That same year, Sunagakure took advantage of Konoha's focus on the Amegakure and launched a surprise attack on the Fire Country's border. Konoha's commander, Kato Dan, was killed, and the Sand shinobi advanced as if there was no resistance.
For a while, Konoha was on the back foot. But then, the shinobi known as the White Fang of Konoha appeared, assassinated the Sand's battlefront leader, and turned the tide of battle, securing a victory for Konoha. While the fighting outside raged fiercely, the Land of Grass remained focused on one thing: quietly farming and rebuilding, choosing to stay out of the conflict for now.
"The foundation has to be rock solid, no collapsing later! I've said it before and I'll say it again: let the Earth Release shinobi focus on laying a strong foundation first!"
Charlie watched the busy construction site ahead with a sense of relief. Kusagakure shinobi might be shameless, unpredictable, and lacking in pride, but they generally followed orders.
The commands he gave were being carried out sincerely! Everything was moving in the right direction. "Lord Kusa, how about the Kannabi Bridge, "
"Stop!" Charlie cut off Mujie immediately, a dark expression crossing his face as he wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Don't worry about that. Forget it. Just skip it!"
"??? What's wrong? Isn't Kannabi Bridge part of the Land of Grass? Part of our territory!"
"Ahem, ahem! That bridge is a key strategic point between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire," Charlie explained seriously, noticing the confusion on Mujie's face.
"I have a feeling peace will come, but it won't last long. War will break out again, fiercer than ever. The Earth and Fire Countries will definitely be involved. When that happens…"
"So we join Iwagakure first, lead them into the Land of Fire, then join konoha?"
Charlie stared at the suddenly excited Mujie, completely speechless. 'What crazy ideas was he dreaming up now?' Come to think of it, during the Third Great shinobi War, Kusagakure seemed to just watch the fighting near Kannabi Bridge.
'After that, the country was swallowed by war, even worse than the Land of Rain today. If it weren't for Kana and her daughter, they might have been wiped out by the Taketori clan!' Charlie had an unspoken thought he wasn't sure if he should voice. Just then,
"Charlie, dinner's ready!" A gentle voice called out; it was Fuso.
Charlie waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. Let's focus on rebuilding the Land of Grass first. And that means the academy! Get the foundation right, or everything will collapse later!"
With that, he ignored Mujie and happily trotted off to eat. Since so much was going on in the Land of Grass and Kana was busy, Fuso was temporarily in charge of cooking at home.
As for the three little ones, they had already been sent off to start learning the basics of being shinobis. So at home, Fuso was the only one left, just an ordinary civilian with nothing much to do.
Feeling a bit guilty, she decided to cook for them. The delicious aroma made Charlie's stomach growl; after a long day, he was really hungry, and to be honest, Fuso was quite a good cook.
"Where's Kana?" he asked.
"She's already gone over there. Once you finish eating, I'll go gather everything and put it away," Fuso replied.
"What about Konan and the others?"
"Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko are all busy studying hard," she said.
"Thanks for everything," Charlie said gratefully.
"No problem," Fuso smiled softly. "I can only manage these little things." Her cheeks flushed a little.
That moment felt just like a husband casually asking his wife about how things were at home. Life in the Land of Grass had a calming effect on her heart.
Everything Charlie had said that night was slowly coming true. Though... she couldn't help but be aware of what was happening between Kana and Charlie.
Watching Charlie quietly, Fuso smiled and called out, "Take your time eating, Charlie!"
Meanwhile, after seeing the leader head off to eat, especially those two figures nearby, Mujie shook his head in frustration. 'Come to think of it, his own wife also brought him meals! And Kaien, that brat, had been sulking lately.'
Mujie had hoped that with Yahiko around, who was such an optimist, Kaien might cheer up, but no, the brat was just the same. Speaking of which...
Once the academy was built, all the children of the Land of Grass would attend it, just like in Konoha. But did the Land of Grass even have the resources for that?
Their ninjutsu techniques were copied, and even then, incomplete. Without enough shinobi teachers, there was no way they could teach many students. But since the leader had given the order, they had no choice but to obey.
Mujie turned and shouted at the workers nearby, "Everyone, work seriously! Get that foundation solid! If it's not solid, I'll shove you in there myself!"
His words rang out loud and clear. "Did you hear that? The leader said, make it solid!"
"Keep going! The stronger, the better!"
"Use thicker beams!"
The entire Land of Grass echoed with the constant "Bam! Bam! Bam!" of construction. However...
Underground, a voice groaned, "Enough already! Every day it's 'Bam! Bam!'"
The loud banging disturbed everyone before dawn. 'Were these guys building foundations or digging tunnels?' Black Zetsu frowned, his expression grim despite the dim light.
He glanced up at the cave ceiling, where countless gray stones rattled down. If the cave weren't strong enough, it would have collapsed by now!
'What were these Grass shinobi thinking, instead of doing mission they go build houses here? Was this really what shinobi were supposed to be doing?' Just as Black Zetsu's irritation grew,
"Why so noisy?" a deep, aged voice interrupted.
"Pfft! So much dust! Black Zetsu, what's going on?" The voice was clearly annoyed by the commotion.
Before the zetsu could respond, "Bang!"
A flash of light appeared on the ceiling, followed by a voice saying, "Huh? Looks like they broke through something. Could there be another tunnel down there?"
Silence fell over the cave. Broke through? After hiding for so many years, were they about to be exposed?'
Since taking control of the Land of Grass, things has been quite for the man. That man was Uchiha Madara, feared across the shinobi world as the Shinobi Asura, and by some, even revered as a god, at least half the time.
If it hadn't been for Hashirama's tactics during their fateful clash at the Valley of the End, Madara believed the world would already have bent to his vision. He should have been the one to claim victory, becoming the one true god of Shinobi.
But looking at the bigger picture, he's the one who actually won. After all, he's still alive while Hashirama is dead.
But this doesn't come without a cost, His body were broken, now supported by multiple chakra-feeding tubes embedded in his back.
He was forced to stay hidden to recover his body, while quietly plan his ressurection.