Chapter 290: Iwagakure, Kumogakure, And Kirigakure’s Reactions
Meanwhile, Land of Earth, Stone Village.
In the office of Third Tsuchikage Onoki, numerous high-level officials of Stone Village gathered together, the atmosphere equally tense.
Onoki’s diminutive figure hovered in mid-air, his brows furrowed, watching the image displayed on a special communication screen before him.
That was the daimyo of Land of Earth, Muto Kai.
This daimyo sported a meticulously groomed goatee, his eyes wide at the moment, his face filled with excitement.
“Now the Land of Wind has formally declared war on the Land of Stars! This is the perfect opportunity for us to strike!” Muto Kai waved his folding fan, his tone fervent.
Onoki remained calm, inquiring, “Your Excellency, have we already reached a formal military alliance with the Land of Wind?”
“Alliance? Not yet.” Muto Kai shook his head: “The envoy from the Land of Wind did indeed want to form an alliance, but considering the attitude from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire, and the complex diplomatic repercussions it might bring, I temporarily rejected them.”
He changed the subject, a greedy expression appearing on his face: “However, that doesn’t prevent Stone Village from sending troops independently! After all, it’s an indisputable fact that Star Ninja have repeatedly crossed the borderline to provoke us and attack our military strongholds! Both emotionally and rationally, we have ample reason to launch a counterattack against the Land of Stars! As long as we take the Land of Stars, especially the Ghost River Plains they control, that’s vast fertile land and prosperous trade routes!”
Onoki sighed inwardly; how could he not know the allure of the Land of Stars’ wealth?
But as Tsuchikage, he needed to consider far more.
He tried to persuade this daimyo whose head was clouded by greed: “Your Excellency, please analyze calmly. Currently, the Land of Wind and the Land of Stars have just gone to war, and the situation remains unclear. We haven’t fully gauged the strength of the Land of Stars; that ‘Shura’ and Uchiha Hikari are enormous variables. Rashly entering the war at this time carries great risk. I believe the best timing to send troops… has not yet matured.”
“Timing not mature?!” Muto Kai’s voice suddenly rose sharply, laced with obvious displeasure.
“Last time the Star Ninja slaughtered the nobles and daimyo of those small countries, I told you to send Stone Village elites, and you said the enemy’s strength was unknown and caution was needed! Later I agreed to send those mercenaries and wandering ninja to probe, and what happened? We suffered considerable losses but gathered some intelligence, and now the Land of Wind is fighting the Land of Stars—yet you’re still telling me the timing isn’t mature?!”
He slammed the desk hard, raging, “Onoki! Have you grown old and timid too?! Don’t forget, recently multiple border outposts in our Land of Earth have been attacked, with ninja killed or wounded—shouldn’t that debt be settled with the Land of Stars?!”
Onoki’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Those border attack incidents indeed had many suspicious points; Intelligence Department head Bun’ya had reported multiple times that the attackers’ methods and the traces left behind were odd, not ruling out the possibility of other forces disguising themselves to frame them.
But in the daimyo’s view, this was merely Stone Village’s excuse for cowardice.
Facing the daimyo’s rage and relentless pressure, Onoki knew outright refusing to send troops was no longer possible.
“Please calm your anger, Your Excellency.” He took a deep breath and made a compromise: “Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll immediately dispatch elite spies to fully investigate the Land of Stars’ troop deployments and movements along the border with the Land of Wind. If… if the Star Ninja main forces are indeed held back by the Land of Wind and their rear is empty, then at that time I’ll decide based on the specific situation whether to send troops and the scale of the deployment. How does that sound?”
“That’s more like it!” Hearing Onoki finally relent, Muto Kai’s expression eased somewhat; he snorted, “Remember, opportunities don’t wait! I hope to hear good news from you soon!”
With that, the communication screen went dark.
The office fell into brief silence.
The tall Kurotsuchi stepped forward, looking worriedly at his father: “Father, the Land of Stars has clearly denied attacking our border outposts and instead accused us of attacking their watchposts. Bun’ya’s analysis also indicates that those previous attack incidents do have suspicious points…”
Bun’ya, standing nearby, added, “Lord Tsuchikage, based on analysis of the scene traces and casualties, the attackers’ behavioral patterns differ from the Star Ninja’s usual style; it truly cannot be ruled out that it was a third party, like Konoha or Cloud Village, disguising themselves to frame them.”
Onoki slowly descended from the air, sat in his chair, rubbed his throbbing temples, his face full of exhaustion and helplessness.
“I know… I know all these suspicious points.” He sighed, his voice hoarse: “But Bun’ya, Kurotsuchi… after the Land of Wind declared war on the Land of Stars, whether those attack incidents were truly done by Star Ninja or not is no longer important.”
He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the other several Advisor Elders of Stone Village in the office, their faces grave.
“The daimyo only needs a ‘pretext’ that can convince himself and the other nobles in the country.” Onoki’s voice carried a hint of sarcasm, and even deeper powerlessness.
“And now, this ‘pretext’ is sufficient.”
Everyone fell silent.
………………
Land of Lightning, Cloud Village.
Nestled amid encircling mountains, Cloud Village was perpetually shrouded in moist clouds and mist; the towering Raiden Building pierced the cloud layer like a peak, symbolizing this ninja village’s resilience and power.
Yet at this moment, the Raiden office at the top of the building was filled with an oppressively extreme aura of fury.
Fourth Raiden, the hulking man famed for his violent Lightning Release, was shirtless at the moment, revealing muscles knotted like rock.
The stump of his right arm, missing its wrist, was wrapped in thick bandages, while his remaining left hand gripped a massive barbell heavy enough to crush an ordinary strongman; the muscles in his arm bulged like steel cables, repeatedly hoisting the heavy barbell overhead before slowly lowering it.
Each exertion came with muffled grunts and faint cracks from his bones, like a beast caged and desperate to vent.
The dark-skinned, tall Mabui stood nearby, holding an urgent intelligence scroll in hand, reporting steadily yet unable to hide her gravity: “…Based on cross-verification from multiple intelligence sources, it can basically be confirmed: An elite unit from Sand Village in the Land of Wind clashed intensely with the Land of Stars. Sand Village suffered heavy losses, with exact casualty figures unknown, but suspected to include Advisor Elder Ebizo and several jonin among the dead. Hours after the clash, Fourth Kazekage Rasa formally announced to the outside world that the Land of Wind had declared war on the Land of Stars.”
Crack!
As soon as Mabui finished speaking, Raiden’s left hand exerted force fiercely, smashing the heavy barbell onto the solid wooden desk before him!
The sturdy hardwood surface instantly groaned under the strain, splitting and collapsing in the middle!
Papers and ink scattered across the floor!
“Shura!” Raiden growled the name through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing with rage and hatred!
The devastating casualties that guy inflicted on Stone Village were no less than a full war!
Even Yugito Nii and Killer Bee, the two perfect jinchūriki, were successively gravely wounded in the Hell Valley battle, and he himself had his right wrist crippled by that bizarre chakra black rod, forcing him to amputate his right hand to continue fighting.
Even so, over half of the elite unit that accompanied him to intercept Shura had perished!
Yet they couldn’t even leave a single one of the enemy behind!
What utter humiliation!
After the battle, Raiden issued the highest order, commanding Mabui’s Intelligence Department to mobilize all resources and channels of Cloud Village, sparing no cost to hunt for Shura’s whereabouts.
Combined with some pointedly clear messages that had recently “inadvertently” leaked from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire and Stone Village in the Land of Earth, Cloud Village’s vast intelligence network, after cross-comparison and analysis, could basically confirm that the “Shura” who had repeatedly devastated Cloud Village was the actual controller of the Land of Stars, which had swiftly risen and annexed several countries in recent years!
“Shura… Land of Stars…” Raiden itched to assemble all of Cloud Village’s elites right then, raze the Land of Stars, tear Shura to pieces, and wash away the shame.
Mabui keenly sensed the Raiden’s killing intent nearly overflowing; she quickly stepped forward, cautiously advising, “Lord Raiden, please calm down!”
“The Land of Stars is located in the western part of the Ninja Continent, far separated from our Land of Lightning by countries like the Land of Fire, Land of Rivers, and Land of Rain. A long-distance expedition would face difficult logistics supply, and possible obstruction or even ambushes from other forces along the way. Even if we wanted to send troops against the Land of Stars, it would be extremely difficult, nearly impossible.”
Her words carried deep worry, fearing this hot-tempered Raiden might in his fury truly launch a reckless grand expedition regardless.
She couldn’t help recalling how, years ago, Third Raiden had stayed behind alone to cover the main force’s retreat, ultimately surrounded and overwhelmed by over ten thousand Stone Village ninja, fighting to exhaustion and dying heroically.
That painful lesson remained an indelible wound in Cloud Village’s heart.
She absolutely did not want Fourth Raiden to repeat the same mistake.
Raiden took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his impulse to start the war immediately; he was no mindless brute ignorant of strategy.
He grunted, his voice low: “Hmph… Of course I know the distance is too great for a direct assault. I still have that much reason.”
Raiden walked to the window, gazing out at Cloud Village’s sturdy village built amid the encircling mountains, and said gravely, “However, we can’t just do nothing! Send out the ninja in the village most skilled in infiltration and intelligence gathering—find a way to infiltrate the Land of Stars! I want all intelligence on that country, on the Star Ninja, on Shura!”
“Yes! Lord Raiden!” Mabui immediately bowed and accepted the order, recording it down.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief; as long as it wasn’t direct war, it was fine.
Mabui continued her analysis: “From the current situation, the scale of this war between the Land of Wind and the Land of Stars is estimated to remain temporarily controllable.”
“Konohagakure has just gone through internal strife with the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Branch Family, with its strength and internal stability both affected to some degree. Though Sand Village is their ally, the possibility of Konoha sending direct troop support is low; they’re more likely to provide supplies, funds, or intelligence support.”
She paused, her tone somewhat uncertain: “However, Stone Village in the Land of Earth is another story. Third Tsuchikage Onoki is a cunning old fox; Stone Village has no clear movements yet, but if Sand Village and the Land of Stars fight to mutual ruin, or the Land of Stars shows a weakness in the rear, that old fox is very likely to seize the chance, send troops to attack the Land of Stars’ rear, and grab benefits.”
“Stabbing in the back… just like they ambushed our troops back then!” Raiden picked up the thread, his voice filled with hatred for Stone Village.
In that battle, Stone Village had mobilized en masse, with over ten thousand Stone Village ninja attempting to encircle and annihilate an elite Cloud Village unit, inflicting heavy losses on Cloud Village!
And with the chaotic ninja world situation at the time, if Cloud Village suffered too many losses, Konohagakure and Kirigakure would surely come knocking.
Had it not been for his father, Third Raiden, holding the rear alone, battling the Stone Village army for three days and nights, nearly wiping out their young generation, Cloud Village would likely have been gravely wounded.
His father’s heroism and sacrifice were Raiden’s eternal pride, and a searing warning.
No matter how strong an individual’s power, it had limits before the torrent of war and absolute numerical superiority.
At least, that’s what he believed now.
After recording the spy dispatch order, Mabui asked again, “Lord Raiden, regarding this incident, is there anything else to instruct?”
Raiden pondered for a moment, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He turned to Mabui and said, “Spread the intelligence we’ve analyzed before—that ‘Shura is very likely the Konoha Nine-Tails jinchūriki defector’—through secret channels.”
“If Shura really is Konoha’s Nine-Tails jinchūriki defector, then this time Konoha absolutely cannot sit idly by no matter what! They’ll definitely send troops! That way, even that old fox Onoki might join in!”
“Yes! I understand!” A flash of realization crossed Mabui’s eyes as she immediately grasped Raiden’s intent.
Pit tiger against wolf, one stone three birds!
………………
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Unlike the fury in the Raiden office, the atmosphere in Kirigakure’s highest power center felt exceptionally heavy, oppressive, even tinged with sorrow.
The diminutive Fourth Mizukage Kagura Yagura sat in the main seat at the moment, as if bearing a thousand-jun burden.
Facing the sparse few Kirigakure high-level officials below, Yagura deeply lowered his head.
“Everyone… I, Kagura Yagura, as Fourth Mizukage, was controlled by an enemy’s illusion technique for years… bringing incalculable losses and disaster to the village. I… am ashamed of the Mizukage name, ashamed before every villager and ninja who trusted me.”
His voice was somewhat hoarse, filled with pain and self-blame.
After Kisame Hoshigaki’s failed assassination attempt on Yagura and his defection, he had left some information for Mei Terumi and Ao, which was perhaps the last thing he did for Kirigakure, deepening their suspicions of Yagura. Thus, recently, Ao had used that seized Byakugan to probe Yagura, ultimately uncovering the secret that Yagura had been controlled by a mysterious enemy.
Then, under Genma’s auspices, using Ao’s Byakugan, Yagura escaped that long, nightmare-like manipulation.
Yagura reflected on the oppressive “Bloody Mist Policy” he had implemented in recent years under the illusion’s influence, and the resulting Bloody Mist Policy rebellions, purges, mass ninja defections, and deaths.
His heart felt like it was being twisted by a knife.
“Please allow me to formally resign from the Mizukage position.” Yagura raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally resting on the hunched elder Genma nearby, who held a snake-shaped wooden staff.
“And I earnestly request that Elder Genma oversee all matters related to electing the next Mizukage.”
【PS: Today’s illustration features the blonde bombshell Samui and the dark-skinned secretary Mabui.】
