With the defeat of Sunagakure and the subsequent annihilation of the Sky Ninja, the Third Hokage's prestige had reached a new zenith. Naturally, his old habits resurfaced. He kept the triumphant heroes, like Sakumo Hatake and Orochimaru, within the village and dispatched the professional blunderer, Danzo Shimura, to handle war preparations on the Amegakure front.
The objective was singular: Iwagakure.
Currently, Suna and Iwa were tearing each other apart. While Konoha maintained a standoff with Kumogakure, they began to set their sights on the Hidden Stone.
Following the counsel of the chief strategist, Nara Shikato, Konoha didn't need to initiate a direct war with Iwa just yet. They only needed to maintain a presence in the Land of Rain to stare them down, while simultaneously selling food and weapons to the Sand. This would help Suna stabilize their lines and force the Stone into a state of continuous attrition.
Once Iwa could no longer endure the "blood loss," their options would be limited: either go all-in against Suna to end that conflict quickly, or take a detour through the Land of Rice Fields to invade the Land of Fire.
In either scenario, Konoha would hold all the cards. They could either bolster Suna's defense or deploy their forces in the Land of Rice Fields to trap and annihilate a portion of the Iwa army, forcing Onoki to concede defeat.
Rain was a strategic chokepoint, but it was a terrible place for a decisive battle. The terrain was simply too rugged.
In the final battle between Konoha and Suna, both sides had deployed over ten thousand shinobi. In contrast, once Konoha increased its presence in Rain to six thousand, the terrain felt claustrophobic. It was impossible to maneuver.
Iwagakure was a Great Village capable of mobilizing ten thousand ninjas. To deal with them safely, Konoha would need twenty thousand—and the only places capable of hosting a battle of that scale were the Land of Bears or the Land of Grass.
Bear Country was out of the question; it was too far, and the supply lines would have to pass through a Land of Wind that was still burning with hatred for Konoha. If the Hokage actually gave such an order, Suna would turn cloak on the spot, ally with Iwa to wipe out the twenty thousand Konoha ninjas, and then invade the Land of Fire together.
If a tragedy of that magnitude occurred—the loss of twenty thousand shinobi—Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have lived to see the "Konoha Crush" in the year 60. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't override the collective will of the village's entire shinobi population.
The outcome would be inevitable: the Third Hokage, overcome by "grief and shame," would be forced to choose (or be "helped" to choose) ritual suicide to make way for a Fourth.
Of course, that would also mean the end of Orochimaru's aspirations. The Hokage succession would shift to a different lineage entirely. The Sannin would likely suffer the same fate as Sakumo Hatake; with the exception of Tsunade, the other two would probably have no choice but to defect.
But that's a tangent. Such things weren't going to happen.
In short, the core of Nara Shikato's plan was to deter Kumo, stall Iwa, and use Suna to bleed the Stone dry until they were weak enough to be forced into the Land of Grass for a final, decisive resolution.
Finally, they would deal with the most cunning of them all: Kumogakure.
The plan was solid and highly feasible. Unfortunately, the Hokage chose the wrong man to execute it.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought: Danzo is capable. He's not a great general, but he's perfectly fine for the preliminary work. Once the battle moves to the Land of Rice Fields, he'll have earned a respectable amount of military merit.
Danzo Shimura thought: Finally, it's my turn. I will have my revenge. I'll show the Sand, I'll show the Stone, and I'll show everyone in Konoha that I am the best choice for Hokage.
With that much resentment fueling him, it's no wonder he was the village's greatest liability.
Unsurprisingly, Danzo caused an "accident."
The specific details were classified and never leaked. However, the result was that Suna, claiming Konoha had cut off their supplies, negotiated with Onoki. They bluntly admitted defeat, abandoned Bear Country, and retreated back to the Land of Wind.
Then, Hanzo of the Salamander appeared at the gates of the Konoha camp. He declared that if there were any more massacres of the Rain's civilian population, he would no longer honor their previous peace treaty.
Most importantly, Iwagakure didn't even occupy Bear Country. They pulled their main forces back and began to refortify, using the Land of Rain as a buffer.
Before the Hokage could even get a full report, Danzo used a massive amount of wealth as compensation and promised not to threaten Rain's civilians further, finally convincing Hanzo to allow Konoha ninjas passage. Then, he led his army across Rain to initiate a direct assault on the Iwa forces.
Word has it that when the full report reached the village, the Hokage was happily discussing the possibility of ending the war with Nara Shikato. The forty-three-year-old Hiruzen's blood pressure spiked so high his brain nearly hemorrhaged on the spot.
Suna's withdrawal had actually been foreshadowed. They had already lost one war; continuing a conflict against a power like Iwa was merely an attempt to secure a "dignified" exit. They had wanted out for a long time.
Suna's decline wasn't just a lack of food or manpower; they lacked patience. They had plenty of good ideas and resources, but they never had the discipline to develop any of them to their peak.
This lack of patience showed in their hurried decision-making. Aside from the First Great War, they were always the first of the Five Great Nations to jump into a conflict, the first to get beaten into the dirt, and the first to start screaming from top to bottom about wanting to quit.
The Hokage and Shikato understood this perfectly. That was why they were willing to supply Suna—to give them a reason to keep fighting, stalling both Iwa and Suna.
Now, everything was ruined. Konoha, which should have been resting and waiting for a tired enemy, was now forced to march six hundred kilometers across the Land of Rain to attack an Iwa army famous for its "turtle-shell" defense.
The advantage gained from two hard-won victories had been tossed away by Danzo. Konoha was back on the defensive across the board. Small wonder Hiruzen nearly died of frustration.
The shift in the war was total. Konoha had to reinforce the Rain front and the Grass front.
Kumogakure quickly noticed the change in tides and began to stir. Konoha was forced to send more ninjas to the Land of Hot Water and Rice Fields to suppress the restless Cloud.
In an instant, over twenty thousand shinobi were drafted to the front lines. At this point, there was no more talk of "keeping cards hidden" or "preserving strength." Every available hand had to move.
Aburame Wafu was called back to duty, stationed in the Land of Hot Water. Aburame Aiko would be going with him.
Tetsumaru Aburame, however, received an unexpected assignment: a stationary guard mission in the Land of Tea. His students were sent to the Land of Grass with the Giant Insect Squadron, a terrain perfectly suited for swarm operations.
At the brink of a massive war, Tetsumaru found himself exiled to the far south. Naturally, he was beyond livid. He sought out Elder Shiki, wrote to the Clan Head, wrote to the Hokage, and finally, he went to the Hokage Building to stage a protest.
Tetsumaru stood there like a mountain, holding a massive wooden board that read "I'M DONE" in bold characters. Every passing civilian and ninja stared in awe.
Inside, the Hokage puffed furiously on his pipe, glaring at the oversized ninja in the trench coat and sunglasses through the window. "I thought Tetsumaru didn't want to fight! I send him to the southern Land of Tea for his safety, so why is he throwing a tantrum? What the hell does he want?"
No one answered.
It was a stupid question. Plenty of ninjas didn't want to fight, but they all wanted to stay in Konoha, not be kicked thousands of kilometers away to a peninsula in the south.
To be sent to a barren, bird-crap-filled wasteland for "surveillance"—especially when the post was originally for a four-man squad and was now being manned by just one person—meant he wouldn't see another human soul for months.
When nothing was happening, it was mind-numbingly boring. If something did happen, it would either be a Suna invasion or a massive Hidden Mist incursion. In either case, it was a death sentence.
Anyone would be pissed off by a garbage mission like that.
"Send someone to find Orochimaru," the Hokage sighed. "Have him take this brat away before he embarrasses us any further."
"Yes, sir."
Outside, Tetsumaru leaned against his sign, eyes closed, calculating the arrangement of chakra runes. He was debating whether to put a specific rune in the thirty-ninth slot.
Suddenly, a pale hand gripped the board. Tetsumaru flinched slightly and looked down. "Lord Orochimaru."
"What kind of game are you playing now, causing such a scene?"
"The mission I was given is disgusting, so I figured I'd be a bit disgusting in return. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to sleep," Tetsumaru whispered. In truth, he was a little panicked. He had wanted to make a statement, but his "homage" to a certain famous literary figure from his past life had worked too well. The spectacle was so big he didn't know how to end it, so he had just been playing dead.
"Hehehe." Orochimaru couldn't stop chuckling. Once he'd had his fill of amusement, he scolded, "Nonsense. With your personality, you're definitely plotting something."
Orochimaru licked his cheek, a look of realization dawning on him. "Ah... I see. You're overacting to cover your tracks. You actually like this Tea Country mission, don't you?"
"Nothing gets past you, Lord Orochimaru. Incredible. You hit the nail on the head," Tetsumaru said, giving a thumbs-up.
"I knew it." Orochimaru stretched his back. "Actually, I'd like a change of scenery myself, but unfortunately, I'm stuck here."
"I can't help you with that. You'll have to convince Lord Hokage."
"However," Tetsumaru added, "if you ever need me for anything else, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Good. I'll find you tonight."
"But for now..." Orochimaru suddenly snatched the wooden board and swung it horizontally into Tetsumaru's waist. The "ninja" exploded into a massive cloud of white smoke. "This Shadow Clone will serve as your punishment."
The explosion of smoke made the gathered ninjas gasp.
"Wow, it was a Shadow Clone? I couldn't tell at all."
"Having your clone popped like that must hurt."
"Don't be stupid. Lord Orochimaru doing that counts as a 'punishment' for Tetsumaru-sama. Now the Hokage can't discipline him further."
"Oh, I see!"
"Lord Orochimaru looks cold, but he's actually quite kind."
Orochimaru ignored the whispers. He picked up the board, looked at the three bold words, and let out a cold snort. "This matter ends here," he said softly. "Aburame Tetsumaru will carry out his mission."
"I have work to do, so I won't be heading into the Hokage Building. Too much paperwork, a waste of time."
A masked Anbu appeared in a flicker, kneeling on one knee. "Understood, Lord Orochimaru. I will report this to Lord Hokage immediately."
"Good. Much appreciated." Orochimaru nodded, tucked the board under his arm, and walked away.
The Anbu vanished in a puff of smoke.
The ninjas in the crowd dispersed to their own duties, leaving only the civilians to slowly chatter and drift away, leaving behind a mess of fruit peels and trash.
Late that night, Tetsumaru sat in a laboratory a hundred meters underground. This was his Third Laboratory, dedicated to the research of sound-based insects and ninjutsu.
Tetsumaru maintained his Domain Field Barrier. Utilizing the omnidirectional perspective of the secret technique, he observed a cicada being dissected from multiple angles, analyzing its physical structure and contemplating how to increase the intensity of its resonance.
Suddenly, a voice spoke from a silent corner. "I'm truly starting to consider taking you as my disciple, Tetsumaru-kun."
Tetsumaru's hand jerked in fright. His tweezers and scalpel completely shredded the cicada.
The Domain Field Barrier wasn't omnipotent. When Tetsumaru was hyper-focused on a task, he tended to filter out some of the information his insects provided—like a snake slithering out of a corner.
Orochimaru dug a tunnel right into my lab. That's... a bit annoying.
Tetsumaru stood up with a blank expression and greeted the intruder. "Lord Orochimaru."
The snake, as thick as a man's arm, unhinged its jaw. A slimy Orochimaru crawled out of the snake's mouth. Tetsumaru felt a wave of nausea; no matter how many times he saw that, he couldn't get used to it.
"Does this cicada have some special function that warrants such intense study?"
"Ah, nothing major. I'm just researching the principles of sound-based damage. I want to manipulate wave frequencies to increase the intensity of acoustic attacks."
"Principles of sound damage?"
"Yes. I've encountered explosions on the battlefield where I couldn't actually 'hear' the blast, yet it caused intense physical discomfort. There must be a mechanism behind it."
"Furthermore, I noticed long ago that the sound of cicadas in summer isn't just loud; its monotony can make one lose focus and become irritable. It's almost like a form of genjutsu. It's a research direction worth exploring."
"If I can develop a jutsu that can adjust audio frequency and increase wave amplitude, it would open up an entirely new branch of ninjutsu: ultrasonics, infrasonics, resonance, noise interference, acoustic genjutsu, and so on."
The moment Orochimaru heard the prospect of a new ninjutsu system, his interest was piqued. He instantly forgot why he had come and joined in on the dissection of the cicadas.
Hours later, Orochimaru had recorded a massive amount of data. It was only as he prepared to leave that he remembered he had come to ask for a favor.
However, his mind was now so full of inspiration that he just wanted to rush back to his own lab to start experimenting. He wasn't in the mood to explain the mission in detail. He simply spat out a scroll and tossed it to Tetsumaru.
"Once you're out there, help me collect intelligence on the Land of Tea. Specifically geography, population, the Daimyo, and the nobility."
Then, he vanished.
Tetsumaru sighed, using a pair of tongs to pick up the slime-covered scroll with a look of disgust. He wiped it down thoroughly before stowing it away.
He wasn't going to continue his research tonight. First, he had to plug the hole the snake had used to get in, then reinforce the floors and walls so it couldn't happen again.
As for Orochimaru's request, he'd look at it later.
The next day, after reading the mission briefing, Tetsumaru habitually began planning his movements to execute the request.
But the more he thought about it, the more a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. It wasn't until he returned from a supply run that he suddenly recalled the image of himself and Orochimaru researching sound-based ninjutsu the night before. The feeling of Deja vu became overwhelming. What was it?
Holy crap... the Hidden Sound Village!
The "signature" of Orochimaru's future village was Sound Style ninjutsu.
After all that, the Sound Village was getting a head start because of him. If the development of Sound Style had been moved forward this much, how advanced would it be by the time the original plot reached the year 60?
Tetsumaru was genuinely curious. With Orochimaru's genius, there would surely be plenty of "reference material" to harvest by then.
While dreaming of his future trip to the Sound Village to "reap" their knowledge, Tetsumaru happily prepared lunch. Today was the day his parents were heading out, so they needed a proper feast.