"Minato Namikaze was injured in his fight with A. Konoha is now forced to pull back on both fronts, with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Hyuga Clan responsible for the Eastern Defense Line."
In the Elder Council Hall, Hoshino Maki set down the intelligence report in his hand, looking perplexed.
That didn't make sense.
Had he made A stronger, or Minato weaker?
He'd only met Minato once. Surely that couldn't have anything to do with this?
But the Cloud Ninja's letter had indeed thanked him for the help his intelligence had provided.
Hoshino Maki scratched his head. The only time he'd ever crossed paths with A was at the negotiating table. He'd said so much then that he couldn't remember which specific remark might have inspired the other man.
He had done plenty of good deeds, after all: helping the people of the Land of Lightning achieve shared prosperity; helping merchants from the Land of Fire find new business opportunities and promote trade between the Lands of Fire and Lightning; helping the Cloud Ninja realize that the supplies they'd accumulated through their past "zero-yen shopping" were still nowhere near enough, and that they needed to step up their efforts, and so on.
He'd better stop thinking about it. Even smashing his brand-new fish-shaped prayer drum wouldn't make up for the lost merit.
In short, he knew he was a good boy.
The Elders asked Hoshino Maki a few questions but didn't think much of it. Given his position, there was no reason for him to betray Sunagakure. They took it as nothing more than a polite remark from the Cloud Ninja and paid little attention to the account of the battle in the letter.
Only Hoshino Maki knew this was a decisive change.
In the original history, Minato Namikaze had played an immense and irreplaceable role for Konoha.
He'd fought the Stone Ninja and the Cloud Ninja, from the west to the east. He'd blown up supply depots and held off enemy vanguard units. He really had been split into eight people and put to work.
No one knew how badly Minato was injured, but judging from the Cloud Ninja's wording, it probably wasn't minor. He certainly wouldn't be able to keep working like a robot as before. Otherwise, they might as well start arranging his funeral before the war was over.
It was easy to imagine that Konoha's casualties would be even heavier than they had been in the original history.
Naturally, this was good news for Sunagakure. The more fiercely the three villages fought, the better.
"Given the current situation, I think the Cloud Ninja and Stone Ninja are likely to send us large orders for ninja tools. The workers should put in overtime and stockpile a batch."
After Hoshino Maki finished speaking, Ebizo smiled and nodded.
Ninja tools were an important source of income for the Chiyo Clan. The war had already tripled their revenue from them.
By a conservative estimate, the profits from the three-way war could easily double that again.
Unlike Chiyo, Ebizo loved the village, but he also cared deeply about his clan's interests.
If Chiyo admired Hoshino Maki because she believed he could help the village develop and because of Sasori, then Ebizo's admiration was more closely tied to profit. After all, Chiyo didn't handle the clan's affairs, so he had to worry about most of its business matters himself.
Every day, seeing the numbers on their income rise made him love Hoshino Maki a little more.
"What does everyone think of the Cloud Ninja's proposal?"
Chōjūrō spoke up.
The Cloud Ninja hadn't sent Sunagakure an official letter solely to thank Hoshino Maki. In fact, it was an invitation to form an alliance.
"I think we should accept. Konoha is being hit from two directions by the Cloud and Stone Ninja and can only keep retreating. The Yellow Flash has been made out to be some incredible figure, yet A still defeated him. That shows Konoha is strong on the outside but weak within. If the three of us form an alliance, taking Konoha won't be difficult."
"Exactly. Konoha can't beat the Cloud Ninja, and we just defeated the Cloud Ninja ourselves. Our morale is high. We have the upper hand in spirit against both the Cloud Ninja and Konoha, so if we form an alliance now, we can demand plenty of concessions."
"I think they could give us the Western Forest."
"..."
Standing behind Chiyo, Hoshino Maki watched them celebrate as though they were already halfway through the game—or, no, as though they'd finished their champagne before the game had even started. He didn't even feel like making fun of them.
It wasn't the first time their confidence had outstripped their sense.
What a bunch of deluded, self-assured fools!
If they'd bothered to ask even one of the shinobi who'd fought the Cloud Ninja, they wouldn't have come to this conclusion.
Still, things were fine. With someone as clever as Chiyo around, the Elder Council would never pass this proposal.
Chiyo sat in the chief seat among the Elders, with the past Kazekage of Sunagakure behind her.
Her eyelids drooped, as if she were about to fall asleep.
After talking over one another for ages, everyone finally turned their eyes to Chiyo. Beside her, Chōjūrō's expression darkened. Ever since Chiyo had returned, it felt like they no longer loved him.
"Rasa, what do you think?"
"I think we should accept. With the Stone Ninja and Cloud Ninja tying up most of Konoha's forces, we won't face much pressure. We can send out troops to occupy the Western Forest first, then wait and see how things develop."
Rasa's words drew nods from the others.
Chiyo didn't respond. After a few seconds of silence, she turned her head. "Tell us what you think."
Hoshino Maki nodded. "I agree with Lord Rasa. Sending out troops now would put Konoha under a lot of pressure. However..."
He let his words trail off, drawing out the pause until everyone was looking at him. Then he continued, "We wouldn't be getting enough out of it."
Chōjūrō immediately objected. "Konoha's money and Ninjutsu, along with a vast stretch of forest in the west. How is that not enough?"
Hoshino Maki smiled. "Does Lord Chōjūrō really think this would lead to Konoha's destruction?"
Chōjūrō sneered. "The Three Great Ninja Villages would be allied, and the Mist Ninja wouldn't sit by and do nothing. Then the Four Great Ninja Villages would surround Konoha. What reason would it have to survive?"
Hoshino Maki nodded, then suddenly thrust his right arm high into the air. "I nominate Lord Chōjūrō to succeed as Kazekage!"
Everyone froze, unsure why Hoshino Maki had suddenly brought that up.
"Hoshino Maki, we're discussing the alliance."
Rasa frowned, feeling a little displeased.
But Hoshino Maki didn't back down. He spread his hands. "We can decide both things at once. Lord Chōjūrō has the ability to take on the Nine-Tails single-handedly. I'd be wholeheartedly behind him as Kazekage."
"Bullshit!"
Chōjūrō threw all decorum aside. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Hoshino Maki as he cursed him out.
If he still couldn't tell that the other man was being sarcastic, then he'd wasted all those decades of his life.
Rasa froze. He said nothing, simply lifted his teacup and took a sip.
Keep going!
I love hearing this!
Hoshino Maki looked completely innocent. His voice even turned a little aggrieved. "I meant every word. Why are you cursing at me, Elder?"
"If Konoha is about to be destroyed, what will it do with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? I put myself in their shoes. If I were the Hokage, I'd have Minato Namikaze take the Jinchuriki to the enemy village and release the Nine-Tails there. One for one. No one survives!"
Hoshino Maki sounded utterly aggrieved, but his words made everyone present feel as if they'd swallowed a bowl of ice water in the dead of winter. The chill went straight to their bones.
Was what he'd described possible?
Yes.
Was it likely?
Out of three or four possible outcomes, it wasn't very likely.
But who would dare bet on it?
"Elder Chōjūrō must have thought of this, given his wisdom, yet he still wants to destroy Konoha. He must have made absolutely sure we're prepared. He'll take on the Nine-Tails for the village and fight Minato for all of us. He's both talented and virtuous. If I don't nominate him as Kazekage, who should I nominate?"
"Pfft—!"
The tea sprayed from Rasa's mouth. He quickly waved a hand and covered his mouth as he coughed.
"Go on, keep going. Don't mind me!"
Chōjūrō's face was as black as coal.
Before you continue