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Would Kirigakure really take such a detour?
Going the long way around would likely take more time and resources than sailing by sea.
Unless the one commanding Kirigakure's war effort was out of their mind, they wouldn't do it.
Not to mention, passing through numerous small nations would draw intense scrutiny and surveillance from Konoha, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure—hardly the situation Kirigakure wanted.
So, they'd have to grit their teeth and take the sea route.
Sailing meant transporting large numbers of ninjas and vast amounts of supplies.
Back and forth, it'd take a long time.
During that period, Sunagakure would have more than enough time to prepare for anything.
Sunagakure could bide their time, while Kirigakure would have to travel thousands of miles to attack, fighting in a harsh desert environment that limited their strength.
Rasa felt confident that Sunagakure had a strong chance of winning this war.
We may not be able to take on Iwagakure or Konoha, but Kirigakure? You think we're scared?
Though Rasa had backed down from Kirigakure plenty of times before, at this moment, he couldn't afford to.
This war had to be fought—and fought beautifully, with a decisive victory.
While Sunagakure was busy holding military meetings, some of the ordinary guards accompanying the Land of Water's daimyo, along with the maids and attendants serving him, fled to the Land of Wind's daimyo mansion.
With their arrival, the Land of Wind's daimyo soon received the news.
The village sent people to assassinate the Land of Water's daimyo?
And they even cut off one of his arms?
What the hell!!
The Land of Wind's daimyo's head buzzed as if a swarm of bees had taken up residence in his brain, flying nonstop.
"How dare Rasa?!"
Snapping back to reality, the daimyo roared in fury, veins bulging on his neck, his face flushed red.
An incident like this was like a double slap to his face. Losing face was one thing, but more importantly—
Was this a signal?
If Rasa dared send people to assassinate the Land of Water's daimyo, did that mean he might dare target him too?
Thinking back to how he'd treated the village harshly and differently over the years, the daimyo couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
That lunatic Rasa wouldn't be coming for me too, would he?
In an instant, the daimyo started to panic.
Rasa was overthinking it. With the news of the Land of Water's daimyo's assassination spreading, the Land of Wind's daimyo didn't even need Sunagakure to win a war to support them.
With a little maneuvering, they could win back the daimyo's favor and secure the funds in his pockets.
Before, the daimyo thought he could easily control Sunagakure. Now it was different—what if Rasa really went mad and decided to take him out too?
In theory, daimyos were untouchable, but the Land of Water's daimyo had already been attacked, proving that line had been crossed.
If there was a first time, there could be a second. Who could guarantee Rasa wouldn't target him?
The thought made the daimyo forget his anger. Compared to his own life, the Land of Water's daimyo's assassination was nothing.
"Gather people immediately, pack up, and get ready. I'm heading to the Land of Fire's daimyo mansion for a vacation—depart in half an hour!!!"
Feeling his life was under threat, the daimyo couldn't care about anything else.
He summoned his people, quickly packed, handed over administrative duties to his advisors, and, with the ninjas he'd recruited, headed straight for the Land of Fire.
"Do you think Sunagakure really did this?"
In the Raikage's office meeting room, Ay leaned against the desk, looking at the intelligence scroll from Konoha. What a massive event.
If he couldn't confirm it was delivered by Konoha's intelligence department's ninja hawk, A would've thought someone was joking with the village.
With the intelligence verified, A smelled war.
"They're probably being framed. Even if Rasa was mad, he wouldn't attack the Land of Water's daimyo. Besides, Sunagakure's been doing well lately—there's no reason to provoke a war, especially with Kirigakure. If they'd provoked Konoha, it might mean Sunagakure wanted to use an external war to boost the village's growth. But the one attacked was the Land of Water's daimyo."
What kind of place was the Land of Water?
A nation far from the mainland, situated across the sea. Fighting a war with them—forget whether you could win—offered little benefit even if you did.
Unless Rasa's brain got slammed in a door, even a brain-dead move wouldn't involve bypassing the prosperous Land of Fire to pick a fight with the Land of Water.
"Could it be possible," A ventured uncertainly, "that this is an Akatsuki doing?"
Among the five great ninja villages, Kumogakure hated the Akatsuki the most. They'd suffered the heaviest losses in the Land of Rain's war, front and back.
They'd poured the most effort into tracking the Akatsuki, yet came up empty-handed.
The Akatsuki had vanished, except for their attacks on Kirigakure and the Mizukage, Yagura—no trace of them.
The Akatsuki's goal was the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan, capturing tailed beasts from the major villages. Knowing the five great villages weren't easy targets, they'd stir up a war to weaken them.
It made perfect sense.
"It's possible, but it's just a guess."
Guesses wouldn't convince many. Kirigakure was like a volcano about to erupt.
Even if you told them it was an Akatsuki plot, they wouldn't stop.
The daimyo's assassination was tantamount to a declaration of war on Kirigakure.
If Kirigakure didn't act, assassinations like this would keep happening.
If it came to that, the entire shinobi world would descend into chaos.
That's why the daimyo was the untouchable line.
Otherwise, Danzo's incident with the Land of Fire's daimyo wouldn't have blown up so much.
Danzo had only mouthed off, but the Land of Water's daimyo was genuinely attacked—his arm severed.
If not for the guards risking their lives, he might've died in the Land of Wind.
Of course, this was just speculation. In reality, the Akatsuki wouldn't let the Land of Water's daimyo die there—how else would the war be sparked?
Only an injured, terrified daimyo could recklessly push for war.
If he died, his children and siblings would be too busy fighting over his seat to care about war.
"Raikage-sama, this could be an opportunity for us."
In the meeting room, many higher-ups were getting ideas.
If the war escalated and dragged on, couldn't Kumogakure seize some benefits?
Maybe even join in?
Don't forget—Kumogakure was currently the strongest of the five great ninja villages in terms of visible military power.