Chapter 46: Sunagakure's Insane Plan
Early in Konoha Year 37, a shocking piece of intelligence from the Land of Rain spread across the entire shinobi world—
Sunagakure planned to divert the Red Maple River into the Land of Wind.
This outrageous idea stunned everyone.
Especially Konoha.
"Has Sunagakure lost its mind?!"
"Do they not understand what diverting the Red Maple River means?!"
In the Hokage Tower's conference room, clan heads gathered for a high-level meeting. Every single one of them was furious.
"Is the Red Maple River that important?"
Seated stiffly in the back row, Jiraiya nudged Orochimaru beside him, asking awkwardly.
Orochimaru shot him a side glance full of disdain, not even bothering to explain anything to a brain full of nothing but perversion.
"Jiraiya, you idiot—don't tell me you actually don't know which river the Red Maple is?"
On Jiraiya's other side, Tsunade whispered with a face that screamed, "Please don't say you're that clueless."
Stung by their comments—and in front of Tsunade, no less—Jiraiya couldn't admit it. He stubbornly said, "Ha… ha… of course I know which river it is! It's that one near the Land of Rain! I knew that. I just wanted to see if you two knew."
He started talking himself into it, thinking it was obvious: the Red Maple River flows from the Land of Rain into the Land of Fire. If he said something along those lines, he'd be fine.
Unfortunately, Orochimaru and Tsunade instantly saw through him and rolled their eyes.
Jiraiya, oblivious, took it as proof that they believed him and grinned proudly.
"Idiot."
"Moron."
Orochimaru and Tsunade scoffed silently and ignored him.
At the head of the meeting, the Third Hokage sat flanked by his two advisors. Clan leaders filled both sides of the room, with elite jonin like Jiraiya seated behind them.
This was Konoha's highest-level council.
Regarding the intel from the Land of Rain, Konoha had already confirmed it with none other than Hanzō the Salamander, the Demigod of the Shinobi World.
Sunagakure indeed planned to divert the Red Maple River.
Their prior movements along the border, and their intelligence operations in the Land of Rain, had all been preparation for this.
Now, everything was ready. All that remained was Hanzō's approval to begin construction.
Sunagakure knew well that such a major operation couldn't be hidden from the Land of Rain.
They had to obtain permission—otherwise, forcibly diverting the Red Maple would mean war against both Amegakure and Konoha.
With permission from the Land of Rain, the Land of Fire would have no justification to interfere.
Even if they tried, Sunagakure could claim Amegakure as an ally and wage war against Konoha—and maybe even defeat them to gain greater spoils.
But Hanzō wasn't politically naïve.
He knew agreeing to this madness would spark an extermination war from the Land of Fire and Konoha.
Not only did he reject Sunagakure's proposal, he even leaked their entire plan to Konoha—trusting that Konoha would never allow it to succeed.
And indeed, Konoha's response was even more aggressive than he'd expected.
"Hokage-sama, we must declare war on Sunagakure!"
"Yes, if we don't crush those bastards, they'll forget the weight carried by the strongest of the Five Great Hidden Villages!"
"Such a plan is no different from a declaration of war on Konoha!"
"The Uchiha Clan volunteers to lead the vanguard!"
The room, heated with battle fervor, suddenly fell silent at that last declaration from the Uchiha clan head. All eyes turned toward the Third Hokage.
Although there was no formal decree, it was an unspoken rule that the Uchiha weren't allowed on the battlefield.
Without the Uchiha involved, the other clans had more room to earn military merit—and with it, a larger share of war spoils afterward.
But in the end, everything depended on the Hokage.
None of the clans dared openly suppress the Uchiha.
The Uchiha clan head was older than the Third, yet his demeanor was much younger—and far bolder.
Staring into the clan head's blazing eyes, the Third glanced toward Danzo. Now was the moment for… or rather, time for Danzo to step in.
But Danzo was acting oddly today—completely quiet, not even lashing out at the Uchiha.
After a few unanswered looks, the Third sighed inwardly and had to respond himself.
"Konoha's safety is paramount. The Uchiha should uphold the duty entrusted to them by the Second Hokage—guarding the village through the Police Force."
By invoking the Second Hokage's will, he denied the Uchiha any place on the battlefield.
The Uchiha clan head immediately calmed down, his expression reverting to aloof indifference—as if his earlier boldness had been nothing but a passing remark.
The Third frowned. He had been outmaneuvered slightly.
The clan head had done his part—both the radicals and moderates in the Uchiha would be satisfied.
Meanwhile, the Hokage himself had become the target of their collective resentment.
This allowed the Uchiha clan head to maintain his authority within the clan without opposition.
The other clan leaders silently exhaled in relief. Then they resumed urging the Hokage to take military action.
"Let's send envoys to Amegakure first. If Hanzō refuses, Sunagakure's plan cannot succeed."
The Third proposed diplomacy first. He was, after all, a firm believer in avoiding war if possible.
Of course, if war became inevitable, he wouldn't shy away from it.
"All right. We'll follow the Hokage-sama's lead."
"Very well, let's try diplomacy first."
None of the clan leaders objected—they still respected the Hokage greatly.
Besides, they all knew Sunagakure would never easily abandon their insane plan.
And Konoha would never let that plan come to pass.
War was now unavoidable—it was only a matter of time.
Leaving the Hokage Tower, many clan leaders were still furious about Sunagakure's audacity.
Everyone knew the Land of Fire had the best geography, climate, and natural resources of the Five Great Nations.
Its agricultural output alone accounted for 40% of the entire shinobi world's food supply.
Profits from food trade filled their coffers year after year.
Not to mention the abundance of other resources.
The Land of Fire's title as the wealthiest nation wasn't for show.
And at the heart of this bounty was the Red Maple River, which flowed from the northwest of the Land of Rain through the entire Land of Fire, finally reaching the southeastern coast.
The river's main artery—and countless branching streams—nourished the land like capillaries.
At least half of the Land of Fire's prosperity could be credited to the Red Maple River.
Trying to divert it? That was no different from trying to strangle the country.
There was no way the daimyo would allow it.
This war would have the daimyo's full support.
And that meant unimaginable profit.
At the end of the day, Konoha was a vast military installation.
Its clans were individual military units.
The village itself was a war machine.
With little economic activity outside of it, war was their main source of income.
The daimyo's support ensured that war would be immensely profitable.
That's why the clans were so eager—because it was all about gain.
(END CHAPTER)
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