The pace of time will never stop. Unconsciously, one year has passed, and the 44th year of Konoha has quietly arrived.
Since the battle between Konoha and Sunagakure ended half a year ago, the conflict between Iwagakure and Kirigakure has officially started.
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, perished together in battle, forming an irreconcilable hatred between Iwagakure and Kirigakure. Taking advantage of the exhaustion caused by the Konoha-Suna war, Iwagakure and Kirigakure officially went to war, intending to settle the old grudge from the previous war.
In the beginning, Iwagakure and Kirigakure were evenly matched, and neither side could gain the upper hand. But Onoki of Iwagakure made an unknown agreement with Sunagakure and formed an alliance. The two villages attacked Kirigakure simultaneously.
Under the combined assault from Iwagakure and Sunagakure, Kirigakure was quickly defeated. Even the Third Mizukage died in the final battle, becoming the first Kage to fall during the Third Great Ninja War.
After this battle, Iwagakure naturally found itself in the limelight, and Sunagakure also stepped out from the shadow of its earlier defeat. However, neither village stopped there. Instead, they regrouped their forces and turned their attention to Konoha.
Although Iwagakure and Sunagakure had not yet officially declared war on Konoha, their intentions were as plain as day. it was only a matter of time before they launched an attack.
As for Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning—whose military might was second only to Konoha—they had yet to participate in the war. However, Kumogakure had been plundering ninjutsu from nearby smaller villages in recent years. It was said that the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki in Kumogakure was still difficult to control. It seemed the village itself was also under a lot of internal pressure.
Though Kirigakure had been defeated, it was clearly not willing to withdraw from the stage of the Third Great Ninja War.
After the funeral of the Third Mizukage, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, officially came to power. At the same time, Kirigakure entered a state of emergency mobilization. It was evident that once the tides of war shifted, Kirigakure would re-enter the battlefield and seek to regain what it had lost.
When the news of Yagura's succession reached Konoha, it left Asakusa feeling uneasy for a long time.
In the original work, the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was manipulated by Sharingan—specifically, by Obito Uchiha. After the death of Rin Nohara, Obito, under the guise of "Madara Uchiha," had been secretly influencing Kirigakure from the shadows. It was likely that Yagura was already under Obito's genjutsu control.
At this realization, Chao Yanqian immediately sensed that if Iwagakure declared war on Konoha, then the iconic battle at Kanabi Bridge from the original Naruto timeline—the Battle of Kannabi Bridge—was imminent.
In that battle, Konoha gave birth to two heroes of the Sharingan. One was Uchiha Obito, and the other was Sharingan Kakashi.
But for the rest of the ninja world, a Konoha ninja named Uchiha Obito perished at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Yet the world also bore witness to a masked man—later known to be Obito—who manipulated the entire shinobi world behind the scenes.
Sometimes, Asakusa truly wanted to find an opportunity to kill Uchiha Obito and take his eyes.
Kamui, the Mangekyō Sharingan ability, is arguably the most perfect space-time ninjutsu in the Naruto world. Especially when both eyes are combined, the speed of teleportation surpasses even the attacks of the Sage of Six Paths. If one could obtain these eyes, there would be few in the shinobi world who could oppose Chao Yanqian.
Sometimes, when he saw Obito in the village, Chao Yanqian would darkly think to himself that one day, he must gouge out those eyes.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Obito was either at the Uchiha clan's residence or out on missions with Minato Namikaze. Chao Yanqian currently had no way of killing Obito silently, let alone seizing his Sharingan.
Especially considering that Obito hadn't even awakened his Sharingan yet.
Many things were in motion, but the most important thing for Chao Yanqian was strength.
Day by day, through constant training, Chao Yanqian's strength grew steadily. In the fields of medical ninjutsu and the monstrous strength technique, Chao Yanqian had fully inherited Tsunade's teachings. Once Tsunade completed the development of the Yin Seal, Chao Yanqian's strength would soar, solving the problem of chakra reserves entirely.
This year, Tsunade had begun researching the Yin Seal. Although progress was slow, when Chao Yanqian first heard the news, he was truly moved.
Ever since Tsunade reached her limit due to low chakra reserves, Chao Yanqian had been helping her search for a solution. After much research, the Yin Seal techniquehad begun to take form.
Asakusa recalled that in the original timeline, during the Third Great Ninja War, Orochimaru had been surprised when he first saw the technique. This implied that even Orochimaru didn't know Tsunade had developed it. In other words, in the canon story, Tsunade likely began studying the Yin Seal only after leaving Konoha.
But now, she had started researching it earlier for Asakusa's sake.
Now, every time he saw Tsunade, Chao Yanqian felt a pang of guilt. Tsunade truly cared for him, but he had to obey Orochimaru's orders and was even prepared to steal the secret techniques of the Senju clan when the opportunity arose...
At this point, Chao Yanqian's only hope was to gain enough power to protect himself from Orochimaru. Whether it was the Yin Seal or the Flying Thunder God Technique, either could drastically alter Chao Yanqian's fate.
In June of Konoha Year 44, Iwagakure and Sunagakure, having recovered from the battle with Kirigakure, simultaneously turned their sights on Konoha. Sunagakure even tore up the 'peace treaty' they had signed not long ago without warning, reigniting war with Konoha.
For a time, Konoha's situation was precarious.
Bad news from the front lines poured in like snow. Konoha's higher-ups quickly decided to send Jiraiya to the Iwagakure front, and Orochimaru continued to battle against his old rival, the Third Kazekage.
At this time, in Konoha, only the "Legendary Sannin" could command troops alone, possessing both the strength and the prestige to lead.
Although Minato Namikaze's strength was remarkable, his reputation wasn't yet strong enough to lead a force. However, after the battle with Iwagakure, his title "Konoha's Yellow Flash" would ring throughout the ninja world, paving the way for his future as the Fourth Hokage.
After a year of training, Chao Yanqian's power had significantly grown, and he looked forward to this war.
As Tsunade's disciple, Asakusa could participate in the front lines against Sunagakure as a medical-nin. Chao Yanqian was hopeful that if he contributed to Konoha in the Third Great Ninja War, the village leadership might reward him with powerful techniques.
There was only one way to get the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Stealing the Scroll of Seals under heavy Anbu protection was impossible. Chao Yanqian was no Naruto Uzumaki.he didn't possess any forbidden jutsu that could defeat the Third Hokage in a single blow.
Right after the jōnin meeting ended, Asakusa received orders from Nara Shikaku to gather.
With Konoha's current situation so tense, Nara Shikaku would likely be heading to the battlefield soon. As for Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai, even if they wanted to fight, unless Konoha was truly at death's door, the village would not send them.
"Asuma! Kurenai! Hey!" Arriving at Training Ground 8, he greeted the two.
Looking at their relaxed faces, Chao Yanqian thought to himself,this team, which had only just formed a year ago, might be disbanded very soon.