The Fourth Great Ninja War?
Kakashi was the first to see those words, and every hair on his body stood up.
The one-country–one-village system had only existed for a few decades, but there had already been three wars big enough to shatter the world. Each one had been catastrophic, leaving mountains of corpses in its wake.
He had even fought in the last one. It was during that war that he earned the name Copy Ninja Kakashi.
His teacher, Namikaze Minato, had also won the reputation that later made him the Fourth Hokage.
But for every hero who rose from those fires, countless others died nameless and miserable.
Even he had lost both of his closest teammates. One had died right in front of him. The other he had been forced to kill with his own hands.
There was nothing good in the memories of a ninja war.
He also understood one thing very clearly. A conflict between two nations or two villages didn't qualify as a ninja world war.
For example, the clash between the Leaf and the Hidden Cloud years ago had been large, but since no other major villages got involved, it didn't count as a true world war.
Which meant the future Fourth Great Ninja War would have to involve several of the major nations again.
A massive conflict. Kaede Kitahara had described it as gods fighting and giant mechs charging across the battlefield.
Kakashi had no idea what a "mech" was, but from context he understood the point.
What he couldn't understand was how Kaede Kitahara knew any of this.
Could he actually see the future?
If so, then his paranoia toward the higher-ups suddenly made perfect sense.
A shinobi who could foresee the future… The Third Hokage might have let it slide. But Danzo? Danzo would seize him instantly. "Research" was the best-case scenario. Being sliced apart for study wasn't out of the question.
Who wouldn't want such an ability?
And if a Fourth Great Ninja War was coming, then the Leaf, sitting right in the center of the map, would never escape it. The Land of Fire held the richest land in the world. Everyone wanted it.
If Konoha hadn't been so powerful, the Land of Fire would've been carved up long ago.
So who were likely to join this future war?
From what he knew, the Hidden Mist's participation seemed unlikely. They'd been closed off for years and showed no sign of ending their isolation.
The Hidden Sand, as Konoha's ally, might support them again in the next war.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Which left two likely threats: the Hidden Cloud of the Land of Lightning, and the Hidden Stone of the Land of Earth.
Two versus two?
Dangerous, but not fatal. Konoha had weakened, true, but not enough to collapse instantly. The real problem was the Hidden Cloud.
Judging from their last clash, they'd grown significantly stronger over the years. In a real fight, they might even rival the Leaf.
"Another war already?" Kakashi let out a quiet sigh, though he didn't brood over it.
Compared to someone like Obito or Itachi, or any of the legendary shinobi, Kakashi was the simplest kind of ninja. He didn't dream of reshaping the world. If the higher-ups said fight, he fought. If they said don't fight, he didn't.
Even though he was Konoha's Number One Technician, during the Third Ninja War he'd fought as a normal jonin. He'd never commanded an army or seen things from a higher political vantage point.
He hadn't developed a leader's perspective. He had no political ambitions.
But one question did stick with him: What exactly were the so-called Konoha 12?
What made this graduating class so special?
If Kaede Kitahara really could see the future—and not in the unreliable dreamlike sense, but clearly, consistently, and in detail—then maybe the "Konoha 12" were the ones who would shine during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
That was good news. It meant the chances of producing actual talent this year were very high.
Normally, if a single year produced three or five capable shinobi, it was considered excellent. Sometimes, not even one.
But this graduating class was supposed to have twelve.
Not bad at all.
But what did gods fighting and mechs charging even mean?
Kakashi was genuinely confused. The previous wars had already been world-shaking. How much worse could it get?
———
Across the village, Sasuke was also deep in thought. The Fourth Great Ninja War didn't matter to him. It was too far in the future.
What he cared about was the phrase Konoha 12.
He was certainly one of them. He was the top of his class, after all.
But could the other eleven really all become powerful future shinobi?
He began to consider something he had never once thought about before.
Maybe… relying on companions was also a path to revenge.
Before, he had insisted on taking down Itachi with his own strength alone, reclaiming the honor of the Uchiha clan with his own hands.
But after witnessing Itachi's overwhelming power, that obsession cracked. Itachi was so far beyond him that even if he gave his body to a monster, he still might not win.
He had to think realistically.
He couldn't beat Itachi alone. But what if he had eleven other strong jonin fighting beside him?
Maybe that was a path that could work.
[Thinking about it, the story of Hokage is about to begin. Naruto Uzumaki will step onto the stage. Hard to imagine that dead last climbing so high in the future, but this damn world really is cruel.
A Hokage's child is still a Hokage. A scapegoat's child stays a scapegoat. Hilarious.
If Kishimoto Masashi, that bird-brained fool, hadn't expanded the world so ridiculously, everything ending in Shippuden would've been perfect. Then I wouldn't have to live every day scared out of my mind. Too many scheming old monsters in the ninja world now. Anyone who pops out can level the whole map.
Kishimoto Masashi, that hack drawing comics—what does he know about Hokage anyway!]