"It's true that our strength alone isn't enough—but what if we brought Kumogakure into this?"
The Third Kazekage rose and walked to the window, drawing back a sliver of the black curtain to let sunlight spill into the room, illuminating the darkness with a faint glow.
"Those guys never stop seeking power—not even during peacetime. Kekkei Genkai, the Six Paths tools, even the Tailed Beasts. There's no way they'd pass up a chance to strike at Konoha."
He was confident in his analysis, certain he'd seen through the muscle-bound brutes of Kumogakure.
"I'll handle negotiations with Kumogakure myself. As for the Daimyō, I'll leave that to you, Ebizō-sama."
The Third Kazekage turned his gaze to Ebizō, waiting for his reply.
"If we don't go to war, Sunagakure will fall into irreversible decline from the lack of commissions..."
Ebizō pondered for a moment, then arrived at his conclusion.
It seemed that war with Konoha was now inevitable. All the better—his sister had been yearning to take revenge on that so-called 'White Fang of Konoha'...
"I understand. Once I return, I'll inform Sister and have her prepare."
Ebizō nodded and stood up to leave the room.
He closed the door behind him and paused to glance back one last time. At the urging of the escort, he finally turned and departed.
...
"Sister, is Sasori not home?"
Ebizō entered Chiyo's residence and pushed open the door, surprised not to see Sasori anywhere.
"That child is in the hidden chamber, working on a new puppet technique. He won't be coming out for a while. What's the matter?"
Seeing her brother ask about Sasori the moment he walked in, Chiyo was puzzled.
"I see. Perfect timing—I have something to tell you."
Knowing Sasori was locked away in his own world of puppetry, Ebizō felt at ease.
"The Kazekage plans to strike at Konoha."
"At Konoha? Are you serious?"
Chiyo shot to her feet, eyes filled with barely contained excitement.
It had been years since her son was killed by that man. Countless nights, Chiyo had dreamt of Hatake Sakumo, watching him in her nightmares as he slaughtered her son and daughter-in-law again and again.
For the sake of Sunagakure's future, she had hidden her hatred deep inside. Even as she neared retirement age, she continued her training—waiting for the day she could personally sever Hatake Sakumo's head.
"That's right. But that's not what worries me—the Kazekage's chosen ally is."
Looking at the emotional Chiyo, Ebizō sighed and shared his concern.
"He plans to attack Konoha together with Kumogakure."
"I've dealt with people from Kumogakure plenty of times. They may look like a bunch of loud, reckless fools with no subtlety, but that's just the surface. They're masters of using appearances to mislead enemies and gain the upper hand."
"If that's true, why didn't you raise your concerns to the Kazekage as a village elder?"
Chiyo frowned. She had fought Kumo shinobi, but never dealt with them in other settings. Naturally, she didn't understand them as well as Ebizō, who worked in intelligence.
"You know full well how he is, Sister. That so-called strongest Kazekage—he makes decisions on his own, bypassing the elders again and again, all because of that 'strongest' title and the villagers' admiration."
Ebizō had mixed feelings about the Kazekage—both admiration and frustration.
His strength was undeniable, but in terms of leadership, he was stubborn and headstrong.
"Just like during the last Great Ninja War—if not for his orders, our forces wouldn't have taken such a dangerous route, which ultimately led to Sasori's parents..."
Ebizō's voice trailed off as Chiyo interrupted him.
"Enough, Ebizō. Let the past stay in the past. The Kazekage did what he thought was best for the village."
"After all, the frontlines were at a stalemate. Taking risks was a necessary gamble. Sakumo's strength was just overwhelming—he protected the outpost with only a few men and even turned the tide against our forces."
Though she understood the Kazekage had made serious tactical errors, he was the Kazekage. Even someone as high-ranking as Chiyo could only do so much to smooth things over.
Behind the sealed door of the hidden chamber, Sasori—who was supposedly busy studying puppetry—stood silently, having overheard the entire conversation between Ebizō and Chiyo.
Only after the room fell silent did he return to his workbench.
"The village? The Kazekage? How ridiculous..."
Glancing at the forehead protector lying on the table, Sasori shook his head and gave a cold, mocking smile.
...
"This is a great opportunity!"
A few days later, upon receiving the Kazekage's letter, the Third Raikage slammed his palm down on the desk with excitement—smashing it to pieces in front of his assembled upper ranks.
"This table was poorly made."
Looking at the shattered wood scattered on the floor, the Third Raikage's lips twitched. He sat back down.
Trained Kumo shinobi immediately appeared to clean the area and swiftly brought out a replacement table, placing it in front of the Raikage with practiced ease. Clearly, this sort of thing happened often.
"The Kazekage's letter is very clear. We'll deploy forces together against Konoha. After the war, they only want the Land of Rivers as spoils. They support all the conditions we plan to demand from Konoha."
Once the table was replaced, the Third Raikage nodded at his subordinates, then relayed the contents of the letter to the assembled leaders.
...
"The Land of Rivers has always been Sunagakure's dream. Every clash they've had with Konoha was to seize control of that region. It's no surprise they'd offer such terms."
An elder who had served under the First Raikage understood Sunagakure well.
"Back at the first Five Kage Summit, when Hashirama-sama proposed distributing the Tailed Beasts, the First Kazekage flatly refused. He said the village already had the One-Tail and instead demanded a fertile land from Konoha."
"I remember that. After the First Great Ninja War, Konoha used military force to reclaim that land, and Sunagakure's economy plummeted afterward."
Another elder, also advanced in age, chimed in.
"Judging from that, the intelligence is likely accurate."
Once the older leaders gave their opinions, the younger commander, Dōdai, offered his own take.
"But there's no denying that Sunagakure is weak. If we form an alliance to attack Konoha, we'll undoubtedly shoulder most of the burden. At best, they'll only tie down some of Konoha's forces in the south."
"And we're still under pressure from Iwagakure. In my view, if we want to fight Konoha, we must first find a way to end this endless friction with Iwagakure."
The Third Raikage looked at Dōdai with admiration. He had high hopes for the young man he'd personally promoted.
"Well said. Those Sunagakure guys are fickle by nature—always swaying with the wind."
"Sure, they've got the so-called strongest Kazekage holding things together, but beyond him, they don't have any exceptional ninja."
"That so-called strongest puppeteer Chiyo? She couldn't even beat Tsunade. Laughable."
The Third Raikage, though acknowledging the Kazekage's power, didn't hold Sunagakure in high regard overall.
But still...
"If they can tie down part of Konoha's forces, that's good enough. Their purpose is to keep Konoha from going all out against us!"
"This time, we're sending Sarutobi and Danzō to hell!"
As his fury flared once more, the Third Raikage slammed his hand down on the table again.
And yes—the table broke. Again.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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