Pleasant Cooperation and Roaring

"Good, good, good!" Nawaki nodded in praise as he looked at the smug Ōnoki. "Lord Tsuchikage truly is exceptionally clever, putting what he learned to use so quickly. Unfortunately, it seems you have overlooked one important matter: the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass are both Konoha's allies. Their combined forces already far exceed one hundred thousand!"

Ōnoki's smug expression abruptly turned ugly. "What do you mean? Are you threatening me?"

"This is not a threat. I am merely stating a fact. The reason I came here to warn you was to seek cooperation. If Iwagakure refuses, then we will remain enemies! Although Kumogakure is currently hostile to Konoha as well, if our Konoha Alliance is willing to lend them a hand, I am sure they would be more than happy to increase their troop deployment to the Land of Earth!" Nawaki smiled as he stared into Ōnoki's eyes.

Ōnoki felt enormous pressure from Nawaki's half-smiling gaze. He knew the other party was not joking and would truly follow through on his words. Although the shinobi of Kusagakure and Amegakure were inferior to them in quality, their numerical advantage was obvious when combined. Furthermore, according to intelligence, the three leaders of Amegakure were all Kage-level experts. If they truly launched an attack on the eastern Land of Earth together with Kumogakure, Iwagakure would certainly be unable to hold them back even if the two sides did not coordinate with one another. Add to that Konoha's two hundred thousand elite troops in the west, and Iwagakure would truly be in danger! Worse still, if Kumogakure and Konoha reached an understanding, they could instantly free up three hundred thousand troops. If all of them were thrown into the Land of Earth battlefield, the Land of Earth might very well be