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Akio had originally planned to return to Konoha and gather some allies for a group fight. Unexpectedly, just as he flew to the border of the Land of Fire, he sensed a large number of familiar chakra signatures.
"Right... those two brothers already declared war. Konoha must've sent people to prepare for it… But I didn't expect Tobirama himself to come. That saves me the trouble."
"Transformation Jutsu!"
Akio reverted to the appearance he had before leaving Konoha and flew straight toward the Konoha camp. With that, the Minato arc officially came to an end.
"Who goes there? Land now!"
The shout from the Konoha camp made Akio's face darken midair.
He muttered under his breath, "Has my presence in Konoha always been this weak? Even these guys don't recognize their ancestor…"
Just as he was about to respond, more voices rang out.
"Don't stop him! That's Lord Akio!"
"Lord Akio? Wasn't he dead?"
"Yeah, I heard that too."
"Who dares impersonate Lord Akio?"
"No, wait… A flying ninja—yeah, that's definitely Lord Akio…"
…
The more Akio listened, the darker his face became. Taking a deep breath, he shouted,
"Tobirama! Get out here!"
Ten minutes later.
Akio looked at Tobirama's apologetic expression and sighed helplessly.
"So let me get this straight… because I said I'd wander the shinobi world under an alias, you thought claiming that 'Uzumaki Akio had died' would be the least likely to blow my cover, and… this is what happened?"
Tobirama looked bitter.
"I figured if you were going undercover, even if you came back, you wouldn't resume your original identity. After all… your age is…"
Akio shot him a glare.
"I'm only 81! Even if I lived to 100, people would just marvel at how long I've lived! Besides, none of my peers are left in Konoha—who would even know my real age?"
He paused, then frowned.
"When I turned eighty, no one even thought of holding a birthday celebration! That proves it—you and Mito didn't even remember how old I am, did you?"
Tobirama froze, then gave a bitter smile and apologized again.
"Forget it," Akio cut him off, a tinge of sorrow in his voice. "During this trip, I may have lost an apprentice who never got the chance to formally become one. I've come back to ask your help in avenging them!"
"An unofficial apprentice?" Tobirama was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood.
"Your enemy? With your strength, you couldn't take revenge yourself?"
Akio sighed.
"At first, it was just the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers. Then the Second Raikage showed up, plus dozens of elite jōnin, and hundreds of regular jōnin, chūnin, and genin. Dying alongside them by accident would be a huge waste…"
"People from the Land of Rivers? The Second Raikage came too?" Tobirama muttered. "Good thing you came back—otherwise, I'd really be in trouble."
Akio frowned.
"I was just wondering, why are there so few people here?"
He had already sensed that the camp was sparsely populated, and judging by the chakra levels, there weren't any strong shinobi.
Tobirama sighed.
"Konoha's been at peace for thirteen years. All the clans have gotten too comfortable. None of them are willing to send their true elites to this war. Some are better, some didn't even send one person—like the Uchiha. Only Kagami came."
He paused, then looked at Akio.
"And the Uzumaki clan only sent your disciple, Jitou. Luckily, with him and some elite ANBU, we're barely managing. Otherwise, we might as well have surrendered already…"
Akio's face darkened. The Uzumaki only sent Jitou. Should he be proud or angry?
"This war came too suddenly. Once it's over, Konoha needs some serious restructuring," Tobirama said.
Akio was silent for a moment but didn't object.
"Jitou came. Where is he?"
"I sent him out for intel… He should be back soon."
"He's already back."
Akio sensed Jitou's chakra rapidly approaching.
"Lord Hokage!"
Jitou rushed in with his usual energetic demeanor. He paused for a second, then softly said,
"Sensei?"
"Sensei! I thought you were…"
Tears welled up in his eyes as he rushed forward and hugged Akio.
Akio's expression darkened again. Another one who thought he was dead… He had clearly said goodbye to Jitou before leaving.
After a while, Jitou calmed down, remembered the urgent matter, and turned to Tobirama.
"Lord Hokage, the Kumogakure shinobi from the Land of Rivers have retreated!"
"They retreated?"
Akio's face twitched. What the hell?
Tobirama was also stunned. They'd declared war and now retreated? What were they playing at? Trying to provoke Konoha into attacking?
"Are you sure?" Tobirama asked after a moment.
Just as he spoke, a messenger ninja arrived.
"A letter has arrived from Yugakure."
Tobirama took the letter, his brow furrowing deeper as he read. Akio took it and looked confused.
The general message:
The earlier declaration of war was a personal act by Kinkaku and Ginkaku. After persuasion by the Second Raikage, Kumogakure has decided to withdraw. They hope to maintain a good relationship with Konoha.
"Kinkaku and Ginkaku got talked down by the Second Raikage? What's going on?" Akio muttered, puzzled.
"Tobirama, let's chase them down! Just the two of us—and let's bring Jitou too—we can wipe them out!"
Akio was still set on killing the brothers.
Tobirama was silent for a moment and was just about to nod when a ninja in ANBU gear rushed in.
"Lord Hokage! Urgent news from Konoha! Sunagakure is gathering ninja forces and is preparing to move toward the Land of Fire!"
"I understand," Tobirama replied calmly, and the ANBU vanished.
Tobirama looked at Akio, who frowned and nodded.
"Let's return first, finish off the Wind Daimyō quickly, and then the three of us can head straight to Kumogakure… Let's call up Izuko too. I refuse to believe we can't kill those two brothers!"
Things had been going poorly for a while, and Akio's patience was wearing thin...
If it were Hashirama, he'd definitely never agree to take the initiative against Kumogakure. But Tobirama hesitated only briefly before agreeing. Clearly, the retreat after the declaration of war left him just as frustrated.
Leaving a few elites to guard the camp, Akio and Tobirama led the rest of the forces back to Konoha.
While Tobirama was busy reorganizing the village, Akio anxiously awaited news from the Land of Wind.
Two days passed, but there was no word from the Land of Wind. Instead, another message arrived—
Kumogakure had suddenly declared war on Iwagakure, and both villages had started fighting in the Land of Rain. Upon hearing the news, Kirigakure also declared war on their old enemies in Iwagakure, preparing to pincer them alongside Kumogakure.
Akio was utterly baffled.
"No way… Is Kumogakure really this dumb? I clearly used Lightning Release there, and they seriously mistook me for Mu, the Second Tsuchikage? Mu and I have totally different personalities. The Second Raikage doesn't seem like an idiot…"
Akio at least had that much self-awareness.
At that moment, a delegation from Sunagakure arrived in Konoha.
"You're saying Konoha must cede 50% of our western territory in the Land of Fire to the Land of Wind, and in return, you'll ally with us. Otherwise, you'll join Kumogakure in attacking us?"
Tobirama looked at the Wind envoy, somewhere between amused and annoyed.
The envoy didn't understand Tobirama's tone but straightened his face and responded firmly:
"Exactly!"
Tobirama glanced at the three Konoha elders behind him. All of them were barely holding in laughter. He sighed, then turned back to the envoy.
"You've had quite the journey. How long did it take you to reach the Land of Fire?"
The envoy was puzzled.
"Not long—only three days."
"Then go rest at the Konoha inn. We'll need time to discuss the matter of territorial cession."
Tobirama spoke lightly.
The envoy, smirking arrogantly, nodded and followed an ANBU escort to the inn.
"Second Hokage, are we really going to give up land? Didn't Kumogakure already retreat?"
As soon as the envoy left, Uchiha Izma asked in surprise.
Tobirama glanced at him without responding.
(Probably thinking: This kind of innocent, clueless Uchiha elder is exactly my type…)
Beside him, the Hyūga clan leader scoffed, looking dismissive. The two seemed ready to start bickering again.
Seeing this, the Nara clan leader quickly stepped in.
"Elder Uchiha, I believe the Hokage's intent is to delay the Wind Country while we investigate the broader situation in the shinobi world."
"Is that true, Second Hokage?" Izma turned to Tobirama.
Tobirama sighed.
"Yes. I've already sent people to investigate the truth behind Kumogakure's actions. Besides, recently, several minor shinobi villages near Konoha have also been showing signs of unrest."
The three elders exchanged glances but said nothing.
Tobirama's face turned stern as he frowned.
"War is on the brink of erupting. No more wishful thinking. Let's start discussing how to organize Konoha's forces!"
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