I Can Only Say: Those Who Know, Know

Kojima had been through many battles, that much was true, but the sudden situation before him still left him momentarily flustered.

He had fought in the previous Ninja World War, but back then, he had only been a Chunin.

Decisions at such critical moments had always been left to the Kazekage or Lady Chiyo. He had never needed to make them himself.

Now the burden had suddenly fallen on his shoulders, so heavy it was hard to breathe.

The troops behind him were still crossing the river one after another. He wanted to order everyone to retreat at once, but the words caught in his throat. If they retreated now, it would turn into a massacre!

"Listen to me."

At this critical moment, Hoshino Maki's words drove the jumble of thoughts from his mind. It was as though he had found his anchor again.

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"Lord Pashira, why is that kid buddying up to their commander? Do you think they've spotted us?"

Beside Pashira, a ninja spoke and reached for the Kunai in the pouch strapped to his thigh.

Pashira pressed down on the other man's hand. His hawk-like gaze fixed on Hoshino Maki's face as he spat out each word: "They probably haven't."

He struggled with himself over every word he spoke.

Although he had made his judgment, the doubt still hung over him like a shadow.

Attacking now and catching the other side off guard was the safest option. But the Medical Ninjas just across the bridge were far too tempting, like a slab of meat dangling over their heads, making their mouths water.

The word "gamble" had run through Kumogakure's development from beginning to end.

The Land of Lightning was mountainous, with sparse vegetation.

Though this had given the region a distinctive natural landscape, it had also severely hindered the development of agriculture and commerce.

The ninjas of this land were powerful, but not powerful enough to reshape the terrain on a grand scale.

The terrain was difficult, and people still needed to survive and satisfy their growing material needs. What could they do?

Go take it!

Go seize it!

For years, the Cloud Ninja had pursued an aggressive policy, constantly plundering secret techniques and ninja tools from other villages to strengthen themselves. From the era of Hashirama Senju, when one power stood above many, they had gradually moved toward a world where two powers stood side by side. The country had also kept increasing its military spending. What for?

Wasn't it to seize resources from other countries?

After investing for so many years, how could they face the daimyo's enormous annual military expenditures without showing some results?

That was why Kumogakure had turned its attention to Sunagakure, the weakest of the villages.

It wasn't that they wanted to destroy Sunagakure. After all, there was hardly anything worth taking there.

Kumogakure's first goal was to test its own strength and make a name for itself in the process.

They'd been taking the money for years. They had to show the daimyo it hadn't gone to waste. We can crush a village on our level—boss, how about increasing your investment?

So Kumogakure didn't just have to win this war. It had to win by a landslide!

Meanwhile, Kumogakure's leaders also wanted to use this opportunity to gauge how Konoha and Iwagakure would react.

Under Sarutobi's leadership, Konoha, the leading power of the Shinobi World, had spent several years recuperating. No one knew how much strength it had recovered. With two neighboring countries suddenly going to war, Sarutobi's decision would greatly affect Kumogakure's next strategic move.

Across the sea, there was Iwagakure. Ōnoki might not shine as brightly as Konoha, nor make moves as often as Kumogakure, but thanks to their spies in Iwagakure, Kumogakure's leaders knew the old rascal had been up to no good behind the scenes. He'd directly and indirectly meddled in neighboring villages' political changes, and committed every crime from robbery to assassination. Even the Cloud Ninja thought some of his deeds went too far.

He was just like that quiet, well-mannered girl in a white dress sitting next to you in class—except she drank and smoked in private, and you'd never seen the giant phoenix tattooed on her back!

Iwagakure had also made the smallest cuts to its military budget among the four great nations. No one could say what they were planning. It couldn't be that they were preparing for the Land of Rain, could it?

It was like playing auto chess and thinking you were the only one forcing a gamble build, only to find someone beside you forcing the exact same build. Kumogakure suddenly felt the pressure.

But the arrow was already on the string, and Pashira, as an Elite Jonin, knew at least a little about the village leadership's decisions. So he was more inclined to gamble on winning everything in one decisive battle, rather than settle for a battle with plenty of spoils.

"Get a few people to come cut down some trees with me. We have to meet up with Lady Pakura before nightfall!"

At that moment, Hoshino Maki released Kojima's shoulder and shouted.

"You'd better keep your spirits up, kid, or I'll tell your dad."

Kojima kicked Hoshino Maki in the butt and teased him with a grin.

Hidden in the woods, Pashira heard their conversation, and the clouds in his heart began to clear.

So he was just someone who'd gotten ahead through family connections.

"Front row, fall back fifty meters."

Pashira heard the other side was going to cut trees to build a bridge and clenched his fist in excitement.

If he could, he would have gone over there himself to lend a hand and hurry them along, so he could wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

Hoshino Maki called over a few burly-looking men, and they ambled toward the woods.

"Lord Hoshino, I never expected you and—"

"Shh!"

A man beside Hoshino Maki looked eager to ask him something, but Hoshino Maki pressed a finger to his lips and made a solemn gesture for him to be quiet.

"All I can say is, those who know, know. Those who don't wouldn't understand even if I told them. Don't ask, either. The stakes are too high, and knowing wouldn't do you any good. All I can say is, there's a lot going on, and a lot of big names are involved. Just pretend you don't know anything."

"...Oh. Thank you, Lord Hoshino."

The man stared blankly at Hoshino Maki. He had no idea what the other man had said, but it seemed he'd nearly gotten himself killed by giving in to his curiosity.

Lord Hoshino really was cautious!

"Sir, did you understand what he said?"

By the time Hoshino Maki spoke to the others, they had reached the edge of the woods. Quite a few Cloud Ninja had naturally overheard the conversation.

A suspected Sunagakure secret had just begun, rousing everyone's curiosity, only to be cut off before it got anywhere. It left them hanging, which was more infuriating than a serial cliffhanger.

Pashira, too, was racing through possibilities in his mind:

Who could the big shot that kid mentioned be?

What kind of interests could make someone keep quiet?

Could he be the illegitimate son of a Sunagakure bigwig?

After a long silence, Pashira slowly said, "Leave that kid alive later."

He only wanted to pry more information out of him. It definitely wasn't because he was gossiping.

"Lord Hoshino, why don't you sit over there and rest? We'll handle this."

A Sunagakure Shinobi pointed at a nearby tree stump with a fawning smile. Someone had already spread a cloak over it.

"Sorry about this. I used a lot of Chakra yesterday and haven't recovered yet, so I'll have to leave it to you."

Hoshino Maki smiled sheepishly, then happily sat down cross-legged with his back to the woods.

"Not at all. You're a Medical Ninja. This kind of work is our responsibility."

Hoshino Maki had always presented himself to the troops as nothing but a Medical Ninja, so it was only natural that he didn't join in the manual labor.

Hoshino Maki nodded without saying anything more, then closed his eyes and pretended to nap. Before long, his head drooped and he began to snore faintly.

The Sunagakure Shinobi split up to cut down trees. One young ninja felt one tree and shook his head, then felt another and wasn't satisfied with that one either. He looked around and spotted a massive tree deep in the woods, easily wide enough for two people to wrap their arms around. His eyes lit up, and he headed toward it.

On the far side of the tree, a Cloud Ninja frowned and glanced at Lord Pashira. Seeing that Pashira didn't stop him, he silently pulled out a Kunai.

Like a chain reaction, every Cloud Ninja in the woods put a hand on the pouch strapped to their thigh.

A great battle seemed ready to erupt!