--- And now, the Land of Iron actually came with Sunagakure to try and snatch their money; how could Kakuzu endure this? "Other countries pr
---
And now, the Land of Iron actually came with Sunagakure to try and snatch their money; how could Kakuzu endure this?
"Other countries probably won't extend a helping hand. After all, for them, if Otogakure naturally collapses, they would also be happy to see it. Just that when it comes to dividing the benefits later, they will definitely interfere," Orochimaru's eyes already carried a bloodthirsty look. Who was he? He was once one of the Sannin of Konoha! Although he had defected from Konoha now and established Otogakure himself, he wasn't someone these small corners could provoke.
"Then fight now?" Kakuzu suddenly said.
"Although our current ninja count is small, we are a newly established village. No matter what, we cannot show any intention of fearing battle. There are many different voices in the village now, but we cannot let them down," Orochimaru's thinking was increasingly leaning towards that of a qualified Kage. Many times, war wasn't actually a question of whether one could fight. But a question of having to fight. What was fought for wasn't victory, but showing one's villagers their fearless heart and thunderous means!
"Then how to fight? The number of ninjas in our village now adds up to less than 100. And according to Sunagakure's expedition list this time, at least over 500 ninjas are coming over," Kakuzu repeatedly looked at the Sunagakure intelligence report in his hand. Listed on it were Sunagakure's recent movements.
He didn't know how much benefit the Land of Iron actually gave, to actually make Sunagakure dispatch a battle of this scale. Moreover, according to the intelligence, Sunagakure's Fourth Kazekage Rasa personally led the expedition. While Sunagakure's advisors Chiyo and Ebizō stabilized the rear in the village and didn't appear.
Accompanying Rasa on the expedition were two other Kage-level powerhouses from Sunagakure. In Rasa's perception, he himself could directly fight Orochimaru. And the remaining Kakuzu, although his depth was unknown, presumably with two Kage-level powerhouses attacking, there wouldn't be any other problems.
"There will be a way. Besides, don't we still have another partner? Right, Boss Shinji?" Orochimaru seemed to suddenly relax. Unknown when, Shinji had already appeared in the Otokage office.
"There is a way, but it needs some time. I need to go make some preparations," Shinji whispered. Although the current situation deviated from the original event line, Shinji didn't think it was a disaster. If, through this matter, other forces could see Otogakure's strength, perhaps this was actually a good thing.
"What do you plan to do?" Orochimaru asked somewhat curiously.
"You don't need to worry about this for now. Let's accept this war first. And we must state our innocent stance. No matter what, we must stand on the moral high ground," Shinji knew well that facing the battle at this time was necessary. But they still had to strive for what they deserved. Did Sunagakure really think Otogakure only had Orochimaru and Kakuzu? Then that was truly too bad. And it happened to be New Year; Shinji still had half a month to make new preparations.
Most importantly, Shinji received a mission.
[Ding]
[Triggered Mission: Otogakure's War]
[Mission 1: Repel Sunagakure's attack. Reward: Zhongli Roleplay Progress +3%!]
[Mission 2: Obtain compensation from Sunagakure. Reward: 3000 Points!]
[Mission 3: Obtain compensation from the Land of Iron. Reward: One portion of the Land of Iron's national treasure material!]
...
"I understand. But you have to rush back then. Just relying on the two of us and a team of less than 100 people is insufficient to confront Sunagakure over there," Orochimaru was quite straightforward, directly bringing this matter to light.
"No problem with that. But Lord Otokage, right now you still need to do one very important thing," Shinji suddenly said.
"What thing?"
"As Otokage, it's time to go out and appease the hearts of our Otogakure villagers. Now is a great opportunity to win hearts," Shinji said as if unconcerned.
"Fufufu, truly worthy of Boss Shinji. I understand," Orochimaru smiled. Instantly knew Shinji's meaning. This matter was truly what his teacher was most accustomed to doing.
The two looked at each other and smiled. Then Orochimaru stood up first and left.
"Kakuzu, are the war supplies all okay?"
"No problem. All prepared. And our contract has a disclaimer clause. If our Otogakure encounters war, supply will only resume after the war; this is clearly stated," Kakuzu wouldn't restrict himself dead in the contract. Otherwise, it would be unworthy of his title as Financial Director.
"That's good. Sunagakure... really thinks we're a piece of fat meat~" A cold smile appeared at the corner of Shinji's mouth. Although he was just a partner of Otogakure, not everyone could target Otogakure.
Since the decision was made, Shinji didn't linger much longer. He still needed to prepare some new things. And these things, only he himself could go prepare. In Shinji's heart, this war between Otogakure and Sunagakure wasn't a bad thing. If Otogakure could repel Sunagakure, then Otogakure's status would rise significantly in the future. Of course, regarding this matter, Shinji didn't think Otogakure had no chance at all. After all, he was still here, right? Thinking of this, Shinji immediately prepared his next move. With a flash of his figure, Shinji vanished directly from Otogakure.
...
After this discussion, a declaration that shocked the entire ninja world appeared. Otogakure accepted the war with Sunagakure, and also severely condemned Sunagakure's act of aggression, incidentally calling out the Land of Iron, which had been behind the scenes. Instantly, this news spread like wildfire throughout the entire ninja world.
Now everyone knew Sunagakure was working for the Land of Iron this time. And the Land of Iron, for its own reputation, for that neutral status, directly allied with Sunagakure to wage war against Otogakure, the purpose being to obtain Otogakure's new forging technology.
Once this statement came out, the Land of Iron directly became the target of public criticism. A neutral country still engaging in such things. Instantly, the Land of Iron's reputation dropped several levels. And Kumogakure and Konoha, the first batch to cooperate with Otogakure, issued a lukewarm statement, essentially supporting Otogakure, but due to being currently at war themselves, wouldn't send ninjas over to support, etc.
This statement, Orochimaru exclaimed 'expert', really... Of course, Kirigakure had always been a closed country, showing no interest in these matters at all. Instead, Iwagakure sent representatives to find Shinji. If Shinji let Deidara return, then their Iwagakure would send support over. After all, Iwagakure was closer to Otogakure. Of course, this condition was politely refused by Shinji. But things weren't completely soured either. Shinji promised to bring Deidara over to see Ōnoki when he had time later. Of course, this cooperation ended for now.
Without anyone disturbing him, Shinji embarked on his journey, soon arriving at his destination...
...
...
Time flew like a white steed flashing past a crack. Soon, half a month passed. Sunagakure's ninjas, led by the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, had already crossed the Land of Rain, Land of Grass, Land of Waterfalls, and Land of Frost, arriving at the border. The battlefield this time was at the junction between the Land of Frost and the Land of Rice Paddies. Of course, regarding this matter, the Daimyō of the Land of Frost dared not say anything. After all, their Land of Frost, let alone anything else, didn't even have its own ninja village. In this world, without a ninja village, that country could be said to be extremely weak in power.
Sunagakure had already set up camp at the border between the Land of Frost and Otogakure. After all, there was still one day until their announced time. For the sake of his reputation, Rasa still chose to wait one day.
On Otogakure's side, Orochimaru, Kakuzu, and Otogakure's less than 100 ninjas had all assembled completely, just waiting for the outbreak of this war. Instantly, all forces dispatched some intelligence teams over here to watch this war. Although most forces felt this would be a one-sided slaughter by Sunagakure, the main purpose of sending people over was still to see Sunagakure's current strength level. Of course, except for one village, namely Iwagakure. Even, without anyone else noticing, Ōnoki had already arrived at a mountain peak far away, looking down from above at Sunagakure and Otogakure below.
In terms of numbers, the gap between Sunagakure's 500 and Otogakure's 100 was still very large. Moreover, although Sunagakure was poor, it was still one of the established Five Great Villages. In terms of strength and battlefield performance, it would definitely be better than Otogakure. But, for some reason, in Ōnoki's heart, he always had a feeling this war would have a major upset. After all, Shinji's performance in the All-Purpose Shop before really made him concerned. Although Shinji hadn't been seen currently, Ōnoki favored Otogakure more.
On the battlefield, the wind whistled desolately. Rasa and Orochimaru stared at each other just like that.
"Lord Otokage, didn't expect your Otogakure would actually accept the battle. Could it be you still think... you can defeat our Sunagakure?" Since time hadn't arrived yet, Rasa also started with some trash talk towards Orochimaru first. The two still knew each other. Back during the Third Shinobi World War, Orochimaru was sent for a period to the battlefield against Sunagakure. And Rasa back then wasn't the Fourth Kazekage yet, nor was Orochimaru the First Otokage. But meeting again, the identities of both had changed. What remained unchanged was the determination of both regarding this war.
"Rasa, you wouldn't think that just because you became Kazekage, you can defeat me, right? Want me to tell you about our battle record during the Third Shinobi World War?" Orochimaru had experienced multiple wars after all; naturally, he wouldn't lose his reason due to Rasa's little provocation. Moreover, he accurately grasped Rasa's psychology, beginning a new round of mental attacks against Rasa.
Remember, back during the Third Shinobi World War, the Konoha ninjas led by Orochimaru beat the Suna ninjas led by Rasa into disarray. That's why Sunagakure signed a treaty with Konoha that could be said to grasp their economic lifeline. And this treaty directly caused Sunagakure's economy not only not to increase with the end of the war in the following years, but actually showed signs of decline. And in individual combat, Rasa arguably never defeated Orochimaru even once, instead being repeatedly rubbed on the ground by Orochimaru. So, this wave from Orochimaru could be said to be truly rubbing salt into the wound.
"Orochimaru, times have changed. Now you are no longer one of the Sannin of Konoha, while I have become the Fourth Kazekage. You are just the Otokage of some unknown Otogakure," Hearing Orochimaru's words, Rasa's face clearly darkened, but he still grit his teeth and took up the conversation. After all, showing fear before battle was a major taboo on the battlefield. Rasa couldn't possibly be led astray by Orochimaru on this point.
"Whether I'm one of the Sannin of Konoha or not, you still couldn't beat me, right? Hmm?" Orochimaru said with a smile, seemingly finding stimulating Rasa was quite a fun thing.
"Orochimaru! You can only brag now! Tomorrow, I will lead the elite of Sunagakure to flatten your Otogakure!" Rasa said fiercely. As long as they achieved victory tomorrow, then no matter what happened before could be written off. Everything is result-oriented. Losers have no say; everything is the victor's game.
"Getting agitated, you're getting agitated?" Kakuzu suddenly spoke up. Like Orochimaru, his face showed no nervous expression, instead looking somewhat mockingly at Rasa. Hearing Kakuzu's words, Rasa's face darkened again. This guy really knew how to touch a sore spot! Just a mere missing-nin from Takigakure, really thought he was something after coming to Otogakure? Thinking of this, Rasa could only suppress his anger, snorted coldly, and甩手 (shuǎi shǒu - swung his hand/left abruptly) back to his Sunagakure camp.
Seeing Rasa leave, Orochimaru and Kakuzu glanced at each other, then walked back to Otogakure's camp. At this time, defense lines large and small had already separated the two places. And numerous sentry posts controlled the opponent's movements.
"Hasn't Boss Shinji returned yet?" Returning to the command room, Orochimaru's face suddenly became grave. This wasn't good news.
"Not yet. But he said before he would definitely rush back," Kakuzu's face wasn't looking good either. After the brief contact just now, Kakuzu found the combat power brought by Sunagakure compared to Otogakure was simply heaven and earth. Especially the number of middle and lower ninjas, was simply multiples greater. And on his side, those who could be called high-end combat power were only Orochimaru, himself, and En no Gyōja. Although Karin, Deidara, and Jūgo were here, this was still somewhat futile. After all, the number of enemies was five times their own side. This gap wasn't something anyone could turn the tide against.
"Deidara, have those places all been planted with bombs?" Orochimaru looked at Deidara beside him, kneading something, and asked.
"All planted. As long as they dare step into Otogakure tomorrow, then I can make sure they come but never return!" Deidara said confidently. Those places just now were places he gave special attention to.
"That's good. Karin, healing relies on you," Orochimaru's gaze shifted from Deidara's face to Karin's side. After all, the ninja base was small. Arguably, besides Karin, there was only one other medical ninja. Meaning the two had to support all of Otogakure's medical needs. This consumption was enormous.
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P@TREON
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60+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS PER FIC
We are in Chapter 224 in P@treon