Revolution in the Ninja World

"The final battle... Even the Yellow Flash wouldn't be arrogant enough to believe he could single-handedly destroy our headquarters. Especially since, according to our intel, he's practically been confirmed as the next Hokage. Konoha would never allow him to take such a risky action. Therefore... his goal is to disrupt our battle formations, eliminate our core personnel, and create favorable conditions for Konoha's subsequent offensive."

"Have the orders to recall personnel been issued?"

"They have."

"This kind of aggressive, hit-and-run tactic really isn't the Yellow Flash's style."

"But since he's already appeared here, we must consider how to respond. Even if he's alone, his threat level is off the charts."

"The Yellow Flash is right on our doorstep. It's highly likely that a full-scale Konoha assault will follow... What should we do?"

Inside the Cloud Village's forward command center, the leadership was in a tense discussion about how to deal with Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Their anxiety wasn't exaggerated. After all, Minato Namikaze was the most dazzling ninja to emerge since the Third Great Ninja War. His mastery of space-time ninjutsu, surpassing even the Second Hokage's, had made him practically invincible on the battlefield thus far.

More importantly, Minato's darting around the battlefield was completely different than him directly striking the enemy's heart.

"Stop panicking! The Yellow Flash isn't unbeatable!"

A sudden shout cut through the anxious murmuring. The sight of everyone losing their heads in the face of a powerful enemy was getting to him. And he was certainly qualified to say that the "Yellow Flash isn't unbeatable."

"A..."

The Third Raikage's son, who had already earned the name "A," was the designated heir to the Fourth Raikage title.

"Pull back the entire defensive perimeter. Concentrate our forces and prepare to respond to Konoha's attack. Bee and I will form a two-man tactical squad and go out to intercept the Yellow Flash! I want half of the sensory ninjas at my disposal. Have them focus on tracking the Yellow Flash's movements and provide me with constant updates!"

Minato Namikaze and the Cloud's A-B duo had clashed once before, not long ago. That battle was officially considered a draw, though both Konoha and the Cloud claimed their respective champions had the upper hand.

"Do as A says. It's the most logical decision."

"Bee, let's go!"

"Right, Big Bro. A rematch with the Yellow Flash, how incredibly, exciting!"

From beginning to end, no one in the Cloud Village even suspected that the Yellow Flash was an imposter.

Meanwhile, Konoha, having noticed the Cloud's movements shortly after, realized that the enemy was likely preparing a major offensive.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Cloud has suddenly concentrated its forces and is assuming a battle-ready stance. Our current situation is... not optimistic," a Konoha ninja reported to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's face remained as calm as a still lake, showing neither surprise nor joy. "Neither Konoha nor the Cloud currently has the ability to quickly end the war. I don't know why the Cloud is suddenly taking such a strategic risk, but there's no need for undue concern. In this situation, the side that waits and lets the other make the first move has the advantage."

Orochimaru truly wasn't afraid of the Cloud. What was there to fear from a cornered dog trying to jump a wall?

"Immediately report this intelligence to the village and request reinforcements."

"But Lord Orochimaru, even if the village has the spare manpower to send reinforcements, they won't arrive in time..."

"They will. There's definitely one person who can make it in time."

"You mean...?"

"Heh."

See? The Cloud Village had made the correct decision. The Yellow Flash would indeed appear on the battlefield.

While both Konoha and the Cloud were on edge, the situation on the verge of spiraling out of control, the instigator of all this had easily arrived at the location marked on his mission map. He hadn't encountered a single Cloud ninja along the way.

"I'll start searching from here."

Habara began his search in the dense, primeval forest. It was immediately obvious that no human had been here for many years, so there was a real possibility that a battlefield was hidden here.

After only half an hour, he discovered a patch of scorched earth in a slightly more open area!

Habara's eyes lit up. This is promising.

He had no idea where Orochimaru had dug up this ancient intelligence.

Continuing his search in that direction, Habara found more traces of battle. After walking a bit further, he finally came across a skeleton.

The forehead protector on the skeleton indicated its identity. The band of the protector had rotted away, but the metal plate seemed to have rusted onto the skull's forehead, a somewhat ironic sight... Although this ninja wore a Cloud Village forehead protector, if he was one of Kinkaku and Ginkaku's subordinates, that meant he was actually a rogue Cloud ninja.

There was no point in searching this kind of corpse. Habara glanced at it and continued forward. Soon, he discovered more bodies. Or rather, as he progressed, the number of bodies initially increased, then gradually decreased... Kinkaku and Ginkaku had led dozens of elite ninjas to ambush the Second Hokage.

The presence of these corpses indicated that, even severely wounded from the start, the Second Hokage's combat prowess was still formidable.

Further ahead, there were no more bodies, but the traces of battle became increasingly evident. Finally, in an area of broken terrain, Habara saw two skeletons leaning against each other.

The remaining strands of long, silver-gold hair, the horn-like ornaments hidden within the hair, and the tools scattered around them revealed their identities: Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

He'd actually found them.

Habara wasn't in a hurry to disturb them. He started counting first.

"1, 2, 3, 4, Kohaku no Johei (Amber Purifying Pot), Shichiseiken (Seven-Star Sword), Benihisago (Crimson Gourd), Bashosen (Banana Palm Fan)... All accounted for."

These two had dropped some good loot.

Killing a Raikage, stealing the Sage of Six Paths' treasured tools, and dying in the wilderness... These brothers were truly eccentrics of the world.

Without taking the time to examine the Sage of Six Paths' tools, Habara pulled out a storage scroll and sealed the four powerful items inside. These were his personal spoils of war.

He still didn't touch the brothers' corpses. After searching the battlefield a few more times, he finally found another seated corpse under a large boulder.

The green armor, which hadn't completely faded, and the half-covered Konoha forehead protector... This was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Judging from his posture at death, Tobirama had died more peacefully than Kinkaku and Ginkaku, suggesting he was likely the last one to die.

Thinking back to the days when the Senju brothers were so spirited and dominant in the ninja world, it was hard to believe that a hero like this would meet his end in such a remote corner of the world.

Habara really wanted to ask the Second Hokage, "Does your brother know you died like this? What would he think if he knew?"

After carefully checking the Second Hokage's corpse for traps... after all, Tobirama Senju was known for his cunning... Habara finally moved his body next to Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

Habara had originally planned to seal all three of them together, but he thought better of it. They were enemies, after all. Habara was a "Konoha ninja," and he should at least show some respect to the Second Hokage. He decided to seal the brothers together and seal the Second Hokage in a separate scroll.

There was a slight hiccup in the process. After he stuffed Kinkaku into a storage scroll, he accidentally sealed the opening.

Reopening it was a bit of a hassle, and Habara didn't want to waste another scroll, so...

"Oops, a small mistake, but no big deal. This is just a new way of categorizing things – the boss gets his own room, and the two number twos share a room."

In an unexpected place, NTR had appeared.