Rinjin's grand arms-dealing scheme fizzled out in the end—Dog-bro just didn't have it in him to go full villain.
Time raced by...
The Allied Shinobi Forces rolled out their preparations with military precision. Intel, medical, recon, sensory, and strike teams were all squared away, ready for war.
First Division: Mid-Range Battle, led by Cloud's Darui.
Second Division: Close-Range Combat, led by Stone's Kitsuchi.
Third Division: Close-Range Support, led by Leaf's Kakashi.
Fourth Division: Long-Range Firepower, led by Sand's Gaara.
Special Combat Division: Captain Mifune, the samurai chief of the Land of Iron.
At Allied HQ, perched on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron, Tsunade commanded as Supreme Leader, with Fourth Raikage A as her right hand. Gaara, Fifth Kazekage, doubled as both overall Allied Commander and head of the Fourth Division.
Meanwhile, at the Mountain Graveyard in the northern Land of Iron, Obito—now sporting a new mask and new eyes—stepped out of the cave with Kabuto and a hundred thousand White Zetsu.
The Fourth Great Ninja War... officially erupted.
...
Back in the tranquil Hidden Rain Village, Rinjin and Sakumo had just swapped shifts with Shisui and Kagami. They lounged at the village gate, watching the world go by. Out here, the chaos of war was just a rumor—the Rain Village remained a peaceful haven.
At the gate, Sakumo gazed north, lost in thought. "Rinjin, who do you think's gonna win this war?"
"The Allied Shinobi Forces," Rinjin replied without missing a beat.
"Why so sure?"
Rinjin just grinned, fishing out a handful of sunflower seeds. "Because they've got someone backing them. The Sage of Six Paths came to me, asked for my help."
Sakumo's eyes went wide. "The Sage of Six Paths? Isn't he just a legend? He's alive?"
"Alive and kicking."
"So what's your move? You gonna help the alliance?" Sakumo pressed.
Rinjin shook his head, still smiling. "Nope. Let 'em fight it out first. The Sage isn't exactly a saint—helping him doesn't do me any favors. When they're all worn down, that's when we step in."
Sakumo nodded, thoughtful. His son Kakashi was in the war too, but at least this time his eyebrow hadn't started twitching.
Three days slipped by in a heartbeat.
From the moment the Fourth Great Ninja War began, the fighting was brutal. The Second Division clashed with the White Zetsu horde. The First Division faced off against White Zetsu swarming in from the sea—some mixed in with Edo Tensei reanimated shinobi, like Sarutobi Asuma, Hyuga Hiashi, and the infamous Gold and Silver Brothers.
Gaara's Fourth Division met the resurrected Kage on the wild border between Fire and Lightning.
But this time, the lineup of reanimated Kage was off from what Rinjin remembered. Besides Second Tsuchikage Mu, Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki, and Fourth Kazekage Rasa, the living Third Raikage had been swapped for the mysterious Third Mizukage and the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand.
Five coffins burst from the earth. As the lids crashed down, five figures shuffled out, slow and stiff.
A hundred miles away, Kabuto was just about to have Mu assign tasks to the Kage when a massive fist suddenly filled his vision, slamming into his face.
"Mu, you bastard, I finally caught you!" Gengetsu Hozuki's fist cracked as he grinned wickedly at Mu.
He'd made a deal with Rinjin—next time he got reanimated, Mu had to be summoned too. And Gengetsu's vessel had to be top-notch, while Mu's could be as lousy as possible. He'd been waiting for this moment forever...
But as his punch landed, Gengetsu realized something was off. The feedback felt... solid. Durable. With his level of battle experience, he instantly guessed Mu's Edo Tensei body was just as sturdy as his own.
Gengetsu jabbed a finger at Mu's nose, cursing, "Rinjin, you damn dog! No credibility at all! You promised I could beat Mu to a pulp and vent my anger—how am I supposed to do that now?! Are we supposed to blow each other up again?!"
Rinjin???
Who's shouting my son's name???
Nearby, the Third Kazekage shook off his dizziness, frowned, and hurried over to break up the fight. But before he could even voice his confusion, the standoff between the two old rivals left him speechless. A sense of absurdity welled up inside him—Mu and Gengetsu were at it again. What was going on? Why was he even alive?
...
Gengetsu's mustache twitched as he eyed the Third Kazekage, who'd stepped between them. "Who are you, kid? Why're you blocking me?"
Fourth Kazekage Rasa piped up, "He's the Third Kazekage of the Hidden Sand."
The Third Kazekage nodded at Gengetsu, then asked urgently, "Second Mizukage-sama, you mentioned the name Rinjin earlier. Where did you hear it?"
Gengetsu shot back, annoyed, "What's it to you?"
"It's just... my son's name is Rinjin. He went missing before I died."
Gengetsu's eyes darted, gears turning. When did I meet that kid, anyway? He glanced at the gloomy-faced Third Mizukage, running the numbers. If he went by the founding of Hidden Mist, he probably met Rinjin around Mist Year 23—about Konoha Year 26 or 27.
Just as Gengetsu was piecing it together, Rasa spoke up. "No need to guess. The Rinjin you're all talking about is the same person. Third Kazekage, he came back!"
"He came back?!" The Third Kazekage's voice cracked in shock.
Rasa nodded, his expression complicated. "When I was Kazekage, most of the village was already under his control."
"So did he become the Fifth Kazekage?" Third pressed.
"Probably not," Rasa replied, shaking his head. "I died suddenly, didn't pick a successor. But from what I know of him—your son—he'd never want the Kazekage's seat."
As the old legends swapped stories, Kabuto—lurking a hundred meters away—was in no rush to control these relics of history. The so-called Dream Fulfiller Kabuto... well, Kabuto was honestly fascinated by these secrets buried in the dust of time.
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