The Land of Water, Kirigakure.
The Mizukage's Tower office.
Elder Genji sat on a leather sofa, his cloudy eyes fixed intently on the two letters on the desk.
One of the letters had been written by Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato himself; the other had been sent by the Mist Ninja assigned to monitor the situation.
They must both be related to the Konoha Crush Plan, right?
With a vague sense of foreboding, Genji tremblingly put on his reading glasses, then reached out with his bark-like hands and opened the envelopes, reading each word carefully.
After finishing both letters, Genji slumped helplessly against the sofa. "Orochimaru, that bastard..."
"Lord Genji, did things... go wrong in Konoha?" Ao asked cautiously from behind him.
He and Gobei were Genji's right and left hands, both Elite Jonin of Kirigakure!
"It was a total defeat."
Genji seemed to have aged several years. His voice trembled as he said, "Of the four ninja armies, only the Sky Ninja, taking advantage of their aerial superiority, managed to invade Konoha. But they were quickly suppressed, and the other three armies were wiped out outside Konoha."
Ao's expression changed. "Then Gobei..."
"He's dead." Genji lay back on the sofa. "Every ninja who took part in the Konoha Crush Plan is dead."
"Will Konoha... just let this go?" Ao asked hesitantly.
"Hmph. How could they possibly let it go?"
Genji pointed to the letter from Namikaze Minato on the floor. "Read it yourself."
Ao hurriedly bent down and picked it up. After reading it, his face turned ashen.
In the letter, Namikaze Minato strongly protested Kirigakure's invasion and demanded that the village pay Konoha a huge sum in compensation. He also used the excuse of maintaining peace in the Shinobi World to forcibly "strip" Kirigakure of its Tailed Beasts!
"What