Third Great Shinobi War (AWN)

The Third Great Shinobi War was the second world war between the hidden villages to have occurred, the first world war being in the feudal era. This war was aggravated by the invasion of the Land of Rain by the shinobi of Iwagakure, hailing from the Land of Rock. They reasoned that insurgents from Amegakure were terrorizing their lands and needed to be controlled to prevent future conflicts. They struck in the middle of the latest civil war, at the time, between the Rain shinobi, thus able to easily overwhelm the pitiful defenses placed to repel the Rock ninja and occupy the country.

At first, Konohagakure and its allies allowed this occupation to exist, though they requested to send aid teams in order to assist the wounded. The Land of Rock denied their request, which caused suspicion on the part of the Third Hokage. He covertly sent a squad of ANBU to collect intelligence, but the whole mission was a failure: the squad was detected and one was captured by the enemy. This unidentified ANBU was tortured and later killed after refusing to leak any information. Rock strategists were quick to suspect Konoha for the action, demanding explanations. After the Third Hokage refused, they declared hostilities with Konohagakure. Sunagakure, an ally of Konoha, was quick to mobilize their military forces and declared war on Iwagakure. Kumogakure, an ally of Iwagakure, declared war in response to the Sand's involvement in the military conflict. This began the third great war that would last for years.