"What do you think would happen if Kirigakure's main army was out on campaign and the village suddenly erupted into chaos?"
Maki flashed a devilish grin.
"Well, that depends on how bad the chaos gets."
Xuechi Gaojin chuckled.
"Hmm... You'd need something on the scale of a Tailed Beast rampage at least."
Maki considered it.
"Yeah? If that happened, Kirigakure might be in real danger of collapse. But..."
Gaojin blinked, then shook his head after a moment's thought.
"That seems pretty unlikely. The Three-Tails jinchūriki is personally guarded by the Elder, and his mansion is locked down tight. Even if Kirigakure's main force is away, there are still at least five thousand ninja left on the island. Triggering a Tailed Beast rampage or launching an assault isn't realistic. We've only got a few dozen people—just not enough muscle."
"Sigh, you think we'd use our own guys for something like this?"
Maki's words left Gaojin even more confused—until a sudden spark lit up in his eyes.
"Wait... Don't tell me we've got assets inside Kirigakure?"
"Right now, aside from that sleeper agent from last chapter, we don't have a single man in Kirigakure."
"Then... Just lay it out for me."
Maki smirked, lowering his voice.
"Ever heard of the Kaguya Clan?"
"Kaguya Clan? Nope, never heard of 'em."
Maki laughed.
"Not surprised. I only heard about them from Lord Kazekage. They're an ancient bloodline family in Kirigakure—masters of the Dead Bone Pulse. The problem is, they're strong but not bright. Total battle junkies, hotheaded to the core. Of the ten major internal conflicts in Kirigakure, eight had their fingerprints all over them. It's only thanks to Yagura's efforts that things have calmed down lately. But if someone gave them a little nudge..."
Gaojin perked up, eyes glinting.
"Heh, leave it to me. I'll hit them with some genjutsu—promise I'll make it look good."
"Perfect! That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
Maki slapped his thigh in delight.
"To go with Lord Kazekage's 'Meat Bun Plan,' I've cooked up a 'Vinegar Dish Plan.' Come on, let's brainstorm..."
————————————————
Without anyone realizing, four months had passed since the Wind-Cloud Allied Forces invaded the Land of Fire. Across the shinobi continent, every faction found themselves stuck in a bizarre stalemate.
At first, Konoha seemed eager for action, launching several small raids against the Wind-Cloud camp. But every time, Jinghang shut them down with ruthless counterattacks.
After a few failed attempts, Konoha backed off. That's when the Wind-Cloud side got fired up. During this lull, Jinghang stockpiled mountains of explosive tags, and Sasori's puppet team rolled out a new model of wooden flying puppets—faster, cheaper, and easy to mass-produce. Once he had enough, Jinghang unleashed his revenge.
For three straight days, Konoha Village was bombarded by at least five hundred "air raids." The casualties were staggering; bodies littered the ground.
The survivors of the Eastern Army were thrown right back to that hellish night at Lishi Fortress, eyes glued to the sky, desperately tracking puppet flight paths and hoping their old tricks would save their lives again.
But this time, the flying puppets were faster, more unpredictable, and deadlier than ever.
You couldn't shoot them down. You couldn't outrun them. All you could do was wait for the next explosion. Despair settled over Konoha like a fog. (With the Gaoyi and Gaoao red-eyed brothers running navigation.)
Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi came up with a plan. First, he rallied every ninja and civilian to dig deep shelters and stockpile supplies, ready for air defense at all times. Second, he mobilized the Hyūga clan to set up aerial observation posts—once a "squadron" was spotted, bells would ring to warn everyone.
The strategy worked. Casualties dropped off a cliff, eventually hitting zero.
But Jinghang was quick to adapt. He ordered the Xuechi brothers to create air illusions from time to time.
Now, Konoha lived in a constant "boy who cried wolf" scenario. The air raid siren blared at all hours, fraying nerves and patience.
The timing was always brutal. You'd barely take two bites of rice before the alarm sounded. No choice—you had to drop your bowl and sprint to the shelter.
When the all-clear finally came, you'd realize there'd been no raid at all. Just as you tried to eat your cold rice, the siren would shriek again...
And if you ever decided to ignore it and finish your meal, that's when the real bombing would hit.
Life became unbearable.
Eventually, Hiruzen had to crack down:
"From now on, whenever the siren sounds, every ninja and civilian in Konoha must enter the shelters. Anyone who disobeys will be punished—severely!"
Some villagers were so worn down, they simply moved into the shelters full-time—eating, sleeping, even using the bathroom there. Unless they needed food or had to dump the chamber pot, they refused to leave. Konoha had become a village of "cave dwellers."
The dark, damp, stinking environment, coupled with a lack of sunlight, soon brought another disaster—plague.
Luckily, the shelters were isolated, so the outbreak didn't spread. Once Hiruzen noticed the signs, he immediately sent Orochimaru to handle it.
Orochimaru didn't hesitate—he burned both people and shelters, then whipped up a vaccine from the virus samples. His swift, ruthless action kept things contained. If the plague had spread, Konoha might have collapsed before the Wind-Cloud Allied Forces even arrived.
"We can't drag this out any longer! Inoichi, notify Koharu Utatane—next month, Kirigakure must mobilize! I don't care if Yagura lands in the Land of Fire or attacks Yuexi Peninsula—as long as he moves!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was at his limit. This nerve-wracking guerrilla warfare was killing morale. If it kept up, even the strongest Will of Fire would burn out.
"Yes, I'll deliver the message right away," Yamanaka Inoichi replied.
Back when they negotiated for the Three-Tails jinchūriki, they'd assigned a Yamanaka ninja to Koharu's team for real-time contact.
"Hokage-sama, is it time to strike back?"
Minato Namikaze sounded tense.
"No. We wait—wait for the perfect moment. The chance for a killing blow."
A dangerous light flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.
"And that is...?"
Minato pressed.
"At the very least, we wait until news reaches Jinghang that Kirigakure's ninja have attacked Yuexi Peninsula."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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