Watching their lord, everyone thought to themselves: true to form. Even with war looming, he always puts the children first.
Unlike the bigger neighboring villages that talk about honor but secretly send kids to the front lines. "I'll personally make sure their studies aren't disrupted," Youma promised.
"That's good. It's very important," Charlie agreed. "If there's nothing else…"
Before he could finish, Kana nervously raised her hand. "There's one more thing… We just got another message from Konoha. They're warning us to watch Kumogakure's movements more closely."
"Didn't Mujie say last time it was nothing? They told us not to worry, right?" someone asked.
"No," Kana hesitated before continuing, "This time Konoha also hopes we can help hold back Sunagakure's attacks, working together to protect peace in the shinobi world!"
The meeting had finally ended, but Konoha's rude demand was completely ignored by the kusagakure. They weren't willing to spend a single penny, yet Konoha expected their small village to help resist an invasion from the Sunagakure? That was just wishful thinking.
As allies, they hadn't outright abandoned Konoha, well, technically, they had betrayed them, but in their eyes, the kusagakure and Konoha were still allies. Only recently, some shinobi from the Iwagakure had signed up for a tour and happened to visit the Land of Grass. It was purely an accident; the kusagakure had no idea what was really going on.
Honestly, it's not like Konoha is any better. They als had a reputation for betraying its allies. Take the Uzumaki Clan, for example, they were wiped out.
Then came the Tsuchigumo Clan, next on the list, followed by the Uchiha Clan. What they all had in common was overwhelming strength.
The Uzumaki were known for their sealing techniques and vitality, which made other shinobi wary. The Tsuchigumo had devastating self-destruct methods but lost clan members each time, eventually going into hiding under Konoha's persuasion.
And the Uchiha? Their downfall was a tragedy for the entire shinobi world.
So when it came to Konoha, you just had to listen and forget. Take their words with a grain of salt, if you believed them, you'd probably end up dead or crippled.
Of course, the kusagakure was a peaceful place, but their strength was too weak to fend off an assault from the Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Especially since they also had to keep an eye on the neighboring Iwagakure, they simply couldn't spare troops to fight the Suna.
Even though they were allies with Konoha, there was nothing they could do. In short, their message was clear: get lost, take care of it yourself.
The kusagakure had more important matters to handle, their own future mattered far more than Konoha's problems. After Charlie restated their stance as a neutral country, everyone understood the position perfectly.
A few days later, the kusagakure's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence, led by the clearly displeased Mujie, sent a long reply back to Konoha. But the entire drawn-out explanation could be summed up in a single word, "No!!!"
When Konoha received this message, their expressions showed a mix of emotions. The two villages had been close allies since their founding, much like Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan, their bond was strong.
However, the kusagakure was relatively weak compared to the Iwagakure, one of the powerful Five Great Shinobi Nations. Although the kusagakure protected Konoha's borders and helped secure the Land of Fire, they simply couldn't spare the troops to join the fight for the shinobi world's peace. Their apology was sincere, and they asked for understanding, suggesting they could discuss this again in the future.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was surprised by the polite tone of the letter. "I never thought the Land of Grass would become so courteous after its reconstruction," he said, taking a puff from his pipe and nodding thoughtfully.
It seemed the kusagakure might really be changing. Konoha had heard good things about the new kusagakure lord, someone who revived the village's spirit and even inspired a talented literary figure among their people.
Maybe the Land of Grass wasn't as reckless as before. Still, Konoha wasn't about to let their guard down completely.
This reply was just a test of the kusagakure's attitude. After all, during the First Great shinobi War, the kusagakure had been chaotic, often betraying alliances and switching sides on a whim. So caution was necessary.
In truth, Konoha felt a bit relieved. At least the kusagakure wasn't blindly jumping into the conflict.
Knowing their usual behavior, they might have agreed too quickly, only to betray everyone by secretly sharing intelligence with the Sunagakure, then turning to the Iwagakure later for profit. They were tricky like that.
But now, it seemed they genuinely wanted to stay out of the fray for the moment. Meanwhile, Konoha was already prepared for the war ahead.
Facing attacks on two fronts from major shinobi villages, Konoha wasn't about to be completely overwhelmed, but they still had to give it their all. So, having one less enemy was definitely a relief.
With the kusagakure keeping an eye on the Iwagakure, Konoha could afford to relax a bit. The kusagakure wasn't particularly strong, but if the Iwagakure really decided to join the war, the kusagakure could at least buy Konoha some valuable time. What would happen after that was anyone's guess.
Most likely, the kusagakure would surrender once they saw they couldn't beat the Iwagakure and might even side directly with them. Hiruzen set down the letter and sighed as he looked at the Konoha elders gathered before him. "What do you all think about this?"
After a few exchanged looks, Homura spoke up thoughtfully, "Even though the kusagakure can be sneaky, they still have some strength, especially when it comes to intelligence gathering. If the Iwagakure gets involved, the kusagakure should be able to hold out for a while."
It was true that much of the intelligence the kusagakure sold was fake, but their network was solid enough that other villages kept buying from them. Otherwise, who would bother getting intel from a tiny village like Grass?
"Besides," Hotaru continued, "in recent years, Konoha has helped the Land of Grass with their internal affairs here in the Land of Fire, particularly with the film industry and the blind box market.
I heard that after the kusagakure stopped selling intelligence, they relied on this support to keep the village running. So, I don't think they'd betray Konoha so easily."
It was a little amusing that the kusagakure was starting to look more like a "commerce shinobi village" than a traditional one.
Of course, commerce shinobi villages were usually weak and greedy, often looked down upon in the shinobi world. shinobis were supposed to value obedience and strength above all else! But for Konoha, keeping an eye on the Iwagakure was what really mattered.
"I agree," Koharu nodded. "Right now, the biggest challenge is handling the attacks from the Kumogakure and the Sunagakure."
She sighed. "Peace didn't last long. We expected trouble, but I didn't think the war would break out this quickly." She gave a faint smile. "At least the new generation of kids is almost ready to graduate."