"Daimyo, I've noticed that the guards at the Daimyo's Mansion have increased quite a bit over the past two days. It seems you've taken our words to heart."
Sasa of Sunagakure said this to the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers. This time, he felt certain he could persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers to side with them. That would increase Sunagakure's share of the resources and allow them to stockpile weapons for war.
"Although you're related to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the Yunhe Iron Mine produces several hundred million ryo a year with complete stability. That's enough to tempt anyone. Besides, you rejected the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Now, cooperating with Sunagakure is your only option."
Sunagakure had volunteered to come this time, accompanying people from the Daimyo's Mansion of the Land of Wind to persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers.
If they successfully persuaded the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, they would not only obtain a larger share of the Yunhe Iron Mine, but could also push their defensive line all the way to the Land of Fire's doorstep and confront Kikyo Castle directly. In the end, they would swallow up all the metal resources in the Land of Rivers!
That was the decision reached by Sunagakure's higher-ups.
Even without the person who had secretly leaked the information, Sunagakure's higher-ups had originally intended to slander Konoha by claiming that it planned to make a move against the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers.
But that was no longer necessary. They never expected Konoha to truly have such a plan. Sunagakure had been somewhat doubtful when it received the news, but after verifying it through multiple channels and activating a spy hidden within Konoha, they finally confirmed that the