The battle that had begun in the dead of night lasted all the way until noon.
Even someone as overwhelmingly strong as Hanzo of the Salamander felt exhaustion creeping in.
Since last night, the number of Iwa-nin who had died by his hand was already beyond counting.
After the arriving Ame-nin joined the fray, the situation became completely one-sided.
With their chain of command shattered and their ranks in chaos, the Iwa forces failed to mount any organized counterattack.
At dawn, the surviving Iwa guards began to flee, and Ame's pursuit continued for nearly half a day before finally stopping.
But defeating Iwagakure's forces and looting the Land of Earth's supplies…
That was far from Hanzo's only objective.
After sending his troops back to clean the battlefield, Hanzo began reflecting in silence:
"If the world followed the original timeline, the Second Great Ninja War is supposed to last five years."
"I've already offended both the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire at the very start of the war… And after this, the Land of Wind will definitely stab us in the back. With my strength, they might not dare launch an outright military assault, but in other ways…"
"Tsk… The Five Great Nations restrict us at every turn!"
"Amegakure hasn't fully developed yet. More than half of our military strength is just me alone. Before anything else, I must instill fear into the Five Great Nations—win time for the Land of Rain."
"Carve fear into their hearts. Make them understand the price of cornering the Land of Rain."
"And the Land of Earth will become the stage upon which Amegakure displays its dominance."
The war could not end yet.
The longer it dragged on, the better.
And Iwagakure was the perfect sacrificial offering.
The Land of Earth was the richest meat stock."
The other four nations were the wolves circling around it.
And the Land of Rain was the starving cub.
"Murakami. Kan."
At his signal, Hattori Murakami and Kan stepped forward and knelt behind him.
"Murakami," Hanzo said, "gather intel on the daimyō of the Land of Earth and every important government official. Include their heirs. Prepare assassination squads."
"Kan, from this point forward, every village you pass on Earth Country soil—loot everything. Anything you can't carry, burn it to ash. I don't want to see a single intact stone left behind. Take everything. Burn everything.
But do not touch the people. Not a single life is to be taken.
Once you're done, retreat immediately."
"Yes, sir." Both men spoke sharply, then disappeared with Body Flicker.
For a moment, hesitation flickered in their eyes—but only for a moment.
Among the great nations, the basic structure was always the same:
One nation. One shinobi village.
The nation provided funding and supplies.
The shinobi village protected the nation's security.
In simple terms, shinobi were the state's hired mercenaries.
Normally, ninja wars never interfered with the political structure of a nation.
Even if a shinobi village was crippled, it merely weakened the state militarily.
But destroying a country's political system was something else entirely.
Once the upper government collapsed, unrest spread downward into riots, rebellions, and secession movements.
And the consequences would never remain contained to the Land of Earth alone.
The most immediate effect would be refugees.
Refugees didn't just affect the nation they were fleeing from.
When displaced people surged into other countries—unable to work, unable to feed themselves—they disrupted social order and provided perfect cover for enemy spies to infiltrate.
Small nations often closed their borders and expelled refugees.
But those refugees still needed somewhere to go.
The only possible destination was… a Great Nation.
And for a Great Nation, refugees brought nothing but trouble.
Because of prestige and political pressure, they couldn't simply drive them out.
Cheap refugee labor took jobs from locals, generating resentment.
Discrimination and conflict brewed between the displaced and the citizens.
Eventually, riots could break out—threatening the nobility, especially in the Land of Fire.
And the Land of Earth was massive in population.
Even one-tenth of their people flooding elsewhere would be devastating—especially to smaller nations.
But this was wartime.
Konoha, Suna, Kumo, and Ame were all busy fighting.
Iwagakure had no time to handle internal instability.
And no other Great Nation had the manpower to deal with it either.
Hanzo's intentions were painfully clear:
Not only was he aiming to cut off Iwa's supply line and destroy Earth Country's infrastructure—He wanted to drag the other four Great Nations down with it.
As for what would happen afterward…
That wasn't for Murakami and Kan to think about.
Hanzo was the one leading them.
Amegakure had never acted this… insanely before.
But Hanzo was already thinking of something else—the Fourth Tsuchikage, Roshi.
If he wanted his plan to succeed, Iwagakure absolutely could not be allowed to surrender.
They could not be allowed to withdraw from the war.
If they signed a ceasefire like Konoha did, it would be disastrous for Amegakure.
And according to intelligence, Roshi was a moderate who would likely push for peace.
"Then I have no choice but to make Iwagakure incapable of surrendering."
"Kill all their leaders. Turn Iwagakure into the same fragmented chaos Amegakure once was. Without a head commander to take responsibility, no one will have the authority to sign a treaty. Without orders from above, not a single Iwa-nin can stop fighting."
"And before the Land of Earth has been drained dry, the other Great Nations will never back off. Once Konoha and Kumo finish their battles, they'll be wounded badly—too badly to ignore such a tempting prize as the Land of Earth."
"The war will stretch even longer… and Amegakure will finally have the time it needs."
Hanzo looked down at the soil of the Land of Earth beneath his feet, fingers tightening around the handle of his scythe.
"If everything unfolds as planned… the Land of Earth will become the second Land of Rain."
"But we're only doing to you what you've done to us for decades."
"Taste the pain of the Land of Rain."
"Land of Earth—your sacrifice is the price of Amegakure's rise."
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