The tranquility was finally broken.

The one who broke this tranquility was a crow that descended from the sky.

It was a seemingly ordinary crow. It passed through the layers of defensive barriers of the Land of Whirlpools silently, without triggering any alarms. This method of infiltration itself represented the highest level of clearance.

The crow landed on the windowsill of the Uzukages Office. Uchiha Kei, who was reviewing documents, suddenly looked up.

"It's here."

His heart sank, and he immediately activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Three-Tomoe pattern in the left eye of the crow on the windowsill began to rotate slowly, eventually transforming into a six-pointed Shuriken pattern that looked just like the one in Kei's left eye.

"Kamui: Connection."

The next second, a massive, encrypted stream of mental information flowed directly into Kei's mind through the Kamui Dimension. It was not text, but highly complex intelligence composed of countless images, sounds, tactical maps, and simulations of Chakra fluctuations.

This was the final warning from Uchiha Itachi.

The content of the message was concise, yet shocking.

"Hidden Cloud has made its move."

The scene unfolded in Kei's mind: At the highest-level meeting of Hidden Cloud, Fourth Raikage A smashed the table with his fist, roaring as he convinced all the high-ranking officials.

"Raikage A has convinced all the high-ranking officials in the village to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Whirlpools."

The scene switched: A massive fleet was secretly assembling in the night, with countless Ninja from Hidden Cloud boarding the ships silently and swiftly. They were well-equipped and in high spirits.

"Three fleets have been assembled, with a force of eight thousand Ninja. Under the guise of 'Winter Joint Military Exercises,' they departed from the port of Hidden Cloud half a day ago and are sailing towards your location at full speed."

A massive nautical chart appeared in Kei's mind, with three thick red arrows pointing directly from the location of Hidden Cloud to the Land of Whirlpools. At the tip of the arrows, a countdown was marked.

"Estimated arrival in your waters: forty-eight hours."

The scene refocused, showing Raikage A standing with a dark-skinned man who carried eight swords and wore sunglasses. That man was none other than the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee.

"The commander-in-chief for this operation is Fourth Raikage A. The deputy commander is the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee."

Finally, there was the core battle plan of Hidden Cloud that Itachi had intercepted. It was a simple and brutal, yet highly threatening tactical deduction.

"Their core strategy is: to use absolute numerical superiority to wage a high-intensity, non-stop war of attrition. They intend to drag down the 'Gods Maelstrom' barrier or exhaust the energy of your Chakra Cannon."

"This is the final warning. Take care."

The information stream ended there.

The Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in the eyes of the crow quickly faded, returning to ordinary Three-Tomoe. It flapped its wings, shot into the sky, and vanished into the horizon in an instant.

The Uzukages Office was silent.

Kei stood quietly in place, eyes closed, digesting the intelligence that would be enough to bring despair to any small nation.

Hidden Cloud.

This Ninja village, known for its tough style and worship of military force, was ultimately the first to bare its fangs at the Land of Whirlpools.

Raikage A's judgment could not be called wrong. In fact, one could say it was very precise. He had accurately grasped the biggest, and only, weakness of the Land of Whirlpools at present—the scarcity of Ninja.

Whether it was the 'Gods Maelstrom' barrier or the Chakra Beam Cannon, both required massive amounts of Chakra to operate. Especially the former; every time it was activated, it was a huge burden for the seven Mangekyō Sharingan owners who led the barrier. As for the latter, although it had immense power, each shot required a considerable amount of energy charging and cooldown time.

If Hidden Cloud truly spared no cost, using the lives of eight thousand Ninja to fight a brutal war of attrition against the Land of Whirlpools—using countless Ninjutsu to bombard the barrier day and night, and using countless lives to trade for the number of Chakra Cannon shots—then theoretically, the Land of Whirlpools, with a population of only five thousand, could indeed be worn down to death.

"Truly, a simple and brutal barbarian tactic…"

Kei slowly opened his eyes. A cold, blade-like glint flashed within those Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

"However, Raikage A, you seem to have miscalculated one thing."

"War has never been a simple math problem."

"What we Uchiha are best at is precisely turning the impossible into the possible."

He turned and pressed the red button on his desk that represented the highest state of emergency.

"Woo—woo—woo—!!!"

The next second, the sharp sound of the battle alarm pierced the peaceful and serene sky of Uzushiogakure, resounding throughout the entire Land of Whirlpools.

All the citizens of the Land of Whirlpools who were working, studying, or resting—regardless of age or gender—had their expressions change instantly upon hearing this sound.

On their faces, there was no fear, no panic. There was only a bone-deep solemnity and calmness, as if they had practiced this a thousand times before.

Workers operating machinery in factories immediately shut down their machines, took out the combat uniforms and Ninja tools they had long prepared from the lockers beside them, their movements skilled and fluid.

Farmers working in the fields put down their tools, straightened their backs, their eyes flashing with cold fighting spirit, and turned to walk towards the village assembly points.

Children attending class in school, organized by their teachers, quickly and orderly passed through secret passages inside the classrooms to enter the underground emergency shelters, the entire process without a single cry or fuss.

Countless Ninja wearing standard combat uniforms with black backgrounds and red edges poured out from every corner of the city like a tide, rushing to their battle stations.

Inside the military command center, Uchiha Fugaku had already appeared before the massive strategic sand table by the third second after the alarm sounded. He was fully dressed, holding his Gunbai, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's.