Sunagakure's Mobilization

Sunagakure.

"Still no sign of the Third?" Chiyo, a highly respected figure in Sunagakure who had made outstanding contributions to the village during the Second Ninja World War, asked wearily during the Jonin Meeting.

"No." The Anbu responsible for searching for the Third Kazekage lowered his head.

"Our extensive search has already drawn close attention from the other ninja villages. If we still cannot find the Third soon..." The speaker was the Jonin Rasa.

He did not finish his sentence, but everyone present understood the implication behind his unfinished words.

Most of them had lived through the Second Ninja World War and survived that brutal conflict. More than anyone, they understood the rules by which this ninja world operated.

A major ninja village without a Kage would inevitably attract covetous eyes and ill intent.

Especially now, after the ninja world had spent years recuperating, and the losses and strength drained by the previous war had more or less recovered.

When a war had just ended, naturally no one wanted to easily start another one so soon. But now, a shadow had fallen over everyone's hearts.

"Lady Chiyo!" A masked Anbu suddenly appeared, kneeling on the floor as he presented an intelligence scroll.

Chiyo took the scroll with a grim expression. She knew well that the Anbu would not interrupt this important Jonin Meeting unless the information was extremely important.

Using a special seal to unlock the intelligence scroll, Chiyo carefully examined its contents. Though she had already mentally prepared herself, she still frowned in shock at what was written on it.

Seeing Chiyo's dark expression, the Jonin attending the meeting, along with the Clan Heads and Elders of the major Ninja Clans, exchanged uneasy looks. An inexplicably heavy shadow settled over their hearts.

"You all should take a look as well." Chiyo tossed the scroll in her hand to Rasa beside her, signaling for him to pass it along once he had finished reading.

After Rasa picked up the scroll and read through it, his expression abruptly turned ugly as well.

Before long, everyone in the room had read the scroll. Restlessness and panic appeared on most of their faces.

"Hmph! Those barbarians from Kumogakure!" Rasa snorted.

"This is a provocation against Sunagakure! The defenses along the border will likely have a hard time holding back Kumogakure's full-scale assault," another Jonin agreed, voicing his concern.

The intelligence stated that Kumogakure showed signs of mobilizing its entire force, and that the border with Kumogakure required a large number of reinforcements.

Worst of all, it clearly stated that the one leading the Cloud Shinobi attack was the Third Raikage himself!

In the ninja world, the title of Kage from any one of the Five Great Nations brought immense pressure and threat.

If it were merely some Cloud Shinobi forces, Sunagakure would not have treated it with such extreme seriousness. It would have been nothing more than the usual back-and-forth exchanges and clashes.

But once a village's Kage took the field, it clearly represented the start of an all-out war!

If the Third Kazekage, hailed as the strongest, were still around, then they would simply confront them head-on. But the Third Kazekage had been missing for a long time now, and even a sweeping search had failed to find him.

With no leader at the helm, the most immediate question before them was this: once war began and the enemy Kage entered the battlefield, what were they supposed to do?

No one dared underestimate the combat power and destructive force of any Kage from the Five Great Nations. Without someone of comparable strength to hold him back, Sunagakure's casualties would be difficult to control.

Back when Sunagakure fought the Rain Country, Chiyo and her younger brother had held back Amegakure's Demigod and neutralized his poison, preventing Sunagakure from being completely wiped out there.

As the legendary figure who had led Amegakure to survive while a small nation resisted two major nations, Hanzo of Amegakure was one of the few whose reputation and strength could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Kage of the Five Great Nations.

"The Third Raikage is far too arrogant. Taking advantage of the Third's disappearance, he wants to become Sunagakure's Kazekage. He is forcing us to begin a war." A spirited female Jonin rose to her feet and respectfully bowed to Chiyo. "Lady Chiyo, I am willing to lead the reinforcements to the border. When the time comes, I will hold back the Raikage."

"I can do it too. My Magnet Release can play an even greater role on the battlefield." Rasa, sitting across from the female Jonin, glanced at her before rising to volunteer as well.

Looking at the two who had stood up, Chiyo felt another headache coming on.

Rasa and Pakura were among the finest of Sunagakure's Jonin. Both possessed formidable strength and Kekkei Genkai, and their destructive power in war was incomparably great.

The Third Kazekage had been missing for so long, and news of it had spread throughout the ninja world, yet he still had not been found. Whether it was Chiyo or the Jonin, Clan Heads, and Elders present, they all already had a clear conclusion in their hearts.

That the legendary strongest Kazekage had been killed!

With war about to begin, the position of Kazekage could not remain vacant forever. Among the few most promising candidates, Rasa and Pakura were both included.

Rasa in particular possessed Magnet Release inherited from the Third's lineage. Many considered him the Third Kazekage's successor, and he held tremendous advantages in every respect.

Pakura, meanwhile, had rendered great service to the village many times, and her Scorch Release possessed unstoppable destructive power in both war and battle.

Both had quite a few supporters.

Chiyo also understood that the Jonin present wanted to establish a Kage as quickly as possible, at the very least to provide the village's ninja with morale.

Of course, if Chiyo, as the Kage's Advisor, were willing to inherit the Kage title, then no one present, including Rasa and Pakura, would or could object.

But everyone knew that she and her younger brother would never bear the title of Kage.

Ever since Chiyo's daughter-in-law had died at the hands of the Konoha White Fang, her only wish had been to personally kill the White Fang.

But news from Konoha more than a year ago that the White Fang had fallen had left even that sole wish empty.

If the village did not still need her, she would have long since withdrawn from the world to accompany and teach her only grandson, Sasori.

"In this war against Kumogakure, whoever earns the greatest merit will become the Fourth Kazekage!

As for the rest, contact the daimyo for funding, gather and select the village's ninja to send as reinforcements, and begin making preparations according to your assigned tasks.

Lastly, send a request for aid to our ally Konoha. Have them dispatch one of the Sannin to support us." Chiyo issued one decisive order after another.

"Are we really going to ask Konoha for help?" Pakura frowned. Before the war had even begun, they were already requesting aid from their ally...

"Konoha will not be able to stay out of this either. I do not believe those barbarians from Kumogakure will obediently pass through Konoha's border without doing anything.

At the very least, as allies, they can help us bear some of the pressure and losses." Chiyo snorted.