Those Who Know, Know

Kojima had indeed experienced many battles, but suddenly facing the situation before him still left him momentarily flustered.

He had participated in the last Ninja World War, but back then he was only a Chunin.

Those critical decisions were all made following the orders of the Kazekage or Lady Chiyo; he never had to handle them himself.

Now this heavy burden suddenly fell on his shoulders, so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.

The troops behind him were still crossing the river in batches. He wanted to order everyone to retreat immediately, but the words stuck in his throat, unable to come out—once they retreated, it would be a massacre!

"Listen to me."

At the critical moment, Hoshino Maki's words dispelled the chaotic noise in his mind, as if he had found his backbone again.

"."

"Lord Pashira, how come that kid is buddy-buddy with their commander? Could he have spotted us?"

Beside Pashira, a ninja spoke while reaching for a kunai from the pouch strapped to his thigh.

Pashira pressed down on the other's hand, his hawk-like gaze fixed tightly on Hoshino Maki's face, forcing out words one by one: "Probably not."

Every word he uttered was a struggle within himself.

Though he had made his judgment, this doubt lingered like a shadow over his heart.

Striking now to catch the enemy off guard was the safest option, but the Medical Ninja just a bridge away was too tempting, like a piece of fat hanging overhead, stirring an itch in one's heart.

The word "gamble" ran through the entire history of Kumogakure's development.

The Land of Lightning's terrain is mountainous, with sparse vegetation.

While this created a unique natural landscape, it severely restricted both agriculture and commerce.

The ninja of this land possessed formidable strength, but not enough to alter the terrain on a large scale.

With difficult geography and the need for survival and higher material demands, what could be done?

Go steal!

Go plunder!

For years, Kumogakure had pursued an aggressive policy, constantly plundering other villages' secret techniques and tools to strengthen itself, evolving from a single superpower during Hashirama Senju's era into a situation where two powers coexisted. The nation had also been steadily increasing military spending—for what?

Wasn't it to seize resources from other countries!

After investing so many years, how could they justify the Daimyo's annual military expenditures without showing some results?

So Kumogakure turned its gaze to the weakest village, Sunagakure.

Not that they intended to destroy Sunagakure—after all, there wasn't much profit there.

Kumogakure's goal was twofold: first, to test their own strength and make a name for themselves.

After taking money for so many years, they had to show the Daimyo that the funds weren't wasted—that they could crush a village of equal level. Boss, wouldn't you consider increasing the investment?

So this war, Kumogakure not only had to win, but win with an overwhelming, crushing victory!

On the other hand, Kumogakure's higher-ups also wanted to use this opportunity to gauge the reactions of neighboring Konoha and Iwagakure.

Konoha, the leader of the ninja world, had been recuperating under Sarutobi's leadership for years. No one knew how much strength they had recovered. His decision on the sudden war between the two neighboring countries would greatly influence Kumogakure's next strategic moves.

On the other side, across the sea, Iwagakure—Ōnoki might not be as dazzling as Konoha, nor as active as Kumogakure, but through spies in Iwagakure, Kumogakure's higher-ups knew that old fox had been up to plenty of mischief behind the scenes, directly or indirectly meddling in the regime changes of neighboring villages, robbing and assassinating without restraint, doing things that even Cloud Ninja found excessive.

It was like that quiet, well-dressed female classmate in a white dress, but in private she smoked and drank, and you hadn't seen the big phoenix tattoo on her back!

Iwagakure's military budget was also the smallest among the four great nations that had cut spending. What purpose that served was anyone's guess—surely it wasn't to guard against the Land of Rain?

It was like playing auto-chess: you thought you were the only gambler, only to find another player beside you, betting on the same lineup. Kumogakure's pressure suddenly mounted.

But the arrow had to be fired from the bowstring. As an Elite Jonin, Pashira had some understanding of the village's high-level decisions, so he leaned toward gambling everything on one decisive battle, rather than just settling for a campaign with substantial gains.

"A few of you, come with me to cut some trees. We must rendezvous with Lady Pakura before tonight!"

At that moment, Hoshino Maki let go of Kojima's shoulder and shouted loudly.

"Kid, perk up, or I'll tell your father."

Kojima kicked Hoshino Maki's backside and laughed with a curse.

Hidden in the forest, Pashira heard their exchange, and the dark clouds in his heart finally began to clear.

So he was just some nepotism hire who got in through connections.

"Front line, fall back 50 meters."

When Pashira heard they were going to cut trees to build a bridge, he clenched his fist in excitement.

If he could, he would have loved to help them himself, just to get the people over faster and catch them all in one net.

Hoshino Maki called over a few burly-looking guys, and they all ambled toward the forest together.

"Lord Hoshino, I didn't expect you and—"

"Shh—!"

One of the men beside Hoshino Maki, full of curiosity, wanted to ask something, but saw Hoshino Maki put his index finger to his lips and make a serious 'silence' gesture.

"All I can say is, those who know, know. Those who don't, won't understand even if I explain. Don't ask either—the interests involved are too big. Saying more won't do you any good. I can only say the waters are deep, involving many big shots. Just pretend you don't know anything."

". Oh, thank you, Lord Hoshino."

That man stared blankly at Hoshino Maki. Though he had no idea what the other had actually said, it seemed he had nearly lost his life due to his own curiosity.

Lord Hoshino was truly cautious!

"My lord, did you understand?"

By the time Hoshino Maki spoke to the others, he had already reached the edge of the forest, and the conversation was naturally overheard by many Cloud Ninja.

Seeing that a suspected secret of Sunagakure had just begun to pique everyone's interest before abruptly cutting off, leaving them hanging—more infuriating than a chapter-ending cliffhanger.

Pashira was also racking his brain:

Who was this big shot the kid was talking about?

What kind of benefit could make someone keep their mouth shut?

Could he be the illegitimate child of some high-ranking Sunagakure official?

After a long silence, Pashira slowly spoke: "Spare this kid's life for now."

He only wanted to extract more information through interrogation—definitely not out of nosiness.

"Lord Hoshino, you go rest over there. We'll handle this."

A Suna ninja pointed with a flattering smile at a nearby tree stump, which had already been covered with a cloak.

"This is really embarrassing. I used quite a bit of Chakra yesterday and haven't recovered yet. I'll leave the hard work to you all."

Hoshino Maki smiled apologetically, then cheerfully sat cross-legged with his back to the forest.

"No problem at all. You're a Medical Ninja; this kind of labor is naturally our job."

Hoshino Maki had always presented himself as a pure Medical Ninja in the unit, so it was normal for him not to participate in physical labor now.

Hoshino Maki nodded without saying much, closed his eyes, and pretended to doze off. Soon, his head drooped, and faint snoring could be heard.

Several Suna ninjas split up to cut trees. One young ninja touched one tree, shook his head, touched another, still dissatisfied. He looked around and spotted a tree deep in the forest thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. His eyes lit up, and he headed toward it.

On the other side of that tree, a Cloud Ninja frowned, glanced at Lord Pashira, and seeing no objection, silently pulled out a kunai.

As if in a chain reaction, all the Cloud Ninja in the forest placed their hands on their thigh pouches.

A great battle seemed ready to erupt at any moment!