Chapter 199: Iwagakure Enters the War, A Reputation Begins to Rise
On the side of the Land of Rivers closest to the Land of Wind, the climate had already begun to resemble the desert—dry, harsh, with water sources growing increasingly scarce.
Taichi's shadow clone carried the captured White Zetsu to a cliffside near one of the few remaining water sources. Using Earth Release, it hollowed out a large chamber within the rock, then dragged the restless creature inside.
After securing the White Zetsu, the clone set up a concealment barrier at the cave entrance. Moments later, it dispelled itself, leaving behind only a Flying Thunder God kunai as an anchor point.
A short while later, Taichi reappeared—but this time, it was his real body.
Originally, combining Flying Thunder God with shadow clones was just a way to free himself for missions outside the camp. He hadn't expected to discover such a practical secondary use so quickly.
A hidden base.
He had only toyed with the idea before—but now, on the second day, it had already become reality.
Once you cross a line once, it becomes much easier to cross it again. Now that he'd tasted the convenience of establishing a sub-base, Taichi was already wondering whether he should build several more.
Looking around the crude cave, he began planning what equipment to add. This place would serve as a research site for White Zetsu—proper tools were essential.
Fortunately, his current mission allowed near-total freedom. It was the perfect opportunity to gather everything he needed.
When Taichi left again, the empty cave contained only a single shadow clone… and the still-living White Zetsu.
Watching it chatter endlessly, Taichi couldn't help but feel his knowledge of sealing techniques was still lacking. He'd heard that Konoha's interrogation division possessed seals capable of rendering a target unconscious—but he didn't know them.
With no better option, he set up a soundproof barrier and tossed the noisy creature inside.
At last—silence.
Now, he focused on expanding and reinforcing the cave, transforming it into a proper hidden laboratory: secure, concealed, and durable.
Meanwhile, after using Flying Thunder God to travel, Taichi stepped once again onto the sands of the Land of Wind.
The last time he had come here, he had—by sheer coincidence—returned with the body of a Kazekage, earning a great merit for Konoha. Now that he was back, who knew what fortune awaited him this time?
His appearance shifted.
In an instant, he transformed into a Sand shinobi in his thirties—someone he had seen during his previous visit. Whether that man was still alive… was anyone's guess.
Wearing this face, Taichi moved openly through the Land of Wind.
He didn't fear being questioned.
In fact, he welcomed it.
It would save him the trouble of hunting down Sand shinobi himself.
At the same time, far away in Konoha, the battle report sent by Jiraiya finally reached the desk of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The first thing Hiruzen checked was the header.
A victory report.
A genuine one.
A long-missing smile spread across his face. The past weeks had brought nothing but bad news—whether from the Land of Wind front or the battlefields against the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.
At last—something worth celebrating.
Turning to the final page, where casualties were listed, his smile widened further.
Sunagakure had lost 19 jōnin and over 100 chūnin.
Konoha had lost only 23 chūnin.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed, slapping the table.
Setting the report aside, Hiruzen picked up his pipe, packed it with tobacco, and lit it with practiced ease. A slow inhale, a steady exhale—blue smoke curling into the air.
For the first time in days, the tension weighing on him eased. Even the lines on his aging face seemed to soften.
After finishing the bowl, he picked up the report again and read more carefully.
When he saw how Taichi's medical ninjutsu had dramatically increased Konoha's combat effectiveness, he couldn't help but think of Tsunade—once the village's greatest support.
Then came the part about Taichi single-handedly restraining the Fourth Kazekage, enabling the ambush to succeed with minimal losses.
Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
So young… and already this strong.
In the future, Taichi could become one of Konoha's absolute pillars.
And more importantly—he was a student of both Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Firmly aligned with the Hokage's faction.
That thought brought Hiruzen quiet satisfaction. At a time like this, Konoha needed as many powerful talents as possible.
The external threats were simply too great—one misstep could lead to disaster.
Just as he was savoring the rare moment of relief—
The office door burst open.
"Hiruzen! I heard a report came from the front. Which battlefield failed this time?"
Danzo (The Door Breaker) entered, leaning on his cane, his expression tense and impatient.
His eyes immediately locked onto the scroll on the desk, a sharp glint flashing within them—though he still looked toward Hiruzen for confirmation.
Hiruzen frowned slightly at the intrusion but chose not to make an issue of it. Instead, he picked up the scroll and handed it over with a smile.
"Take a look. It's from Jiraiya—a major victory."
Danzo's lips twitched, as if trying to form a smile.
It didn't quite succeed.
As he read, however, his mood grew darker.
Because aside from the victory itself—
The entire report revolved around a single name.
Matsushita Taichi.
If it had been someone else—even Minato Namikaze—Danzo might have felt pleased.
But Taichi?
That name struck directly at his nerves.
The more he read, the more displeased he became.
Because what he saw wasn't just a promising ninja—
It was a rising figure he could neither control… nor ignore.
As soon as Danzo thought about how Taichi had slipped right out from under his nose and ended up under Hiruzen's protection, a nameless fire rose in his chest.
Worse still, Taichi's repeated, outstanding performances kept reminding him of the moment when his teacher had chosen the Third Hokage. Each time Taichi shone, it reopened that old wound, breaking through Danzo's composure again and again. Over time, that resentment had quietly taken root—now it was only waiting to bloom.
Whether Hiruzen had noticed this or not was unclear. Or perhaps he had noticed and simply chose to ignore it. After all, the more Danzo hated Taichi, the more firmly Taichi would stand on Hiruzen's side.
As long as Danzo didn't do anything foolish—like attempting to assassinate Taichi—Hiruzen would not interfere in the internal rivalries among his subordinates. That was his balance as Hokage.
"With this victory, Jiraiya will definitely press the advantage," Hiruzen said, his tone thoughtful. "If we can maintain this momentum, the war with Sunagakure might even end sooner than expected."
He knew the likelihood was slim. War was ever-changing, and this conflict had only just begun. No major village would collapse that quickly.
"Keep an eye on Iwagakure and Kumogakure," Danzo said, closing the scroll and forcing his tone into calmness. "Especially Iwagakure. If I'm not mistaken—they're about to make a move."
Hiruzen glanced at him, surprised for a moment—but as a seasoned politician, he immediately understood.
Konoha had officially engaged Sunagakure, and in a short time had achieved such a decisive victory. That was not something other great villages—who also had designs on the Land of Fire—would tolerate.
They wouldn't want Sunagakure to fall so quickly.
Especially Iwagakure.
They had deliberately paused their conflict with Sunagakure to prepare for this war. If they saw Sunagakure struggling, there was a strong chance they would open another front against Konoha—dragging it into a prolonged war of attrition.
"…Sigh."
Hiruzen's good mood faded instantly. Picking up his pipe again, he took a slow drag, the smoke curling as his thoughts darkened.
Information in the shinobi world could be painfully slow—or incredibly fast.
Within a day or two, news could travel from one end of the world to the other. And with special summoning beasts or unique techniques, information could even be transmitted instantly.
Just one day after Konoha received Jiraiya's report, the outcome of the battle began spreading across the great nations.
The result wasn't surprising—and yet, it was.
Everyone had expected Sunagakure to lose to Konoha.
But not this quickly.
In Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office, Onoki finished reading the report and fell silent.
"Father… what do we do next?" Kitsuchi asked, his usually steady face now filled with excitement.
"Call me Tsuchikage!" Onoki snapped, slamming the table.
"Yes, yes—Tsuchikage-sama… so what's our next move?" Kitsuchi corrected himself quickly, though the eagerness didn't fade.
Onoki floated up and moved toward a large map of the shinobi world. His eyes lingered on the region between Konoha and Sunagakure.
Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to act yet.
His original plan was to wait until Kumogakure engaged Konoha before joining the war. But Sunagakure's defeat had come too quickly.
Too quickly.
He could already imagine the chaos inside Sunagakure.
And if they lost hope of victory…
Onoki couldn't rule out the possibility that Sunagakure might once again ally with Konoha—turning their blades toward Iwagakure instead.
It wasn't far-fetched. They had done it before.
Besides, their ceasefire in the Land of Birds was only informal. No treaty bound them. If war resumed, they wouldn't even need an excuse.
"Send the order," Onoki said decisively. "Convene the high council. We will discuss declaring war on Konoha."
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!"
Kitsuchi rushed out immediately.
Iwagakure, being the most militarized of the great villages, moved with remarkable efficiency. Within half an hour, all senior figures had assembled.
The "discussion" was little more than a formality.
The hawkish faction had long been eager to attack Konoha—only Onoki's restraint had held them back. Now that he himself supported it, the decision passed almost instantly.
That very day, Iwagakure mobilized a force of one thousand shinobi, advancing toward their base in the Land of Grass. At the same time, a declaration of war spread across the shinobi world.
Iwagakure had officially declared war on Konoha.
Konoha responded just as swiftly.
Already prepared, its leadership immediately assembled a reinforcement force of five hundred shinobi and dispatched them to the front lines.
Among them was Nono Yakushi, assigned as a medical ninja.
Taichi's earlier concern had come true.
As the war escalated, everyone in Konoha would eventually be drawn into it. Today it was Nono—tomorrow, it might even be academy students who hadn't yet graduated.
Meanwhile, Taichi remained unaware of all this.
In recent days, his routine had been almost… leisurely.
By day, he roamed the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers.
By night, he returned to camp using Flying Thunder God to rest.
But "leisurely" didn't mean idle.
If anything, his actions were becoming increasingly bold.
At first, he targeted small Sand squads.
Then medium units.
Now—even hundred-man formations had become his prey.
He didn't aim to wipe them out entirely—that was unrealistic. Instead, he ambushed, struck swiftly—often with shadow clones—killed as many as he could, then vanished using Flying Thunder God.
Simple.
Efficient.
And above all—safe.
Using this method, Taichi roamed freely across the desert. Sunagakure found themselves completely unable to deal with him.
Their leadership was at a loss.
It wasn't that they hadn't tried. They had sent elite squads—even Rasa himself had joined the hunt.
But Taichi was… impossible.
Not merely cunning—complete.
What required an entire squad—sensing, healing, offense, defense—he could handle alone.
And with Flying Thunder God, he could appear and disappear at will.
After repeated failed attempts, Sunagakure made a pragmatic decision:
They gave up.
Chasing one man who could never be caught was a waste of manpower.
Better to redirect those resources to the main battlefield.
At least there… they could still fight back.