Such a monumental event in the Land of Water naturally didn't go unnoticed by Konohagakure alone. Every nation maintained spies and informants in the capitals of other countries. Their purpose was to obtain intelligence on major events and understand the direction other nations were headed in as quickly as possible.
In Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, the Second Raikage's expression wasn't very pleasant after learning of the news.
Not long ago, he had received intelligence from the Gold and Silver Brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, reporting that Kinkaku had encountered a Konohagakure ambush and attack in the Land of Hot Water. He was severely wounded on the spot, and if Ginkaku hadn't returned quickly with reinforcements, Kinkaku would have ascended to the Pure Land right there and then.
Moreover, this intelligence report carried a strong 'malicious' tone, almost questioning the Second Raikage himself, because Kinkaku mentioned that the person who attacked him used Kumogakure's Raikage Hiden: Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
This left the Second Raikage very confused and perplexed. He certainly disliked how Kinkaku and Ginkaku caused trouble in the village all day and loved to boss him around for no reason. Who was the true leader of the village, anyway?
However, the Gold and Silver Brothers were not only powerful but also highly respected in the village, so he had no good way to deal with them.
He indeed held a certain private agenda regarding the vanguard of this war: he wanted Kinkaku and Ginkaku's faction to lead the charge. If they could be weakened somewhat by Konohagakure during the war, with both sides suffering heavy losses or even mutual annihilation, that would be for the best.
But that was as far as it went. He absolutely had not sent anyone to cooperate with Konohagakure in ambushing and killing Kinkaku, nor had he leaked any war information to Konohagakure. After all, he wasn't an idiot; what good would doing that achieve? Perhaps it could bring him personal gain, but the entire village's interests would be lost. As the Second Raikage, he couldn't bring himself to do such a despicable thing!
But precisely because of this, Kinkaku and Ginkaku were now stubbornly refusing to advance further, fearing they were being used as 'cannon fodder.' This had led to a stalemate on the front lines, leaving him very frustrated.
After some thought, he concluded that since the strategy of a sneak attack on Konohagakure had been exposed, the chances of winning the war against Konohagakure had greatly decreased. Therefore, he needed to find a new strategy to compensate for this 'loss' and increase Kumogakure's chances of victory.
After much deliberation, he felt that this new strategy still required finding an ally to fight alongside. Since it was an ally, they had to be substantial, so he could only look among the Five Great Nations; otherwise, they would just be his subordinates.
Among the Five Great Nations, the current Land of Wind was completely in a 'whatever' state, meaning they participated in nothing and cared about nothing, adopting an attitude of 'don't bother me.' Furthermore, the Land of Wind's strength was considered somewhat at the bottom among the Five Great Nations, so even if he sought an alliance with them, the Second Raikage wasn't entirely confident.
Therefore, the Second Raikage set his sights on the Land of Earth and the Land of Water. The Land of Earth, like their Land of Lightning, was located north of the Land of Fire, just to the east and west respectively. If they allied with the Land of Earth, both sides could only invade from the north. But the problem was that the north had already revealed its war intentions, so it wouldn't achieve any element of surprise.
Thus, the Second Raikage ultimately wanted to choose the Land of Water as an ally. The Land of Water was in the southeast of the Land of Fire, separated by a vast ocean. Its long coastline provided countless points of invasion, making defense nearly impossible.
Moreover, if they allied with Kirigakure to launch a pincer attack on the Land of Fire, it could prevent Konohagakure from being able to defend both fronts, turning their single-front war into a two-front war. As long as one side broke through Konohagakure's defenses, it could be said that the war was largely won!
This gave the Second Raikage great hope, so he decided to have the forces led by the Gold and Silver Brothers maintain the stalemate on the front lines, waiting for him to arrange this strategy in the rear before continuing the fight.
However, before he could act, this damned news arrived: the Daimyō of the Land of Water had been attacked in their capital, directly blown to smithereens, leaving no trace.
The Land of Water seemed to have acquired some clues and information, pointing the finger directly at the Land of Earth. The entire nation had raised the banner of revenge, and the atmosphere of war was extremely thick. They were just waiting to finish the Daimyō's 'funeral' before launching a full-scale assault!
This immediately put the Second Raikage in a bind; he was completely flustered. With the Daimyō of the Land of Water dead, how could he ask them to unite and attack Konohagakure at a time like this? Impossible. They might even turn around and invite Kumogakure to attack Iwagakure with them.
But they had already engaged Konohagakure and shown great hostility. If they were to turn around halfway through and provoke the Land of Earth, then their Land of Lightning would surely be the first of the Five Great Nations to be crippled. Therefore, the Second Raikage absolutely could not make such a choice.
So, his strategy of 'allied water, attacking fire,' shattered before it even had a chance to shine.
Without these strategies, the Second Raikage hardened his resolve, preparing to go all-in, once again deploying a large number of combat forces for a head-on clash with the Land of Fire and Konohagakure!
This was also an act of desperation.
He had no choice.
Although this war was 'coerced' by the war hawk faction, namely the Gold and Silver Brothers, the common people below didn't know that. They only knew that he, the Second Raikage, had launched a surprise attack on Konohagakure.
If he were to immediately retreat after a minor setback in the initial engagement, what would become of his prestige as the Second Raikage? He wouldn't even need to stay in this position; he'd be better off stepping down and going home to farm!
Therefore, at this very moment, he could only stake everything on fighting this war!
Just like that, the day after receiving the news that the Daimyō of the Land of Water had been blown up, Kumogakure once again increased its investment in the war against the Land of Fire.
Nearly a thousand more shinobi rushed to the Land of Hot Water front line, preparing to converge with the forces led by the Gold and Silver Brothers!
The war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, Konohagakure and Kumogakure, was now unavoidable!
Even the Land of Lightning, which had no direct major connection to this matter, was affected. Not to mention the Land of Earth, which was directly saddled with the blame.
When the people of the Land of Earth learned of this news, they were utterly bewildered. Then, many started gloating. After all, there had been long-standing conflicts between the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, with countless blood debts on both sides. Hearing the sudden news that their Land of Earth had, without a sound, blown up the Daimyō of the Land of Water, naturally gave them a feeling of 'winning.'
Thus, the people of Iwagakure and the Land of Earth were incredibly joyful, without any suspicion whatsoever.
Not only that, but the prestige of the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, soared considerably with this wave of public sentiment, because these ordinary people generally believed that such a morale-boosting and face-saving act must have been ordered by the Second Tsuchikage-sama himself!
At the same time, the joyful demeanor throughout the Land of Earth deeply stimulated the sensitive nerves of the Land of Water, who had just lost their leader and whose entire nation was grieving.
Now, it was even worse. Not only were the Land of Earth already the prime suspects, but now they were laughing out loud. If they didn't fight back, they'd be letting down their deceased Daimyō!
In the Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, Mū, the Second Tsuchikage, who was entirely wrapped in bandages, was in a rather complicated mood.
If asked whether he was happy about the Daimyō of the Land of Water's death, he would say yes, a little, but he fully understood the implications behind it, so he couldn't be happy for too long.
Now, the whole world thought that he, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, had secretly sent people... well, not so secretly, they directly executed a forced assassination.
In short, now everyone believed that he, the Tsuchikage, had ordered this, but Mū himself knew very well that it had absolutely nothing to do with him. He was just sitting at home, and the blame came out of nowhere.
"Those damned bastards, who did it?" Mū chuckled helplessly, muttering to himself.
Just then, Ōnoki, who would become the Third Tsuchikage, burst through the Tsuchikage's office door, his nose red from drinking. As soon as he saw his master, Mū, he excitedly exclaimed, "Sensei, you're too incredible! You didn't even tell me! You secretly sent people to kill the Daimyō of the Land of Water? This is truly satisfying! Let those bastards always cause us trouble!"
Listening to Ōnoki's words, Mū's bandaged lips twitched in helplessness. There were only the two of them, master and apprentice, in the office now, so there was no need to hide anything. Thus, Mū spoke, "It wasn't me, I didn't do it."
Ōnoki was stunned for a moment, then heard his master continue, "When I received this news, I was also very shocked. But I truly didn't send anyone to do such a thing. Afterward, I quickly contacted the capital to see if the Daimyō's side had sent anyone, but the Daimyō's Manor also told me they didn't do such a thing. Therefore, although this incident involves the Land of Earth in widespread rumors, it actually has nothing to do with us! We've been used and framed..."
Ōnoki was dumbfounded listening to his master. Then he asked again, disbelieving, "Sensei, there's no one else here. Just tell me the truth. It really wasn't you??"
Mū looked helplessly at Ōnoki, whose eyes held a 'hopeful' glint, then still shook his head and said, "It really wasn't me..."
Ōnoki looked disappointed upon hearing this, then said, "What a shame..."
"Hehehe, but that's not important anymore. No matter who did this, everyone else thinks I did it. I can't explain it, and there's no need to explain anything, otherwise, it might look like I'm afraid of Kirigakure, afraid of Gengetsu!" Mū scoffed.
Ōnoki was curious and asked, "Sensei, since we've been framed this time, why don't you seem bothered at all?"
"Because the consequences of this blame... actually align with my desires!" Mū said softly.
Before Ōnoki could express any confusion, he continued, "I've wanted to deal with those bastards from Kirigakure for a long time, but although we've had many skirmishes, I could never find the right 'timing' to start a war. Now, it's perfect; I don't need to look for it. Those idiots delivered themselves right to my doorstep. So, as for this blame, it's not bad for me at all!"
"Sensei, are we going to war with the Land of Water?" Ōnoki's eyebrow twitched as he swiftly asked.
"That's right, and even if we don't want to fight, we have to!" Mū said grimly.
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