Not even five years have passed since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, a pivotal conflict where all of the Five Great Nations united in a desperate effort to rid the world of the Akatsuki's malevolent influence. Eighteen-year-old Akazo Nimiah, an elite member of the Hidden Leaf's Anbu, truly believed that peace had finally settled over the world, that the long years of bloodshed were behind them. But that fragile hope shatters when a man named Gyatsō Mataba suddenly emerges, plunging the entire ninja world into turmoil. Gyatsō, a mysterious shinobi with a dark and charismatic presence, leads a newly formed, independent nation known as the Hidden Dark. He is surrounded by a group of seven incredibly loyal and ruthless shinobi, each of whom is capable of unimaginable feats of destruction. On top of this, Gyatsō has managed to secure the allegiance of notorious figures, Orochimaru among them, alliances that were thought to be impossible just a short time ago. With all of these powerful elements working in his favour, Akazo and his comrades are left to wonder: What exactly is Gyatsō plotting? As the situation intensifies, the stakes grow higher, and the very existence of the Five Great Nations begins to hang in the balance. The world, once again, teeters on the edge of war.