Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Call to Arms, The Horns of War

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Call to Arms, The Horns of War  "The continuous military expansion of the Land of Rain poses a threat to the surrounding nations, including our own village, Konoha," Jiraiya explained. "Imagine what happens when a village's military power reaches its peak. What do you think will happen?" "War!" Minato immediately understood, his realization sending a shiver down his spine. "Exactly. War," Jiraiya confirmed with a serious nod. "When a village's military strength reaches its limit, and they still seek to grow, there's only one path left-war. They'll launch invasions to seize resources and populations, annexing the lands of other countries to strengthen themselves." "The Hidden Rain Village is at that critical point right now." Having never experienced war, Minato couldn't fully grasp its brutal realities. But Jiraiya, who had seen it firsthand, knew all too well that once war began, it would engulf the entire ninja world. "Lord Jiraiya, one of our squads encountered a unit from the Hidden Rain Village and is requesting immediate reinforcements," a ninja from the Anbu rushed into the cave, breaking the tense conversation. Jiraiya sighed deeply. Trouble had found them once again. The Hidden Rain Village's growing belligerence was becoming more apparent by the day. In response, Konoha had been sending more and more ninjas into the Land of Rain to gather intelligence. This constant probing was only intensifying the friction between the two sides, to the point where skirmishes were breaking out. "The Rain Village is flexing its muscles. Hanzo is sending a clear warning to Konoha," Jiraiya said gravely. "Based on intelligence from the Anbu, the Root, and our spies, it's clear that under Hanzo's leadership, the Rain Village's strength is now on par with that of the Five Great Nations." "If war breaks out, the Land of Fire will be the first to suffer its wrath," Jiraiya continued, his tone growing more urgent. "I believe we must act to prevent this threat before it escalates. We cannot allow the Rain Village to grow any stronger or to challenge Konoha." Danzo slammed his hand on the table, his voice filled with anger. "Hanzo is sending assassins after our Konoha ninjas as a warning. Sarutobi, do you really think Hanzo is willing to sit down and negotiate with us at this point?" Konoha's relentless intelligence-gathering efforts seemed to have provoked Hanzo, the leader of the Rain Village. Under his orders, Rain Village ninjas began systematically hunting down Konoha's operatives, even ignoring Konoha's requests for peace talks. Are we really heading towards war? And Konoha would be the one initiating it? This was not the outcome the Third Hokage wanted. But the situation was growing dire. Last year, the Rain Village had merely shown signs of aggression, possibly eyeing the Land of Grass. As an ally of Konoha, the Land of Grass naturally couldn't be left to fend for itself. When Konoha's Anbu and Root operatives infiltrated the Land of Rain, along with intelligence from their spies, the Third Hokage was faced with an unsettling truth: Hanzo wasn't interested in the Land of Grass. His sights were set on the Land of Fire! As soon as the order was issued from the Hokage's office, the announcement spread rapidly throughout Konoha. A call to arms to station ninjas at the frontlines-was this a prelude to war? The entire village was soon abuzz with the looming threat of conflict. "It looks like the Second Shinobi War is about to begin," Takuya remarked as he read the notice. He knew that the war was inevitable. The Rain Village's strength at this time was formidable, bolstered by Hanzo's growing ambitions. Any slight provocation could ignite a full-scale war between Konoha and the Rain Village. Konoha's actions would not go unnoticed by the other ninja villages, all of which had been biding their time, recuperating from the last war. None of them would miss this opportunity for expansion. In the eyes of many, the Land of Fire was often seen as the nation that always got attacked first, only to respond later. Little did they know that Konoha was the one who would initiate the Second Shinobi War. The tension of impending war hung heavily over the village, with everyone caught up in discussions about the conflict. Konoha's forces took up positions at the border, the Rain Village reacted even more aggressively. Their own ninja army was deployed to the border, creating a standoff that could only be described as a powder keg waiting to explode. Moreover, the Rain Village was fiercely hunting down Konoha ninjas who dared to enter their territory. This crackdown wasn't limited to Konoha-ninja from the Wind and Earth countries were also being targeted. It seemed that Hanzo was determined to turn the Land of Rain into an impenetrable fortress, forbidding the entry of any foreign ninja. This was unprecedented, especially from a smaller village like the Rain Village. It wasn't just Konoha that had an issue with the Rain Village's actions; even the Sand and Stone villages began to grow irritated with Hanzo's audacity. In the Wind Country, inside the Kazekage's office of the Sand Village, the Third Kazekage- widely regarded as the strongest of the Kazekage-saw this as a golden opportunity.