What Yan did was basically stomp all over Sunagakure Village and Rasa's pride.
If it were just a small disagreement, he could've just sat down and talked with Rasa.
Everyone cares about saving face. For the sake of appearances, Rasa would've made sure Sunagakure's people behaved.
But Yan didn't go for negotiation—he slapped them in the face, hard.
While crushing Sunagakure and Rasa, he was also warning other potential threats and enemies.
Whether they were out in the open or hiding in the dark.
"Yes, Raikage-sama."
Mabui, now promoted to Raikage's assistant, held a file in her arms:
"Uchiha Yan didn't choose to talk it out—he went straight for a fight. That alone shows he meant to send a message. And if you add what he did to Iwagakure Village before this, I don't think this is as simple as it looks."
"Maybe from the very start, when he exposed intel about Kirigakure Village, he already had this all planned."
"These kids nowadays... they're really something. It's a shame a genius like that wasn't born in our Kumogakure Village."
Uchiha Yan... Uchiha... Konohagakure really is lucky.
Given the Raikage's age, calling Yan a "kid" wasn't out of line at all.
"....."
Mabui didn't know how to respond—she was suddenly reminded of that one time, years ago, when she got kicked in the butt.
"Recalculate the threat level for Uchiha Yan and Konohagakure. Spread the word—tell everyone not to mess with Konohagakure or Uchiha Yan for the time being.
That kid's a walking bomb—poke him and he blows."
"Yes, Raikage-sama."
Compared to Iwagakure, Kumogakure mostly saw this whole thing as entertainment.
After all, over the past few years, Konohagakure and Kumogakure had worked together a few times without any serious conflict.
So the relationship had cooled down a bit—at least better than it was with Iwagakure.
Yan and the Raikage could meet without trading barbed words or staring each other down.
But Yan hadn't forgotten the things Kumogakure had done in the past.
He was just waiting for the right moment.
Once the chance came, he wouldn't mind stepping on the Raikage a couple times.
Back when he had no power, getting bullied was just something he had to accept.
He was weak, and that was that.
But now that he had strength—if he still didn't fight back, what was the point of having it?
Might as well crush you.
So what if the Raikage has a bad temper? Uchiha Yan isn't someone you can push around either.
In the Land of Water, on a deserted island not far from Kirigakure, there was an underground base. After Yagura was put under control, the Akatsuki had moved their main hideout there.
"Some interesting things have been happening in the ninja world lately."
Black Zetsu pulled out a scroll filled with intel he'd recently gathered.
Opening it up, most of it was about Sunagakure—because the Akatsuki were getting ready to make a move.
They couldn't just sit back and let the five great ninja villages keep growing stronger.
They needed to start a war to wear them down.
Only then could the Akatsuki make their move—capture the Tailed Beasts, and complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
Tendo gave the scroll a glance and said nothing. Konan frowned a little. The others stayed silent.
Only Obito spoke after reading it, his voice thoughtful:
"This Uchiha Yan… something doesn't add up. The Mangekyou Sharingan shouldn't be able to keep up a full-body Susano'o."
"That's the interesting part,"
Black Zetsu said:
"Uchiha Yan doesn't have any brothers or relatives who also had the Mangekyou Sharingan. So how can he use a complete Susano'o?"
"Isn't the Eternal Mangekyou the only way to maintain a full Susano'o?"
Konan asked.
To show his sincerity and keep their cooperation going, Obito had shared a lot of information about the Uchiha clan—
trying to build more trust between him, Minato, and Konan.
"If someone's strong enough, and their eye power is great enough, they can do it with a regular Mangekyou Sharingan.
But it burns through their eyes fast—maybe just a few uses before they go blind."
Under his mask, Obito looked puzzled.
Would someone like Yan really risk his eyesight like that?
From what he knew, that didn't sound like something Yan would do.
So then—where did Yan get the guts to pull off something so crazy?
Unless… he actually did have the Eternal Mangekyou.
But then comes the real question—without a relative's Mangekyou to transplant, how did he even get it?
Something's not right. This really doesn't feel right.
Is it possible that Uchiha Yan's bloodline is more closely tied to their ancestor than usual?
Black Zetsu thought to himself. There *have* been people who awakened the Eternal Mangekyo without transplanting eyes. Rikudou Sennin and Indra both did it.
Rikudou Sennin went straight from Three-Tomoe Sharingan to Mangekyo, then Eternal Mangekyo, and finally Rinnegan.
Indra, who was closely related by blood and inherited the Sharingan's powers, also made that crazy leap straight from Three-Tomoe to Eternal Mangekyo in one go.
Then he used a full-body Susano'o to show off, only to get beat down by Asura in the end.
Only someone like Black Zetsu, the master schemer, would know these things.
That's why he was guessing: could it be that Yan's bloodline is very close to Indra's? Maybe it's some kind of throwback trait. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense.
Yan brought out a full-body Susano'o and stomped Rasa like a bug.
"He's trying to show off to us."
Tendo's voice was calm:
"But this won't have much impact on the organization. Konohagakure isn't our main target. Sunagakure Village is."
"Everyone, time's almost up. Dragging this out won't help anyone. The next ninja world war... is about to begin."
We'll use Yagura as a puppet, take advantage of his position, and trigger a war between Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
Once they're in deep, we'll see if the other villages join in.
If they don't, we'll find a way to pull them in too.
We'll drain the strength of all five great ninja villages. We can't let them grow peacefully.
You ruined everything Akatsuki built—and now you want peace? No way.
"Five days from now, the Daimyo of the Land of Water will visit the Daimyo of the Land of Wind for a friendly meeting."
Black Zetsu grinned.
"At that time, some Sunagakure ninjas—angry about the Daimyo's policies and favoritism toward Konohagakure—will launch an attack. And Konohagakure won't be able to stay out of it."
How do you start a war?
It's not that hard. Use the right setup, and you can make sure Sunagakure and Kirigakure tear each other apart.
Just like that, Akatsuki found a way to use the Daimyos of the Land of Water and Land of Wind.
As long as the Daimyo of the Land of Water gets attacked while in the Land of Wind...
And if the cause can be traced back to the Land of Wind's Daimyo favoring Konohagakure and not doing his job...
Then it'll be nearly impossible to avoid war between Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
And there's a good chance Konohagakure will get dragged in too.
Since Konohagakure benefited from all the missions and support thanks to the Daimyo's favoritism, they'll definitely be blamed for what happens next.
If something this serious happens—like the Land of Water's Daimyo being attacked inside Sunagakure—there's no way Kirigakure will want to talk it out.
They'll have to give their Daimyo an explanation.
And over in the Land of Wind, their Daimyo will definitely blow a fuse too.