Kirigakure and Sand Ninja Village joining forces?
Upon hearing Maki's words, especially seeing that Ao's expression remained unchanged, Kitsuchi and Darui's eyes flickered slightly.
If Kirigakure truly allied with Sand Ninja Village, then the current worries would actually become somewhat easier to handle.
The reason the four individuals were meeting here alone was naturally due to their distrust of other Villages and their desire to gather intelligence.
"The current situation, I believe both of you are aware, presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"From the First Great Ninja War until now, each Village has largely fought independently, and even when they allied, it was temporary."
"However, this is likely the only chance to utterly crush Konoha, and even erase it from the Ninja World's map."
Ao's face was filled with a serious expression; he paused slightly after speaking, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes as he looked at the thoughtful expressions of the others.
After waiting for a moment, seeing that everyone had more or less processed what he said, Ao spoke again:
"If the combined strength of the Four Great Shinobi Villages can truly annihilate Konoha in one fell swoop, then the Land of Fire's vast territory will be completely open to our four Villages."
"Compared to Konoha, which is situated right in the middle, there isn't much inherent conflict between our four Villages. We can completely divide Konoha among ourselves!"
As Ao's voice reached the ears of the three, Kitsuchi and Darui both perked up.
The two immediately envisioned future scenarios based on Ao's words.
As Ao said, the benefits of Konoha's destruction far exceeded the imagination of all Villages.
Given the Land of Fire's immense territory, even if the four Villages exploited it together, it would take many years.
By then, unless the Four Great Shinobi Villages had completely assimilated the entire Land of Fire, there would absolutely be no possibility of another war.
The potential returns were too great; even someone without economic sense could see that a joint attack on Konoha by the Four Great Shinobi Villages was the most correct course of action.
As for the idea of monopolizing it?
There was no need to even consider it; no Village had the capacity to swallow it whole.
Standing nearby, Maki's breathing had already quickened. Among the Four Great Shinobi Villages, if there was one that most strongly supported this plan, it was undoubtedly Sand Ninja Village.
Compared to other Villages, the entire Sand Ninja Village could be described as impoverished. Let alone splitting Konoha, even just biting off a piece of Konoha would be enough for Sand Ninja Village to subsist on for a long time.
Seeing that Kitsuchi of the Stone Ninja and Darui of the Cloud Ninja already showed signs of being tempted, though still with a hint of hesitation, Ao's face broke into a smile as he looked at the two.
"Since both of your Ninja forces have brought Jinchuriki, then the Kage of your respective Villages must have the same idea."
As Ao's words fell, Kitsuchi and Darui couldn't help but glance at each other simultaneously, then quickly averted their gaze.
"Our Tsuchikage-sama said that Kinoshita Yoshiro, the head of a Kirigakure clan, was killed by Konoha's people, so we naturally need to demand an explanation from Konoha. We, the Stone Ninja, are here to assist Kirigakure."
Kitsuchi spoke in a gruff voice, his face full of sincerity.
Darui disdainfully glanced at Kitsuchi, then turned his head to look at Ao, uttering a single word in a cold tone: "Good!"
Having said that, Darui turned and walked towards the Cloud Ninja force.
Feeling Darui's disdainful gaze, a blush involuntarily flashed across Kitsuchi's face, and he also quickly turned and walked towards his own Stone Ninja force.
He felt embarrassed by his words just now, but he had no choice; this was what his father, Ōnoki, had instructed him beforehand.
As for how to divide Konoha and the allocation among the various Villages, the four of them tacitly avoided bringing it up.
Bringing up that question at this moment would only prove one's foolishness, with no other benefit.
Seeing the two leave, Maki raised an eyebrow and quietly said, "It seems these two still need to report the situation here to their Villages."
Ao wore a faint smile: "Naturally. Most of their respective Villages' spies have already been eliminated by Konoha, so gathering intelligence here is one of their primary objectives."
"However, this matter is settled. It's best that you, Sand Ninja, also prepare yourselves. The Village that inflicts the most casualties on Konoha in this attack will likely gain a greater share of the benefits."
Ao also turned and walked towards the Kirigakure force, seemingly kindly reminding Maki.
Seeing Ao's gradually disappearing figure, Maki's eyes flickered, and with a few leaps, he vanished from his spot.
On the other side, after Kitsuchi and Darui returned to their respective Ninja forces, they immediately used the Summoning Technique to transmit all the events that had occurred back to their Villages.
Not long after, accompanied by the fluctuations of the Summoning Technique, the two received messages from their Villages almost simultaneously—joint attack on Konoha!
Kitsuchi stood at the front of the Stone Ninja force, looking towards Konoha with cold eyes: "Prepare to attack Konoha!"
On the other side, with the Cloud Ninja force, Darui shrugged helplessly as he looked at the orders he received.
"Bee, I know what you're thinking. Between Villages, there's no such thing as individual will."
"Raikage-sama instructed that unless there are special circumstances, he won't let you make a move."
Darui sighed softly, speaking to Killer Bee.
After speaking, Darui walked to the very front of the Cloud Ninja force, feeling everyone's gaze.
Darui revealed a troubled expression and spoke calmly: "Prepare to attack Konoha!"
On top of Isobu's head.
Yūto looked at the barrier over Konoha, which was gradually cracking, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique, when applied to a barrier, indeed created an incredibly powerful one, but unfortunately, every barrier has a limit to its endurance.
Having withstood three consecutive Tailed Beast Ball attacks, this barrier could already be considered quite impressive.
However, it was unfortunate that with just one more Tailed Beast Ball attack, this barrier would likely collapse.
Whoosh!
A whoosh of wind sounded beside Yūto's ear.
Ao's face showed a respectful expression as he half-knelt beside Yūto.
"How did things go?"
Yūto turned his head to look at Ao, asking with some curiosity.
"It went pretty much as you planned. The only thing unexpected was that both the Cloud Ninja and the Stone Ninja brought Jinchuriki with them."
Ao said softly, his face respectful.
"They all brought Jinchuriki? It seems this generation's Raikage and Tsuchikage are much more decisive than I anticipated."
Yūto couldn't help but laugh, looking indifferent.
For Yūto, let alone splitting Konoha, he wouldn't even care if he gave the entire Konoha territory to the three Villages.
After all, his goal was to unify the entire Ninja World, and by then, everyone's territory would be his territory.
Moreover, having two Jinchuriki delivered right to him saved Yūto the trouble of searching for Tailed Beasts.
"Konoha, oh Konoha, the combined strength of four Villages and five Tailed Beasts, all gathered here. I wonder if you can withstand it?"
Yūto's face broke into a brilliant smile as he looked towards Konoha.
More precisely, Yūto's gaze was directed at the massive Hashirama Senju Hokage Rock carving on the distant mountain wall of Konoha.
The remaining two chapters will be updated before 8 PM tonight.