42. Wage War

The next morning.

Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

The sun shone brightly.

Sunagakure was located in the middle of a boundless desert.

Due to its natural geographical disadvantages, coupled with the constant exploitation and reduction of ninja funding by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, the village always exuded an atmosphere of desolation and primitiveness.

Colloquially... it was poor.

But in fact, before the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, took office, Sunagakure was even poorer than it was now.

If not for Rasa's powerful gold-sand abilities, constantly extracting gold from the desert to maintain Sunagakure's financial expenses.

The economic system of Sunagakure would have likely collapsed long ago.

However, even so, the desolate desert environment still made the ninjas suffer immensely.

Therefore, regardless of which Kazekage it was, they naturally hoped to expand their territory and acquire a better location to serve as Sunagakure's base.

But unfortunately, the Kazekages of history had all basically failed.

And today, as the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, looked at the intelligence that had just been delivered to his hands, he became agitated.

"The leader of Amegakure, that Hanzo of the Salamander, is already dead?"

"The Uchiha Clan of Konoha has also been annihilated?"

These two pieces of news struck everyone present like lightning bolts from a clear sky.

Everyone was shocked.

But after the shock came instant joy!

A high-ranking advisor immediately stood up, looked at Kazekage Rasa, and said with an excited expression:

"A great opportunity!"

"We've finally waited for our great opportunity!"

"In the past, because we narrowly lost to Konoha in the Ninja Wars and were forced to sign an alliance, our Sunagakure has almost become their vassal village!"

"But now, we finally have a chance to escape this predicament!"

"Lord Kazekage!"

"Please immediately order the conquest of Amegakure and expand our territory!"

"If this conquest is successful, perhaps... it will be the beginning of Sunagakure's rise!"

"In the future, Sunagakure will no longer have to curry favor with Konoha!"

The high-ranking advisor said this with great excitement.

"!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the others around him immediately began to agree, saying:

"That's right! In the past, Konoha always obstructed us from reaching into Amegakure, but now, they won't have the energy to care!"

"Indeed! If the Uchiha Clan is truly annihilated, Konoha's strength must have reached an extremely low point, and they won't be able to hinder us anymore!"

"With Hanzo of the Salamander dead, Amegakure is nothing to fear!"

"Lord Kazekage, please issue the order quickly!"

These old advisors, their faces flushed and eyes gleaming.

They were like people who had found a life-saving spring in the desert, all quickly offering their advice.

After all, that was Amegakure!

Its geographical location bordered the Land of Lightning, Wind, and Fire among the Five Great Nations, making it a crucial strategic point!

Once captured, it would bring nothing but benefits to Sunagakure!

Since they had obtained such secret intelligence now, there was no reason not to try!

After listening to everyone's words, Kazekage Rasa's heart naturally began to stir.

He was not a fool.

Konoha had finally entered a period of weakness; if they didn't seize this opportunity to rise now, would they live their lives as Konoha's dogs?

Of course not!

It was just...

The truthfulness of this intelligence still required careful verification.

After all, what if the Uchiha hadn't actually been wiped out? That would be rather awkward...

After much thought and deliberation, Kazekage Rasa finally made up his mind. He looked up and said gravely, "Notify all Sunagakure ANBU members to assemble immediately!"

"We must confirm the complete truthfulness of these two pieces of intelligence in the shortest possible time!"

"Once confirmed,"

"We can directly launch a war against Amegakure!"

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Though the Ninja World appeared calm on the surface, a storm was already brewing beneath the waves.

Sunagakure, Under the command of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, five mysterious ANBU ninja squads quietly departed in the dead of night!

Two headed east, three headed north!

The ANBU squads heading east naturally had their destination as the colossal Leaf Village of the Land of Fire to the east.

They had only one objective for this mission—

To investigate whether the Uchiha Clan mentioned in the intelligence had truly been annihilated.

The ANBU squads heading north, however, were heading directly towards the small country bordering the northern territory of the Land of Wind—the Land of Rain.

Unlike the first squad, They had two objectives for coming here.

First: Infiltrate Amegakure and ascertain whether its leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, was still alive.

Second: If both pieces of intelligence were true.

Then, this unit would serve as Sunagakure's vanguard force and directly launch a war against Amegakure!

This was the final plan set by the Fourth Kazekage Rasa!

At this moment, On the edge of a lake in Amegakure.

A group of masked ninjas in strange attire were huddled in several patches of dense grass, closely observing the movements across the lake.

They were the three ANBU ninja squads dispatched by Sunagakure!

"Everyone, pay attention!"

"You must infiltrate cautiously and absolutely must not be discovered by any of the ninjas or forces within!"

"If you are discovered—"

"Then eliminate them as quickly as possible and destroy the bodies!"

"Do you understand?"

"—Understood!"

All members responded with solemn, low replies.

Because they all knew that this time, it was related to the entire plan for Sunagakure's rise, and not a single mistake could be afforded!

As members of the ANBU directly under the Kazekage, they had long been prepared for battle!

Among them were elite Jonin from Sunagakure, whose strength was top-tier.

This time, the plan was bound to succeed!

"Very good... Depart!"

Just as the Sunagakure ninjas were infiltrating.

Within Amegakure.

In a cozy little restaurant, Chen Xiaoxi was sitting in a private booth, enjoying a sumptuous dinner.

"I have to say,"

"This free food really never gets old."

Chen Xiaoxi's dinner was complimentary.

The reason was simply because he was wearing an Akatsuki uniform.

In Amegakure, Pain and Konan were deeply respected and loved by the civilians, revered as "God" and "Angel" respectively.

The owner of this restaurant had happened to be rescued by the Angel Konan in the past.

Therefore, upon seeing Chen Xiaoxi, who was wearing the same uniform, enter, he immediately and enthusiastically offered to treat him to a free meal.

Chen Xiaoxi was naturally happy to oblige.

After all, while freeloading was shameful, it was also human nature.