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<<<>>>
"Just as you thought, Father, Kumo has invaded the Land of Water," Kitsuchi marveled. "I'd have never guessed that Takimura would be able to stop Kiri. But what surprised me even more is that they have an S-rank shinobi."
For once, Onoki agreed. 'Maki Takime… who would've thought such a monster lived in the Land of Water?' He wasn't pleased with the news in the slightest.
"The situation has changed. Our initial approach needs to be revised! I didn't expect Takimura to be so strong. But the worst part is that Konoha decided to wait," Onoki said, straightening his back, causing his spine to crack.
"I hoped that both Kumo and Konoha would invade the Land of Water. That would inevitably cause their armies to clash in the end. The result would be three weakened great villages, and Suna, which is already far inferior compared to us. This would make Iwa superior to the others. However, Jiraiya didn't act the way I hoped he would." He paused, sipping tea from his cup.
"Konoha stands to benefit the most if Kiri is destroyed and Kumo is weakened. If Konoha's new generation is allowed to grow freely, they'll be as strong as they were back during the First Great War. But the problem is that the rest of the great villages are nowhere near their former strength to keep them in check," Onoki said, looking at the others, waiting for their input.
"Father, if things are so grim, we should act. Why not ask Suna to cooperate with us? They'll be happy to, considering how terrible their finances are," Kitsuchi suggested.
Kitsuchi was correct in a sense, Suna was poor and struggling, but he was wrong to think Iwa could trick them into attacking Konoha or Kumo.
"There's no trust between us. They'll never make a move unless we are the ones attacking first. Usually, I'd be fine letting Kiri and Kumo fight and weaken each other, but Konoha is already stronger than us. If those two become too weakened, it'll be difficult to keep the Hidden Leaf in check," Onoki said, reluctantly admitting that Konoha's strength was simply overwhelming. They had too many S-rank shinobi.
"We must either stop this war or somehow trick Konoha into attacking either Kumo or Kiri," Onoki said, weighing which option was more realistic.
Just as he was considering this, a shinobi entered the room.
"The delegations from Suna, Takimura, and Kiri have arrived," the shinobi said after bowing.
'Suna and Takimura?' Onoki's eyes widened. He had expected Kiri, but not Suna and Takimura.
"Let the Kiri and Takimura delegations wait. Bring in Suna," Onoki ordered.
<<<>>>
Just as Iwa was worried that if Kumogakure and Kirigakure fell Konoha would become uncontrollable, Suna was in an even worse situation. Unlike Onoki, Rasa was struggling just to maintain his own village. They weren't earning enough money to cover their basic expenses. Suna's condition was deteriorating rapidly. They couldn't invest enough in the new generation, so their strength, which was already terribly lacking, would decline even further in the future.
When the Suna council received the news that Kumo had invaded the Land of Water and Konoha had decided to wait instead of joining the war, their faces fell.
"If Konoha doesn't do anything and lets Kumo and Kiri fight it out, they'll both weaken. Iwa and us won't be enough to keep Konoha in check afterward," one council member said grimly.
"We have an alliance with Konoha, so they won't attack us, right?" another asked, trying to find some reassurance.
"Were you born yesterday? Who cares about alliances when they have overwhelming strength!"
"Watch your tongue!"
"Both of you, stop!" Rasa's irritation was growing as he watched his council members bicker instead of working on a solution. The only two advisors who could have actually come up with something valuable were Chiyo and Ebizo who hadn't said a word the entire time.
"Elders, do you have any suggestions?" Rasa asked, realizing that neither Chiyo nor Ebizo would speak unless he asked.
"The last time we made a suggestion, you completely ignored us. And how did that end?" Chiyo asked in a calm voice, though her gaze was unnaturally sharp for her age.
Rasa didn't answer. He simply growled slightly and kept staring at Chiyo. He understood that the elders didn't like him much.
"You sent Baki to the Wind Daimyo and refused to lower the cost for commissions. Because of that, the Wind Daimyo rejected your offer," Ebizo answered instead of the Kazekage. "So, in the end, not only is our situation the same as it was, but our relationship with the Wind Daimyo is even worse now." His tone was so disrespectful that Rasa, for a moment, considered throwing him out of the council. However, the aftermath would have been disastrous, so he calmed himself down instead.
"Elders, I've already apologized for that. Let bygones be bygones and focus on the matters at hand. If we don't do something, Konoha might become untouchable, and that means we'll forever be stuck in this humiliating alliance - if we even manage to survive this financial struggle," Rasa said, trying to win Chiyo and Ebizo over. He needed their support now more than ever.
"You are wrong, Lord Kazekage," Chiyo said in a calm voice, causing Rasa's brows to twitch. He was about to rebuke her, but Chiyo continued before he could speak.
"The worst thing we can do right now is make a move. We don't have enough information about anything. We don't know what Konoha is planning, we don't know if Kumo is fully committed to fighting Kiri, we don't even know how strong that S-rank shinobi from Takimura is, and we don't know what Onoki is going to do. But most importantly, we don't have the strength to make a move," Chiyo finished, letting her brother take over.
"Agreed. We're not in a position to make risky moves. Our village is the weakest, even compared to Kiri, which is slowly destroying itself. If we make a move and Konoha retaliates, our situation will be catastrophic. And we should never trust Onoki. The fence-sitter only makes a move when it's extremely beneficial to Iwa," Ebizo said. He was about to continue, but he could clearly see that Rasa disagreed with him and his sister.
'He's going to make another hasty decision, and the village will have to suffer further,' Ebizo sighed inwardly.
"What if we make a deal with Iwa and attack Konoha together? Jiraiya and Tsunade are both outside the village - that's confirmed information. If we attack from two sides, Konoha will struggle to mobilize two forces to fight us both. With Kumo and Kiri busy fighting each other, it's a perfect opportunity," Rasa said confidently, causing Chiyo's and Ebizo's jaws to drop.
The two elders were shocked not because Rasa's plan was good, but because it had so many flaws that it could barely even be called a plan.
"Onoki won't agree to attacking Konoha together. He'll demand that we make the first move, and as I said, he can't be trusted," Ebizo said, still maintaining a calm tone.
"Besides, even if Onoki agrees, Konoha is strong enough to fight both of us simultaneously. It would be a different case if we were defending in the desert, where we have a huge advantage. But once we step into the Land of Fire, it'll be a completely different scenario," Chiyo added.
"Don't forget that Kusagakure will also take Konoha's side. While their army may not be powerful, it's enough to make a difference in an even battle."
Rasa was finding it difficult to convince the elders, and he wasn't desperate enough to go against their will again and make a risky move. So, he came up with a compromise.
"How about this, Elders? One of you goes as the leader of our diplomatic delegation to Iwa and talks to Onoki. I have complete trust in you. If you can't make a deal that satisfies you, then we'll just stay and wait," Rasa said with a smirk. He was sure that both Ebizo and Chiyo would be pleased by his decision and he wasn't wrong. The old siblings' eyes widened in surprise, and soon they both nodded in approval.
<<<>>>
In the Land of Water, Kaoru and the rest of Takimura's forces were preparing for an attack. They would be moving stealthily, attempting to ambush Kumo. It was a high-risk, high-reward plan. If it worked, A's three thousand shinobi would be left completely helpless on the island without food and ships. However, if their attack was discovered before they managed to infiltrate the camp, the result would be disastrous. While the elites Kiri and Takimura were sending wouldn't be completely annihilated, the losses they'd suffer would make winning the war against Kumo impossible.
'We just finished one war, and we're already joining another one,' Kaoru sighed inwardly as he doodled on the ground with a stick, trying to draw an octopus.
'I wish I had more premium soldier pills. Who knows what will happen…' His thoughts were interrupted as Maki stepped on his masterpiece, ruining the drawing.
"Ru, everything will depend on you," Maki said with a smile, ruffling Kaoru's head.
"I'm more concerned about you and the rest of the allies than me. Sinking the ships isn't exactly a problem. But you'll have to fight the Eight-Tails and the Raikage. And I know that they are both very powerful," Kaoru said with a serious expression.
"Don't worry. Even if I can't defeat them, I can definitely hold my own," Maki grinned brightly. She was worried, of course, but showing her concern to Kaoru wouldn't do any good. "By the way, the mercenary group Shin recommended will arrive in a week or so. If they are as good as Shin said, our chances of winning this war will increase significantly," she added, changing the subject as she sat beside Kaoru.
Kaoru made a displeased face as he saw the ruined octopus on the ground and started fixing the drawing.
"Ru, will you answer me honestly, no matter what I ask?" Maki suddenly adopted a serious expression, causing Kaoru's heart to sink.
'What is she going to ask? Is she suspecting something? Did I do something wrong?' Kaoru's mind raced with possible questions.
"What's going on between you and Mizuki?" she asked, looking straight into Kaoru's eyes. Her gaze made it clear that if he tried to avoid her, it would be the same as giving an answer.
"Nothing. We're just friends. Why do you ask?" Kaoru was relieved by the question, but his heart stirred for some reason.
Maki took his relief as a sign that he was telling the truth, thinking he truly had no interest in Mizuki. But she still decided to check one more time.
"Oh, I thought you liked her. One of Ao's ninja is clearly flirting with her and I was just having my brother's back," she laughed, staring at the ground. However, like a cat feigning ignorance, her eyes were fixed on Kaoru from the corner, analyzing his reaction.
Kaoru's face immediately fell, though he didn't know the reason himself. He couldn't stop himself from asking,
"Is-is Mizuki also interested in him?" Now, he was the one staring, but after seeing Maki laugh wholeheartedly, he realized she was teasing him.
"Hehe, I knew you liked her," she chuckled, pinching his cheek. "She likes you too, by the way. You two are so weird. Everyone knows you like each other except you two." She stood up, straightening.
"Ru, use every bit of emotion and desire you have to survive. Motivate yourself to never give up. This war will be much more difficult than the one against Kiri, especially for you. Kiri ninja relied on water jutsu, and that's like trying to drown a fish in water for you. But Kumo is different. Don't let your guard down just because you managed to defeat Kiri jonins before - it doesn't mean you can do the same against the Hidden Cloud." Maki ruffled Kaoru's hair one last time before turning and leaving.
**
A/N -
The last chill chapter before the second war begins ^^
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