Naruto: Wait, I'm Not Kakashi the Fifty-Fifty!

Chapter 17: The Outbreak of the Third Shinobi War

Just as Kakashi and Foxhound were leaving the forward operating base, a sharp cry pierced the sky above them.

"Caw!"

A hawk soared overhead, its cry crisp and urgent.

"!?"

Both Kakashi and Foxhound instantly stiffened, their expressions sharpening. Before either could speak, their squad captain, Black Hawk, had already emerged from the base with a grim expression, his eyes locked on the bird circling high above.

It was one of the trained messenger hawks used exclusively by the ANBU.

"Let's move. That's an emergency call."

Through the stylized cat mask, a cold glint flickered in Black Hawk's eyes.

"Yes, sir!"

Kakashi and Foxhound responded in unison, swiftly falling into formation behind their captain as they raced north at top speed.

Along the way, they met up with the last member of their squad, Phosphor, who had just wrapped up his own assignment and had also responded to the hawk's signal.

The four-man unit darted through the final stretch of forest, arriving at a deep valley on the far western edge of the Hidden Leaf's territory—the extreme limit of the village's large-scale detection barrier.

By the time they arrived, three other ANBU squads had already assembled.

Moments later, four figures approached rapidly from the northeast. Leading them was a masked man with a monkey visage. The chakra radiating from him was unmatched among the gathered ANBU operatives.

This was Sarutobi Mōki—eldest son of the Third Hokage and leader of the ANBU's First Division. Though temporarily assigned a portion of the ANBU's operational authority, his position was second only to the Hokage himself.

Kakashi didn't know the man's true identity, but he understood enough: this was the one they answered to directly.

"Sand has made a move. New mission. Target—Land of Wind. Depart."

Standing at the front, Sarutobi Mōki cast a brief, penetrating gaze over the assembled shinobi before raising one hand.

"Understood!"

No one questioned the order. Heads bowed in perfect synchrony, and without hesitation—

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

—the ANBU disappeared into the forest, heading west at full speed, toward the border with the Land of Wind.

Kakashi followed close behind, his gaze locked on their leader as his mind raced with fragments of memory from his previous life.

The Land of Wind? Then it must mean...Sasori of the Red Sand has finally made his move. So the Third Shinobi War is really about to begin…

Even without remembering every detail, Kakashi could deduce the cause of this mission with near certainty.

What else could it be?

It could only be one thing—the "disappearance" of the Third Kazekage.

If Sakumo Hatake's suicide had been the spark that shook the shinobi world, then the vanishing of the Kazekage was the final straw—the one that truly ignited the war.

Though Kakashi's father had held influence equal to any Kage, he hadn't been one. And that distinction mattered.

In the original timeline, it was the Kazekage's vanishing that had triggered the Third Great Ninja War.

And Kakashi—still just a displaced butterfly in the storm—hadn't yet flapped his wings strongly enough to change that.

Just as Kakashi's unit was making its way toward the Land of Wind, news of the Third Kazekage's disappearance exploded across the shinobi world.

In a realm as brutal and blood-soaked as theirs, disappearance nearly always meant death—especially when it involved a Kage. Every major village responded in kind, issuing nearly identical emergency directives.

Closest of all was Iwagakure—the most aggressive of the five great nations. Within days, they dispatched over a hundred shinobi across the border, launching an outright invasion of the Land of Wind.

Naturally, Sunagakure wasn't about to sit back and let Iwa's forces run rampant on their soil. Orders were given to hold the line at all costs.

Thus, the first major open-field battle of the Third Great Ninja War began.

And with it, the fragile peace that had held for decades was shattered completely.

The other major villages were watching closely.

The Third Tsuchikage in particular seemed determined to take advantage of Sunagakure's sudden power vacuum and low morale, striking hard and fast.

Soon enough, skirmishes erupted all along the northern border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. And with no Kage to lead them, Sunagakure found itself at a distinct disadvantage.

Even worse, Kirigakure and Kumogakure—who had previously been eyeing the rich lands of Konoha—shifted their gaze toward the now-vulnerable Sand Village.

Pick the softest fruit to squeeze.

That logic held true in every world.

While Kumo hesitated, still weighing distance and profit, Kiri showed no such restraint.

Barely a week after Iwagakure's invasion, hundreds of Mist shinobi were spotted along the southern coast of the Land of Wind. Initial estimates placed their numbers between three and four hundred.

Now, Sunagakure was facing a two-front war.

This was the cost of losing a Kage—the price of chaos and confusion. The Suna leadership was in disarray, forced to hastily mobilize their remaining forces and urgently push forward the selection of their Fourth Kazekage.

With enemies at their gates, civil strife was the last thing they could afford.

It was into this storm that Kakashi and the others arrived, reaching the borderlands between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

As they advanced, they were briefed on their mission:

To gather intelligence.

They were not here to fight.

They were here to observe—monitoring the scale and scope of the conflict between Suna, Iwa, and Kiri.

Accurate intel would mean better strategic decisions.

And in a battlefield with three major villages at war, even a minor miscalculation could prove fatal.

"Remember—unless absolutely necessary, do not engage. Our goal is intelligence. Clear?"

Standing atop the ridge, Sarutobi Mōki issued his orders with a voice like steel.

"Yes, sir!"

All twenty or so ANBU operatives, Kakashi included, responded in unison, voices strong and unwavering.