Kazekage Ninja: The Rise of the Hidden Sand

Not long after, Iwagakure announced two significant pieces of news to the public.

The first was the death of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, who had been sealed and imprisoned. He reportedly passed away in his cell due to cardiac arrest at the age of sixty-one. (In the original timeline, he was seventy-nine during the Fourth Great Ninja War.)

The second was a declaration from the Fourth Tsuchikage that Iwagakure would withdraw from the Ninja Alliance.

The first announcement caused little stir in the ninja world. After all, he was a war criminal—dead was dead. Some rival ninja villages might have even celebrated in secret with fireworks. Only the kind-hearted Master Bunpuku led his disciples in chanting the Rebirth Mantra twice at the Sand Temple upon hearing the news.

The second announcement, however, sent shockwaves through the ninja world. The reason Iwagakure gave for withdrawing was almost laughable. According to the Fourth Tsuchikage’s official statement, the Ninja Alliance’s selection system for Chūnin and Jōnin was unfair and showed blatant regional discrimination. This, they claimed, had resulted in many talented Genin and Chūnin from Iwagakure being overlooked and unable to advance. Thus, Iwagakure would permanently withdraw from the alliance.

This reasoning seemed petty. It was true that in recent years, Iwagakure’s performance in the Chūnin and Jōnin exams had been lackluster. Their promotion numbers were far behind those of Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and even the isolated Kirigakure. In the second "World Ninja Way Tournament," only Kitsuchi made it into the top ten. But wasn’t this due to their own ninja’s lack of competitiveness?

If your children aren’t performing well academically, shouldn’t you focus on improving their education or sending them to tutoring classes? Quitting the "Chūnin Exams" and "Jōnin Exams" altogether—wasn’t that absurd?

However, the Kage of each village knew better. This likely had little to do with exams. After all, ninja promotions were a minor issue compared to the revenue generated by the tournaments’ ticket sales—quitting the alliance would mean throwing away a significant source of income. Even if Iwagakure held a grudge against the alliance, could they really hold a grudge against money?

Clearly, something had happened within Iwagakure’s leadership. According to intelligence gathered by various villages, on the very night of Ōnoki’s death, Iwagakure underwent a bloody purge. Many people lost their lives. When these two events were linked, it became intriguing. Could it be that the Fourth Tsuchikage had finally decided to take action against Ōnoki’s loyalists? That would make sense. If it were someone like A or Jinghang, they might have acted even sooner.

But upon closer investigation, everyone was dumbfounded. Most of those who died were actually close confidants of the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi. What kind of operation was this? Turning the blade inward? Who purges their own supporters? Could the Fourth Tsuchikage have been coerced? Yet, intelligence reports showed that Kitsuchi seemed no different from usual—aside from speaking less, his actions and demeanor were unchanged.

Moreover, all of Iwagakure’s key departments were now staffed by veterans from Ōnoki’s era. This baffling maneuver left everyone scratching their heads.