orochimaru if he had any ideas once he got back.
At this point, Danzō hadn't yet developed any personal agenda when it came to defending Konoha.
...
The international situation in the Shinobi World was accelerating dangerously toward war.
Yet, regardless of how quickly things developed, a transition period was inevitable. After all, the Shinobi World was still an entire planet.
Whether it was troop movements or communications among the various hidden villages, these activities required significant time.
Thus, after the Land of Fire, Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, and Land of Water formally declared war against the Land of Wind, a temporary calm settled once again over the Shinobi World.
The ordinary civilians at the bottom could only endure this oppressive atmosphere and anxiously carry on with their difficult lives.
Initially, the daimyos of the four great nations had primarily targeted Crocodile himself.
Through their respective village leaders—the Kage—they made it clear to Sunagakure: as long as the village shared their stance and joined forces to eliminate Crocodile, they promised to restore everything to its original state after Crocodile's removal and the appointment of a new daimyo for the Land of Wind.
However, who could have expected the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, to shock everyone?
He boldly declared that Sunagakure would unconditionally support Crocodile's rule, willingly submitting to his authority.
Even Chiyo, the renowned advisor, chose to support Crocodile. This enraged the daimyos, prompting them to escalate their decree from a punitive expedition to outright war.
They explicitly stated their goal was the total destruction of Sunagakure, aiming to strip the Land of Wind of its status as a major nation.
Caught between the great powers were numerous smaller nations.
Some immediately announced their support for the four daimyos, offering their ninja forces, while others remained silent, anxiously waiting. Everyone could feel the Third Shinobi World War approaching rapidly.
At first glance, under their daimyos' orders, the four major nations seemed united.
But everyone involved was a ninja. Having experienced both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, they knew exactly how the major villages behaved.
The moment an opportunity arose during the war, betrayal among allies was certain.
The four major villages were themselves well aware of this. Genuine cooperation was impossible; mutual suspicion was inevitable.
Therefore, this war against the Land of Wind could easily devolve into chaotic infighting among the nations, and these smaller countries would become the primary battlegrounds.
Of course.
The four great villages also knew their top priority was eliminating Crocodile, whose strength was abnormally powerful.
So…
What exactly was Crocodile doing?
Immediately after securing his kingship, he contacted the World Government in Rōran, requesting professional administrative staff and shinobi from Umigakure to assist in managing the Land of Wind.
Given time, he certainly had the capability and methods to manage the country with its own officials, leveraging his personal power.
But then again—why bother?
He was currently a General candidate of the World Government, confident he'd soon be formally promoted to a full General of Army Headquarters. Playing political games with these mortals held no interest for him.
On the other side…
Though Crocodile's request had been somewhat unexpected, the Other Worlds Strategic Committee quickly dispatched a team of one hundred people.
The group included officials, experts, and scholars specialized in administration, economy, finance, medicine, geology, environmental studies, and social sciences. Additionally, around 130 Umigakure shinobi led by Uzui Tengen accompanied them.
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