Ever since Hozuki Shingetsu had spread the Konoha Threat Theory through various means, the other villages had heard about it before Konoha, which was lagging behind on the news.
There was no helping it. As the undisputed leader of the Shinobi World, Konoha was so influential that the other villages were extremely sensitive to anything connected to it.
In the Shinobi World, if any news involving Konoha failed to reach the desks of the village leaders within three days, it was already considered a serious dereliction of duty.
And Hozuki Shingetsu had gone further, taking advantage of his recent appointment as head of the Foreign Affairs Department to write a long letter to the leaders of every village. After loudly proclaiming that they were friendly neighbors separated only by a narrow strip of water, he casually brought up the matter.
In the letter, Hozuki Shingetsu indignantly denounced Konoha as the shame of the Shinobi World, adding that Kirigakure would have sent troops if it hadn't shut itself off from the outside world, and so on.
At the end of the letter, Hozuki Shingetsu had even made the creative suggestion that, to prevent Konoha from starting a war, the Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, Land of Wind, and Land of Water should form a defensive alliance and lock Konoha firmly in the center of the continent.
As for who would lead the alliance... Naturally, it should be the Raikage of Kumogakure, the second-strongest village in the Shinobi World—one with a distinguished lineage spanning four generations. Ahem, not that. The Raikage of the second-strongest village in the Shinobi World.
To emphasize the alliance's legitimacy, Hozuki Shingetsu had even suggested changing the title "Raikage" to "Thunder Emperor," to demonstrate his authority as leader of the four nations.
Yeah, sure. With Konoha's "Fire Emperor," the two emperors could split the Warring States between them.
"This brat from Kirigakure is quite the troublemaker!"
After carefully reading the letter Hozuki Shingetsu had sent, Third Raikage A lay back on the wide office sofa, his tone hard to read.
"What a pity! If he thinks this little temptation can lure Kumogakure into taking action, then he's underestimating me!"
"Then, Dad, are we really going to do nothing and just watch?"
A's son, Yotsuki Rai—the future Fourth Raikage, who was the same age as Hozuki Shingetsu—looked at his father, unwilling to accept it.
"How could we sit idly by? No matter who's picking a fight with Konoha, Kumogakure's going to lend a hand!"
"Great! Just tell me who to take down, Dad!"
For the future Fourth Raikage, Yotsuki Rai, the lesson he'd been taught since childhood was to defeat Konoha and prove who was truly the boss of the Shinobi World. Unfortunately, from the day he was born until now, he'd never had the chance. So when he saw an opportunity to hurt Konoha, he couldn't wait to spring into action.
He didn't know what to do, how to do it, or where to strike, but that didn't matter. His blood was already boiling!
Roar!
Kumogakure would never be slaves!
"Fight, fight, fight! All you ever think about is fighting. Go get yourself some food first!"
Third Raikage A gave his fired-up son a scornful look. He really couldn't understand how someone as clever as himself had ended up with such a blockhead.
Just look at Hozuki Shingetsu from Kirigakure. He was the same age as A's son, yet he was already playing high-level political games. Meanwhile, A's son was still babbling away. What a disgrace.
Still, he was A's son, after all. And in the Shinobi World, strength came first, no matter what. His son might not be bright, but he had a superb talent for training. At his current rate of progress, he had a good chance of mastering the family's secret Lightning Release Chakra Mode before turning twenty.
He could make up for what he lacked in brains on the battlefield. Surely that little brat from Kirigakure wouldn't stand a chance against him then.
That was why, though A had been impressed that Hozuki Shingetsu had managed to defeat a Konoha squad at such a young age, he'd never worried that his own village wouldn't have someone capable of dealing with him.
In fact, with Yotsuki Rai's current strength, he could not only defeat a Konoha squad of the same size, but wipe it out instantly. After all, Lightning Release Nintaijutsu focused on speed and power. With the element of surprise, he could take them out in a flash.
As A watched his son work himself into a frenzy and start training with the equipment right there in the Raikage's Office, he shook his head and turned his attention back to the public-opinion campaign.
They said they wanted to help, but how, when, and under what banner? Those were all questions that needed careful consideration.
To be honest, when A had read the first half of the letter and seen the prevailing opinions about Konoha in the Shinobi World, he'd been quite pleased.
After all, according to the Shinobi World's theory of relativity, an enemy's misfortune was one's own good luck; an enemy's loss of strength was one's own gain; and if the enemy was evil, then one was righteous. The gains and losses involved were endless, weren't they?
But before he could figure out how to use this opportunity to give his old rival a good blow, he'd come across Hozuki Shingetsu's proposal for an alliance in the second half of the letter.
At first, he'd wanted nothing to do with it, but... the title "Thunder Emperor" was just too tempting!
What's more, A suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity to use the Konoha Threat Theory to pressure the small nations, seize their living space, and bring them under his control.
The threat from Konoha was so great. It was only reasonable for them to put themselves under Kumogakure's protection to keep Konoha from attacking them, wasn't it?
And Kumogakure wasn't even asking them for money. It was spending its own resources and traveling thousands of miles to help them. What did that show? The shining spirit of humanitarianism!
As for what the letter said about leading the four nations... As long as A had even a shred of sense left, he wouldn't do that.
Come on. Did he really think the other nations were made of clay?
Even Kirigakure, which was practically the disgrace of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, would cost Kumogakure dearly to subdue. The others would be no easier. So Hozuki Shingetsu's proposed title of leader of the four nations—and that "Thunder Emperor" title—were only things A could dream about for now.
So... A had given up on leading an alliance of four nations, but the position of leader of an alliance of countries in the northeastern continent still sounded very appealing.
"Send out the orders. Three things!"
At the thought, A hurried to his feet and gestured for Dodai beside him to draft the orders.
"First, find some people to make up more statements and fan the flames of the Konoha Threat Theory. And not just that—come up with an Iwagakure Threat Theory, a Sunagakure Threat Theory, a Kirigakure Threat Theory... Every village except Kumogakure, which loves peace, has laid down its weapons, and is a hidden village that keeps to itself, is fair game. Include Takigakure and Amegakure, too! Make it sound like another Shinobi World War is about to break out!"
Dodai silently sorted A's incoherent rambling into categories and broke it down into clear points on the document.
"Second, given how dangerous the Shinobi World is right now, it's only reasonable for Kumogakure to protect some of the smaller shinobi villages out of goodwill, right? Go gather intelligence on every small village and secluded shinobi clan around the Land of Lightning! Then rank them by importance, and hurry up and use threats and inducements to get them to join the 'Pan-Continental Self-Defense Alliance' led by Kumogakure!"
Without a shred of shame, A named his alliance the "Pan-Continental Self-Defense Alliance," then smugly congratulated himself on coming up with such a brilliant name.
As Third Raikage A's secretary, Dodai knew all about the small villages and secluded shinobi clans in the surrounding area. He immediately ranked the villages by strength.
He had just written Takigakure in first place when he realized something was off. He crossed it out and wrote in another name instead.
Uzushio Village.
While Uzushio Village still stood, it was in a class of its own beneath the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even Takigakure, with the Seven-Tails in its possession, was no match for it.
Never mind Konoha's support. The sealing techniques passed down through the Uzumaki Clan for a thousand years were enough to give anyone a headache.
On top of that, the Uzumaki Clan elders all knew the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, a powerful suicidal sealing technique. Those old monsters could force a one-for-one exchange with anyone, making everyone equal in death.
Well, in a way, it was rather like the Evil Containment Wave.
"Uzushio Village... We won't touch it for now. Once we've brought the other small villages under our control, we can tackle that tough nut."
After seeing Dodai's rankings, Third Raikage A hesitated for a moment before deciding to wait.
"Takigakure, too. The Tailed Beast is too sensitive an issue. If Kumogakure really ended up controlling three Tailed Beasts, it'd be hard to say whether that would be a blessing or a curse for us right now."
A was uncharacteristically clear-headed about this. He saw the situation plainly.
Dodai, standing nearby, breathed a little easier. It seemed Lord Raikage hadn't been blinded by the temptation. At least he still had some judgment.
"One last thing. Tell the outside world we know about this, and curse Konoha, that festering sore on the Shinobi World!"
A abruptly changed tack, sounding rather gleeful. As Konoha's old rival, after all, he needed to let the village know that he'd heard the news—and that he was mocking them for it!
Dodai thought it over briefly, then wrote the following on the document in a rapid, flowing hand:
"Regarding recent claims that Konoha is expanding its military and plotting further expansion, Kumogakure takes the matter extremely seriously. Kumogakure has always been at the forefront of defending justice and fairness in the Shinobi World. For many years, we have tirelessly mediated disputes between nations, and our contributions to the overall peace of the Shinobi World are plain for all to see. We hereby solemnly warn Konoha to cherish the hard-won peace we enjoy today and not to play with fire, lest it bring about its own destruction. Kumogakure will always reserve the right to stand on the side of justice. As a gesture of good faith, we solemnly pledge never to deploy shinobi with bloodline abilities in an unjust war... We also call on all nations to set aside their differences and embrace the future, working together to build a community with a shared destiny for the Shinobi World."
When Third Raikage A saw those lines, his eyes lit up. He clapped Dodai on the shoulder and praised him. "Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what I meant! Dodai, you really get me!"
After A's slap sent him crashing onto the desk, Dodai could only seethe inwardly. Damn, you and your son aren't any different. You're both completely illiterate! This village is going to fall apart without me!
Before you continue