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[Year 52, Sunagakure]
It didn't come as a shock, but more like a surprise to Sasori when the Sandaime Kazekage, Ryushi, declared that Suna was at war. It's been a year since he received the news that his parents died. A year since he found his world turned upside down.
Since then, he focused all his time on his training. He kept grilling his aunt for lessons on poisons and the theoretical aspects of puppetry, while his older brother helped him practice and sharpen his other shinobi skills.
At first, his remaining relatives were reasonably worried for him. But they never said a word of complaint as he resolved himself to a life of nothing but training and practice. It helps that he's also a genius and thus able to retain the knowledge Grandma Chiyo and Brother Souei teaches him.
This resulted in him being the top of his class, with very few people managing to keep up with him in terms of studies and the practical aspects of the academy.
Sasori originally wanted to go for a faster graduation, but found it unnecessary as the academy had been pushed forward. Historical subjects as well as math had been taken out of the curriculum and replaced with more combat training. Apparently, Suna needed soldiers and they needed them now. He and his peers had only been in the academy for 2 years and already they're graduating and becoming Genin of the village.
Quite frankly, Sasori had no idea what to feel. On one side, it was war. A concept he's not really familiar with yet to be honest, but from the stories the older shinobi likes to tell him, it's definitely something to be worried about.
On another, he felt slightly pleased at the opportunity at passing a few years earlier, even if the reason for it is wartime. He would learn much more than sitting around in Suna doing nothing.
After all, he had learned much more about shinobi combat in the past few months rather than the two years he's been in the academy.
His class had just done their graduation exams. Just earlier that day, he was given the title Rookie of the Year. Now, he and his classmates are waiting for the teacher to announce their team placements
"Sasori Matsuri, Yashamaru, Komushi. You three will be a team under Jonin Yura."
Sasori perked up at his name being mentioned before looking towards his two supposed teammates.
Yashamaru was a soft looking boy with sandy-blonde hair, fair skin, and gray eyes. He was usually seen in a simple, dark blue, kimono-style shirt with white trim that was held closed by a white sash along with gray pants. He was decent in Shurikenjutsu and had pretty good chakra control, if Sasori remembered correctly.
Komushi was a friendly and eager boy with dark brown hair and large green eyes. He wore a green jacket with rolled up sleeves over a dark-grey under-shirt and dark shorts. He was Sasori's best friend and, although Sasori's will never admit it, he's glad they now belong to the same team.
Jonin Yura is someone he's never heard of though, so Sasori just hopes he's capable of teaching them correctly. If not, then the next few years would probably be a little troublesome.
.
— Marionette of Suna —
.
The Second Shinobi War.
That's what people called it.
A war that would undoubtedly change the era and one he found himself participating in.
Souei frowned as he thought that. He knew it would happen eventually, Aunt Chiyo had been practically worrying about this for the past 5 years. Only this time, it's finally happened.
The Kazekage, the shinobi, and even the civilians were all in a hurry to prepare. Weapons, supplies, food, everything had to be prepared. Masses of Jonin and Chunin would have to be placed on the borders to fight for their territory. Many inexperienced Genin would be forced to the frontlines to fill in the growing need of soldiers. Even if their role is to simply become meat shields.
And the worst part is that Shinobi on duty aren't the only ones whose lives would change because of this. Many civilians were taken to the borders as well, most of them taking up cooking positions. Some become blacksmiths and even responsible for tailoring clothes and helping in medical tents.
Many people would be sacrificed for the war, and Souei just hopes that by the end of it, it'll all be worth it.
Konoha, Iwa, and Suna.
Those were the three villages currently at war with one another. Kumo and Kiri are still being quiet as of right now, but everyone knows that they're just really waiting for the other three to start killing each other before they swoop in to collect the winnings like vultures.
That's why the Sandaime specifically prepared a contingency force just in case Kumo or Kiri comes knocking unexpectedly.
Suna didn't originally want to be involved in the conflict, but Konoha and Iwa's aggressive movements started to involve the Land of Wind with their skirmishes happening near their borders. Minor villages and settlements got pulled into the fight and Sunagakure had no choice but to involve themselves.
They said the economic disparity between the countries was the main driving force behind the war. And so factions began to form, and under the pretext of expending fair rights, the countries started using military force to expand their territories. Thus a world war started.
Due to this, there were currently three battlefields where the majority of the war would happen. The first was in the Land of Stone, a minor country between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. This country was the main battleground between the forces of Iwa and Suna.
The second was in the Land of Fields, who are known to support their own Hidden Village, Kusagakure. The Land of Fields was located between the Land of Fire and Earth, and was the primary battleground for the war between Konoha and Iwa.
The third was the Land of Rivers, a minor country between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. They, like Stone, possess no Hidden Village of their own and so incapable of defending their own lands. This allowed for both Konoha and Suna to plant camps and bases across their lands and use their routes for entry to allow their troops to cross their borders.
The fourth was of course, the most troublesome of them all. The Land of Storms, being located between all three major countries, found itself to be the main battlefield for all the forces of Suna, Konoha, and Iwa. What made it worse, was the fact that the Land of Storm harbored their own Hidden Village, Amegakure. With their leader Hanzo the Salamander, who possesses Kage level strength rivaling the other Kage, they became a dangerous wildcard for the entire war.
*Shinobi World Map here*
Souei himself, however, was stationed near the Iwa border. The army of Suna Shinobi responsible for repelling Iwa was split into two. The advanced force and the main force.
Funny enough, this was also how Team 11 found themselves reunited as all 4 of them were part of the advanced party to reinforce the forces already on site.
Their job was to act as a small advanced force to make sure the path was clear and to prepare the base to receive additional troops from the main army and resources from the village.
Due to the delicate nature of the mission, a senior ninja was needed to lead the advanced party and take over the command in the camp at the border. That's why the Kazekage assigned Ishito to take part and become the commanding officer.
Suffice to say, morale between the soldiers immediately went up when they found out that The Centipede himself was leading them.
Ishito, as commanding officer, had the authority to handpick the few people who would accompany him for the advanced party. He personally chose his three students along with a few Jonin and Chunin, with their total number becoming 20 for the advanced force, and the remaining 2000 in the main army.
Aunt Chiyo, being one of the other few S-Rank Shinobi in Suna, was responsible for leading the Suna Contingent towards the Konoha border in the Land of Rivers. She was told to use her mastery of poisons to push back Konoha to the point that Suna would be in control of the borders in the Land of Rivers.
The situation in Ame, considering the dangers, was led by their very own Kazekage. Ryushi believed that with the powers that would be present in that particular battlefield, the presence of a Kage is needed to balance out the upcoming threats.
Despite it all, even with all the preparations they've done, no one knows what would happen in the field. No plan survives its first encounter, he remembered Ishito said once. Souei can't help but be nervous about it all. This'll be his very first war, and he has no idea what to expect.
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— Marionette of Suna —
.
"Everyone is going to war?"
"Yes." Chiyo nodded solemnly. The Matsuri clan is currently in an emergency clan meeting with her briefing the entire clan on everything they needed to know.
"Including me, right?"
Chiyo barely stifled a sigh at that voice. With the upcoming war, soldiers are needed. And so the Sandaime had allowed all the current batch of academy students to graduate earlier. Sasori being among the few to be accepted into the latest additions to the Suna Shinobi Force.
"Yes, Sasori. You as well." She answered. The boy just nodded without any outward expressions, and she couldn't help but worry about his grandson. However, she soon resolved herself and addressed the clan members gathered in front of her.
"I've been given a commanding role against the Konoha border. All shinobi Chunin and above will be coming with me as members of the puppet brigade. Time is of the essence, so please get your team assignments from Ebizo and pack your gear. Bring everything you need."
"Aunt Chiyo, what about me?" Souei asked from his corner in the room.
"For you Souei, you'll be under Ishito's command in the Iwa border." Chiyo continued, looking at her nephew. "We received a call for reinforcements from the frontlines and the Kazekage assigned Ishito to lead an advanced party to acct as reinforcements before the main army arrives. You will be part of that team, along with the rest of Team 11."
"Got it." Her nephew nodded.
The meeting carried on with Chiyo quickly assigning roles and responsibilities to those who will be staying behind in the village to ensure that the clan can still run by itself even with her and Ebizo gone. The meeting itself didn't last long due to the tight schedule.
"So I won't be under your lead, eh Aunt Chiyo? I was actually hoping to use this chance to show you how much stronger I've gotten." Souei told her with a chuckle the moment everyone was dismissed. Chiyo knows that it was just an attempt to hide his nervousness. His shaking hands say it all.
"Well nothing can be done about that." Chiyo smiled as he studied his nephew from head to toe. "You sure have grown. It feels like only yesterday that you ran around the mansion asking me to teach you jutsu." She chuckled as her eyes softened as she remembered that fond memory.
"Yeah well, time keeps moving forward. Now, someone else is doing that to me." He smiled, no doubt referencing Sasori. Souei then suddenly frowned. "Does he really have to participate in this? He's 7."
"Unfortunately yes." Chiyo let out a breath. "Sasori is among the few unlucky ones to be born in an era of war. We've tried our best to prepare him for it. Even though he's young, I have faith in him. After all, he's much stronger than me when I was his age."
Souei just smirked. "Yeah, no doubt about that." He said as he looked back to their most recent practices. "Where will he be stationed?"
"He would still be in the village most of the time, fortunately. Even though he authorized the order, Ryushi isn't one so heartless to let inexperienced Genin into the field. Most of the graduates will remain in the village with their Jonin Sensei's. They are responsible for the B and C Ranks in the mission files and to act as reinforcements should any of the fronts in the war need it." She explained. "This will give them a chance to train as a team and allow us to have flexible troops that we can assign anywhere when the war eventually kicks off."
"...At least he'll stay out of it for a little while longer at least." Souei sighed. "He's never been the same since my cousins died."
Chiyo silently agreed at that. Sasori used to filled with so much childlike innocence. It was one of his most endearing qualities, but that innocence was soon taken away far too young far too quickly. Sakumo Hatake brought himself an enemy for life, and she just prays that she'll meet him somewhere in the battlefield so he can avenge her son and daughter-in-law. It was one of the reasons she took the position for General Commander in the Konoha border after all.
Her thoughts then went back to the young man sitting in front of her right now. By all accounts, he's not that much older than Sasori. Sure, he's made massive improvements and is far from being a child any longer.
"Souei. Whatever happens, please do not die." She said to he boy she now sees as he own son. "In the war, whatever happens, your life takes priority over anything else, do you understand?"
It was obvious how her statement caught him off guard. He soon gulped and took a deep breath before answering her. "I promise Aunt Chiyo, only if you promise me the same thing."
She just smiled at that. Although she wants nothing more to reassure him, no one knows what would happen in the battlefield.
…But looking into his eyes, ones that understood her current position, she vowed to herself that by the end of all this, she's gonna come back home to her family all safe and sound.
That she promises.
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Slight info dump this chapter. It was pretty necessary though to explain the background of the war and everything.
With that, the Second Great War is finally here! I have some plans for this particular arc, I just hope I manage to bring it all to a reality.
The actual war and everything will start in the next chapter. This will be a pretty big arc since we have a lot of ground to cover.
Oh yeah, Sasori also graduated. Hope you're happy with his teammates. Yashamaru was Gaara's uncle and Rasa's right hand man back in Canon so he should be pretty capable. Komushi was actually a confirmed friend for Sasori so that was just a no brainer.
Advanced chapters on my pat_reon page! Depending on the tier, you could get up to chapter 24 along with the first three chapters of The Dark Swordsman and a few other benefits.
P_atr_eon.com/TeemVizzle
(Remove the spaces)
Anyway, that's all from me.
Cheers!
Trivia: Who are the best users of each element in Naruto?