A tremendous roar echoed through the meeting room of Kumogakure.
Amidst the scattering of wood chips, the table that had just been moved in front of the Fourth Raikage was shattered with a single punch.
Dodai sighed and waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to bring a new table for A.
"Damn you, Fourth Hokage!"
Still not satisfied after smashing a table, A vented his fury verbally as he sat back down in his chair.
"What exactly happened, Lord Raikage?"
A senior officer mustered his courage to ask A.
"Darum failed. He was killed on the spot by Konoha shinobi. Our envoy was detained and imprisoned by them, demanding an immediate explanation and an apology from us..."
A didn't mention all of Sakumo's demands in the diplomatic letter. Just the apology part was something he couldn't accept, let alone the compensation that followed.
"Is their wording really that harsh?"
The Kumogakure senior officers, who had battled the leadership team headed by Sarutobi Hiruzen for a lifetime, saw Konoha's attitude so forceful for the first time.
Everyone began whispering, trying to figure out how to respond to the Fourth Hokage's regime in Konoha.
"If we refuse Konoha's terms, what actions will they take?"
After some discussion, a senior officer asked this crucial question.
"The Fourth Hokage said they will restart a large-scale war between the two Hidden Villages."
A's face darkened as he spoke Sakumo's threat.
"The Third Great Ninja War, even with multiple Hidden Villages allied, we failed to invade Konoha's homeland. Fighting them alone..."
Hearing Konoha's demands, the senior officers hesitated slightly.
But A showed a confident smile: "Rest assured, Konoha will only dare to issue such meaningless threats verbally."
"You've all dealt with Konoha countless times. Those guys occupy the best land in the ninja world, yet they claim to be peace fighters, spending every day infighting within their own territory."
"Since Konoha's founding, have you ever seen them take the initiative to attack?"
A's words gave the senior officers confidence. After some thought, they realized the truth: Konoha's ninja, though strong, lacked fighting spirit, always on the defensive in wars.
"Tell Konoha that the accusation of stealing the Byakugan is utter nonsense. Kumogakure went to Konoha with sincere peace intentions, but they slandered us and even killed our envoy's ninja. They must hand over the culprits and unconditionally release the detained envoy members!"
Before Kumogakure's diplomatic letter was even sent, the raiding force dispatched by Sakumo had already crossed the borders of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon, arriving at the border of the Land of Lightning.
When Sakumo received Kumogakure's fiercely worded diplomatic letter, he wasted no time and immediately ordered the raiding force to attack, while commanding the main force led by Sarutobi Hiruzen to quickly advance north to attack the homeland of the Land of Lightning.
"The operation order has been given. The senior leadership has ordered us to eliminate the Kumo ninja outposts on the Land of Lightning border to pave the way for the main force's advance."
The raiding force commander was a middle-aged Jonin named Senju Sōjirō.
Gathered around him were the five four-man squad leaders personally assigned by Sakumo.
They were Shimura Ito Makoto, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Obito, Aburame Shikuro, and Aburame Tatsuma.
"Ito Makoto, your wind-style techniques have a wide range. You will attack Outpost A, which stores border supplies."
Senju Sōjirō pulled out a map clearly marking the locations of Kumogakure's border outposts and an estimate of personnel stationed there.
This intelligence was gathered by Danzo's agents before the reorganization of Root. Originally, they thought that under Hiruzen's weak diplomacy, this would never be used. But unexpectedly, Sakumo decisively launched the raid on Kumogakure.
Danzo, feeling exhilarated after a long time, didn't mind Sakumo being curious about his intelligence sources and handed over the years of Root's hard work.
Sakumo was shocked by the intelligence. He didn't expect Danzo to have collected so much inside information on the supposedly united Kumogakure.
It gave him a clearer understanding of Danzo's abilities.
This level of intelligence gathering far surpassed Konoha's Anbu Intelligence Division.
Seeing Outpost A's location on the map, Ito Makoto nodded without saying much and accepted the mission.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Consecutive Waves!"
Sharp wind blades tore apart the Kumo ninja guarding the outpost, leaving deep scars in the brick walls.
Outside the outpost, Kumo ninja sentries were pierced by icy shards, blood continuously flowing from their wounds.
Two Kumo ninja spotted Ito Makoto's trail and tried to strike, only to find their bodies tightly wrapped by a huge tree that appeared out of nowhere.
"Damn it, why can't I move?!"
The next moment, their throats were slit by kunai.
Yūhi Shinku didn't bother looking at their helplessly collapsing bodies and immediately picked the next target.
"Take this!"
In another direction, Umino Ikkaku opened a summoning scroll and unleashed a swarm of shurikens towards the Kumo ninja in front of him.
Those who luckily avoided the shurikens were finished off by Kakashi's surprise attack from the shadows.
The finishing blow was, of course, the Five Release: Great Consecutive Bomb Technique.
With Outpost A blown sky-high, the four-man elite Jonin squad led by Ito Makoto immediately retreated, their silhouettes gradually swallowed by the night.
Only two days later, the Kumogakure vanguard outposts along the border were cleared one by one by the raiding force.
When this news reached Kumogakure, A, unsurprisingly, smashed another table.
"Those Konoha bastards were already prepared for war when they sent their letter?!"
He hadn't expected Konoha—the village he always regarded as weak—to strike first, while his own side hadn't even begun mobilizing.
Now the senior officers also started to panic.
Losing the border outposts meant their outer territory was no longer secure, and the flames of war would spread into the Land of Lightning. For a major country, this was a grave humiliation.
Even worse, they had learned through various channels that the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen personally led a large Konoha force beyond the Land of Fire's borders.
The results of their victory on Pass Kikyo were still famed in the ninja world. Skilled in wide-range ninjutsu, once he entered the homeland, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"We can't hesitate any longer, Lord Raikage. We must restart negotiations with Konoha!"
Dodai, sensing the gravity of the situation, finally voiced his opinion after keeping silent for so long.
"Negotiations are fine, but only after all the rats who have crossed into our territory are crushed!"
A's face darkened as he slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.