A wary look appeared in Pakura's eyes.
No matter how much she disliked Konoha, she had to admit Konoha's strength.
Why had Sunagakure been so wary of Kirigakure before?
Aside from Kirigakure's army having gained an enormous advantage on the battlefield, there was also Konoha watching greedily from the side.
After Sunagakure's strength rose, it had also clashed with Konoha.
Not many times.
But it had clashed.
Konoha's strength was very formidable.
Otherwise, it would not have been able to defeat Iwagakure.
And that was with two of the Sannin not participating at all.
Once Jiraiya returned, Konoha's strength would become even greater.
At a time like this, the arrival of Konoha ninja made Pakura cautious.
"Konoha… why have they come?"
When the leader of Kusagakure received the news, he was also stunned.
In the next moment, a sliver of hope rose uncontrollably in his heart.
Previously, Konoha and Sunagakure had been enemies.
Recently, Sunagakure had also published information unfavorable to Konoha in the Weekly Report on Major Shinobi World Events.
Konoha very likely held a grudge against Sunagakure because of it.
Perhaps they intended to use this chance to stop Sunagakure's actions under the pretext of maintaining order in the shinobi world.
Perhaps Kusagakure was lucky and had happened to encounter that opportunity.
But hope was only hope.
Very soon, the leader of Kusagakure learned Konoha's true purpose.
"Kusagakure sent ninja to infiltrate the Land of Fire, disguised themselves as bandits, killed dozens of Land of Fire civilians, robbed merchant caravans, and killed more than ten Konoha ninja. Their crimes are unforgivable."
Shinku Yuhi arrived at the front of Konoha's army.
Facing the Kusagakure ninja, his expression was cold and stern.
"Hokage-sama has issued an order. I, Shinku Yuhi, am to lead this force to the Land of Grass and carry out a punitive expedition against Kusagakure."
In an instant, every Kusagakure ninja's expression stiffened.
When they heard news that Konoha ninja had arrived, they thought Konoha had come to save them.
Their savior had arrived.
But they never expected this result.
Konoha had not come to help them.
Not to save them.
Konoha had come to invade them.
Facing Sunagakure alone, Kusagakure was already in an extremely difficult situation.
And now, Konoha had been added into the mix.
What was Kusagakure supposed to do?
An aura of despair appeared among the Kusagakure forces, then spread through them like mist.
"Damn it!"
"Konoha is truly vile!"
"At least Sunagakure actually produced evidence. Konoha has no evidence at all. They casually say a few lines and come to invade Kusagakure. Absolutely disgusting."
"They just want to obtain benefits from us!"
"Shameless! Shameless to the extreme!"
"Even more shameless than Sunagakure!"
Shinku Yuhi remained expressionless.
As a ninja, and a standard Konoha ninja, the rule Shinku Yuhi followed was simple.
Execute orders.
Orders were everything to a ninja.
Uchiha Shisui looked in Kusagakure's direction, then looked toward the Suna army on the other side.
Even now, Uchiha Shisui still could not understand where Kusagakure had found such courage.
As a small shinobi village, it had actually dared to provoke two Great Ninja Villages at the same time.
That courage was truly remarkable.
Just like the Uchiha clan daring to launch a rebellion on its own.
Even though the Uchiha clan was clearly no match for Konoha.
"Pfft!"
The leader of Kusagakure suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Is my Kusagakure… going to perish?"
"I should not have done it."
At that moment, the leader of Kusagakure regretted his previous actions against Sunagakure more than ever.
"If only I had not provoked Sunagakure."
"Without the Suna army, Konoha would not have come either. My Kusagakure would never have suffered this disaster."
A ninja came to the leader's side.
"Leader-sama, why don't we surrender now? With Kusagakure's strength, there is no way we can match Sunagakure and Konoha. We can barely even resist."
"Right now is the best time to surrender."
"The later we wait, the worse the situation will become."
"If Iwagakure also sends people, Kusagakure's position will grow even worse."
"If we have to satisfy the appetites of three Great Ninja Villages, I'm afraid Kusagakure may cease to exist in the shinobi world."
The leader of Kusagakure's expression changed.
"You are right."
No matter how unwilling he was, the leader of Kusagakure realized that Kusagakure truly no longer had any hope.
Surrendering now was the best choice.
If they delayed, Iwagakure would inevitably come.
Even Kumogakure might come.
"We surrender…"
Just as the leader of Kusagakure had spoken half of his surrender—
Another ninja army arrived.
A sturdy figure stepped forward.
"Kusagakure sent ninja to infiltrate the Land of Earth, disguised themselves as horse bandits, killed Land of Earth civilians, robbed merchant caravans, and killed Iwagakure ninja. Their crimes are unforgivable."
"Tsuchikage-sama has issued an order. I, Huang Tu, am to lead this force to the Land of Grass and carry out a punitive expedition against Kusagakure."
The leader of Kusagakure: "…"
On his already despairing face, an even deeper shade of despair surfaced.
"Does heaven wish to destroy my Kusagakure?"
"Heavens, how unfair!"
"Why must Kusagakure suffer such a fate?"
"This is all my fault!"
The leader of Kusagakure weakly lowered both hands.
"I surrender!"
"Kusagakure surrenders!"
As soon as his words fell, all the Kusagakure ninja lowered the ninja tools in their hands, raised both arms, stopped forming hand seals, and accepted their fate as captives.
"Kusagakure has surrendered!"
"Kusagakure has surrendered!"
…
Waves of cheers rose.
From the Suna army.
From the Konoha army.
From the Iwagakure army.
Pakura's expression did not look good.
Sunagakure had contributed the most to attacking Kusagakure.
Konoha had already contributed far less.
And now an Iwagakure that had contributed almost nothing had arrived as well.
Three villages dividing Kusagakure?
How were they supposed to divide it?
From the three camps, letters were sent back to their respective villages.
Almost at the same time—
Sunagakure, Rasa.
Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Iwagakure, Onoki.
The three of them received intelligence from the front lines at the same time.
"Kusagakure has surrendered."
"Konoha came to carry out a punitive expedition against Kusagakure?"
"Not only Konoha. Iwagakure as well."
Rasa's expression turned subtle.
"So they came to snatch the fruits of Sunagakure's victory."
Sunagakure refused to yield a single step.
Iwagakure opened its mouth like a lion.
Konoha likewise proposed greedy conditions.
For a time, the three shinobi villages fell into deadlock.
The leader of Kusagakure revealed a mocking smile.
"They all came to divide my Kusagakure. All of them are robbers. Fight. It would be best if they fought!"
"The fiercer, the better."
"The more deaths, the better!"
The hatred in the leader of Kusagakure's eyes nearly took physical form.
However, although the three shinobi villages argued, none of them intended to start another war.
"Let us hold a Three Kage Summit."
"We will negotiate in the Land of Grass."
"And decide on a solution acceptable to all three villages."