Hearing the Fourth Raikage A's words, Mabui was slightly taken aback, then gave a small nod.
If the Hidden Leaf were destroyed, it really might allow the entire shinobi world to remain peaceful for quite some time. After all, Konoha's position was simply too advantageous.
But… was that really possible?
Mabui didn't voice her doubts. Her expression remained grave as she looked at A and asked:
"Then what should we do next?"
"Hasn't Darui's unit already been prepared? Send them out immediately."
A's voice was icy as he spoke.
"Yes!"
Mabui nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Just then, the Fourth Raikage spoke again. He turned his head to look off into the distance in a certain direction, his tone flat.
"Bee, get out here."
After a moment, Bee squeezed himself out from a crack between some rocks, scratching his head.
Seeing Bee, A didn't look surprised at all.
"Since you heard what we just said, you're going along too. But unless it comes down to the very last moment, you'd better not use the power of the bijuu (Tailed Beast)."
Here, A's voice paused for a beat, then took on a unique, domineering weight.
"If you're going to use the power of the bijuu (Tailed Beast), then you'd better be ready to wipe Konoha out."
It wasn't long before, when Darui saw the ever-goofy Bee and the Raikage's secretary Mabui appear in front of him, he knew something big was about to happen.
"What a drag…"
Darui muttered weakly under his breath, though a serious light flashed in his eyes.
Very soon, a Cloud-nin unit led by Darui and Bee set out from the Hidden Cloud, making no attempt to conceal their movements as they headed straight in the direction of Konoha.
...
Hidden Stone Village.
Shortly after the Cloud set its forces in motion, almost at the same time, Onoki received word from both Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi.
Tsuchikage's office.
Onoki, who had been sitting in his chair, was now already floating above it, hovering in mid-air.
"You're saying the Mist-nin and Sand-nin have joined forces to attack Konoha?!"
Onoki's voice was a little excited. He then landed on the floor and began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.
"No wonder… no wonder the Hidden Mist's behavior has been so strange lately. So they'd already joined hands with the Sand."
"And recently, the Cloud has shown signs of mobilizing its ninja forces as well. That probably ties into this too."
"Hmph! Three villages secretly working together and they don't even bother to inform this old man. Looks like they don't think much of this old fossil anymore."
Onoki let out a snort, a cold smile on his face.
Standing to the side in the office, Kitsuchi couldn't help raising a brow when he heard this. He spoke softly:
"Father, you don't have to be angry…"
"Angry? Why would I be angry? The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist is that little girl, isn't she?"
Onoki chuckled, turning his head to look at Kitsuchi.
"Yeah. I think her name is Terumi Mei."
Kitsuchi thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I don't know how strong that little girl is, but just from this move alone, you can tell she's not easy to deal with."
"With three of the great hidden villages joining forces against Konoha, this isn't a question of whether we Stone-nin get involved or not. It's a question of whether we're willing to take a share of the spoils."
"No wonder the Hidden Mist didn't reach out to this old man—they already knew what I would choose."
"They want to gather the power of all four great hidden villages to completely annihilate Konoha. What a move, what audacity!"
A serious look flashed across Onoki's face, then he suddenly burst out laughing.
"Even if they did play me for a fool, if I let this once-in-a-lifetime chance go by without attacking Konoha, all these years I've spent as Tsuchikage would have been for nothing."
With that, Onoki turned to look at Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi, his tone heavy.
"The two of you are to lead our forces together and head for Konoha. If you run into a Cloud-nin unit on the way, you are not to engage them in any conflict."
"In the face of profits this huge, any grudges between the villages will be set aside."
At this point, a thoughtful look crossed Onoki's face, then he continued:
"And call Han as well."
Kitsuchi's expression changed.
"Father, the jinchuriki (Tailed Beast host) is supposed to be each village's final trump card. Using a jinchuriki at a time like this, isn't that a bit…"
Before Kitsuchi could finish, Onoki had already floated up into the air, appeared above his son's head, and smacked him hard on the skull.
His tone was full of frustrated exasperation.
"At a time when we're already talking about wiping Konoha out, and you're still worrying about the bijuu (Tailed Beast)?!"
Kitsuchi froze, then scratched his head awkwardly and asked quietly:
"Then should we bring Old Roshi along too?"
The moment he heard the name "Old Roshi," Onoki's face darkened.
"No need to call that old codger. Besides, he's already left the village."
"He left the village?"
Kitsuchi stared, shock flashing across his face. Even though a jinchuriki's place of residence was usually remote, this was the sort of major event he definitely should have known about.
Seeing Onoki's sour expression, Kitsuchi shut his mouth again. If even he knew nothing about something as important as the jinchuriki leaving the village, then his father had clearly chosen to keep it from him.
Then again, with Old Roshi's temper being just as stubborn as his father's, leaving the village wasn't exactly surprising.
Kitsuchi couldn't help grumbling inwardly as he stole a glance at Onoki's dark expression.
"What are you still standing around for, get moving!"
Onoki's displeased voice echoed through the Tsuchikage's office.
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi both gave wry smiles, then turned and headed out.
With the Cloud-nin and Stone-nin forces setting out one after another, all the small hidden villages nearby were suddenly thrown into a state of nervous tension.
They were afraid the two great villages had gone mad and would simply wipe them out in passing.
It was only when the ninja from both great villages marched past not far from their borders without making a move against them that they finally let out a long breath of relief.
At the same time, those small villages grew curious about what goal the Cloud and Stone were mobilizing their troops for.
What shocked and puzzled them even more was that when the Cloud-nin and Stone-nin forces met on the road, they didn't fight at all, as if the two sides simply couldn't see each other.
Everyone knew that the Cloud and Stone were mortal enemies; normally, if ninja from those villages ran into each other, there was almost always a fight.
But now two full military units had crossed paths without clashing. How could that not stir curiosity in the small villages?
There was no shortage of sharp minds among those minor villages. And the only thing that could make two great hidden villages set aside their hatred… was profit on a massive scale.
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