My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

As the sun began to set, the scorching heat of the desert slowly faded, replaced by a rapid drop in temperature.

Under the cold moonlight, the vast expanse of Sunagakure appeared eerily deserted. The streets, usually bustling with life, were now silent, devoid of movement. Under the strict curfew enforced by the village, every household had tightly secured their doors, and the village itself seemed frozen in time. The only sound breaking the silence was the whisper of the wind as it carried sand and grit across the barren landscape.

Over the past three days, every villager had witnessed the undeniable changes sweeping through Sunagakure. They could feel the tension in the air, a growing unease that hung heavy over the entire village. The imminent war was no longer a distant rumor—it was a reality. Though many were deeply worried, the villagers knew this was a path they could not avoid. As members of a ninja village, they understood that war was inevitable.

---

Sunagakure, the Sky Path

Hundreds of ninjas stood in precise formation, their eyes sharp and focused, already deployed and ready for action. The Sky Path was a critical area, and the ninjas had been stationed here for one purpose: the mission that would mark the beginning of Sunagakure's participation in the coming war.

The ninjas were arranged into three separate formations, each consisting of five members. Pakura led the formation to the left, while Baki commanded the one to the right.

The area was heavily guarded, and every route was blocked to prevent unauthorized approaches. There was no room for error.

In the center of the formations, a dark figure descended from the sky, his presence commanding immediate attention.

At the sight of him, every ninja in the area knelt on one knee, bowing in unison.

"Kazekage-sama!" they called in perfect synchronization.

"Mm."

Rasa, standing before them in the same ninja attire he had worn when Gaara became the Kazekage, didn't speak much. His expression was cold, his demeanor authoritative. He glanced briefly at Pakura and Baki, his sharp gaze cutting through the tension that had built up in the air.

"Follow the plan, now!" Rasa commanded. "Move out!"

"Yes!"

In an instant, the ninjas sprang into action, vanishing into the shadows as they quickly moved along the Sky Path. Their speed was unmatched, and they were ready for the deadly mission ahead. Rasa, Pakura, and Michikawa wasted no time, following closely behind the rapidly advancing ninjas.

Under the cover of night, countless shadows raced across the vast desert, disappearing into the darkness. Every step was calculated, and every movement was precise. The war that awaited them was drawing near, and Sunagakure was finally taking its first step into the chaos.

At the same time, hidden spies embedded within Sunagakure's slums began transmitting information through various channels.

Such a large-scale operation could not remain secret for long. Within the span of an hour, all the other ninja villages across the world became aware of Sunagakure's actions. The sudden mobilization was a clear sign: Sunagakure was no longer on the sidelines. It had thrown its lot into the upcoming ninja world war.

The only remaining question was which ninja village Sunagakure would target as its enemy.

This was far from a simple decision.

Throughout the First and Second Great Ninja Wars, Sunagakure did not limit itself to attacking Konoha. In fact, during the height of its power in the Second Great Ninja War, Sunagakure had launched offensives against all three of the major ninja countries, sparking wars with each of the leading villages.

However, despite this aggressive history, the other four great ninja villages had not remained passive. They had fortified their borders, preparing for any future conflicts.

According to the intelligence gathered, Sunagakure was now deploying its strongest forces in the upcoming campaign.

---

Dawn was approaching.

The Land of Rivers lay nestled between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, a small and insignificant country in the grand scheme of the ninja world. In such a world, small nations had little dignity or autonomy; they were simply battlefields for the great powers to contest.

Take the Land of Rivers, for example. Lacking its own ninja village, it was forced to watch as Konoha and Sunagakure ninjas frequently crossed its borders in their respective campaigns.

In response to the mounting tension, Konoha's forces stationed in the Land of Rivers had been on high alert, stepping up patrols in preparation for an anticipated attack from Sunagakure. However, the situation was far from ideal.

Konoha's forces were stretched thin. They had to leave several ninjas stationed along the Land of Fire's borders, meaning each ninja had to juggle multiple responsibilities. It was an exhausting and precarious situation.

With most of Konoha's forces already engaged on the battlefield with Kumogakure, there was no opportunity for reinforcements to be sent to the Land of Rivers. The rising tensions with Kumogakure were too critical to ignore, and the risk of a full-blown war with Kumogakure left Konoha little room to maneuver.

The relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure had been fraught with hostility for years, ever since the death of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, during the Second Great Ninja War. Although the cause of his death had been an internal conflict within Kumogakure, the fact remained that it was Kumogakure ninjas who had killed him.

The grievances did not end there. Over the years, Kumogakure had provoked Konoha on multiple occasions, with one of the most significant incidents being the kidnapping of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. This attack tested the patience of Konoha's leadership, and though Konoha refrained from retaliating immediately, they did not forget the offense.

The subsequent rampage of the Kyuubi Jinchuriki in Konoha was their response, an event that left deep scars in the village's history.

As for the other, Kumogakure, for its part, had become more assertive in recent years.

Located in the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure was a ninja village with a fierce emphasis on military strength. While the geographical conditions of the Land of Lightning were far more advantageous than those of the Land of Wind, with its plentiful hills and rivers, Kumogakure had long coveted the fertile plains of the Land of Fire.

This longstanding desire had been supported by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, who had relentlessly backed Kumogakure's military expansion.

The rise of the hawkish Third Raikage had only escalated the situation. Under his leadership, Kumogakure's military power reached new heights. Their forces were stronger than ever, and the village had invested heavily in acquiring and controlling tailed beasts. This aggressive stance had provoked tensions with the entire ninja world.

However, despite the escalating tension, neither Konoha nor Kumogakure was ready to initiate a war at this time. Both villages knew that the stakes were high and that any conflict would have far-reaching consequences.

Until Konoha inadvertently allowed Kumogakure to see victory.

First, after the Second Great Ninja War, the newly appointed Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo, leader of Root, began a relentless campaign against the Uchiha clan, shocking even Kumogakure. This internal conflict left Konoha vulnerable and weakened in the eyes of other nations.

Then came a significant blow to Konoha's strength. Intelligence reports revealed that Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, had developed hemophobia following the war. As a result, she could no longer serve on the front lines, and other villages saw her absence as a major advantage. Tsunade's medical ninjutsu had long been coveted by the other major ninja villages, and her inability to fight only made Konoha seem more fragile.

Just when Kumogakure thought this news could not be topped, another shocking report reached their ears.

Sakumo Hatake, the revered "Konoha's White Fang," a figure whose reputation rivaled that of the legendary Three Ninjas during the Second Great Ninja War, had taken his own life in his home.

The Third Raikage, upon hearing the news, initially thought it was a false report sent by Konoha, an attempt to mislead or deceive. A man of Sakumo Hatake's stature could never succumb to taking his own life due to rumors, no matter how strong the pressure was. However, when the news was confirmed, it left the Third Raikage in shock and regret. At that moment, he realized the beginning of Konoha's decline.

That same year, the Third Raikage, in an attempt to gauge Konoha's true strength, sent agents to the small country of the Land of Hot Water, which bordered both the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. The agents were tasked with frequent probing to test Konoha's response. The results were not what Konoha had hoped for.

Through these consistent probes, Kumogakure learned that Konoha's response was telling—no one was left to stand in their way.

Sakumo Hatake's tragic death, Tsunade's homophobia, and the dwindling presence of Orochimaru and Jiraiya, two of the other legendary Sannin, painted a bleak picture for Konoha. These once-feared and revered figures were now suppressed by the Elder Council to the point of being irrelevant. The weight of leadership had now fallen upon the shoulders of a young man barely in his twenties—Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

(AN: Yes, I know many things don't align perfectly with the original timeline, but please treat this as an alternate timeline.)

Initially, the Third Raikage had believed this to be a mere smokescreen, a trick to mislead other villages. However, as more intelligence came in, he was appalled to discover just how deeply Konoha was fractured.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya, once giants in the ninja world, were now barely able to raise their heads, their influence all but extinguished by the Elder Council. To the Third Raikage, it was utterly laughable—Konoha, once the center of power in the ninja world, now appeared like a shadow of its former self.

By this point, the Third Raikage saw a clear opportunity for victory. He wasted no time and began mobilizing his ninja forces on a full scale. The soldiers were dispatched through the Land of Hot Water, heading straight for the border of the Land of Fire, preparing for the upcoming war with Konoha.

At the same time, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Onoki, also recognized that Iwagakure's chance to strike had arrived. The Land of Fire was the ultimate prize, and Onoki knew this was his moment. He immediately started mobilizing his forces, sending them through the neutral territory of the Land of Grass and towards the border of the Land of Fire, ready to claim a portion of the spoils of the war.

Even Kirigakure, the Mist Village, had entered the fray, sending its ninjas as mercenaries to participate in the looming conflict. Kirigakure, which had long been a player in the shadows, was preparing to make its presence felt in the war.

Yet, amidst all this activity, Sunagakure remained eerily silent. Its movements were difficult to gauge, and its absence from the preparations caused some concern. However, other ninja villages understood this silence. After all, the sudden disappearance of Sunagakure's Third Kazekage had sent shockwaves through the entire ninja world. It had raised more questions than answers, but now it seemed that Sunagakure had resolved its internal turmoil and was preparing for war in its own time.

It didn't take long for intelligence to reach Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure. All three received word of Sunagakure's surprise attack on the border of the Land of Fire, signaling that the village had finally entered the fray. The scales of the impending war had shifted, and Sunagakure was now fully committed to the conflict.