Sand Village Begins Preparing for War

Sand Village.

Chiyo, Ebizo, and the heads of the major clans had gathered together, their faces weary and grave.

Unlike Konoha's cheers and laughter, Sand Village—and indeed the entire Land of Wind—was in an unusually restless state.

Since the Second Shinobi World War came to an end in Konoha Year 37, Sand Village's economy had worsened year after year due to the problems left behind by the war. Now, they were at the point where even the ninja academy was on the verge of shutting down!

However, that was not even the worst part.

A few months ago, they had even lost the Third Kazekage, the leader of their village!

Sand Village's upper ranks faced countless problems both internally and externally. While withstanding pressure from all sides, they had secretly searched for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts.

Even so, with the higher-ups patching things together as best they could, life had barely remained manageable.

Yet no matter how tenaciously they endured, someone still did not want them to live in peace!

"Has it finally come to launching another shinobi war?"

Nearly sixty-year-old Granny Chiyo's face was filled with helplessness. These past few years had not been kind to her; even her grandson had gone missing.

Faced with Sand Village's current situation, she could only struggle to maintain the status quo. As for solving the problem, she truly no longer had the energy or motivation for it.

"This war cannot be avoided! A single kunai costs five hundred ryo now, and an explosive tag costs a thousand! This is extortion, this is blackmail—they're forcing us to start a shinobi war!"

The moment one of the higher-ups seated below spoke, he laid everything out in the open.

Everyone in the meeting room fell silent. They all knew this, and they knew full well that someone was forcing them to launch a shinobi war.

They had made it far too obvious!

First, they had assassinated the Third Kazekage and diverted their attention, leaving them with no time to focus on anything else.

Then, taking advantage of the opportunity, they had found a "Sand ninja" in Loulan who was not registered with Sand Village and had him incite a rebellion. This worsened relations between the two countries, causing the Land of Wind to lose Loulan, a source of grain. It provoked the Land of Wind's daimyo into fury, and he cut Sand Village's funding.

Then they raised prices, forcing them to choose between waiting to die and starting a shinobi war...

Every step had been perfectly timed. It was too obvious—and likewise, impossible to resolve!

"Pakura has already held talks with Loulan, and the two sides have reached a reconciliation. I have stabilized the situation with the daimyo as well. Isn't that enough?"

The speaker was Ebizo, Chiyo's younger brother and the head of Sand Village's Anbu.

"No, Elder!"

A red-haired young man rose to refute him.

"Even if we want peace, the forces lurking in the shadows will not sit quietly. Our only means of eliminating these conflicts is war! We must use absolute military force to shatter all of this, just like the First did."

The higher-ups looked at the impassioned young man without either approving or disputing his words.

His name was Rasa. He was the Third Kazekage's disciple and possessed the same Magnetic Release bloodline as the Third Kazekage. His ability to pan for gold was now an important source of income for the village.

"But war will only bring more pain and suffering..."

Granny Chiyo spoke heavily. She truly did not want to see bloodshed anymore.

"But we have no other choice!" Rasa shouted excitedly. "We must consider the village's future!"

He knew very well that within the next few years—no, within the next few months—the Fourth Kazekage would definitely be chosen.

And the new Kazekage would need achievements and prestige.

War was the best opportunity to break the older generation's influence and overwhelm his peers through absolute strength and accomplishments.

Right now, the village needed a hero to eliminate its conflicts, and the Land of Wind needed a Kazekage to deter the other nations.

This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!

The meeting room fell silent as everyone weighed the gains and losses.

At that moment, Granny Chiyo spoke. "Perhaps we can seek another solution, such as forming an economic alliance with another village."

"An economic alliance?"

The higher-ups exchanged glances and considered its feasibility.

"That is indeed a viable plan, but which village would be willing to ally with us? Konoha?"

After pondering for a moment, one of the higher-ups shook his head. "Perhaps we could send envoys to the civilian organizations and try our luck. They have the Golden Consortium there. Perhaps they can help us resolve this urgent crisis."

"That may work!"

Granny Chiyo nodded, approving the idea.

"It won't!"

Ebizo spoke up to reject it. As the head of the Anbu, he had access to some fresh intelligence.

Noticing that the higher-ups had all turned their attention toward him, Ebizo did not conceal anything.

"Not long ago, the Stone ninja and Cloud ninja each borrowed a large sum from the Golden Consortium to build up their armaments and expand their militaries."

"The Golden Consortium has no money left now!"

"And do not overlook this: prices have not risen only for us. They are soaring rapidly throughout the entire world!"

As Ebizo spoke, several higher-ups' eyes lit up. They caught a familiar scent—before the Second Shinobi World War, the Cloud ninja and Stone ninja had been the same way.

"You mean that, like us, they are also facing immense pressure at home and abroad. They may become potential allies—no, true wartime allies!"

The heavy atmosphere in the meeting room was swept away. While rejoicing, the many higher-ups turned their eyes toward Granny Chiyo.

"If it is truly as you say, then we can try contacting them."

Granny Chiyo spoke thoughtfully.

"However, we must be cautious. At a time like this, any covert action could cause unnecessary trouble."

Another higher-up warned.

"I agree. We can first send spies to other villages to gather intelligence and learn their true circumstances. At the same time, we must strengthen our own defenses to deal with the crisis that may be coming."

Ebizo proposed.

Granny Chiyo shook her head in refusal.

"Send envoys instead. Better to avoid trouble where we can. We should make our preparations first and have the envoys establish contact. Whether they succeed or fail, we can wait until the time is right before acting."

"I am willing to serve as an envoy and go to Hidden Cloud Village."

Rasa stood and volunteered. Pakura was currently on a diplomatic mission to Loulan, and he was the only one left with the qualifications and strength to visit another shinobi village.

Granny Chiyo glanced at him. A trace of worry flashed through her eyes, but she still nodded. "Very well. I'll leave it to you. I hope everything goes smoothly."

Rasa nodded firmly. Most of the higher-ups also understood that the outbreak of a shinobi war was already unavoidable.

The Third Shinobi World War was imminent!

This time, Sand Village had negotiated with the Stone ninja and Cloud ninja in advance. Would they be able to seize the initiative in this great war?

Granny Chiyo is Kage-level with her puppet techniques. If Kage-level fighters from the other ninja villages confront her...

The jinchuriki alone cannot stop everyone, and my current strength... No, the ones who should truly be wary are not us.

Among our several ninja villages, only one country can satisfy us after our economies have collapsed!

As the meeting ended, Rasa thought silently.

There was only one country in the world he could think of that was fat enough for the three great ninja villages to devour, enough to eliminate all their current conflicts.

"It's Konoha!"