Tap! Tap! Tap!
Slightly hurried footsteps echoed softly through the room assigned to the Land of Earth's ambassadorial delegation.
Still not here? This is already the third day.
After pacing back and forth several times, Iwama lifted his head and looked out the window. Endless rain fell beneath the gloomy sky, with no trace of any birds—only the fine drizzle that had lingered for three days.
It was now around three in the afternoon on the third day since he had sent out the message. Given the distance to the Land of Earth and the speed of a hawk, the reply should have arrived by now.
To be honest, Iwama was truly getting anxious.
It was not that he had lost his composure or fallen apart. Rather, over the past three days of investigation, he had discovered several changes in Konoha's defenses, especially in relatively important areas. He desperately wanted to verify whether the speculation these changes had given rise to was correct. If it was, then the entire situation might open up completely before them. Konoha was not as impregnable as it seemed, and the current deadlock could be broken.
Then they could confirm that the opportunity they had been waiting for all along had arrived.
The success or failure of the entire plan might rest on the schemes laid over the next few days! It was no wonder Iwama was so anxious that he was nearly losing his composure. This mission concerned all of Iwa, even the entire Land of Earth. Whether they could turn defeat into victory depended on this plan. As long as Konoha descended into chaos, and Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning—currently watching alongside them—seized the opportunity to enter the fray and committed all its main forces to a true decisive battle, then with