Nearly fifteen years had passed since the last Shinobi World War. The shinobi world appeared peaceful and harmonious, without any turmoil. However, this was merely on the surface; all undercurrents were quietly surging in private. The leaders of the five great shinobi villages each harbored their own thoughts, judging the future direction.
In these years, Chiyo and Ebizo of Sunagakure had visited the Daimyo in the capital more than once, hoping to obtain his permission to resume military funding for Sunagakure, but they were repeatedly rejected.
The aging Daimyo no longer possessed his former ambition and was swayed by border trade. The gifts presented by ministers and merchants greatly pleased him, and he was completely immersed in this pleasant atmosphere. He cared nothing for Sunagakure's desire to strengthen its military and establish its position in war, even harboring a faint dislike. Even though they had once expanded the Land of Wind's territory, hadn't it all been lost in the last war?
The Daimyo had forgotten that he was the one who decided the last war. Even if he remembered, he wouldn't think it was his fault, only that Sunagakure was too incompetent. Since they were so incompetent, why should he risk a significant financial loss to provide military support?
If it weren't for the increasingly important status of shinobi villages in the current shinobi world, the Daimyo might have considered severing his employment relationship with Sunagakure, to avoid having to care for the lives of Sunagakure's personnel—even without military funding, he still had to spend money to maintain Sunagakure's daily life. These expenditures, in his view, were already benevolent and righteous, but Sunagakure repeatedly demanded more, which was simply intolerable!
Just as expected, Chiyo and Ebizo once again visited the Daimyo's mansion today. In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they were angrily dismissed by the impatient Daimyo. The guards at the gate looked at the two with a touch of sympathy, admiring their persistence, but regretting that they couldn't move the Daimyo.
"Travel well." That was all the guards could say. After all, their patrons were the Daimyo, not Sunagakure, which only had an employment relationship with the country.
Ebizo let out a deep breath, nodded to the guards, and walked with his sister towards the inn. Years of toil had etched wrinkles onto his face, making him look older than his actual age—the desert was truly not a good place for people to thrive, and he was also the head of a village, bearing the greatest pressure.
Back at the inn, Chiyo could no longer contain her indignation and muttered, "That stubborn old man, completely unyielding, just like Onoki."
Chiyo's words were mild; in her heart, the Daimyo was even worse than Onoki. While Onoki was stubborn, it was based on his responsibility to his country and village, whereas the Daimyo of the Land of Wind only cared about his own pleasure, with nothing else entering his consideration.
"Alas, with such a lord, how can we strive for strength?" Ebizo sighed again, the wrinkles on his face seemingly deepening.
Since becoming the Kazekage, Ebizo's sighs had become more frequent. Sunagakure was struggling. Even though they imitated Konohagakure by supporting merchants, due to their lack of strength and resources, Sunagakure did not gain much financial income. Only through a series of austerity measures were they able to maintain the training of the village's ninjas.
But this was ultimately not a long-term solution. Ebizo knew full well that if this continued, Sunagakure would soon be unable to train a combat-ready ninja. War was imminent; only war could pave a bright path for Sunagakure.
Ebizo had once considered launching a surprise attack within Konohagakure under the guise of the Chunin Exams, but he immediately abandoned this unrealistic idea—Konohagakure was the main base, and for Sunagakure ninjas, as outsiders, to cause major destruction there, they would essentially have to be prepared for a one-way trip. If they sent their elite, Sunagakure would have no strength left to fight, and if they sent ordinary ninjas, they probably wouldn't even make a ripple.
What Ebizo didn't realize was that in a world that could be considered a parallel universe, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure had carried out such a crazy plan, and the outcome was self-evident: not only did it fail to meet Sunagakure's demands, but he also sacrificed himself.
At that time, Konoha was a village that had been weakened twice by the Third Shinobi World War and the Nine-Tails incident. Even though the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, adopted a policy of recuperation, in the eyes of others, Konohagakure had gradually lost its vibrant energy. If they couldn't even manage such a ninja village, let alone Konohagakure, which was showing unprecedented vitality in this universe.
Therefore, Ebizo certainly wouldn't employ such petty tricks. In his view, open strategies were righteous, and covert schemes were extraordinary. When covert schemes became a relied-upon method, it meant that defeat was not far off. For Sunagakure to overcome its difficulties, it still needed the righteous path of the external environment.
"I wonder what Kirigakure's reply is," Ebizo said.
Sunagakure's current policy was to unite with other countries; only then would the Land of Wind have the confidence to go all in. Ebizo understood clearly that the people in the village did not have much confidence in defeating Konohagakure alone. However, connecting the Land of Wind to the Land of Water on the other side was a very troublesome matter, almost spanning the entire continent, and going by sea put great pressure on the ninja responsible for the contact.
Konohagakure, on the other hand, focused on maintaining good relations with smaller nations. Even when Konoha's Anbu entered their territories, these small nations took no action—though there was little they could do to stop them. This positive attitude saved Konoha's Anbu a lot of trouble, while conversely causing many problems for Sunagakure's ninjas.
The liaison ninja had to covertly travel to the Land of Water under the surveillance of Konoha's Anbu, which took a very long time. Including the time spent on negotiations between the two sides, several years passed, and they still hadn't reached an agreement. Fortunately, in the most recent contact, the agreed-upon terms were almost finalized, with only the final reply pending.
"If Kirigakure suddenly starts haggling, even if we later have no choice but to ally with them, I'll make them pay the price." Chiyo was never one to suffer a loss; if she took a loss temporarily, she would find a way to get revenge later. The current her was not the old woman who would later only think of seeing her grandson.
"I hope so. I believe Kirigakure isn't short-sighted either. Strictly speaking, the feud between them and Konohagakure isn't small either," Ebizo said.
"It's not a feud with Konohagakure, but with Uzushiogakure, isn't it?" Chiyo gently corrected her brother's statement.
"Yes, the feud with Uzushiogakure was forged in the last Shinobi World War. They've always wanted to make Uzushiogakure pay the price." At this point, Ebizo suddenly brought up something, "Speaking of which, isn't Konohagakure's Mito Uzumaki on her last legs?"
"It seems so," Chiyo recalled the intelligence received by the village. "During the last Chunin Exams, I heard that Mito Uzumaki was already bedridden."
"It's probably true. Mito Uzumaki will pass away within a year or two at most." Ebizo nodded slightly, saying, "And this is the best opportunity for Kirigakure to launch a surprise attack on Uzushiogakure. Uzushiogakure's sealing jutsu is too dangerous. If we're to start another war, we must first sever one of Konohagakure's arms!"
"It's a pity we couldn't prevent Konohagakure from getting a new jinchuriki vessel." Chiyo couldn't help but sigh. "Even if Uzushiogakure is destroyed while Konohagakure is caught off guard, exchange students from Uzushiogakure have been studying in Konohagakure for several years already. I'm afraid they haven't returned to Uzushiogakure yet."
"There's nothing we can do about that. Even without someone from the Uzumaki clan, Konohagakure should be able to find a vessel for the Nine-Tails, even if it's not as perfect as someone from the Uzumaki clan," Ebizo said.
After all, Konohagakure had a plethora of talents, and anyone could emerge. Even if the Nine-Tails' power was immense, Kumogakure could find suitable jinchuriki, so there was no reason Konohagakure couldn't. Simply destroying Uzushiogakure wouldn't cause Konohagakure to lose the Nine-Tails.
"However, we can be glad that even if Konohagakure has a suitable jinchuriki, they might not be able to deploy them on the battlefield," Ebizo couldn't help but smile.
It's important to know that utilizing a Tailed Beast's power is no easy feat. Even for someone from the Uzumaki clan, unless they are an adult and experienced ninja like Mito Uzumaki, it's impossible to use the Nine-Tails' power all at once. If the Tailed Beasts' power were so easy to use, countries wouldn't be so vexed by it.
"Even the current Mito Uzumaki can't use the Nine-Tails' power anymore, can she?" Chiyo said slowly. She still respected Mito Uzumaki quite a bit. In a ninja world where female ninjas were generally at a disadvantage, it was rare to find such a powerful female ninja. She naturally felt a connection, but unfortunately, they were on opposing sides.
"Certainly not. The Nine-Tails' power cannot reverse aging." Ebizo said with conviction, then his face showed annoyance. "But in this regard, we are the same."
Chiyo also frowned. What Ebizo was referring to was Sunagakure's One-Tails Jinchuriki, Bunpuku. This monk had always been unwilling to cooperate with Sunagakure. In a fit of rage, the Second Kazekage had him imprisoned in a tower, not allowing him to leave a single step. Bunpuku, content with his freedom, lived in the tower, spending every day chanting scriptures.
Even if Sunagakure started another war, Bunpuku would not lend the Tailed Beast's power to Sunagakure. He had stated clearly back then that if it was to defend their homeland and prevent foreign invasion, he, Bunpuku, would serve without question, but if Sunagakure was going to invade other countries, then he would respectfully decline.
"As a weapon of the village, he repeatedly refuses to cooperate. If it weren't for the village's difficulty in finding a replacement vessel for him, how could we allow him to live freely in that tower?" Ebizo said coldly.
"Yes, and it's precisely this guy who possesses the power to suppress the One-Tails. If he were to leave, we would probably only be able to continue sealing the One-Tails in a sacred tool until a suitable vessel is found," Chiyo said.
"So we can only endure this old man!" Ebizo paced the room, then stopped after a while and sighed again. "In any case, we can only take things one step at a time. The upcoming war will be a war that stakes the fate of Sunagakure. Once we fail..."
Ebizo didn't finish his sentence, but Chiyo knew what he was going to say. Once they failed, Sunagakure would face an irreversible doom, unless Konohagakure was also severely weakened in this war. In other words, even if Sunagakure couldn't win, they had to cripple Konohagakure to the point where they couldn't pursue Sunagakure's responsibility.
But whether they could truly achieve this, neither Ebizo nor Chiyo could be sure. As Ebizo said, they could only take things one step at a time, and to increase their chances of success, Ebizo also had to try to lay out plans, both within the capital and externally.
Afterward, the two set off back to Sunagakure and received some good news: Kirigakure had sent a clear reply, and the two sides had become allies. They naturally wouldn't publicize this alliance; it would only be announced when war broke out. Within Sunagakure, Kirigakure's participation greatly boosted their confidence. As a result, Ebizo's orders became smoother, and the entire village began to mobilize.
Sunagakure's Anbu members left the village one after another to carry out their missions: some for investigation, some for assassination, some for sowing discord, and some for undercover work. For the impending war, Sunagakure, as a military organization, was fully activated.
Konohagakure was not unaware of this. They had been watching Sunagakure for a long time. The slightest anomaly at the border would attract the attention of Konoha's Anbu, who would send the investigated intelligence back to the village, placing it onFumori Masaki's desk.
Fumori Masaki knew that the Second Shinobi World War would come sooner or later. He was not surprised by Sunagakure's actions. Adhering to the stance of a just war, he naturally had to wait until Sunagakure launched its attack before dispatching ninja troops to stop them.
Of course, as preparation for war, he also had to begin. He couldn't just let Sunagakure's Anbu infiltrate, so he also started implementing various measures to counter Sunagakure's infiltration.
At the same time, he also understood that Sunagakure couldn't rely solely on themselves. Even if they were foolish enough to start a war alone, other countries wouldn't stand idly by. Surveillance and investigation of other countries were not neglected at all, and the reply he received was that there were also unusual movements in the Land of Water.
"This really isn't good news,"Fumori Masaki murmured to himself.