Kumogakure Advisory Council

Late in the year 52 of Konoha.

The Konoha forces on the Land of the Moon front underwent a rotation, but Kushina, being a primary combatant, remained on the battlefield along with the Ino-Shika-Cho combination.

A thousand new Shinobi Army members brought a large amount of supplies, while a thousand Shinobi Army members plus the wounded were withdrawn from the front line.

What Kushina found most unbearable was that among the thousand Shinobi Army members returning this time, there were twenty Jonin, while the incoming Shinobi Army only had ten Jonin.

The reduction in high-level combat power was excessive.

Just because the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure was relatively calm and no large-scale wars had broken out, did that mean they could ignore the Kumogakure Ninja?

At this time, in Cloud Village.

Raikage A was also somewhat irritable.

Recently, he had been to the battlefield with Iwagakure several times.

But every time he made a move, the Iwagakure Jonin would team up with Huangtu to launch large-scale ninjutsu attacks on him.

This meant that Raikage A sometimes had to endure the Iwagakure ninjutsu head-on.

For A, who possessed the Lightning Release Armor, the damage was almost negligible, but the consumption of chakra would accelerate due to defending against large-scale ninjutsu.

Moreover, the rock armor on Huangtu's body also had decent defense.

After taking two of his Lightning Release: Lightning Plow Hot Knife attacks, it was only slightly damaged, and then it recovered again with the help of several Iwagakure Jonin.

Furthermore, Huangtu's strength was not small; he directly blocked his Heavy Flow Burst.

Then he would retreat before the Iwagakure Sealing Team arrived.

Because of the Masked Man issue earlier, each ninja clan had established battlefield sealing teams.

Although their main purpose was to deal with space-time ninjutsu, they also had the effect of restricting speed.

If he didn't retreat a bit, he might be caught, and then Iwagakure would surround and attack reinforcements, which would be even worse.

The only good news was that Konoha hadn't launched a large-scale attack; otherwise, with the situation being worse, he would be in even greater trouble.

A white-skinned female ninja walked into the office. "Raikage-sama, Yugito-sama's injuries have fully recovered. Do you need Yugito-sama to join the war against Iwagakure?"

"No, if Yugito has recovered, have her go to the Konoha battlefield and swap with Bee."

"Raikage-sama, there is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki on the Konoha battlefield..."

"Don't worry, that old fox Sarutobi is quite comfortable watching our war with Iwagakure at this time and won't actively initiate an attack. Even if they do attack, Yugito can handle it."

Raikage A said calmly.

"Then, what do you mean?"

"I need Bee to help me push back the main Iwagakure forces, otherwise the Daimyo will cut funding."

After Raikage A finished speaking, he put on his Raikage Cloak.

"Tell the Advisory Council, I'm going to the front line."

"Yes!"

The white female ninja watched the distant figure of Lord A, feeling as though Raikage A's form seemed somewhat dejected.

"Illusion! How could I have such an illusion!"

The female ninja slapped her face with both hands, then ran off to find the Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council of Kumogakure actually had a very weak presence, with only five members. Two of the advisors were elderly and barely participated in political affairs.

Moreover, Kumogakure was a ninja village where power was relatively centralized, usually dominated by Raikage A's word.

Even the war was decided by Raikage A.

Only after Raikage A left the village would the Advisory Council come out to organize village affairs.

It was they who had spread the news of Shisui defeating the A-B Combination.

If it were Raikage A, he would absolutely not do something so embarrassing.

Now, with the intelligence that Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan was crippled returning to Kumogakure, the advisors felt quite smug in front of Raikage A.

Several old men in their sixties and seventies proudly boasted about how well they had done, resolving a hidden danger for Kumogakure.

However, Raikage A was very displeased.

With Yugito severely injured and Dodai killed in action, Raikage A dared not be careless and had to personally go to the battlefield against Iwagakure to maintain the overall situation.

As subsequent Iwagakure forces continuously joined, the scale of the war grew larger and larger, and Raikage A spent more and more time on the battlefield.

The few old men with one foot in the grave also felt that their power was being well demonstrated.

After gaining power, they immediately contacted Konoha. They weren't seeking a ceasefire, but merely wanted to make a deal.

The content was simple: Kumogakure and Konoha would sign an alliance agreement, Kumogakure would admit its mistakes and provide compensation to Konoha.

Then, they stated that the main forces of Iwagakure were being held back by Kumogakure, and Konoha should launch an attack on Iwagakure. During this time, Kumogakure would provide material compensation to Konoha.

Once Iwagakure was captured, the benefits gained would be split between Kumogakure and Konoha, with Konoha getting six parts and Kumogakure four!

At the same time, the Raikage Advisory Council also contacted Sunagakure.

The content was straightforward.

Sunagakure would not participate in the ninja world war, and afterwards, Kumogakure would share the war profits they obtained with Sunagakure, with Sunagakure getting three parts and Kumogakure seven.

Upon receiving the news, Sunagakure immediately chose neutrality. They could gain benefits without participating in the war; this was truly a windfall.

Konoha, however, was hesitant.

Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly wanted to agree to the Raikage Advisory Council's proposal.

But the only downside was that Konoha would be responsible for launching the initial attack on Iwagakure.

This seemed somewhat out of character for the "great and righteous" Third Hokage.

"Third Hokage, these Kumogakure ninja just want a ceasefire. Should we accept their proposal?"

Homura Mitokado easily understood the meaning of the Kumogakure advisors.

It was nothing more than wanting to stall for time so they would have enough time to fully deal with Iwagakure.

It is well known how difficult it is to attack Iwagakure, a region that is easy to defend and hard to attack.

Now Kumogakure is trying to convince the Third Hokage with just an alliance treaty and a share of the benefits after defeating Iwagakure. Doesn't this seem very insincere?

Moreover, Konoha would be the one actively attacking Iwagakure! Although the supplies would be provided by Kumogakure, the personnel losses would still be Konoha's!

"Third Hokage, Sunagakure has increased troops on the border of the Land of Rain. Perhaps they have also received support from Kumogakure."

Koharu Utatane spoke, indicating that Sunagakure was also making moves.

"Hiruzen! The Uchiha Clan cannot continue to gain merit! Recall them, and then keep them in the village."

The glint in Danzo's eyes made Sarutobi Hiruzen very uncomfortable.

Clearly, Danzo was planning to have the Uchiha return to the village and then ambush them again.

But this time, Danzo couldn't be allowed to do it again. Otherwise, how could peace talks proceed? Peace talks had just concluded, and then Kumogakure Ninja would stab them in the back?!

Or rather, Konoha had just finished one war and was immediately provoked by other ninja villages, leading to another war?

If Danzo attacked this time, no matter which ninja village he disguised himself as, it would be detrimental to Konoha.

"First, spread the word about the peace talks and see the reactions of the other ninja clans."

"Third Hokage, except for the Uchiha, no other ninja clan will refuse peace talks. Moreover, this war was originally because Kumogakure Ninja attacked us first, causing the Uchiha Clan to lose more of their clansmen. Other ninja clans did not lose many clansmen."

Homura Mitokado was very clear about the current mindset of the other ninja clans in Konoha. Why wouldn't they be happy to end a war with minimal losses to their own families and gain war benefits?

"Homura, Konoha is not our personal domain. First, spread the news, and then notify everyone to come for a meeting tomorrow to discuss it."