Preparing for War

Nagato's thoughts differed from Yahiko's and Konan's. Yichen acted too actively in the process of killing Jiraiya, which was inconsistent with his previous style of doing things. If Yichen didn't want to kill Jiraiya, there was no need to be so serious.

That's true. If Yichen could hear Nagato's true feelings, he would be surprised. Nagato is probably the one among the three Akatsuki Organization who understands Yichen the most.

Perhaps because of the Ninjutsu he taught, Nagato was the person who had the most contact with Yichen. Or perhaps the Rinnegan's amazing insight could see some things that Yichen was deliberately hiding.

Nagato was the only one who could vaguely sense Yichen. However, Yichen's indifferent attitude towards power and money made Nagato overlook this fact.

After yet another unpleasant discussion, the three returned to their respective residences. Nagato entered his room, his Rinnegan flickering slightly, and then said to the empty room, "I told you, if you ever appear before me again, I will kill you."

As soon as Nagato finished speaking, a pure white figure slowly emerged from the ground—it was White Zetsu clone.

"Hey, hey, don't be in such a hurry. I'm just a clone. Killing me won't do you any good." The White Zetsu clone wasn't afraid of Nagato's threat at all, speaking in his usual strange tone.

"So, did you and your two companions come to no avail again today? I told you before, mortals like them can't understand you. You are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, you are a god, you are here to save the world."

"Heaven bestowed upon you the Rinnegan to give you the power to sweep away all obstacles. Only through the deterrence of force can true peace be brought about, and only you in the Ninja World can reach the level of deterring all villains."

"And I am the one destined to guide you onto the right path, how could you kill me?"

Nagato didn't believe in the fate he spoke of, but he also noticed that his power was constantly increasing, as if it really was as this pure white person said, that he was the only one who might possess the strength to intimidate the entire Ninja World.

That's true. Nagato, who came from the Uzumaki Clan, had reached a terrifying level of Chakra as he aged. However, unlike in the original story, Nagato was in good health and never overused the Rinnegan.

Furthermore, Nagato's development of the Rinnegan has become increasingly profound.

Back then, when he had just reached the Kage Level, Nagato was able to fight Hanzo. Now, so many years later, Nagato has a vague feeling that there is no one in the entire Ninja World who can rival him anymore.

Under White Zetsu's influence, Nagato's thinking began to subtly change.

Of course, Nagato's change in thinking was not only due to his increased strength and White Zetsu's instigation, but also due to the change in environment.

The Akatsuki Organization members' ideals and passion remained unchanged, but the environment changed. In the early days after taking over River Ninja Village, the Akatsuki Organization developed rapidly, but it soon went astray.

First, some small countries that had previously supported Akatsuki Organization began to resist the Akatsuki Organization, fearing that Akatsuki Organization would help the Land of Rivers annex them. No matter how Akatsuki Organization members explained this, it was useless; no one wanted to entrust the survival of their country to the conscience of a few outsiders.

Next were the ordinary members of Akatsuki Organization. Since the reconstruction of River Ninja Village and Nagato and Yahiko's display of Kage Level strength, they began to consider themselves ninjas from a great nation Great Ninja Village. In Nagato's eyes, all their actions were a desecration of Akatsuki Organization's ideals.

Most importantly, Nagato could no longer see the future direction of the Akatsuki Organization. The Land of Rivers was already a medium-sized country, sandwiched between the two great nations of Fenghuo, and the Land of Rain, and had no room for further growth.

Nagato was afraid that Akatsuki Organization would eventually become like the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations, fighting each other for their own interests. Just like this time, Akatsuki Organization, an organization dedicated to maintaining peace, was forced to prepare for war.

Why? Isn't it because they're afraid of being invaded by Konoha or Sunagakure? But how is this any different from the actions of Great Ninja Village?

Yahiko was somewhat aware of these things, but he wasn't as perceptive Nagato. The Land of Rivers was not yet well governed, Yahiko's attention hadn't yet turned to places outside of Land of Rivers. Busy with domestic affairs all day, Yahiko couldn't see as clearly or as far ahead as Nagato, who was observing from the Nagato.

Nagato was lost in thought and didn't even notice when the White Zetsu clone left.

Returning to Iwagakure, Ōnoki and Yichen immediately convened a meeting of the village's leaders upon their return.

Thanks to the Cloud ninja's swift actions, Yichen and Ōnoki were only away from the village for a short time. They were spared the trouble of searching and hiding, and it only took them a day. But in that short time, the situation in the Ninja World had already changed.

Having suffered successive losses, Konoha could no longer suppress the various ambitious individuals who were eager to make their move.

For example, after confirming Jiraiya's death from Ōnoki and Yichen, Saka was the first to say, "The Fourth Shinobi War is inevitable. Let's prepare for a full mobilization of the village. However, the losses from the Third Shinobi War haven't been fully recovered yet, so even with a full mobilization, the effect certainly won't be as good as before the Third Shinobi War."

Ming shook his head and said, "We still need to report to the daimyo. The Third Shinobi War ended not long ago, and the village's funds are limited. If we want to launch another war, we must get the daimyo's full support."

Ikura also said, "Supplies are insufficient. The hasty start of the war has created a major logistical problem. Furthermore, the village's medical system is not yet fully operational."

Although all three pointed out the village's inadequate preparations for war, Ōnoki firmly stated, "No matter how difficult it is, we must go to war. The nations of the Ninja World are not yet ready, but the will of the people and the general trend have already been set. The Fourth Shinobi War has already begun."

"All we can do is control the intensity and scope of the war to a certain extent, or end it as soon as possible, like in Third Shinobi War."

Yichen nodded and said, "But who are our enemies? Is it only Konoha? Will other ninja villages be afraid of us Iwa ninja and try to attack us from behind?"

How will Konoha respond, and what forces can Konoha utilize?

"To what extent do other countries hope this war will continue?"

Yichen raised some key questions.

Saka praised, "Yichen is very calm. These issues do need to be analyzed beforehand. We should still try to win over the countries that we can, and at least make sure they don't become our enemies."

After thinking for a moment, Ikura said, "Instead of considering the response strategies of other countries, we should set a goal for them."

Ikura glanced around at everyone and said, "The fact that we obtained Ninjutsu from Konoha during the Third Shinobi War can serve as a reference. We can lure the Wind, Lightning, and Water nations to fight against Konoha with this as their objective."

"Moreover, this has another advantage: Konoha ninja who can see the worst-case scenario will find it difficult to commit to a fight to the death against us. At worst, they can just lose some Ninjutsu and pay the price; why bother fighting to the death with us?"

Yichen's eyes lit up, and he said, "This method works. We should contact the other Four Great Ninja Villages and negotiate with Konoha under the guise of formal peace talks, demanding that Konoha provide the Ninjutsu that each country wants."

"If Konoha doesn't agree to go to war, it's questionable whether the Konoha High-ranking officials is willing to risk defeat. Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi will actually agree to negotiations."

At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet abdicated, so Yichen and the others' guesses about Konoha's response were based on Hiruzen Sarutobi's past style of doing things.

The meeting lasted a long time, and in the end, Ōnoki expanded the number of participants, gathering all the Jonin in the village for discussion.

After the meeting, the Iwa ninja officially entered a state of full preparation for battle.

Each of the advisors, including Yichen, also had their own tasks.

Yichen's task is not easy. As a village advisor and a Kage Level expert, Yichen has been directly appointed as the Frontline Commander. Moreover, this time Yichen will be in charge of the main battlefield facing Konoha: the Southern Front.

Of course, the battlefield has not yet opened, Yichen's task is to assemble the front-line troops.

According to the High-Level Meeting, the number of troops under Yichen's command will reach 6,000. Whether there will be reinforcements depends on the battlefield situation and the reactions of all parties.

Assembling such a large ninja army was no easy task, as the war had not yet fully broken out and many ninjas were still on missions. Yichen could only gather the ninjas who were not out on missions in batches.

This process won't be too quick, mainly because the Iwa ninja are already quite flamboyant and don't want to be the first to provoke Konoha.

Yichen spent five days gathering about two thousand people in the village, and then led these two thousand people ahead to the Southern Front.

Along the long Southern Front border, there are nearly a thousand patrolling ninjas and Anbu awaiting Yichen's incorporation. The remaining two to three thousand will gradually gather in the village and then provide support to Yichen in batches.

Meanwhile, Yichen was also busy at the same time as Ikura.

Ikura is currently contacting the three nations of Wind, Lightning, and Water, trying to persuade them to put pressure on Konoha together, or at least to convey the Konoha Iwa ninja.

Iwa ninja's preparations went smoothly because of the great success achieved in the Third Shinobi War, so the Tsuchikage was providing very strong support for the upcoming Fourth Shinobi War.

The daimyo not only allocated a large amount of funds, but also took the initiative to send people to contact the daimyo of both the Fuu and Rai kingdoms to help Ikura win them over.

However, as allies of the Iwa ninja, the Sunagakure's preparations for war were not smooth sailing.

In order to advance the war smoothly and seize a piece of the pie when Konoha was at its weakest, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, first forcefully retrieved the One-Tail.

Although a suitable Jinchuriki cannot be found for the time being, the One-Tail has been sealed in a jar, which can at least be thrown out as a bomb in critical moments.

Then, taking advantage of the influence of the Tsuchikage, Rasa obtained the funds he had long coveted from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.

However, Rasa encountered resistance within the village. The old forces of Sunagakure suffered heavy losses in the previous Third Shinobi War and did not want to participate in the Fourth Great Ninja War again.

Rasa had been waiting for this day for a long time, so how could he give up so easily? War was the best opportunity to seize power. He wanted to use Konoha to eliminate all his opponents in this war.

To this end, Rasa revealed his long-hidden Trump Card: Scorching Release Yukata.

In the original story, Rasa rose to power later. By then, Pakura had already reached Kage Level strength and was a pawn put forward by various factions within Sunagakure to challenge Rasa. Therefore, Rasa, who eventually rose to power, chose to eliminate Pakura directly.

However, this timeline is different. When Rasa rose to power, Pakura was just a promising Elite Jonin. Rasa's rise to power was smooth, and there was no conflict between the two. It should be said that Pakura was not qualified to be Rasa's rival at that time.

After taking power, Rasa had a legitimate reason to act, and his performance in the Third Shinobi War Rasa much better than that of the corrupt high-ranking officials, so Pakura's loyalty was a natural outcome.

Thus, Pakura became Rasa's biggest Trump Card. After the Third Shinobi War, Rasa focused on cultivating a group of trusted confidants within Sunagakure, among whom Pakura was the most outstanding.

After Rasa made Pakura display her Kage Level strength, everyone backed down, and no one dared to oppose Rasa anymore.

With the One-Tail in control and two Kage Level, even with Chiyo's support, no one else could suppress Rasa.

Rasa successfully passed the resolution to participate in the war and firmly controlled all aspects of the war preparations.

Then, Rasa obtained the Third Kazekage Puppet from Chiyo under the pretext of righteousness and war.

Despite some setbacks, Rasa ultimately succeeded in advancing the war preparations.