Land of Earth.
Border town.
As soon as Dodai, the Hidden Cloud Jonin leading the elite squad, entered the town, a ninja dressed in the uniform of the Hidden Rock Village approached him.
"Please come with me," the Hidden Rock Ninja said calmly.
There have been numerous frictions between the Hidden Rock and Hidden Cloud over the past few years. The fact that he could treat the ninjas from The Hidden Cloud Village normally was already a clear conscience for him; as for maintaining respect throughout, that was simply impossible.
Dodai nodded slightly and followed, having no opinion about the attitude of the Hidden Rock Ninja.
The Hidden Rock Ninja wasn't fond of him, and he wasn't fond of the Hidden Rock Ninja either.
If it weren't for the intriguing intelligence provided by the Hidden Rock, the Hidden Cloud wouldn't attend a meeting hosted by the Hidden Rock.
The group followed the Hidden Rock Ninja and quickly arrived at a building guarded by many ninjas.
Dodai noticed that there were not only Hidden Rock Ninjas but also Hidden Sand and Hidden Mist Ninjas, meaning the Three Great Ninja Villages were all present, except for the Hidden Cloud.
"For the order of the meeting, you can only bring two guards inside," the Hidden Rock Ninja leading the way reminded.
"You two come with me, the rest stay here," Dodai said, looking at the two strongest members of his squad.
Logically, the Hidden Rock wouldn't dare stir up trouble against the Three Great Ninja Villages at the same time, but just in case, having stronger guards is always good.
Then Dodai entered the building and was led to the conference room inside.
Entering the conference room, Dodai first saw Kitsuchi sitting at the main seat.
Originally, Kitsuchi's qualifications weren't quite enough to host this meeting.
However, being the discoverer of the intelligence, Onoki helped him secure the position.
Though straightforward in character, ultimately, he couldn't mistreat his own child.
Dodai's gaze shifted to the right and landed on a young, fair-faced female ninja wearing a Hidden Sand headband.
At a glance, he recognized her as the Hidden Sand Hero, Pakura, a renowned Scorch Release Ninja in the Ninja World.
Noticing Dodai's gaze, Pakura coolly glanced back.
The Hidden Cloud's raid had caused significant trouble for the Hidden Sand Village, which expended great resources to drive the Hidden Cloud out of the Land of Wind.
Dodai ignored it; with the Third Kazekage gone and the Hidden Sand in chaos, it was a prime opportunity for the Hidden Cloud to take action.
Then Dodai shifted his gaze to the right again, where stood a serious-looking Hidden Mist Ninja.
Dodai quickly searched his mind's database and soon found the information: Jonin Squad Leader Mizuhiro of the Hidden Mist Village.
"It seems the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand Village both attach great importance to this intelligence," Dodai thought to himself.
Both Pakura and Mizuhiro held significant standing in their villages, their participation in the meeting was a clear statement.
Seeing that the Hidden Cloud Village had arrived, Kitsuchi scanned the room, mentally recapped his script, glanced at the documents before him, and spoke:
"Since everyone is here, I trust you all have some interest in cooperating to eliminate Habu Mokgetsu, and shatter Konoha's ambitions for domination."
After speaking, two Hidden Rock Ninjas behind Kitsuchi began distributing materials to each village representative.
"Regarding Habu Mokgetsu's strength, I can responsibly say there's no exaggeration. Here are the photos of the battlefield after his combat; you may take a look," Kitsuchi continued.
Eliminating Habu Mokgetsu is a major point of this plan, the core objective.
Collaborating to destroy Konoha is unrealistic. Although the four cooperating Great Ninja Villages have this power, the issue is the four villages cannot truly cooperate wholeheartedly.
Each of the Five Great Ninja Villages has a profound heritage, including some powerful but inhumane ninjutsu.
For example, Konoha's Reanimation Jutsu requires live sacrifices and is an insult to the controlled deceased.
Senju Hashirama, upon discovering this jutsu, ordered it to be sealed and prohibited for use.
However, this prohibition isn't absolute. At the critical moment of life and death, who would care about humanity? Priority will definitely be to protect Konoha.
If Konoha truly fights desperately, who would be willing to confront Konoha? The alliance would naturally dissolve then.
So from the beginning, Onoki's goal was merely to kill Mokgetsu and suppress Konoha.
Dodai took the photos distributed by the Hidden Rock and his pupils shrunk instantly.
For the other ninja villages to comprehend the seriousness of the situation, the Hidden Rock took photos meticulously, with close-ups, aerial views, various kinds available.
To better showcase the extent of the destruction, many photos had a Hidden Rock Ninja standing in them, using the person's height to compare the damage scale of the battlefield.
Looking like a scene bombarded by meteorites, Dodai's expression inevitably turned grave.
Since the first ninja village, Konoha, was founded, the era of ninja villages has lasted just decades; most ninjas still remember the invincible figure named Senju Hashirama.
With Senju Hashirama as a unique precedent, the combination of terms like "Wood Release" and "young super genius" is really hard to reassure people.
The Hidden Sand Village might not mind, but for the Hidden Cloud Village aiming to replace Konoha's status, a second Senju Hashirama emerging is entirely unacceptable.
Their Hidden Cloud Village has been lying low for decades; if another God of Ninjas like Habu Mokgetsu appears, wouldn't it mean stifling for another few decades?
"Let's hear the cooperation plan quickly, our Hidden Cloud can't stand idly by against Konoha's atrocities!" Dodai said in a deep voice.
Habu Mokgetsu must be eliminated, even if it means paying a slightly higher price, or it will negatively impact the Hidden Cloud's strategic plans for the next decades.