Konoha, Just Like Kizaru

Sunagakure, Kazekage's office.

"What did you say?" Chiyo's voice trembled. 

"The mission in the Tea Country failed, and Ebizō was killed?"

Chiyo, with her lavender hair, was in her fifties, about the same age as Sarutobi Hiruzen. 

When the Sand Shinobi Anbu confirmed the news, it felt like her soul had been drained. She slumped heavily into her chair.

"How could this happen..." she muttered in disbelief.

This had been planned as a perfect ambush, a 100% successful strike against Konoha. But the news of Ebizō's death was a shock.

At this time, the Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage, was in office. His expression was grave.

Ebizō was a veteran hero who had served the village since the First Ninja World War. He was a crucial part of the village's foundation, and it was unthinkable that he would fall in such a mission.

More troubling was the death of Haruta Hanzo, the son of the Wind Country's daimyo, in the same mission. This was no ordinary mission failure.

The strongest Kazekage in history smelled the smoke of war. 

He looked at the Anbu ninja who reported the situation.

"What's the specific situation?"

That Anbu didn't dare to hide anything, and replied:

"This time, Konoha's assassination mission was carried out by the Hanyu Simu team. The members were Hanyu Simu, Namikaze Minato, and Hyuga Lindy."

"Tea Country Daimyo, Elder Ebizō, along with Haruta Hanzo, were both killed by Hanyu Simu."

"During the battle, he also used a large-scale S-class ninjutsu that nearly destroyed half of the Tea Country's capital and killed seven Jōnin in the process."

Chiyo, though saddened, managed to compose herself. She focused on the information from the Anbu ninja.

"According to the Anbu report, this Hanyu Simu first killed the seven Jōnin alone," 

The Kazekage said. "Then, he went to the main battlefield where Ebizō was, defeated him, and killed everyone else?"

The Anbu lowered his head. "If the information is correct, that's what happened."

The Third Kazekage glanced at him. "Leave."

"Yes."

The Anbu ninja vanished in an instant, leaving only Chiyo and the Kazekage in the empty conference room.

Ebizō's strength was unquestionable. He was among the top five in Sand Shinobi Village. Yet, this experienced and powerful man had been killed by a mere youngster.

"It's getting tricky," 

Chiyo said hoarsely, her grief making her appear older in an instant.

"My condolence," the Third Kazekage offered a consolation.

But in the ninja world, death was far too common.

"Now, the daimyo's response is crucial. We cannot back down; we need to prepare for war."

Chiyo crossed her arms, her face hardening with resolve.

To be honest, she didn't want war. The Second Ninja War had ended less than ten years ago. 

With more villages emerging, any conflict now would ruin the steady progress of the Wind Country.

But it was also unavoidable. The Kingdom of Wind could not simply swallow this insult.

He turned to the air beside him and ordered, "Call all the Jōnin in the village for a meeting."

"Yes," 

In the middle of the night, all Jōnin in Sunagakure received the summons and hurried to the Kazekage's office. 

Among them were Pakura and Baki, whom Simu had met before.

Standing beside the Kazekage, along with Chiyo, was Rasa, the man with red hair. Many of the Jōnin looked toward the empty seat once occupied by Elder Ebizō. 

What had happened to him?

A heavy, tense atmosphere filled the room.

The Third Kazekage spoke in a deep voice, "Elder Ebizō died during the mission."

The moment these words were spoken, the faces of everyone in the room changed drastically. 

Ebizō had trained many skilled ninjas for Sunagakure over the years, and at least half of the Jōnin present had been under his influence. No one had expected this.

"Who did this?" Pakura asked coldly.

The Third Kazekage didn't hesitate. "Konoha. Hanyu Simu."

"It's him again..." 

Pakura almost spat the words through gritted teeth.

Before anyone could fully process the shock,

The Kazekage then dropped another bombshell.

"Everyone must prepare for a possible war."

The room fell into stunned silence before turning solemn. In unison, they responded, "Yes."

At that moment, a knock came at the door, and a messenger from the Wind Country Daimyo entered.

"Master Kazekage, the envoy of the daimyo of the Land of Wind has arrived."

The Kazekage narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Let him in."

The envoy, cloaked in white to shield against the wind and sand, bowed slightly as he entered the room.

"I have seen Kazekage-sama. This is a letter from Daimyo-sama," the envoy said, handing over the letter.

The Kazekage raised his hand, and a stream of black magnetic sand flew to seal the letter. His expression remained serious as he opened it.

The contents were exactly what he expected. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was furious and had sent an envoy to Konoha, demanding that they hand over the culprit, Hanyu Simu.

In addition, Sunagakure was ordered to send a large force to the Land of Fire's border, adopting an offensive posture to apply pressure.

The letter also stated that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had made representations to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

He hoped that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would prioritize the bigger picture and pressure Konoha to hand over the criminal, Hanyu Simu.

If not, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind would be on the brink of an all-out war.

This was a critical situation. A simple dispute could easily escalate into the start of the Third Ninja World War.

Kazekage gazed at Konoha, positioned at the center of the map. 

"Will they choose to hand over Simu and focus on rebuilding, or risk being besieged and go to war with the Land of Wind?"

Kazekage was very curious. 

Despite Konoha's victory in the Second Ninja World War, their strength had been severely weakened.

With the rise of other major countries, the Fire Nation's dominance was now at risk. 

At this critical point, what decision would Sarutobi Hiruzen make?

As the situation in the Land of Wind shifted dramatically, the Land of Fire found itself in a similar predicament. 

From the moment the Daimyo of the Fire Country arrived in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen had a bad feeling.

And it turned out to be true. 

Simu had killed the Daimyo of the Tea Country, Sunagakure's advisor Ebizō, and the beloved son of the Wind Country's Daimyo, Haruta Hanzo.

The Third Hokage's chest tightened. How could this kid cause so much trouble? 

After stirring things up with the Hyuga clan, it had taken him a year to settle things down.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his eyes, feeling the weight of the situation. Before he could come up with a solution, Konoha's two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, as well as Danzo, arrived. The patriarchs of several ninja clans followed closely behind.

The Third Hokage's expression immediately darkened.

"Hiruzen, we know about Simu. He's gone too far!" Mitokado Homura declared firmly.

Utatane Koharu added, "It's one thing to cause trouble at times, but this... killing the son of the daimyo of the Land of Wind? Doesn't he understand that the struggle among the five great powers should never involve the daimyos?"

"The envoys from the Kingdom of Wind are already on their way. We need to decide what to do about this situation!"

As soon as the two advisors spoke, their words were sharp and direct. Though the Third Hokage's face darkened, he had no immediate solutions. The situation was complicated, especially since it involved the son of the daimyo of the Land of Wind.

At that moment, the envoy from the Fire Nation arrived. He pushed open the door to the office.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted.

Hiruzen nodded and immediately asked, "What does the daimyo want?"

The envoy met the Hokage's gaze and replied, "Hokage-sama, the daimyo is very concerned. The actions of Hanyu Simu have crossed a line for many daimyos. He hopes that Konoha will quickly negotiate with the Land of Wind to avoid further conflict."

The message was clear: while the daimyos were not concerned with the ninja battles, the situation with Simu had escalated beyond acceptable limits.

The message was clear: killing the nobles of the five major countries was unacceptable. 

Similarly, ninjas from the other nations would show mercy if they encountered the nobles of the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation daimyo clearly supported the demand to hand over Simu.

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes slowly. "I will think about it carefully," he said.

The messenger bowed and left. "I hope Hokage-sama will consider it carefully."

With the daimyo's backing, the two advisors pressed on.

"Since the daimyo has spoken, no matter how close Simu is to you, you must make a decision, Hiruzen," said Mitokado Homura.

"You can't let the Land of Fire risk a great power war because of this boy," Utatane Koharu added.

Together, they urged the Hokage to make a choice.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent.

Though it seemed absurd, the reality was undeniable. 

On the battlefield, during a mission, one couldn't kill a noble, no matter the situation. If they killed me, I could only hide or run. 

But that's the way this world works.

It wasn't unheard of for Konoha to sacrifice its own ninjas. 

Take Hyuga Hiashi, for example. In the original story, despite being attacked by the Land of Thunder, he fought back to protect his daughter. 

In the end, though, he had to send his younger brother to apologize on his behalf.

It was ridiculous.

To the Konoha executives, any ninja was just a pawn to be sacrificed, depending on whether the chips were worth it.

Meanwhile, Simu, unaware that he had been left to his fate, was enjoying a bath in the hot spring at home.

Suddenly, Minato appeared, looking extremely serious, carrying a large bag as if preparing to flee.

"Simu, the situation is urgent. Get dressed quickly. We need to leave Konoha," Minato said.

Simu froze.

Not only Simu but Lindy and Kushina were also stunned.

"Leaving Konoha?" Simu asked in confusion. "Why leave Konoha when everything is fine?"

Minato quickly explained, "The Haruta Hanzo you killed in the last mission is the son of the daimyo of the Land of Wind."

Simu scratched his head. "I know."

Minato continued, "Now the daimyo of the Land of Wind has come to Konoha! Sunagakure and the Land of Wind are demanding that Konoha hand you over, or else they'll declare war."

"I heard the Fire Country daimyo has agreed to this, and Konoha's leadership will decide soon."

"That's why we need to leave Konoha now!"

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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