*Chapter 199: The Fourth Great Ninja War Is About to Begin*

However, it's uncertain for the others. Kaido didn't expect the strength of the Ninja World to be this high.

People like Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido, who, out at sea, would use telescopes to find opponents but couldn't find any, were shocked.

But upon arriving in the Ninja World, Charlotte Linlin was the first to meet her downfall.

Kaido could completely understand, given Charlotte Linlin's habits. She was constantly eating, always replenishing nutrients back in the sea. But after arriving in the Ninja World, food here was scarce!

Kaido knew this well; the common people outside the villages could barely get enough to eat. But the difference between what the common people consider a full meal and what Charlotte Linlin would consume in one sitting is immense.

It might take the food supply of a small village just for Charlotte Linlin to feel like she’s eaten a snack.

Her appetite was so enormous that regular food simply couldn't satisfy her hunger.

It’s said that if she doesn’t eat enough, she enters a frenzy, losing consciousness and attacking anything in search of food.

She even stops defending herself during this state, becoming extremely aggressive but without any awareness.

At that point, she's very vulnerable, so it wasn't surprising to Kaido that Charlotte Linlin would fail.

Even if she were in her right mind, Kaido wouldn't feel any different.

After witnessing how weak this place is, a sense of arrogance surfaced.

She probably didn't take the natives here seriously, might have gone on a rampage, and even tried to take over some villages.

Kaido thought that from now on, it would be wise to stick with Charlotte Linlin. With her charging ahead, there should be no problem.

After all, her recklessness exceeded his expectations, and she might just bulldoze her way through everything.

But what was unexpected was that even Whitebeard, the old man, also fell.

This was something Kaido couldn’t have imagined. Someone like Whitebeard, so calm, cunning, and cautious, shouldn't have met with such a downfall in a place like this.

But it happened, and it caught him off guard.

Marco even died, but Whitebeard didn’t destroy Konoha.

Kaido had no idea how Marco died.

“Unbelievable. It looks like things here are more interesting than I thought.”

“Marco’s dead. Whitebeard must be furious now.”

“But the death of that old man’s son is a wake-up call for me. I can’t underestimate this place.”

“They must have some hidden tricks. Despite appearing weak, they have considerable power.”

Kaido’s eyes gleamed with cunning. He wasn't about to take risks lightly. Since arriving in the Ninja World, he had been laying low.

But now, he couldn’t stay hidden any longer, and he wasn’t planning to.

“But how did Marco die? I couldn’t gather any information.”

“When I approached Konoha, I found that they had already sealed off the village!”

“Just getting close was enough to have several ninjas tailing me.”

Under his mask, Jhin’s face frowned as he spoke.

He found this place full of unknowns and oddities.

He wanted to ask Whitebeard what happened since such a powerful figure lost his son here.

But he doubted Whitebeard would easily share that information, and Jhin knew it.

“Wuhahahaha, no need to dwell on such things. I don’t plan to personally fight the people of Konoha!”

“Jhin, you should go probe the Hidden Cloud Village next to see if they have any secret weapons.”

“This place is too strange, absurdly so. We can’t take risks lightly.”

“I suspect the Hidden Cloud Village also has methods to restrain us. This place is truly bizarre.”

“Though they aren’t as strong as we are, and their bodies are much weaker.”

“But they have too many techniques, making them impossible to guard against.”

Kaido smacked his lips, feeling the pressure mounting.

This place was filled with oddities.

Although he wasn't interested in the Hidden Cloud Village, he had to be cautious.

For someone to become the leader of a village, they must not be as simple as they appear.

Underestimating them now could lead to a harsh lesson later.

“I understand!”

Jhin nodded.

But gathering intelligence here would be a tricky task.

*Konoha Hospital!*

The hospital was relatively empty.

Before acting, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already evacuated the people, sending everyone to take shelter.

So Whitebeard's attack on Konoha caused mostly structural damage, with casualties limited to those in the Anbu and some from the Sarutobi clan, though none of them were of great importance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi lay on a hospital bed, his face completely pale.

On the bed beside him was a mummy—Shimura Danzo, who had been severely injured, with multiple fractures and even his good arm lost.

But Danzo was still very pleased, as he could always get a new arm, especially with Orochimaru’s help. When the time came, he could even enhance it with additional Sharingan eyes.

This kind of injury was insignificant to him, not a problem at all.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was in much worse shape. The attack had likely dealt a significant blow to him, and now he looked as if he were on the brink of death.

Danzo felt that his own injuries were worth it.

Once he recovered, he could take advantage of Sarutobi’s weakened state to seize the position of Hokage from him.

Things were looking up!

Danzo had already started planning how to remodel Konoha according to his vision.

After all, in Danzo’s eyes, the current Konoha was far from perfect.

Of course, there were others around as well.

Jiraiya and Konoha’s two other high-ranking officials were by their sides.

The hospital had placed the two men in the same room, which made things much more convenient.

“Old man?”

Jiraiya noticed that Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand moved slightly, so he quickly got up and walked to his side.

Looking at Hiruzen’s condition, Jiraiya felt a deep sense of pain in his heart. The once vigorous Third Hokage had, in the blink of an eye, been reduced to this state.

Seeing him like this was heartbreaking, as if the peak of Konoha was now a thing of the past.

How nostalgic it was!

“Hiruzen?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his eyes and looked at Jiraiya. His gaze slowly came into focus as he glanced around.

It was only then that he realized he was in a Konoha hospital room. But how had he ended up here?

As his memory slowly returned, he began to recall the events with Whitebeard.

He remembered seeing Konoha in ruins, the village he had worked tirelessly for decades to build, now destroyed.

Hiruzen's vision darkened, and he nearly passed out again.

The hospital's machines immediately alerted the staff to prevent him from dying in the hospital.

The doctor came in to check on Hiruzen.

“It’s just a case of being overwhelmed with anger. It’s best not to bring up past events.”

The doctor hesitated for a moment before addressing Jiraiya and the others.

To be honest, Konoha needed the Third Hokage to lead right now. It would be hard to avoid discussing Konoha’s affairs, so they could only offer this reminder.

“Let the doctor leave. How long have I been unconscious? What happened while I was out?”

Hiruzen weakly waved his hand, dismissing the doctor.

At this moment, he had no time to lie in bed. He needed to know what was happening in Konoha.

Jiraiya nodded and sent the doctor out.

He returned to Hiruzen’s bedside and exchanged glances with the two advisors before finally revealing the truth.

“Old man, you’ve been unconscious for a day and a night. Konoha is already under reconstruction.”

“The casualties weren’t too severe, but we couldn’t keep the attack on Konoha a secret.”

“Now, the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Waterfall Village are advancing on our borders. A war with Konoha could break out at any moment.”

“Konoha still needs you to lead, and it seems the Fourth Great Ninja War is about to begin.”

“Also, the Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Aburame, and the Hyuga clan’s branch families…”

“It seems they’ve all left Konoha, apparently led by Kakashi himself, though we don’t know how.”

“Now, most of the clans have deserted, leaving only a few who joined the Anbu.”

“Even on the front lines, those from these clans have vanished!”

“We now have a massive gap in our front-line defenses!”

Jiraiya sighed softly.

He hadn’t expected the war to come so suddenly; the Ninja World was changing too fast.

The weakness of Konoha had become the fuse that ignited this war, providing an opportunity for the wolves and tigers surrounding them.

At this point, there was almost no chance of negotiating peace.

Given Konoha’s current state, the other nations wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to take advantage.

Now, half of Konoha’s strength had practically disappeared, especially the mid-level clans who had all fled.

The only major clan left in Konoha was the Hyuga clan, but even they had lost thousands of their prime fighters, who were now unaccounted for.

Even those in critical positions on the front lines had mysteriously disappeared, creating serious issues.

The Nara clan, who were the strategists, the brain of Konoha, had vanished. Although the Sarutobi clan held the commander’s position, they often relied on the Nara clan’s plans.

The eyes of the operation, the Hyuga clan, with their Byakugan, were also essential for battlefield reconnaissance.

The ears, the Aburame clan, whose insects could be a game-changing force, also played crucial roles in Konoha.

The Inuzuka clan, the nose of the operation, were similarly indispensable.

In Konoha, no one was idle; most of them held significant roles.

Hiruzen Sarutobi painfully closed his eyes, noticing a mummy-like figure on the bed beside him.

He frowned—why was there someone else in his hospital room?

Then it dawned on him that the figure might be Danzo.

“Cough, cough, Elder Danzo sustained multiple injuries, even losing an arm, so he’s currently unable to leave the bed.”

Jiraiya noticed Hiruzen’s gaze and quickly explained.

Elder Danzo had severely lowered Konoha’s standing. It was shocking that he had been injured so badly before the war had even begun and was humiliated by the enemy like this.

“Where’s Naruto? Have you retrieved Naruto?”

Hiruzen suddenly remembered something incredibly important—what had happened to Naruto Uzumaki?

Konoha couldn’t afford to lose its Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. With Konoha’s current situation, they needed Naruto more than ever.

Now that the Hidden Cloud Village was about to wage war on Konoha, only the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki could turn the tide.

“...No, that creature disappeared from the Land of Fire after using some unknown technique against Konoha.”

“We tracked him for a while, but then he vanished. It seems someone was helping to cover his tracks.”

“We don’t have a single lead; it’s as if he disappeared into thin air.”

Jiraiya frowned. They had been tracking Whitebeard, but after leaving Konoha, the tracking ninjas mysteriously vanished.

Whitebeard, too, seemed to have never existed; they couldn’t find any trace of him.

Jiraiya suspected that someone had been helping Whitebeard from behind the scenes.

Otherwise, how could he have disappeared without a trace?

“It must be Uchiha. Uchiha Raijin is likely behind this!”

“That creature is also acquainted with Uchiha Raijin. The Uchiha clan...I’m going to kill them.”

Hiruzen's eyes filled with bloodlust, and he nearly sat up from his bed.

He wanted to rush out and find Uchiha Raijin and kill him.

Seeing Hiruzen struggling to get up from the bed, Jiraiya was shocked. He hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. The Uchiha clan had left a deep scar on Hiruzen.

Jiraiya quickly tried to calm him down, fearing Hiruzen might die right there in front of him.

The two advisors also spoke soothing words, and finally, Hiruzen’s mood began to settle.

Though Hiruzen’s mood had calmed, the issue was far from resolved.

“The Fourth Great Ninja War is likely about to start. Jiraiya, you must lead Konoha’s forces to resist the Hidden Cloud Village.”

“However, the Hidden Cloud Village seems to be coming on strong this time. I’ll entrust you with my Anbu, along with Danzo’s Root.”

“Konoha can’t afford to lose this war. It’s up to you to defeat the enemy this time.”

Hiruzen grasped Jiraiya’s hand, speaking with determination.

Konoha had reached this state; they would need to give everything they had to deal with the other nations.

But in its current state, Konoha’s strength might not be enough.

“...”

Jiraiya was speechless. Even with this additional strength, it might still not be enough to resist the Hidden Cloud Village.

What kind of wishful thinking was the old man indulging in?

The Hidden Cloud Village wasn’t some minor foe.

This village revered strength and was nearly on par with Konoha.

What was the old man planning to do with the Sarutobi clan?