Just the day before, he had received a message from Amegakure. The paper crane had landed right in front of the central building of the village.
Taken together with the earlier reports, this new information made him break out in a cold sweat.
"Are you serious?" he asked, as if trying to confirm that he hadn't misheard. "Sunagakure… is gone?"
"I would never dare to lie, Leader-sama," replied an ordinary ninja from Tachibana Village. His voice carried a hint of unease, though he and his teammates had spent the entire day coming to terms with what they witnessed, so they had managed to steady themselves somewhat.
"When we arrived there, it had already turned into a pile of ruins. All that remained were broken walls and collapsed buildings. So many people were dead… I believe Pain meant what he said."
"He certainly did," the leader of Tachibana Village said solemnly while looking at the note. "Threats like this… In the ninja world, no leader would say something like this without reason. But does he really have the power to do something like this within a single day?"
And actually, it hadn't even taken a full day—it seemed to have happened within just a few hours.
The reconnaissance ninjas in the room exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do next.
As everyone knew, the message sent from Amegakure was a call for dozens of small villages to unite and resist the alliance of the Four Great Ninja Villages.
And now, one of those villages had already been destroyed.
Word spread quickly through the village, sparking panic and unrest. At this moment, they all felt this was their moment to act.
"We're in."
When they heard those words from their typically "low-key" leader, everyone in the room was stunned. For years, he had avoided getting involved in matters of such magnitude on behalf of Tachibana Village.
"Leader-sama?" One person asked tentatively—not out of fear, but with a glimmer of hope. They craved change, action, and the chance to prove themselves. "Are we really joining them?"
The leader of Tachibana Village nodded and said,
"This... this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! We finally have a chance to destroy those villages dominating the surrounding regions. Sunagakure has fallen; it can no longer stand among the Five Great Ninja Villages. Amegakure will inevitably fill the power vacuum left by Sunagakure. If they fail, Iwagakure will take advantage of the situation, balancing power with Amegakure. And we… will be trapped in an endless cycle of chaos. I don't want this cycle to continue anymore! Tell the villagers to prepare, and at the same time, I'll respond to Amegakure."
Without hesitation, they immediately left the office to spread the word to everyone.
That very night, Tachibana Village, alongside the homeland of their "God," began fervently preparing for war.
The same scenes unfolded simultaneously in small villages around the world. Every single person saw this as a chance to reshape their fate.
After all, Pain possessed [Divine-Level Destructive Power]—he could annihilate a village in less than a day. Victory seemed assured. They had the advantage of numbers and strategic positioning.
Furthermore, the power of the Rinnegan is too terrifying to ignore.
The last time such a power emerged, a revolution swept through the world, laying the foundation for today's order.
Now, it is time for a new revolution to unfold.
---
## Several Hours Later – Night – Konoha – Forest of Death ##
Gaara and Naruto sat atop the tower that once served as the preliminary exam site for the Chunin Exams, bathed in silvery moonlight.
Gaara was meditating, while Naruto tried to begin his training.
"I don't get why you dragged me to this creepy place just to teach me meditation," Gaara said with his eyes closed. "There are way more spiders here than I remember… and they're more aggressive too—even attacking me."
"Yeah… At first I used to kill them all because instead of running from me, they actually dared to attack me. It felt right back then, but killing them only made the survivors stronger, while the weaker ones got weeded out naturally."
Naruto felt the natural energy around him as he spoke.
"And besides, you can't always stick to what's comfortable. You've only been here an hour and already started complaining. Anyway, you don't even need sleep."
"That's not what I meant, Naruto," Gaara replied, enjoying the quiet serenity of the forest night. "This place is nice. Honestly, I never thought you'd leave that old apartment."
Naruto smiled.
"Girls like nice spots, right? How could just an apartment match my current status? To my knowledge, no Kage has ever lived in an apartment."
"Speaking of girls…" Gaara turned toward Naruto slowly. "You seem pretty close with a lot of girls in the village—including my sister. Was it just a coincidence she ended up living right next door to your room?"
It wasn't like he'd told her to live there—what could he do? Refuse her? But Naruto figured if he actually voiced that thought, Gaara would probably throw him off the roof…
They sat quietly for a moment before Gaara suddenly brought up a serious topic.
"You've met Pain. Have you ever seen Madara Uchiha?"
"No," Naruto frowned slightly. "I only briefly saw him once through Itachi's Genjutsu... Then later, my teammates told me who had taken Itachi and Sasuke's bodies after their fight ended. I even heard Captain Yamato fought him without even knowing his identity—but personally, I've never laid eyes on him."
He could feel the Nine-Tails stir faintly within him at the mention of Madara—nothing more.
"I know it's hard to believe, but Itachi had no reason to lie to me or Sasuke. He could've said nothing at all."
"Other than trusting you, Naruto, I have no other choice," Gaara responded. "The idea that Madara Uchiha is still alive sounds utterly absurd, but I don't think you'd lie about something like this. Still, I think we should focus more on confirmed threats right now."
Just as the two were speaking, they suddenly sensed chakra approaching—until Naruto sensed who it was, and relaxed.
"Stay calm, I know who it is," Naruto said as suddenly, a swirling cloud of ink materialized beside them.
"Hey Sai, what are you doing here?"
It wasn't close to the village, so Sai could have waited for Naruto to return or just told Tamako himself.
Sai rose from his crouch, glanced at Gaara, then turned toward Naruto.
"Naruto-senpai, there's news. I'm afraid it's not good, and it's extremely urgent."
He looked unusually serious.
"You've been here all night? Maki and I've been looking for you everywhere."
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