Through the analysis by Homura Mitokado and Hiruzen Sarutobi, they had more or less deduced Sunagakure's secret plan.
Koharu Utatane clenched her teeth and said, "Those guys from Sunagakure really have a brilliant plan. This way, they not only eliminate an internal threat, but also cooperate with Iwagakure to attack Konoha and reap the benefits from it!"
Danzo frowned deeply and said, "However, if Sunagakure had initially cooperated with Iwagakure to attack Konoha, Onoki wouldn't have refused either. Why did they provoke a conflict with Iwagakure first instead?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi speculated, "Sunagakure suffers from a lack of resources, and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has been reducing their funding. As a result, the number of ninja in Sunagakure has continuously decreased—nearly halved compared to the The Second Great Ninja World War.
War is war. Even cooperating with Iwagakure will surely bring casualties. For Sunagakure, whose number of ninja is already much lower than the other four great villages, they probably don't truly wish to cooperate with Iwagakure and confront our Konoha directly.
I think Sunagakure intends to provoke Iwagakure into fighting us, and then stand aside, watching the battle while waiting for the chance to seize resources from either Konoha or Iwagakure."
Homura Mitokado sighed, "The new Kazekage Rasa who just assumed office may have taken power hastily, but he isn't an easy opponent either. Hiruzen, we Konoha need to prepare ourselves for battle now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
After a while, Hiruzen made his decision, "Konoha will now mobilize its ninja forces and deploy them to the Grass Country, which borders the Land of Earth, securing the high ground first and engaging Iwagakure there.
Then we'll abandon our positions in the Land of Hot Water, redeploying all Konoha ninja stationed there to the Grass Country. From now on, our primary foe will be Iwagakure.
At the same time, we'll dispatch additional ninja to the Land of Rivers, which borders the Land of Wind. Although we believe Sunagakure will eventually retreat behind the scenes, in the early stages they'll still maintain appearances alongside Iwagakure."
Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a deep puff, sighing gloomily, "Unfortunately, Sunagakure's plan here really is quite clever—it forces Onoki into cooperation, leaving us no choice but to prepare for battle."
Homura Mitokado also sighed, "Of course it's impressive! After all, they used the disappearance of their Third Kazekage as a pretext for war. With a Kage missing from their village, it's easy for them to fabricate evidence—we've got no solid defense against that."
Koharu narrowed her eyes at Homura, "Mitokado, when you were giving your analysis just now, I kept feeling like you somehow transformed into a child—a child with a very large head."
"A child?" Homura said, puzzled. "I analyzed everything so thoroughly—my image should at least be a little imposing. How could I possibly resemble a big-headed child?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said solemnly, "Alright, enough small talk. We have work to do. Each of us has our role—let's get the orders relayed immediately."
...
Inside the Tsuchikage building in Iwagakure.
Naturally, Onoki had already caught wind of those rumors.
Clutching Sunagakure's alliance proposal in his hand, Onoki's temple throbbed with anger as he gritted his teeth, "Do they really think I'll just cave in without a fight? They've gravely underestimated that brat Rasa!"
An advisor frowned and asked hesitantly, "Tsuchikage-sama, are we seriously considering accepting Sunagakure's alliance offer? You know they're a den of treacherous backstabbers—we can't trust them at all!"
Onoki's nose always flushed bright red when enraged—and now it was burning crimson.
However, unlike last time, Onoki wasn't nearly as enraged this time around. He stifled his anger as he spoke: "Of course I know that impoverished village is full of deceitful men—but right now, we have no other choice.
Those damn Cloud ninja have stopped fighting Konoha in Hot Water Country—they're fully focused on harassing us now. And once these rumors spread, you know the guys from Konoha aren't stupid either. They must have already caught onto something. They might even have gathered their forces already, preparing for war against us.
If we refuse the alliance, Iwagakure will be left to bear the entire burden alone. Sunagakure can simply retreat behind their borders—tell me, who among us would even want to chase them into that godforsaken desert?
Would Konoha go there? Would Kumogakure dare? Would we?"
One question after another from Onoki left the high-ranking officials of Iwagakure sitting there speechless.
Sunagakure indeed had nothing to fear due to their harsh environment and extreme poverty.
Most importantly, it seemed like they truly couldn't find any effective way to deal with them.
To attack Sunagakure, one must first cross through the desert regions of the Land of Wind, which was tough enough by itself.
And the desert was Sand ninja's home ground. Even if they managed to make it to Sunagakure's doorstep, they'd still face local advantages held by Suna. Fighting them under such conditions would put attackers at a serious disadvantage.
Even if they did win, what would they gain? Sunagakure has neither wealth nor valuable resources. Would they haul back sand? That would just make them look like idiots.
After taking a long breath, Onoki rationally analyzed further: "Right now, our only option is to cooperate with Sunagakure. Without surprises, Konoha must have already begun preparations—even possibly taking action already.
If we refuse the alliance, we'll face direct pressure from both Sunagakure and Konoha, and Kumogakure will certainly take advantage of the situation too. If that happens, we'll be in deep trouble.
By collaborating with Sunagakure, we'll free up resources to deal with those annoying Cloud ninjas harassing us, and then jointly attack Konoha together. Konoha isn't some poor village like Sunagakure—it's overflowing with wealth. There are benefits everywhere you look. Therefore, there's absolutely no reason to turn down an alliance with Sunagakure."
However, those guys from Sunagakure are definitely trying to exploit us as well. They want us to charge headfirst into battle while they sit back and reap the benefits. Hmph, as if that's going to happen.
Once this alliance with Sunagakure has been formed, you must relay the orders to all unit captains and squad leaders alike: when cooperating with Sunagakure ninja, make them take the front lines first. If they don't advance, none of us do either.
If it turns into a drawn-out battle, let them waste their strength. Iwagakure can afford to remain patient. Whether Sunagakure can endure the pressure is for them to find out.
The senior officials of Iwagakure responded in unison: "Understood!"
...
Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders quickly reached Konoha's base camp in the Land of Hot Water.
When Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze learned about it, they were both stunned.
The situation changed far too suddenly. In an instant, Konoha had become the focus of everyone's anger.
And Shindai, using his status as a kinsman of the Third Kazekage, lured him out of the village, after which Konoha ninja attacked the Third Kazekage?
If they didn't already know that Shindai had been stationed here at Konoha's camp in the Land of Hot Water and hadn't gone anywhere near Sunagakure, they might have almost believed it… Please.
This rumor is completely absurd.
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