War Clouds

When the machine called war began running, there was no stopping it short of defeat or unification.

Few countries in the Ninja World could sustain themselves. Or rather, their self-sufficient structures were fragile and could be shattered by any natural or man-made disaster.

Now, the Land of Lightning had suffered a man-made disaster.

After paying Sunagakure a huge sum in compensation, the country's banks were on the verge of collapse. The Hawk Faction in Kumogakure had become unstoppable, and one by one, the options before the rulers were eliminated until only one remained: going to war.

Only now did the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning realize that he hadn't been answering a multiple-choice question. He'd been filling in the blank.

The Land of Lightning could no longer pay its depositors, nor could it provide Kumogakure with enough military funds.

Deposits, military funds—if they wanted them, they'd have to go take them!

As he considered the Raikage's report, a bold idea came to the daimyo.

Some time ago, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had personally invited a merchant caravan from the Land of Lightning to discuss a major business deal. The daimyo had sent the caravan in the spirit of strengthening relations between the two countries, but when it entered the Land of Fire carrying a large amount of cash, it had mysteriously vanished!

Wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable for the Land of Lightning to send Cloud Ninja to investigate?

If they wouldn't let us investigate, then they must be hiding something!

Whether anyone believed this excuse didn't matter. All that mattered was that it gave the Land of Lightning a reason to send its forces.

The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning knew how crazy it was, but compared to the possibility of riots among the middle and upper ranks and in Kumogakure, the cost of starting a war was nothing.

The Raikage fell silent at the daimyo's words.

As a highly militarized country, the Land of Lightning shared many views and interests with its daimyo. But they differed on one point: how they viewed the Cloud Ninja.

To the daimyo, the Cloud Ninja were the Land of Lightning's military might, the shield that protected the country and the blade that plundered other lands.

But to the Raikage, the Cloud Ninja were his brothers and sisters, his family. Many had watched him grow up, and many had grown up alongside him. He had watched them grow up, too.

The prisoners had only just returned to Kumogakure, and they were so weak they couldn't possibly go to the battlefield.

In fact, when A saw his former comrades, he'd been furious enough to curse them out.

He hadn't believed a word of that bastard Hoshino Maki's claim that they'd been served abalone and lobster at every meal. But he hadn't expected the guy to be such a heartless bastard, either. He'd charged them such a high price, yet the Cloud Ninja were all skin and bones, as if a gust of wind could carry them away. There was no way they'd be fit to fight anytime soon.

The only one in good health was Samui. Not only was her complexion rosy, she'd even grown taller. The other prisoners said Hoshino Maki had personally looked after her. She really had been served abalone and lobster at every meal, and even had a comfortable room of her own.

At first, Samui had refused the special treatment. She went three days without so much as a drop of water, until Hoshino Maki sent word that if she didn't eat, the other Cloud Ninja wouldn't get any food either. Only then did she finally eat.

The special treatment had also sparked plenty of rumors about her. Some said she'd sold out the village's interests to earn preferential treatment; others claimed Hoshino Maki had taken a liking to her looks. People said all sorts of things, and none of them were kind.

In the end, though, she chose to return to Kumogakure alongside the other prisoners. The nasty rumors about her came back with them.

The Cloud Ninja questioned her and confirmed she hadn't done anything to betray the village, but it didn't seem to make much difference.

Of course, this little episode was nothing compared to the trouble the village was facing. All of Kumogakure was arguing over whether to go to war.

More accurately, they were arguing over how to fight. Even the faction opposed to war only wanted to wait until the village had recovered before starting one.

After all, anyone who dared suggest not going to war with Konoha could very well be killed.

The pain brought by the Eight-Tails hadn't faded with time. It had fermented into fuel, igniting Kumogakure's rage.

As the leader of the "wait-and-see faction," the Raikage had hoped to use the daimyo as an outside influence to calm the villagers down a little. But it seemed the daimyo was even more gung-ho than he'd expected, and the Cloud Ninja had no choice but to go along with it.

"Yes. The Cloud Ninja will launch a surprise attack within a month."

"Half a month."

"Yes!"

In just three days, undercurrents stirred throughout the entire Ninja World. Even the Mist Ninja, the butt of jokes told by the Mist Ninja themselves, sent people to keep an eye on developments inland.

Amid the turmoil, Hoshino Maki quietly returned to Sunagakure.

"To get rich, plant trees!"

Sitting on Windbreak Rock, Hoshino Maki sipped blood-glutinous-rice milk tea and dangled his legs as he looked down at the village, which had not a trace of green. He muttered to himself.

"Honestly, I still prefer Konoha's scenery."

"What did you say?"

A cool, spirited voice came from below him.

He lowered his head and looked at Pakura with an impassive expression. "I said I love Sunagakure."

Pakura rolled her eyes at him, then said seriously, "The war is over. The Elder Council wants you to give a report next Monday."

"Understood, Lady Pakura."

Pakura nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave. Just then, Hoshino Maki spoke from behind her. "What do you think the Elder Council means to Sunagakure?"

Pakura stopped. "Don't talk about the Elders behind their backs."

Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Especially not in front of other people."

With that, she vanished in a flash.

Hoshino Maki smiled, turned to look at the endless yellow sands outside, then turned back toward Sunagakure, where wisps of cooking smoke were rising. He lay back on Windbreak Rock with his fingers interlaced behind his head, gazing up at the sky with an inscrutable expression.

Without a Kazekage, the Elder Council's responsibilities—or perhaps its power—had grown greater and greater, but the Elders weren't happy about it.

When there was a Kazekage, they'd held plenty of power but had little responsibility. Now that there was no Kazekage, they had to handle even the village's daily trivialities, and take the blame when things went wrong.

No one would hold them accountable, but it still put them in a bad mood.

"Two restaurants get into a fight, and they bring it all the way to the Kazekage Building. What do they think this place is?"

One of the Elders looked at the documents in front of her and rubbed her temples as she grumbled.

"Exactly. Granny Pear Blossom's cat has been missing for three days, and she's asking me why I didn't send a ninja to look for it. Does she know how busy I am every day?"

Another Elder chimed in, but she kept writing and quickly found a Chunin to help look for the cat.

There was nothing she could do. Granny Pear Blossom's son was a famous Elite Jonin in the village. It was a small favor, and easy enough to grant. Besides, she wasn't the one who had to look.

"I really miss the days when the Kazekage was still here..."

Some Elder or other sighed, and several voices immediately agreed.

The village had never gone so long without a Kazekage. Now that the Kazekage's work had fallen to the Elders, they finally understood how difficult the job was.

If every Elder took on a little, it wouldn't be too much. But there was no way Elders like Chiyo and Chōjūrō would do this kind of work. In the end, after all the task-shuffling, the five Elders with the least seniority were left to handle everything.

"Finally done."

One Elder set down her pen and let out a long breath. She picked up the cup of tea on the table, which had already gone cold, and drained it without a care. The other Elders had nearly finished their work as well.

Moyuzi was the last to put down her pen. She glanced at the time on her wrist. "Let's go. It's time for the meeting."