Sunagakure's Reaction

"What's going on?"

By the time Sunagakure's reinforcement squad arrived, all they saw was a field of ruins.

The flames of war were still burning. The former outpost had been blasted into nothing but broken walls and rubble, while black ashes drifted through the air.

Sunagakure ninja corpses littered the ground, their crimson blood soaking into the earth.

"Captain, we've found two Hidden Leaf ninja corpses."

A Sunagakure ninja soon reported through gritted teeth.

Following his indication, they saw two ninja corpses lying quietly there, dressed in Hidden Leaf Village Uniforms and wearing Hidden Leaf forehead protectors.

One of them bore the unmistakable traits of the Hyuga Clan—

a pair of pale, vacant eyes.

This was the Kekkei Genkai unique to the Hidden Leaf's Hyuga Clan!

"Those damned Hidden Leaf bastards... Are they trying to start a war with Sunagakure?!"

One Sunagakure ninja roared furiously, his eyes bloodshot.

Among the dead was his closest companion!

The Sunagakure captain leading the team merely frowned tightly, seemingly deep in thought, until he was interrupted by an excited shout.

"Captain, there's a survivor!!"

While clearing the battlefield, the Sunagakure reinforcements finally discovered the Puppet Master who had hidden inside a puppet body and narrowly escaped disaster.

However, by the time they pulled him out, he already looked like he was on his last breath.

Driven by powerful willpower and hatred, he managed to reveal the most crucial piece of information before losing consciousness.

"The attackers... were Hidden Leaf... Uchiha..."

With that, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

The Sunagakure captain immediately realized the severity of the situation.

"Get him treated as quickly as possible, and report what happened here to the Kazekage and Elder Chiyo!!"

"Yes!!"

Upon receiving the order, two Sunagakure ninja immediately carried off the unconscious Puppet Master.

Under the Sunagakure captain's command, the remaining ninja conducted a more thorough investigation of the scene.

And kept watch for those damned Hidden Leaf ninja.

After crushing the Sunagakure outpost with lightning speed, Jingū Kiraku led his subordinates back to the rear to rest and regroup.

The group tossed their Hidden Leaf Village Uniforms onto the ground, their faces full of smiles.

"Those Sunagakure bastards will never imagine that we were behind this, hahaha."

"Now we can watch Hidden Leaf and them tear each other apart like dogs!"

These Rain Ninja clearly held no goodwill toward any of the three great nations surrounding them.

In fact, their hearts were filled with hatred!

Now that they had a chance to see them fight each other, they naturally felt immensely satisfied.

Elsewhere, Jingū Kiraku was silently reviewing the operation as well.

During the battle, he had deliberately revealed his Sharingan in order to confirm that Uchiha ninja had taken part in this operation.

And in the current ninja world, there was only one village that possessed the Sharingan: Hidden Leaf.

To make that information more credible, he had left the corpses of the Hyuga ninja and another Hidden Leaf ninja on the battlefield under the cover of the explosion.

Only after Sunagakure's reinforcements arrived did they put on an appearance of being forced to retreat.

Taken together, these factors should have been enough for Sunagakure's upper ranks to conclude that this attack had been launched by Hidden Leaf.

Next, they would surely send massive reinforcements into the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers to guard against—and perhaps even retaliate against—Hidden Leaf's attack.

Even if the two sides did not immediately go to war, it would at least create some trouble for the Hidden Leaf forces led by the Three Legendary Ninja.

The best outcome would be forcing them to split their forces, thereby easing the pressure on Hidden Rain Village's main battlefield...

"Leader, I've already arranged everything below. Would you like to get some rest first?"

Amemura climbed up into the valley and asked quietly.

After all, the reason they had been able to eliminate those Sunagakure ninja so swiftly and smoothly tonight was largely thanks to Jingū Kiraku.

Without him continuously controlling the battlefield, it would have been nearly impossible for Hidden Rain Village's side to withdraw unscathed.

"No need. A battle of this level isn't enough to tire me out."

Jingū Kiraku declined Amemura's goodwill, then said sternly:

"This matter must be kept strictly confidential. Not a single hint of it can be leaked!"

Seeing Jingū Kiraku's expression, Amemura grew serious as well.

"Yes!!"

Amemura withdrew.

Before he left, Jingū Kiraku also instructed him to gather up those Hidden Leaf Village Uniforms and bring them back to Amegakure—

They might come in handy someday.

Amemura naturally obeyed without question.

As for the "Sharingan" and "Uchiha" mentioned by those Sunagakure ninja, Amemura and the other Amegakure Ninja tacitly kept silent.

To them, it did not matter how their leader had obtained the Sharingan.

As long as he could lead the Land of Rain to rise again and ensure the people had enough to eat, he was a good leader.

Under that premise, it would not matter even if he were a member of the Uchiha Clan.

At Sunagakure's frontline headquarters within the Land of Rain, Chiyo was listening to her subordinates' investigation report on the attack.

"The survivor from this incident has been revived."

"According to his testimony, the attackers came from the Hidden Leaf Village, and members of the Uchiha Clan were involved. He personally saw the attacker's Sharingan."

"We have examined him and found no signs that his mind was disturbed by Genjutsu."

"In addition, we found two corpses of Hidden Leaf ninja at the scene."

"One of them has been identified. He was from the Hidden Leaf Village's Hyuga Clan, a Chunin."

"The other one's identity is still being confirmed..."

After hearing the report, Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure, visibly turned grave.

Based on the evidence currently available, it could basically be concluded that the Hidden Leaf Village had carried out this attack.

Other than them, no other force possessed both the Sharingan and Byakugan, these two Kekkei Genkai.

Much less had they appeared at the same time.

"But why?"

Chiyo frowned.

The Hidden Leaf Village had just reignited the war and launched a new round of attacks against Amegakure.

Under such circumstances, would they really take the initiative to provoke Sunagakure?

Unless...

Their appetite was enormous. Not only did they intend to defeat Amegakure, but they also planned to swallow the entire Land of Rain in one bite?

This speculation made Chiyo grow cautious.

As a strategic location, the Land of Rain absolutely could not be allowed to fall entirely into the Hidden Leaf Village's hands.

With that thought, she almost immediately gave the order:

"Send word back to the village. Have Lord Kazekage increase the troops deployed toward the Land of Rain."

"Also, we can apply some pressure on the Land of Rivers!"

As major powers, the battlefield between the Lands of Wind and Fire was not limited to the Land of Rain.

The Land of Rivers, located in the south and filled with rivers and plains, was likewise a key area they fought over.