Hidden Sand Village's garrison camp.
Inside the dimly lit command tent, the atmosphere was suffocating. The air felt so heavy it could be wrung out.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind paced back and forth restlessly. Each stride stirred the candle flames, casting shifting shadows along the canvas walls.
Rasa sat to the side, the brim of his straw hat throwing his face into darkness. Only his clenched fists, resting on his knees, betrayed his turbulent emotions.
Just then, the tent flap was flung open.
A Suna scout stumbled in, face still twisted in fear.
"Daimyo-sama! Kazekage-sama!"
He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, his voice shaking uncontrollably, still catching his breath.
"Iwa... Iwagakure, they..."
"Don't rush. Speak clearly," Rasa said, raising his eyes, his voice calm but steady.
The Daimyo paused his pacing, turning to listen intently.
The scout swallowed hard, steadied his breath, and began recounting everything he had witnessed on the battlefield.
From how Iwagakure used earth walls to bait their enemies, to how both Kirigakure and Kumogakure fell into the trap.
Then how Kitsuchi unleashed the Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique, reshaping the terrain into a stone pillar maze, burying their enemies under a rockslide.
Every detail was relayed with precision.
When he finished, silence blanketed the tent. Not even a breath was heard.
The Daimyo stood frozen, all anger drained from his face, replaced by cold dread.
Under the brim of his hat, Rasa's facial muscles tensed. His sharp eyes fixed on the scout.
"Kirigakure and Kumogakure... not a single survivor?"
"Y-yes." The scout nodded stiffly. "This subordinate saw it clearly with my own eyes."
"That scale of attack... no one could've survived."
"Kitsuchi..." Rasa muttered the name under his breath. That seemingly honest, obedient man who followed Ōnoki around—could he truly possess such terrifying tactical precision?
No, it had to be Ōnoki's plan. He simply hadn't moved himself.
If a Kage didn't personally take the field, it could still be passed off as 'minor skirmishes.'
That sly old fox had survived since the Sengoku period. It was all a calculated play.
As Rasa pondered, the Daimyo suddenly slammed his palm on the table.
"What an Iwagakure! What a Land of Earth!"
His voice no longer burned with anger but echoed with humiliation and bitter helplessness.
They had been used.
From start to finish, the Land of Wind had been played for fools.
The Land of Earth hadn't delayed them just to hoard some small gains. They wanted the world to watch as they crushed their rivals.
It was a declaration of dominance.
A blatant display of military strength.
The message was simple: coveting the Land of Lightning? That feast belongs to Iwagakure alone. No one else even qualifies to take a bite.
"Bastards! Utter bastards!"
The Daimyo trembled with rage, feeling as though his face had been stepped on, then trampled twice over.
He spun toward Rasa, his eyes burning like fire.
"Rasa! Gather the troops! We fight!"
"Daimyo-sama, please calm yourself!" Rasa stood and quickly stepped in front of him.
"We have only a thousand troops. We're deep in hostile territory. If we move now, we'll be crushed!"
"Then summon reinforcements from the village!"
"If Iwagakure dared to do this, then they've already prepared for our retaliation. It's likely they've stationed more forces along the border."
"Then what do you propose?" the Daimyo roared. "Are we just going to sit back and watch them take everything?"
"Return to our desert like beaten dogs?"
"What about the honor of the Land of Wind?!"
Rasa remained silent.
Of course he didn't want to give in.
Just gathering that 2.5 billion had nearly bled the Land of Wind dry.
If they returned empty-handed, he, the Fourth Kazekage, would become the biggest joke in Suna's history.
But a direct conflict with Iwagakure now was pure suicide.
Their display of force had far exceeded anything he expected.
It was very likely they had mobilized their full strength.
The tent remained silent.
Only the sound of heavy breathing and the low flicker of candlelight filled the space.
After a long while, Rasa finally raised his head.
A trace of cold resolve flickered beneath the brim of his hat.
"Daimyo-sama... there may still be one path left to us."
"What path?" the Daimyo asked sharply.
Instead of answering, Rasa posed a question.
"Who, right now, do you think would most hate to see the Land of Earth rise to dominance?"
The Daimyo paused. Then realization struck him.
"Kirigakure?"
"Exactly." Rasa nodded. "They've lost everything in this disaster. Their hatred toward Iwagakure is no less than ours."
"But," the Daimyo frowned, "even if we join forces with Kirigakure, we may still not be a match."
"Just the two of us isn't enough." Rasa's tone turned heavy.
"But if we bring in the Land of Fire...?"
"The Land of Fire?"
The Daimyo's breath caught.
A name surged into his mind, unbidden.
The man who, by his own strength, crushed thousands of Kumogakure ninja. The man who dismembered the Land of Lightning and still sat at the negotiating table.
"You mean...?"
"If Daimyo Arashi is willing to mediate, it means he doesn't want the balance of the ninja world to break."
"The Land of Earth wants to be the greediest wolf. So we'll call on an even fiercer tiger to deal with them."
The Daimyo's eyes lit up with a fierce gleam.
Yes!
They could appeal to the Land of Fire.
Although Arashi was indeed ambitious, every one of his moves had remained within the bounds of order.
The Land of Earth, however, had violated the rules established during the Four Nations Alliance Summit—specifically, the ones that prohibited excessive regional interference.
As the founder of those rules, the Land of Fire would never tolerate such blatant disruption.
Even better—they now had a perfect reason to invite the Land of Fire to intervene:
To uphold the alliance treaty.
"Good, good, good!" the Daimyo exclaimed. The dejection in his eyes vanished, replaced with excitement.
"Rasa, send someone to contact Kirigakure immediately!"
"Tell them the Land of Wind is ready to form an alliance!"
"And then..."
He paused, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
"Together, we'll travel to the Fire Capital and pay our respects to the young and brilliant Daimyo Arashi!"
"We'll declare our commitment to preserving the Four Nations Alliance, punish the treacherous Land of Earth, and ask him to uphold justice!"
"Yes, Daimyo-sama!" Rasa bowed deeply and turned to leave the tent.
That same night, several dark figures slipped away from the Suna camp, riding off in opposite directions.
One group was headed to find the scattered remnants of Kirigakure.
The other carried a personal letter from the Daimyo himself, bound for the Fire Capital at full speed.
(To be continued.)
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