Chapter 174 I Had No Intention of Going All the Way
"Tonight, first your Cloud ninja camp burst into flames. We couldn't figure out what was happening on your side, so we went on full alert. Then that guy nicknamed C suddenly appeared in our camp, attempting to assassinate my teacher Hiruko. Afterward, I pursued him all the way into your Cloud ninja camp—" Ritsu paused here, gazing at the Raikage standing before him. He laughed self-deprecatingly before continuing, "I admit I was somewhat blinded by rage at that moment. I couldn't control my emotions. I thought you Cloud ninja had already declared war, so there was no need for me to be polite either."
"However, after I easily crushed your Cloud ninja camp, I didn't see C—only Dodai commanding the Cloud ninja against me in his place. That's when I realized I might have fallen into a trap. Someone was deliberately provoking conflict between us Konoha and you Cloud ninja."
After listening, A ground his teeth. "But after realizing someone was manipulating things from behind, you didn't choose to withdraw. Instead, you escalated and struck even more lethally! If Killer B and I hadn't arrived, you were planning to kill them all, weren't you?"
Ritsu pulled at the corners of his mouth and resolutely shook his head in denial. "Of course not. I had no intention of simply going all the way—thinking since I'd already fallen into the trap, I might as well commit completely and weaken you Cloud ninja as much as possible to prevent your retaliation afterward... I never thought such things. Besides, killing everyone would be very difficult. With so many Cloud ninja, I couldn't possibly kill them all."
Not?
Bullshit.
Listen to those words in reverse!
Fury colored A's face as he ground his teeth in hatred. "You bastard brat, you really dare to say that!"
Ritsu's face showed dismissal. "What's there not to dare say? Put yourself in my position. If you were me, I believe you'd make the same choice."
A snorted coldly without responding.
If the situation were reversed—if he'd charged into Konoha's camp—then A himself would certainly choose to inflict as many casualties on Konoha ninja as possible. Of course, when questioned, he'd definitely deflect responsibility as well. In any case, the key point now was whether what Ritsu said was true or false—was there really a third-party force causing trouble behind the scenes?
Ritsu, single-handedly blocking the combined assault of him and Killer B, had displayed alarmingly formidable strength. This made A clearly realize he'd have great difficulty defeating Ritsu. Continuing to fight would be harmful without benefit—not only would frontline Cloud ninja casualties become even more severe, his prestige would suffer tremendous damage as well.
Of course, ceasing combat now would similarly damage his prestige, but there were degrees of severity involved. Moreover, if a third-party force truly was causing trouble, perhaps he could redirect the spearhead toward this third party.
After all, going to war with Konoha offered extremely poor odds of victory. Previously, he'd been wary of the Yellow Flash's extreme speed surpassing his own. In the last war, he and Killer B had fought the Yellow Flash together and suffered complete defeat. His prized speed was absolutely no match for the Yellow Flash's space-time techniques.
Now White Yaksha had used practical action to prove Konoha Village's younger generation didn't contain only the Yellow Flash as a monster. If one also counted experts like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, what would the Cloud ninja fight with at this time? How would they win?
He didn't want to fight a war with certain defeat.
Conversely, this third party hiding its head and tail, attempting to provoke war between them and Konoha, felt like an excellent target to strike. Using such underhanded methods indicated the opponent's hard power was insufficient—they should be a relatively soft persimmon, easy to squeeze.
"Speaking of which, have you made your decision?"
Ritsu urged, "Raikage, will you continue fighting to completely settle things with me and determine life and death, or will you accept my suggestion for a ceasefire and negotiations? Make a decision quickly."
"B, stop!"
A roared loudly.
The Eight-Tails grappling with the Wood Human immediately withdrew its strength. Ritsu also controlled the Wood Human to stop. The ceasefire between two colossal beings was witnessed by everyone. Both sides fighting coincidentally chose to stop and retreat, observing the situation.
A looked at Ritsu and said heavily, "White Yaksha, take your people and leave. After I investigate the situation clearly, we'll discuss negotiations."
After finishing, without waiting for Ritsu's response, his body transformed into lightning as he leaped to the Eight-Tails' head.
Seeing this, Ritsu showed no hesitation. He immediately released the Wood Human Technique. Not that he trusted the Fourth Raikage and Eight-Tails jinchuriki to keep their word, but because he wasn't afraid of A and Killer B launching a sneak attack.
His unwillingness to continue fighting wasn't because he couldn't win, but because he didn't want his Konoha ninja suffering excessive casualties.
The thought of a sneak attack did flash through A's mind, but it passed instantly. He wasn't afraid of being accused of bad faith—rather, the Byakugan's omnidirectional vision made him feel his small movements definitely couldn't escape Ritsu's notice. A sneak attack had nine chances in ten of failing and would only worsen the situation.
Therefore, after Ritsu released the Wood Human Technique, A was transported by Killer B from atop his head to the ground. Immediately after, Killer B also released the Eight-Tails' full transformation, reverting to human form.
By this time, Ritsu had already returned to the Konoha ninja position, seeing Hiruko who'd rushed over. "Sensei, I negotiated with the Fourth Raikage. He's willing to negotiate with us. We can withdraw now. Afterward, the Fourth Raikage will send people to communicate with us."
Though Hiruko had many questions he wanted to ask, he suppressed the urge to inquire. He held absolute trust in his beloved student. Directly using his authority as Supreme Commander, he issued the retreat order. When departing, they released nearly two hundred captured Cloud ninja as a gesture of sincerity for upcoming negotiations.
Even if others had objections, under these circumstances they all maintained silence. No one dared jump out to voice opposition. Hiruko and Ritsu, this master-student pair, were the legitimate Supreme Commander and Deputy Commander. They had authority to make such decisions.
Of course, regarding Ritsu's behavior of pursuing an assassin into the Cloud ninja camp and nearly triggering full-scale war with the Cloud ninja, some disapproved, considering Deputy Commander Ritsu's actions too rash. For instance, Nara Suzaku had already decided that once they returned, he'd submit a report to the Hokage.
Having Hiruko and Ritsu, this master-student pair, serve as Supreme Commander and Deputy Commander was truly somewhat unreliable. Taking office less than twenty-four hours ago and already causing endless trouble—Nara Suzaku couldn't distinguish whether this master-student pair's ability to provoke trouble was too formidable, or whether their luck was too poor to encounter such incidents right after assuming command.
However, after returning to camp, Nara Suzaku found no opportunity to write his report. Hiruko immediately convened a high-level meeting of the frontline camp.
Hiruko, Ritsu, Kimeki Koto, Unno Ikkaku, Aburame Shikuro, Nara Suzaku, Inuzuka Tsume, and Akimichi Toto—eight people total—all assembled in the keep.
At this moment, dawn was approaching but not yet arrived, so the interior remained brilliantly lit.
Hiruko sat in the main seat, his gaze flowing across everyone present. "Tonight's events—you all understand what happened, correct?"
Everyone remained silent.
If speaking of understanding, they probably understood. Nothing more than C supposedly attempting to assassinate Hiruko and failing. Ritsu pursued C, charging straight into the Cloud ninja camp in one breath, stubbornly forcing both the Fourth Raikage and Eight-Tails jinchuriki to appear on the battlefield, even fighting Ritsu.
That was roughly the situation, but what truth lay beneath this surface appearance remained unknown.
Therefore, everyone maintained silence without speaking.
Seeing this, Ritsu smiled and said, "I'll explain the situation. Tonight should have been Missing-nin Anonymous triggering this series of events to provoke war between us and the Cloud ninja."
"Missing-nin Anonymous possesses methods for creating replicas convincing enough to fool everyone. I suspect C has already fallen victim to Missing-nin Anonymous. The great fire we saw in the Cloud ninja camp earlier was very likely triggered by C's attack. Afterward, Missing-nin Anonymous used C's replica to attempt a surprise assassination of Hiruko-sensei. But he failed—Hiruko-sensei's strength exceeded his expectations."
"However, though assassinating Hiruko-sensei failed, he successfully enraged me, leading me to charge into the Cloud ninja camp and clash with the Cloud ninja, even drawing over the Fourth Raikage and Eight-Tails jinchuriki. Fortunately, I'm fairly capable in combat. I withstood the pincer attack of the Fourth Raikage and Eight-Tails jinchuriki, and also negotiated with the Fourth Raikage. The Fourth Raikage agreed to resolve this dispute through negotiation."
"The above constitutes tonight's general situation."
Ritsu's expression didn't change as he earnestly told bald-faced lies.
He'd dumped all the blame onto Missing-nin Anonymous. His only mistake was failing to control his emotions, consequently falling for Missing-nin Anonymous's scheme and clashing with the Cloud ninja. But then he'd relied on his own formidable martial power to force the Fourth Raikage to choose continued negotiation rather than employing force for retaliation.
Facing such a situation, honestly even Hiruko felt his head spinning. Looking only at surface circumstances, though Ritsu had erred, he'd compensated for the mistake through sheer overwhelming power.
After hesitating a moment, he finally said, "Everyone heard what the Hyuga Clan Head explained, correct? Whatever anyone wants to say, speak."
This time, everyone no longer maintained silence.
Kimeki Koto spoke carefully. "Hokage Advisor, I believe our primary task is reporting tonight's events to the Hokage. Whether we negotiate with the Cloud ninja next or go to war, we'd best obtain clear authorization from the Hokage."
The others nodded repeatedly.
Hiruko also nodded. "Don't worry, Koto. Once the meeting concludes, I'll personally submit a report to the village. Such a major matter must naturally be communicated to the Hokage."
"However, we can't simply push the problem to the Hokage. We must also have our own thoughts and suggestions..."
Dawn had not yet arrived.
While the Konoha camp held its meeting, exhausted and suffering Cloud ninja were cleaning the battlefield. Because the mountain fortress was severely damaged, much material had been destroyed, though considerable supplies were rescued and remained usable. They still needed to construct new encampments, deploy barriers...
Numerous Cloud ninja busied themselves ceaselessly.
Their Raikage personally participated in battlefield cleanup operations, relying on his powerful physique to clear rubble and excavate buried supplies.
Dodai and Xi accompanied him on either side.
The work in their hands didn't prevent conversation.
A asked, "Dodai, explain carefully exactly what happened tonight. White Yaksha said a third party deliberately provoked war between us and Konoha. Do you think it's true or false?"
Dodai frowned, thought for several seconds, then shook his head. "I'm uncertain."
A frowned and continued, "White Yaksha told me C appeared in Konoha's camp attempting to assassinate Hiruko but failed. Afterward, he pursued C all the way into our camp... Xi, go investigate. See if any sentries on watch saw C's movements."
"Yes."
Xi left to carry out the order.
A fell silent for a moment, quickly finishing the work at hand. There was no more work nearby requiring his attention. Only then did he speak again. "Dodai, tonight the village also had an incident."
"What?"
Dodai's expression changed. He looked at A and asked urgently, "Raikage-sama, what happened in the village?"
"Everyone in the department researching the Sharingan was killed. The murderer even threw some victims' bodies onto the streets, triggering tremendous upheaval in the village. Subsequent investigation revealed witnesses saw the perpetrator's appearance—discovering the killer was Konoha's former Hokage Advisor, Shimura Danzo."
"How—how is this possible? How could Shimura Danzo infiltrate our Hidden Cloud Village to kill people? Besides, according to Konoha's account, Shimura Danzo was already killed by their missing-nin."
"Exactly! I read the report you submitted. Shimura Danzo, who should be dead, appeared in our village committing murder. Dodai, do you think Konoha is lying? Or is someone playing tricks?"
"Shimura Danzo..."
Dodai's brow furrowed tightly. The process of negotiating with Hiruko surfaced in his mind. After pondering a moment, he suddenly asked, "Raikage-sama, you said the victims were from the Sharingan research department?"
"Correct."
A nodded.
Dodai lowered his eyelids and sighed heavily. "From what I know, Troy constantly helped the Sharingan research organization collect research materials. Also, Shimura Danzo's relationship with the Uchiha clan was extremely bad. Perhaps..."
Before Dodai could finish, Xi rushed over with two Cloud ninja, saying urgently, "Raikage-sama, I've confirmed it. Many people saw Hyuga Ritsu pursuing C."
****
50+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces