"Hmph!"
Raiya Okazaki snorted but said nothing more, instead genuinely beginning to write his last will and testament.
As a sensory ninja stationed in the Land of Grass to monitor Li Anshi's movements, he had long been prepared to be discovered and killed by Li Anshi.
Just as when he had previously sensed Li Anshi heading towards the Land of Grass, his first instinct hadn't been to flee, but to transmit intelligence about Li Anshi back to the village via his summoning beast.
Now that he had sent all the information he knew about Li Anshi to the Cloud Village, Raiya Okazaki's mission here could be considered successfully completed.
Even if he were subsequently killed by Li Anshi, he would die as a "hero" of the Cloud Village, and his relatives would receive special care from the village.
A casual pat revealed to Raiya Okazaki that he had actually used up all the paper on his person.
"Sigh..."
Looking at the dozen or so sheets of paper before him, now filled with his final words, Raiya Okazaki let out a sigh. All along, he had felt he didn't have much to say to his parents, wife, and child. But only at this moment did he realize he actually had so much more he hadn't said to them.
Unfortunately, the limited paper he had wasn't enough to write down everything he wanted to tell them.
At this moment, Raiya Okazaki even felt that if he had ten times more paper, it still wouldn't be enough to convey all his longing for his loved ones.
Carefully waiting for the ink on the paper to dry, Raiya Okazaki then arranged the sheets in the order he had written them and placed them in the pocket on his chest.
Since Lord Li Anshi had allowed him to leave a will for his family, even if his body was recovered by Konoha, there was a high chance these letters would be returned to the Cloud Village.
Of course, if the Konoha side suspected he had recorded some classified intelligence and didn't allow the letters to be sent to the Cloud Village, it didn't matter.
But in that case, a conflict of views would surely arise between Konoha and Lord Li Anshi. Then, if a rift formed between Konoha and Li Anshi, perhaps Raiya Okazaki would even be credited with a great service!
...
Boom!
"Outrageous, truly outrageous!"
In the Cloud Village, on the third floor of the Raikage's building, over forty Cloud ninjas were gathered. Each Cloud ninja exuded a powerful aura and a violent killing intent. These Cloud ninjas were all Jonin from the Cloud Village.
It could be said that the Cloud Village's development into the second largest ninja village, second only to Konoha, was inseparable from the efforts and sacrifices of these individuals. In fact, if not for their top-tier combat power being inferior to Konoha's, the Cloud Village's overall strength wasn't far behind Konoha's.
It was just that the founders of Konoha were Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, and Madara Uchiha, the Asura of the ninja world.
The prestige of these two men had been forged through countless battles. The Warring States period was directly ended by these two, ushering in the era of ninja villages.
In that era, only Hashirama Senju could defeat Madara Uchiha. Similarly, only Madara Uchiha could stand as Hashirama Senju's rival. When these two worked together towards a common goal, no one could stop their will.
During the Warring States period, ninja clans were numerous. Why was it that now, the ninja clans of the five great ninja villages combined numbered less than twenty?
Because those ninja clans unwilling to submit to the will of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had been eliminated by the two.
Hashirama Senju's "ideal" of world peace, where children no longer had to go to war, was powerful enough to crush any existence that stood in its way. Even if his closest friend, Madara Uchiha, obstructed him, he wouldn't show mercy. If even Madara Uchiha was treated thus, then other ninja clans unfamiliar to Hashirama Senju went without saying.
Ultimately, the situation in the ninja world unfolded as Hashirama Senju had envisioned. After the formation of the five great ninja villages, conflicts between them lessened considerably, and the ninja world achieved its long-awaited "peace"!
The ninjas of the five great villages could indeed appreciate the benefits of the "one nation, one village" system. However, they harbored little gratitude towards Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, who had forced them into this situation.
Therefore, after confirming Madara Uchiha's disappearance and Hashirama Senju's death, capable ninja villages launched attacks on Konoha. If not for the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, also possessing considerable strength, Li Anshi and others might have had to step onto the battlefield several years earlier.
Now, after Li Anshi of Konoha conveyed his words through Okazaki Raiya, the ninjas of the Cloud Village were seething with rage.
"Who does he think he is?"
A Cloud Jonin slammed his fist, shattering the table before him. "Even Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi who founded Konoha, once bowed his head to our village."
"Does Li Anshi think he's stronger than Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi?"
Hashirama Senju bowing to the Cloud Village wasn't a fabrication by the Cloud ninjas. After the structure of the five great nations and five villages in the ninja world was fully established, Hashirama Senju convened the first Five Kage Summit.
At that time, the other four ninja villages believed Hashirama Senju intended to unify the entire ninja world and bring all ninjas under one banner. They attended the Five Kage Summit prepared to die.
Only upon arrival did they learn that Hashirama Senju didn't intend to unify the ninja world by force. Instead, he felt the strength of the five great ninja villages was uneven and thus wanted to distribute the nine Tailed Beasts he and Madara Uchiha had captured among the other villages.
To persuade the "Kage" of the other four ninja villages to accept the gift of the Tailed Beasts, Hashirama Senju performed a "dogeza" to them at the table.
"Exactly! A mere upstart, does he really think our Cloud Village retreated because we were scared of him?"
"When we fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, he wasn't even born!"
It was no wonder these Cloud Jonin were so enraged; Li Anshi's words, as conveyed by Raiya Okazaki, were truly infuriating. What did he mean by demanding they submit a letter of surrender and compensate Konoha for its losses in this war... And if they didn't comply, he would personally pay the Cloud Village a visit!
What? Did Li Anshi think he could single-handedly force the entire Cloud Village to surrender? When had the Cloud Village ever suffered such humiliation?
Immediately, the Cloud ninja who had smashed the table stood up, raised his hand, and shouted, "Lord Third Raikage, I propose we mobilize the entire village to annihilate Li Anshi!"
"We can lose the war with Konoha, but Li Anshi must die!"
As this Cloud ninja shouted these words, all the assembled Cloud Jonin roared in unison.
"The war can be lost, but Li Anshi must die!"
"The war can be lost, but Li Anshi must die!"