Chapter 26: The Hidden Rain Village Declares War on Konoha

"I believe this is an opportunity for our Sand Village to emerge from its difficulties. We should lend a hand to Konoha," the Third Kazekage stated decisively.

"Do you mean to provoke a war, Kazekage-sama?" Chiyo, an influential elder of the village, and her brother Ebizō were present at the meeting.

The Land of Wind was impoverished, while the neighboring Land of Fire was wealthy. As the leader of the Sand Village, the Third Kazekage had long dreamed of carving out a piece of that wealth for his own village.

"Yes, we should instigate a war, but not between the Sand and the Rain Villages—between Konoha and the Rain Village."

Since neither side seemed willing to make the first move, the Kazekage decided to give them a little push.

Chiyo understood the Third Kazekage's intention and rose from her seat. "In that case, leave this matter to me," she said.

Both the Hidden Rain Village and Konoha were already on edge, so sparking a conflict wouldn't be difficult.

"Then I leave it in your hands," the Third Kazekage agreed, nodding his approval.

The Hidden Sand Village couldn't afford to remain idle; it desperately needed a war to seize resources from other countries and grow stronger. The Daimyo had repeatedly protested the high annual funding allocated to the Sand Village. With limited income sources, maintaining a large number of ninjas was becoming unsustainable.

The Third Kazekage knew the village was running out of money. The Daimyo wouldn't continue to provide funding unless a war broke out, which would force the Daimyo to finance the village to protect his own rule.

Under Chiyo's leadership, a group of Sand ninjas infiltrated the Land of Rain.

The tension between the Hidden Rain and Konoha continued to build, with neither side willing to make the first move. However, in this tense atmosphere, a group of ninjas wearing Konoha headbands began attacking villages within the Land of Rain, leaving a trail of death and destruction.

"Konoha!!" Hanzo's fury was ignited when the Anbu delivered this intelligence report to him.

Ever since the Rain Village began building up its military strength, Konoha ninjas had been constantly infiltrating the Land of Rain to gather intelligence, forcing Hanzo to launch multiple crackdowns. When Konoha later submitted a request for negotiations, Hanzo had outright ignored it.

You send spies into my territory to stir up trouble, and then you want to negotiate? Hanzo thought angrily. What kind of logic is that?

Was the Hidden Rain Village supposed to be bullied by Konoha and not allowed to fight back? Refusing to be cowed, Hanzo continued his crackdown on Konoha's spies and ignored their requests for peace talks.

After suffering these crackdowns, Konoha had the audacity to station an army on the border. Was this a challenge to the Hidden Rain Village or a direct affront to Hanzo himself?

All of Konoha's actions pointed to one thing: they were preparing to go to war with the Rain Village.

While both armies were facing off, Konoha ninjas infiltrated the Land of Rain and attacked its villages, finally snapping Hanzo's already taut nerves.

The Hidden Rain Village declared war on Konoha!

The news spread like wildfire across the entire ninja world, shocking everyone. Since the founding of the Five Great Nations, this was the first time a smaller village had dared to declare war on one of them—especially on Konoha, the strongest of the Five.

Konoha quickly responded to the Rain Village's declaration. They officially declared war on the Hidden Rain and appointed Danzo as the front-line commander to lead the assault. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were all part of the invasion force.

Minato, who had been training under Jiraiya for less than a year, was left behind in the village. The war had just begun, and Konoha wasn't desperate enough to send Genin to the front lines, so Minato remained in the village.

With war looming, Konoha's forces swiftly invaded the Land of Rain, turning it into the primary battleground.

When the group gathered again, Takuya couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"So, your team just disbanded like that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Minato replied, nodding reluctantly. Despite his frustration, he couldn't change what had happened.

Their team had been dissolved. While carrying out a mission in the Land of Rain, they were ambushed. One of Minato's teammates was severely injured and could no longer continue as a ninja. With Jiraiya off to the front lines, Minato and his remaining teammate were left behind, leading to the dissolution of their team.

Minato had never imagined that his team would disband in such a manner.

"Hahaha… Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, but I can't believe Jiraiya just left you behind in the village while he went off to the front lines," Takuya said, still chuckling.

"Cut it out," Uchiha Mikoto chided, nudging Takuya with her elbow. Minato was clearly upset, and Takuya's laughter wasn't helping.

Kushina couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

"It's fine, go ahead and laugh. I didn't expect things to turn out this way either," Minato said with a wry smile. He wasn't sure what to do next. Should he try to find a new team to join, or stay in the village to train and improve his skills? Maybe he should pass the Chunin exams first and then head to the battlefield to find his unreliable teacher, Jiraiya.

Little did Minato know that while he was left behind in Konoha, his teacher Jiraiya was locked in intense combat with the Rain Village's ninjas. After fighting until the war's end, Jiraiya stayed behind due to a ridiculous prophecy about a "savior," dedicating his time to training three orphans from the Land of Rain.

And Minato? He was left in Konoha for years.

Is this what you call a reliable teacher? Takuya thought. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Takuya speculated that the reason Minato learned the Flying Thunder God technique so early was likely because Jiraiya felt guilty for neglecting him. After the war, Jiraiya probably tried to make it up to Minato by teaching him the technique.

Waving his hand to signal that he had stopped laughing, Takuya turned the meat on the grill and asked, "So, what's your plan now?"

"What about you guys?" Minato asked in return.

Takuya glanced at Uchiha Mikoto and smiled. "Same as before: train to get stronger, take on a few missions to earn some money, and accumulate enough merit points to exchange for the jutsu I want. That's pretty much it."

With the war approaching, the standards for the Chunin exams would be lowered, but Takuya had no interest in participating under such conditions. Passing the exams would mean being sent to the front lines.

Is grilled meat not delicious enough, or are the girls not pretty enough? he mused. Why risk my life on the battlefield?

And the worst part? Even if you fought with all your might and earned military merits, you might not receive the corresponding rewards. That was the most infuriating thing of all.

Don't doubt it—Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo are more than capable of pulling such a shameless move, Takuya thought. And Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado aren't any better.

"Count me in!" Minato said, seizing the opportunity.