The original ten Akatsuki members were dead. Each had chosen his/her successor, and had kept the identities secret. Even the rings of the Akatsuki had been passed on. Tsunade and Naruto were dead, Naruto having become the sixth Hokage. There was a new Hokage, a new Kage for all the five major villages. All nine of the Bijuu, even the eventual five the Akatsuki had managed to ensnare, had been reincarnated into new Jinchuuriki. Three of them had been reincarnated into the Akatsuki, though no one knew which three. Two had been reincarnated into Akusuna members, and the other four had disappeared into thin air. No one knew where they had gone. There was even a new Akatsuki leader, though no one knew anything about that person except for that it was female and that her called name was Ahidou Nohika.

However, the Akatsuki were not the Villages' only concern. Another group had been formed by Orochimaru's followers. Orochimaru and Sasuke had chosen their leader, right before the village of Otogakure had been decimated. Called Akusuna, the leader Orochimaru and Sasuke had appointed was Temari's oldest daughter. Her name was Tsurika.

It was a troop of Missing-nin from Sunagakure specifically. Unlike Akatsuki, only S or A-ranked Sunagakure Missing-nin were able to even think about gaining membership. The current leaders of the two groups, the Akatsuki and the Akusuna, were actually siblings. Neither of the leaders had supposedly been seen in public so no one could confirm or deny the rumor. However, they could not deny the truth of the rumours that the leaders were going to combine forces to lead an attack on Konohagakure, and then a month later, Sunagakure, and then a month later, Iwagakure, and so on, with Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Konohagakure.

Soon came the disaster day for Konohagakure. The leader of the Akusuna, Akusuna_001, joined together with the leader of the Akatsuki, Akatsuki_001, and prepared to decimate Konohagakure. The Hokage at that time, the Seventh, stood against them with the shinobi of Konohagakure behind her. It was a brave stand, but she knew they would lose.

The joined troops, having decimated most of Konoha, left the once-proud village behind to repair itself. They really didn't care what happened to them now, as the Akatsuki members had found no Bijuu in any form to interest them. With happy hearts, they trudged out into the wilderness to prepare for the fight against Sunagakure. They had heard rumours of a Jinchuuriki ANBU in Suna, so they knew they had to prepare appropriately. Also, the Kazekage was a Jinchuuriki herself.

However, the fight did not have a good ending. Indeed, there was a Jinchuuriki in Suna, and he was incredibly powerful. He had embodied Hachibi, the eight-headed snake, which was enough to take care of the two Akatsuki sent along in the first part of the attack. Outoumori Riya, the Kazekage and the Jinchuuriki of Shukaku, was also deadly in the attack. With Akatsuki_003 and Akatsuki_006 dead, the Sunagakure shinobi took that as a good sign and massacred many of the Akatsuki and the Akusuna. Eventually, there were three Akatsuki (the three Jinchuuriki) [numbers _001, _010, and _007] and two Akusuna (also the two Jinchuuriki) [numbers _001 and _011] left. Everyone else was dead.

Despite an all-out war against the two villages the five remaining had amazingly managed to not blow their covers. People were a little wary, as they had disappeared during the war. It took three months of being under constant surveillance by their Kage until the remaining Akatsuki members could meet and decide their plans. The Akusuna had disbanded, or so they thought. Only later would they find out that Akusuna_001 had said that just to keep the Akatsuki off their tails.

The first Akatsuki meeting was about what they would do. Would they declare their Missing-nin status and leave their villages, or would they continue to run surveillance through their villages? It was a hard decision to make, and eventually they decided to stay. It was easier to keep their hidden identities than it was to reveal them and destroy everything that they had worked for. Also, the fact they would have been executed by their Kage was another point.

How they would recruit was another difficulty. Since there were only three Akatsuki members remaining, they needed to recruit seven more to get up to the typical ten. Also, the rumours that the Akusuna were acting up again spurred the Akatsuki into action. They would approach Missing-nin of the proper level, or so they felt, and offer to take them to be approved by Akatsuki_001. If she approved, they would undergo the entrance requirements known only to the Akatsuki Leader.

Akusuna, on the other hand, was prospering. They were working on recruiting members, mostly known Missing-nins except for Akusuna_001 and Akusuna_011. They had a goal. They were to destroy the Akatsuki and take all the Bijuu from them and then use them to destroy Sunagakure. Not Konohagakure or any of the other villages, just Sunagakure. The members felt that it was just that village that deserved their wrath for ignoring them all these years.

The Raikage, having heard little back from Konohagakure except that her ambassador was slaughtered in the attack, had withdrawn support from both Konohagakure and Sunagakure under the pretense she didn't want her own villages attacked. The Tsuchikage and the Mizukage had followed the same idea swiftly. Both their ambassadors had met similar ends, though the Sunagakure ambassador still lived. They believed it foul play. The three Kage had a council. All three countries were enraged at the deaths of their ambassadors, all which had been faithful shinobi until their demises. Thus, they decided that they would wage war on the Akatsuki, Akusuna, and the Konohagakure/Sunagakure treaty.

Sunagakure has a young, female Kazekage. However, she is a Jinchuuriki and amazingly strong. People call her Outoumori Riya, which is the name her adopted sister had given her. The inhabitants of Konohagakure are still in the process of picking a Hokage. Many Jounin are being examined, and ANBU as well. Even some of the highly skilled Chuunin are being looked at. This is where this story begins. An election for a Hokage is going on in Konohagakure, and preparations for war in Sunagakure while treaties are being made with Konohagakure to pledge to stay together during the war. The Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage are binding their armies together, preparing to go head to head with anyone they meet.

Behind the scenes, the Akatsuki is attempting to recruit members, and the Akusuna are training their skills and refining their abilities. They know a war is coming - a war that is dangerous, and one that will change their lives and possibly get them killed. However, they are not afraid. Their goal is to continue collecting the Jinchuuriki, extracting the Bijuu, and sealing them back into the members of the Akatsuki. Also, they plan to gain underlings and use Orochimaru's curse seals to give them more power. Yes, there is a descendant of Orochimaru among the members of the Akatsuki, though no one knows who it is.

A four-way war: the united Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage, against the Akatsuki, against the Akusuna, against the power of Konohagakure and Sunagakure. Despite that, the Academy continues. Students graduate, become genin, train under a jounin, and hopefully pass the chuunin exams. Life is normal, until you can fight. Where do you fall? Who are you? Where will you stand in this war, which will happen and change all the lives of those around?