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"We sent several smaller squads in an attempt to sink their ships," said Hakare Hozuki who had arrived to discuss a coordinated attack. "Our forces couldn't succeed because of the Eight-Tails and the Raikage. We need your presence on the frontlines, Lady Maki."
Kiri had already engaged with Kumo's forces, but their attempt had failed. Yagura couldn't join the attack, so there was no one to hold B and A back.
"They've already taken the first island and set up a camp there," Hozuki paused as he noticed the map on the table had that exact island circled. "Have you already thought of a plan?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, we have, and we'll need your cooperation as well," Ao answered instead of Maki, surprising Hakare.
'Is he the one leading this group? Were we wrong to assume Takimura would try to take over this army?' It was pleasant news for Kiri. As long as Ao and his five hundred shinobi didn't join Takimura, Kiri would be able to punish them for betrayal later. There had been too many rebellions in the Hidden Mist, and the Mizukage was planning to answer all of them with overwhelming force.
"Lord Kaoru has a way to destroy ships quickly, as long as we can provide protection. So our plan is to attack them while they're off guard. We'll attack the camp directly while a smaller group, along with Lord Kaoru, sneaks in to destroy their ships. As soon as the vessels are destroyed, we'll all retreat," Ao explained in a calm, measured tone. "One more thing - those attacking the camp must prioritize destroying their provisions. If we manage to destroy both their ships and food supplies, A will be in serious trouble."
"On paper, that's a really good plan. But how are we going to stop the Eight-Tails and the Raikage on land? Will Lady Maki be fighting both of them?" Hakare asked, tapping the table.
"Is the Mizukage unable to fight?" Ao shot back with a slightly surprised expression.
'Shit, how am I supposed to avoid this one?' Hozuki struggled. He didn't want to reveal that Yagura's hand was recovering at a terrible pace. 'At this rate, it might take months for his arm to function properly, let alone fully recover. They can't know this!'
"Lord Yagura is still recovering after defeating the previous head of the Takime clan," Hakare said in a low voice, almost a whisper, pretending to be sorry to bring the topic up.
His words caused Maki and Kaoru to clench their fists. For a moment, a dangerous fire burned in the siblings' eyes. The room grew so tense that those standing between Hakare and Maki even moved aside, just in case she acted on impulse.
'He did this on purpose to divert our attention from the topic, but he miscalculated something. I asked the question to confirm Lady Maki's claim that Yagura's condition won't be improving for a while,' Ao thought, his expression completely neutral. His face did not show it, but he was impressed that the Takime clan had a shinobi who could push the Mizukage back.
"I was saying that Lord Yagura is still recovering," Hozuki continued with a faint smile, glad his little move had shifted the room's atmosphere. "It won't take too long, but I'm not sure if he'll be ready in a few days."
Despite his attempt to downplay Yagura's condition, no one bought it. It was now clear that the woman standing in the tent was the strongest shinobi in the entire Land of Water.
"Luckily, there's one more person who can join the fight on our side and keep the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki busy," Meruem chimed in, breaking the tension.
"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki, whom Kiri chased away, has returned to help his homeland. We've made a deal with him: after this war, no one will stop him from leaving, and he'll only help us if Kiri also agrees to this term." Meruem looked at Hozuki, waiting for his answer.
'Since when do they have a connection with the Six-Tails Jinchuriki? I doubt he's on their side, though. If he were, there'd be no point in asking us not to chase him,' Hakare thought, his expression remaining neutral as he analyzed Meruem's words.
'I don't see any point in rejecting this. I'll agree, and if the Mizukage decides to forcefully bring him back to Kiri later, so be it.' Hozuki wasn't someone who cared about honor or keeping his word and Meruem knew that very well. The reason Meruem made it clear that Takimura was asking Kiri to respect Utakata's wishes was that he suspected Utakata was eavesdropping from outside.
"We need the Six-Tails' help, so Kiri will agree. However, just because we'll let him leave after the war doesn't mean our relationship with him will change," Hozuki said, trying to make his promise seem more believable by implying Kiri wouldn't forget about Utakata.
"Alright then," Ao said, scanning the room to see if others agreed. "We can't attack with our full force, the casualties would be too high and the risk of being discovered would also rise. So let's pick only elites."
"How about we try an all-out attack?" Rin's words surprised everyone. "Why not attack them with our full army? Kumo has three thousand shinobi, and we should have slightly more than that. Plus, we'll be fighting with an infinite source of water nearby…"
"Lady Rin, the problem isn't that we won't be able to win. The problem is that the casualties on our side would be too many. Kumo, unlike us, has at least four to five thousand more shinobi at their disposal in the village," Meruem explained politely, with a warm smile on his face. "But due to Kiri's actions, three thousand shinobi is all we can gather."
Meruem wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity to take a jab at Kiri, and it worked perfectly. Everyone from Ao's side showed displeased expressions and turned their gaze toward Hozuki.
"As Lord Meruem said, we can't risk fighting them with our full force. Our goal should be minimizing casualties, as every single shinobi matters. However, if our plan to sink their ships fails, an all-out fight will be our last remaining move," Mei continued. "Konoha seems to be waiting to see how the war between us unfolds. Depending on the result, they'll either attack us or Kumo. If we fail to stop the Raikage and his smaller army now, there's a real risk that Kumo will bring many more shinobi. And if they do, we'll be at Konoha's mercy."
The picture Mei painted worried everyone. The Land of Water was in a very difficult situation. Both Kiri and Takimura were weakened to the point that Kumo's smaller army was all they could handle now. If the Hidden Cloud Village brought their full force, it would likely entice Konoha to send their army as well, resulting in the complete occupation of the Land of Water.
"However, if we stop A now, Konoha and the other great villages will put pressure on Kumo, and Kumogakure will be forced to stop the war. So, regardless of the method, we must stop this three thousand Kumo force," Mei finished.
"While I wouldn't want to disagree with Mei, since her point is also reasonable, there's one thing I'd like to point out." Maki also joined the discussion. "The main reason Konoha hasn't invaded us is that they're afraid of suffering heavy casualties." Maki's voice carried authority and weight, causing everyone to listen intently.
"When Kumo attacked us, they must have thought Konoha would follow. But instead, the Hidden Leaf decided to wait. So why? Because they are waiting until we can't defend ourselves. Despite our weakened state, the terrain of the Land of Water makes it very difficult to move and control occupied territory. Plus, the water boosts our powers while weakening Konoha's, whose main affinity is fire. So even our smaller force could become a problem for Konoha." At times Maki would scan the room meeting others' gazes and looking straight into their eyes.
"But, if we defeat Raikage and his three thousand shinobi by attacking their army head-on and suffer heavy casualties, Konoha won't be afraid to invade our land, and Kumo will also send more forces just to take revenge. Our priority should be minimizing losses at all costs and focusing on guerrilla tactics. We should destroy Kumo's supplies and ships, forcing them to retreat or at the very least stop advancing."
For a moment, the room was completely silent, save for the sound of heavy breathing. Slowly, people began exchanging glances of approval. However, Maki hadn't provided a solution, it was simply a preference to delay Kumo's advance rather than risk direct confrontation.
"I also agree with what you said," Mei quickly changed her stance. She wasn't one to refuse to admit her mistake and risk causing a huge loss. "But we need to work on a solution as well. Delaying Kumo is good, but it won't solve the problem."
"We must contact the Wind Daimyo and ask him to request support from other daimyos. We should also send delegations to Iwa, Konoha, and Suna. We might be able to entice them to move against Kumo," Ao offered as a potential solution.
'I'm barely able to keep up with all that's happening,' Kaoru thought as he listened intently. He was surprised that even now, people didn't let go of their personal agendas. He could see that Hozuki was still scheming, but Meruem was doing the same, so Kaoru couldn't blame him too much.
'Our biggest problem is that we lack shinobi strong enough to fight A and B. Even though we have Utakata now, I doubt he's strong enough to fight either of them equally.' Kaoru was skeptical about Utakata's strength. He didn't remember much about him from the series and to him, that only meant one thing - he was not strong enough.
'Everything would be so simple if we had Kisame on our side,' Kaoru's eyes widened as the realization struck him. Akatsuki was probably already formed by now. If they were, they must be acting as a super-secretive mercenary group. And they would not be making any moves against the tailed beasts for a long time.
'Is it possible to hire them?' Kaoru considered making a suggestion. He had no means to contact them, but even if he did, he wouldn't reveal such information publicly - it would be too suspicious. Instead, he decided to make a more reasonable suggestion.
"How about we hire mercenaries to increase our numbers?" Kaoru, who had not said a word yet, suddenly became the center of everyone's attention.
The room, filled with experienced shinobi, fell silent. Not a single one of them had considered hiring mercenaries. Usually, it would be a shame for a great village to rely on mercenaries in a war. But should they even care about it considering their current condition? They were facing Kumo and Konoha could invade at any moment, the situation simply could not be any worse.
"That's a really good idea," Ao immediately nodded, eyeing Kaoru with an impressed expression.
'Both siblings are strong, smart, and their hearts are in the right place,' thought Ao, he was starting to like the Takime duo more and more. Maki clearly didn't enjoy playing political games, she was too honest and straightforward for her own good. While it wasn't the best quality for a leader, an advisor who was good at scheming could easily compensate for that.
'Maybe this new village is the future of the Land of Water…' Ao was growing to see Takimura in a different light. They seemed to value each other, which was a very rare thing in Kiri.
"Does anyone have a good mercenary group in mind?" Meruem asked, interrupting Ao's thoughts as he scanned the room for volunteers.
Hozuki was about to speak when suddenly, a person who hadn't said a single word during the entire meeting stepped forward.
"I do," said Shin.
**
Reminder - Break Tomorrow!
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