The brutal war raged on.
Thanks to Rie's meticulous preparations, this first all-out clash between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth saw Amegakure unexpectedly take the upper hand.
With Rinjin's relentless scheming behind the scenes, Amegakure's elite fighting force now far outclassed Iwagakure's troops.
Kagami, having received a partial transplant of Hashirama cells, was in peak condition—there was no trace of the fatigue you'd expect from a middle-aged man.
Determined to prove to the world that he was anything but weak or just eternally "preparing for battle," Kagami threw himself into the fray. When news of the utter defeat of Iwagakure's vanguard spread, it swept across the ninja world like wildfire.
In the Land of Earth, deep within Iwagakure, Ōnoki—the first to receive the news—sat at his desk, his face so dark it was almost purple.
He'd never underestimated Amegakure, but reality had just delivered a harsh lesson.
Staring at the trembling ANBU before him, Ōnoki's nose flushed red with anger as he barked:
"Send word to Kitsuchi: hold position and regroup. Wait for all units to assemble before launching the next assault. Tell him—this next battle will decide everything. Even if we can't wipe out their ninja forces, I want Amegakure destroyed!"
The ANBU bowed deeply, nodding again and again.
Just then, an advisor spoke up hesitantly:
"Lord Third, if we destroy Amegakure, won't we lose our strategic objective?"
"Silence!"
Ōnoki's furious roar cut through the room, making it clear he had no patience for the advisor's pride.
"I want that land! You understand?! As long as those three bridges connecting Earth, Fire, and Wind remain, as long as the Land of Rain is still a marshland, whoever holds the crossroads controls the lifeline of commerce between the three nations! At that point, who cares if Amegakure exists?!"
The advisor paused, then nodded in grudging acceptance.
Where you sit determines how you think.
As an advisor, his mind was on Amegakure's economic value.
But Ōnoki had to weigh both economics and military strategy.
To him, a Land of Rain utterly incapable of resistance was the best possible outcome.
As the council debated how to deal with Amegakure, a blood-soaked ANBU burst into the meeting room and collapsed to his knees.
"Lord Third... the main force we sent to Amegakure has been... has been..."
"Has been what?!" Ōnoki interrupted sharply, his voice like a whip.
"Ambushed. The unit suffered heavy casualties."
"Who did it?!"
"Hanzō... of the Salamander..."
"He did it alone?"
"Yes... yes!"
Upon hearing this, Ōnoki's rage boiled over, his small frame floating up off the ground.
"Ridiculous! After all that salamander poison we traded from Sunagakure, how could they suffer such heavy losses?"
The ANBU, blood still dripping from his wounds, trembled as he answered:
"I... I don't know. He used the Body Flicker Technique to charge into the ranks and threw an explosive tag."
"One tag?"
"One! But these tags seemed to multiply, more and more... then... then everything exploded."
By now, Ōnoki's face was pitch black.
Explosive tags that multiply?
Why have I never heard of that?
Which bastard came up with this jutsu?!
While Ōnoki fumed, far away in Konoha's Hokage Tower, a tense high-level meeting was underway.
"Hiruzen, I suggest you send a few people—just as a gesture," said Shimura Danzō, seated at the end of the table, his tone flat.
"What exactly do you mean by 'gesture'?" Sarutobi Hiruzen shot back.
He knew perfectly well what Danzō meant, but wanted to hear his true intentions.
Danzō smirked. "A gesture means you make a show of it—just enough to look like you care."
"And what does 'just enough' mean?"
"Heh." Danzō chuckled, not bothering to elaborate.
Since Sarutobi wanted to play dumb, he wasn't about to spell it out.
The Land of Rain was being invaded by the Land of Earth—was it really appropriate for Konoha to do nothing?
Danzō knew Hiruzen's real game:
He wanted to sit back and watch the tigers fight.
If Amegakure fell, he could swoop in and seize the Chikuchi Bridge for Konoha.
If Amegakure held out, he'd maintain a friendly relationship with them.
Either way, he wouldn't lose.
And after Amegakure's recent opening of its borders—throwing open the Chikuchi Bridge and Torō Ushii—an influx of Sunagakure shinobi had cost Konoha dearly.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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