Iwagakure
Inside a dim meeting room
The atmosphere was tense
Ōnoki sat at the head
His expression weary
Wrinkles had already formed on his forehead
Around him sat the high-ranking shinobi of Iwagakure
The daimyo of the Land of Earth had sent an envoy overnight
The order was clear
Mobilize immediately
Destroy Amegakure
Unlike the daimyo of the Land of Wind
This one came prepared
Not just with orders
But with money
Bank drafts
Redeemable anywhere in the country
He understood the situation
And his leverage
Shinobi would never fight for free
Villages were not fully controlled
They were like blades
Sharp
But not held by the state
Now
That fear had become reality
There was no more testing
No more bargaining
Only one goal
Erase Amegakure
At any cost
Ōnoki accepted the funds without hesitation
Money had been given
Action must follow
A senior elder spoke first
A relic from the Warring States era
"The order must not collapse"
"Shinobi serve their employers"
"Villages exist to protect the nation"
"This is the contract set by the First Tsuchikage"
"If order breaks again…"
"It will be disaster"
He spoke for a long time
But the younger shinobi were already impatient
"Old man, you talk too much"
"Daimyo pays"
"We fight"
"Simple"
The room grew noisy
Some voices even crossed the line
"If we controlled a nation ourselves…"
"Wouldn't life be better"
New ideas had already spread
Even here
The influence of Konoha could not be completely blocked
Finally
Ōnoki raised his voice
"Enough"
Silence fell instantly
"Amegakure is not weak"
"We will not act alone"
"We contact Konoha, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure"
"We move together"
No one objected
This was the safest choice
Then he added
"Inform the daimyo"
"We will act"
"But not yet"
"We are coordinating"
In truth
He was stalling
Because he knew
Konoha was behind this
Charging in blindly was suicide
Kumogakure
The room was loud
Excited
Aggressive
"We take the job"
"They pay well"
"We fight"
Simple logic
Straightforward
Then
The Third Raikage slammed the table
Silence
"Think"
"We are not fighting alone"
"We bring in the others"
Everyone nodded immediately
"Brilliant"
Then the finance minister spoke
"Raikage-sama"
"Should we invest the funds again"
"The Blue Sky Plan has a new promotion"
"Higher returns"
"Short cycle"
"It is very attractive"
The Raikage hesitated
Then nodded slowly
"…Invest half"
"Keep the rest"
"Understood"
Kirigakure
Mizukage Mizuto stared at the letter
"The daimyo is furious"
Even across the sea
He demanded action
Destroy Amegakure
At any cost
Mizuto frowned
His situation was complicated
Internal conflicts were already unstable
Bloodline clans were restless
Tension was rising
Now he was supposed to lead an expedition
Across the ocean
Across multiple nations
To fight a distant enemy
Ridiculous
If he left
The village might collapse
If he took the bloodline clans
That was even more dangerous
If something went wrong
He might not return
"…We wait"
He made his decision
"Let the others act first"
Even if the daimyo increased funding
He would delay
Time passed
One week
The world grew tense
Daimyo united
Demanding war
But no alliance formed
No army moved
Everyone waited
Watched
Drank
Lived as usual
Konoha
On Ren's desk lay letters
From every great nation
Inviting him to lead
To destroy Amegakure
The Kage had written as well
Asking for his stance
Sunagakure followed Konoha
Iwagakure watched Konoha
Kumogakure watched everyone
Kirigakure waited far away
No one moved
Ren leaned back in his chair
Looking at the letters
Then sighed
"…You're really not fighting?"
"If you don't fight"
"Who am I supposed to sell weapons to?"
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