NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Third Shinobi World War Begins!
Chapter 45: The Third Shinobi World War Begins!
Boom!!
The stone table shattered into dust, and the violent surge of chakra cracked the walls of the office.
The Third Raikage clenched his fist tightly, exuding a killing intent so intense it felt suffocating. His furious gaze landed on A, whose chest was wrapped in heavy bandages.
"Useless fool!!"
"You abandoned your comrade and still dare return alive?! How do you have the nerve to stand here?!"
A hung his head, tears streaming down his face as guilt and self-blame consumed him. If not for his recklessness—challenging the Red-Eyed Uchiha alone—he wouldn't have been defeated and rendered unconscious. And Blue B wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself to cover their retreat.
"Raikage-sama! It was my decision! I'll bear all responsibility for this failure! It's me who deserves to die!"
With a thud, Dodai dropped to his knees, tears falling freely.
In the meeting room, the young Killer Bee stood silently, his small frame seeming even smaller. His dark sunglasses concealed his expression, but the sorrow in his heart was no less than anyone else's.
Blue B had been his mentor, a figure he deeply respected and admired.
"Dodai-sensei, you chose to retreat because of me," A croaked, his voice hoarse and broken. He knelt as well, bowing his head low.
"Raikage-sama, I will not take the coward's way out. Please grant me the honor of dying in battle!"
---
The Third Raikage stared deeply at his son.
The rage boiling within him wasn't feigned—if A had followed Dodai's example and begged for death, the Raikage wouldn't have hesitated to kill him on the spot.
Grabbing A by the collar, the Raikage hoisted him into the air.
"Carry this shame and live with it! Only the blood of our enemies can cleanse your disgrace!"
---
"Konohagakure is too strong…"
The Third Raikage stood in silence for a long moment, staring out the window.
"Dodai, I'm leaving the village in your hands. I need to have a proper conversation with that old fossil, Ōnoki."
Between nations, there were no eternal allies or foes, only eternal interests. Even the Fourth Raikage later partnered with Ōnoki to oppose Uchiha Madara, despite the death of his father.
The Third Raikage was no less pragmatic. According to Dodai's report, Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had already entered the battlefield, alongside a young shinobi who could use the Flying Thunder God technique.
The Three Legendary Sannin were in their prime, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation as the Professor remained untarnished. And then there was the Uchiha…
Kagami.
Could this boy truly grow to rival the legendary Senju Hashirama?
They couldn't afford to wait and find out.
In the minds of the Third Raikage and Ōnoki, Uchiha Madara and Hashirama were unparalleled shinobi, whose battles had forced an end to the Warring States Period and led to the establishment of the village system.
Another Uchiha of that caliber must never rise again—especially not in Konoha.
---
Boom!
In a dimly lit underground chamber, Danzo Shimura slammed his fist onto a desk.
"Fools! Arrogant fools!"
"I worked so hard to sow discord between the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone, allowing Konoha to watch from the sidelines."
"They could have defeated the Eight-Tails without killing him! Why escalate things now?!"
"We could have waited until they were bleeding each other dry before striking! But no! Now they've dragged us into a full-scale war!"
"Jiraiya! Namikaze Minato! Uchiha Kagami!"
"Idiots, all of them!"
---
The storm of war swept across the lands. The Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone, previously locked in bitter conflict, suddenly shifted their focus and simultaneously invaded the borders of the Land of Fire.
The Third Shinobi World War had officially begun.
On the western front, Orochimaru was forced to withdraw from the Wind Country to bolster the defenses against the Hidden Stone.
Taking advantage of Konoha's divided attention, the Land of Wind, under its newly instated Fourth Kazekage Rasa, declared war on Konoha as well.
This war escalated faster than in the original timeline. Kagami Uchiha's existence was no longer a butterfly merely fluttering its wings—he was a gale capable of turning the tides of history.
With Konoha facing enemies on three fronts, it suffered significant losses early on, with numerous border outposts overrun.
More and more shinobi were deployed to the frontlines, and the academy graduation age was reduced to nine.
---
The newly formed Namikaze Minato Squad was split up.
As skilled as he was, Minato was not an inexhaustible machine. He couldn't possibly cover all battlefronts while managing a team that included Kushina and Kagami. The strain would have killed him.
Based on their respective strengths, Minato and Kushina were sent to the western front to assist Orochimaru against the Hidden Sand and Hidden Stone.
There, they encountered the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchūriki.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Were it not for the overwhelming numbers of the Hidden Stone forces, the two Jinchūriki would have been destroyed on the spot.
Meanwhile, on the Sand front, Minato solidified his reputation as the Yellow Flash of Konoha, achieving the incredible feat of eliminating seven high-ranking puppet masters in one battle.
The Hidden Sand's once-proud puppet corps faced the threat of total extinction.
---
On the eastern front, although the Hidden Mist had yet to join the war, Konoha could not afford to let its guard down.
The previous Mizukage had infamously traveled great distances to perish alongside the Tsuchikage, demonstrating the Mist's penchant for unpredictability. Even the Cloud and Stone watched the Mist warily.
As commander of the eastern front, Shikaku Nara stared at the group of Uchiha shinobi under his command, his expression unreadable.
He was chosen for his intelligence, as this front was considered less critical than the others. But still…
He had no experience leading the Uchiha clan. And to make matters worse, there was also a contingent of Hyūga shinobi stationed here.
Why were the two most troublesome bloodline clans both assigned to him?!
---
The sudden escalation forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to deploy the majority of the Uchiha clan.
Assigning them to the eastern front was a calculated move to limit their influence, as water-style techniques and the Hidden Mist's tactics posed significant challenges to the Uchiha's capabilities.
With Fugaku remaining on the western front, the leader of the eastern Uchiha contingent was Jinhi.
These Uchiha were of a specific faction—loyal to Kagami.
"Shikaku, Kagami instructed us to follow your commands fully during wartime," Jinhi said calmly.
He glanced at the nearby Hyūga clan members, sneering. "Unlike these pampered nobles, we Uchiha can handle orders. Don't hesitate."
---
On the northern front, atop a high cliff, Jiraiya crouched with binoculars, scanning the landscape. His focus lingered on a small waterfall, where he fantasized about spotting women bathing.
"Keep it up, and I'll cut that thing off," Kagami said flatly.
Jiraiya scowled. "It's all your fault. If not for your antics, I might have gotten some time to relax. Now the old man has me stationed on the frontlines, waiting for the Raikage's inevitable attack."
Cloud skirmishes had already erupted along the border. Hiruzen Sarutobi had explicitly ordered Jiraiya and Kagami to remain at the center, prepared to counter the Third Raikage's strike.
Should the Raikage appear, Konoha was to be notified immediately. Hiruzen himself would engage.
The Professor had yet to show signs of decline.
For Kagami's controversial slaying of the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Hiruzen issued no rebuke. Instead, it was classified as retaliation against Cloud's initial aggression and credited as an S-rank mission.
Kagami could now select a technique from the Scroll of Seals as his reward.
---
As Sunagakure declared war, Hiruzen issued an official proclamation.
Konoha now stood against the Lands of Wind, Earth, and Lightning.
History would remember this moment as the true beginning of the Third Shinobi World War.
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