{Kazekage's Office Administrative Building, Sunagakure}
{4:41 PM, 8th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
Baki stood in front of the Kazekage, his face set in a stoic mask as always. He had been stationed in Suna for now, but seeing as the war was escalating, he was sure the reason he was called today was because of his departure.
"Ren, the genin who killed Gaara has resurfaced along the border. According to the reports he is working alone and during the scrimmage with Konoha he is working with them and picking off our supply lines by surprise." Rasa spoke. Although his face was set in a stoic grimace, Baki could see the fury in his eyes.
Baki knew that the genin's actions were a testament to smacking Sunagakure in his face. He not only disrespected Suna's shinobi but at the same time, Konoha was shameless for taking this approach.
"Right now our forces are scattered, I want you to regather everyone and command this platoon at the border," Rasa spoke.
Baki was stunned at the order, until now although both Suna had partaken in attacking each other, they had avoided amassing a larger force. Rasa's order was not a simple reinforcement but he also announced the start of the 4th Shinobi World War this way.
"Understood Kazekage-sama," Baki responded, he caught the scroll that Rasa threw at him and bowed before he left the room.
Rasa sighed as he leaned back, the mask that he was wearing dropping as he frowned. The situation was not looking good, and no matter how much he wanted to delude the shinobi force of Suna. Suna does not have the capability of taking on Konoha on its own.
'Should I talk to Orochimaru once again?' Rasa thought but then he dismissed that idea. Using Orochimaru's force as a meatshield when they invaded Konoha during a surprise attack was different than a straight-on fight.
'I need one of the 5... but who?' Rasa thought as he pulled out the scrolls filled with intelligence once again. The situation of the 5 shinobi nations was set as well. Konoha wasn't the strongest anymore, that title now belonged to Kumo.
With the 4th Raikage rivaling the combat prowess of his father, Killer B and Yugito nii, the two perfect Jinchuriki that was a force of nature itself on the battlefield. According to Intel Kumo has 3 S-rank shinobi in their forces right now.
Kiri was shrouded in mystery, with rumors of the rebellion having subsided and a new Mizukage sitting at the helm of the bloodiest nation. Its combat prowess should be at an all-time low. The only reason he was even looking at Kiri's strength was because of their strategic advantage and because of the little titbit he had got from their spy in Konoha.
'According to some rumors, Ren stole the Kubikiribōchō from Konoha. Kiri having suffered through the rebellion would be eager to reclaim this sword. Even if they could put just a little bit of pressure on Konoha it would relieve some pressure on us.' Rasa thought.
Kiri was his only true option as well, their nations were too far apart to have a conflict so they had remained neutral throughout the last 3 Shinobi Wars. Even though Iwa was their neighbour Rasa wasn't that interested in persuading Onoki to join forces.
'That old fox used Suna as a shield during the last shinobi world war to whittle down Konoha's forces. We were forced to almost surrender before the real battles even began. If it wasn't for the fact that Namikaze Minato dismantled their vanguard, they might have taken a lot of territory from not only Konoha but Suna as well...' Rasa thought, he hid his bitter thoughts as he set aside Iwa's intelligence report.
...
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{Tushikage's Office Administrative Building, Iwagakure}
{4:41 PM, 8th July 13 Yrs ANB}
{3rd Person POV}
While Rasa dismissed Iwa from his plans completely, a few thousand kilometers away Iwagakure no Sato was boiling. No one knew how the rumors started, but the fact that Namikaze Minato's legacy continued had started a riot.
It might seem like a short battle, but it was over so quickly. But that one minute completely dismantled not only Iwagakure's spirit but their forces as well. During the Second Shinobi World War, Iwagakure used a similar tactic against the 3rd Raikage. A total of 10000 shinobi, all of Iwagakure's forces were stopped from advancing by a single man.
Although they succeeded in bringing him down it took 3 full days and only after the Raikage was out of chakra were they able to stop his assault. Of the 10000, upward of 2000 shinobi died in that battle leaving a devastating impact on Iwa's forces.
Even compared to all that Namikaze's short battle was infinitely more disastrous. At the cost of 2000 shinobi, Iwa was able to kill one of the strongest Raikage to ever live. Minato gulped down their force of 1000 and dismantled their vanguard in just a minute.
The core value that Iwa shinobi is taught from the academy is to believe in the basics. They are taught to trust teamwork and coordination more than the tree huggers but Minato shit on all their beliefs in that battle.
Onoki remembered the shame with which he had signed the non-aggression treaty with Konoha. All of Iwagakure sighed in relief when they heard the rumors that Minato died in the nine-tails attack. But to hear that his son lived and still breathes was a stone set on their hearts that they couldn't lift.
He stared at the report submitted in front of him. Iwagakgure was a strong militaristic village, they prided themselves on being a cog in the machine. But the hate was enough that 12 shinobi, ranked chunin and higher have defected from Iwagakure since the rumors started.
...
'''Name: Uzumaki Naruto (Namikaze)
Rank: Genin
Team: Team 7, notable mentions{Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Hinata Hyuga}
Strengths: Unknown {At least Chunin grade}
Specialty: 9 Tails Jinchuriki'''
'Minato's student, the last Uchiha, the Hyuga Heiress, and the 9 tails Jinchuriki.' Onoki muttered. At times he really was jealous of the rate at which Konoha popped out geniuses. Not only every member of Team 7 was high profile, but Onoki was sure that if not handled correctly in the next 5 years Konoha would have 1 possibly 2 more S-rank shinobi.
'All the decade long pressure would be for naught,' Onoki thought, if nothing else he needed to use this opportunity to stifle their growth. While Konoha might seem vulnerable, Onoki had survived all 3 shinobi wars. He knew that Konoha had more than one trump card up their sleeve ready to be unveiled at any time.
'I can't fool Rasa again, just the fact that he hasn't attempted to contact me means that there will be no alliance. Attacking Konoha head-on seems foolish.' Onoki thought, his eyes once again looking at the 12 shinobi that had deserted their post. Although he was angry he was also helpless against this issue.
'Alright, let's go for the assassination route. We still need to be wary of Kumo's sudden push...'
...