Kumogakure's Response

When the news reached Kumogakure, Darui, the candidate for the Fifth Raikage, was sitting in the Raikage's Office, drinking tea and looking at A Fourth Raikage A was looking at the intelligence report with a serious expression.

"Konoha Crush... The Third Hokage died in battle... The Uchiha took advantage of the chaos... and annihilated Konoha's three thousand-strong army..."

Ai read the contents of the intelligence report aloud, his voice gradually turning cold. "The Uchiha certainly picked a good time."

Darui nodded in agreement:

"Yes, boss, based on the information we gathered from our spies and the Anbu in Konoha."

Orochimaru had contacted the Uchiha early on, and then the Uchiha Clan Head, Uchiha Feng, personally led a team to raid Konoha's various supply depots in three separate groups, stealing the Book of Seals and also snatching three children from the Hyūga had not been marked with the Caged Bird Seal.

Konoha is now almost completely destroyed, with at least 70% of its food, ninja tools, funds, and other supplies gone.

He's also in a terrible predicament because he offended the daimyo over the situation in the southern part of the Land of Fire and can't get any aid.

As he spoke, he put down his teacup, rubbed his head, and his already troubled face showed even more helplessness.

Despite being only in his early twenties, he is inherently averse to trouble and lacks motivation.

Now, not only is he being forced to take on the role of a candidate for the Fifth Raikage, dealing with a ton of village affairs Tenten, but he also has to deal with matters from other ninja villages. He's thinking of quitting.

Did the Uchiha receive any other benefits?

"I don't know. Neither Konoha nor the Uchiha would reveal such a thing to the outside world."

But what the Uchiha have obtained so far is already astonishing enough.

Whichever faction obtains the Byakugan or the Book of Seals will see a significant boost in their strength.

As for those supplies, conservatively estimated, they could allow the Uchiha to train several thousand more ninjas over the next few years."

"Yes, what we've already got is amazing enough."

Upon hearing this, Ai glanced at the intelligence report, then got up and walked to the window.

Thanks to the efforts of his father and himself, two generations of Raikage, Kumogakure has remained peaceful and unaffected by external turmoil over the years, and is now considered the most stable ninja village in the Ninja World.

"Darui, what are your thoughts on this?"

He abruptly turned to look at Darui and asked in a solemn voice.

If it were up to his own ideas, he would openly send troops to the border to put pressure on Konoha and the Uchiha, testing their strength and bottom line step by step. In secret, he would personally lead his men to kill them and take a share of the spoils.

But now, he is crippled, stripped of his identity as Raikage, and should no longer be the one in charge of Kumogakure.

While there are still several candidates for the Fifth Raikage and it is not yet clear who it will be, Darui is almost universally acknowledged as the future Fifth Raikage.

Therefore, the decision of what path to take and what to do for Kumogakure can only be made by Darui.

He, the retired Raikage, could offer opinions, but he couldn't make decisions for the other party.

Moreover, Ai knew that her mind was not as sharp as Darui's, and she was not power-hungry, so she simply rarely offered any opinions or interfered with Darui's affairs.

"Boss, what do you think... if we send people to Konoha to express our 'condolences' now, what will they think?"

Ai paused for a moment, then asked, "You mean...?"

"It's about reciprocity, after all."

A faint smile appeared on Darui's lips as he began to explain:

"Konoha has suffered such a great calamity. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, we should send a 'medical aid team' there with some medicine. They certainly won't refuse."

Then we can legitimately see their true situation, and, well, the state of that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

He's just afraid of trouble, but he's not weak. His intelligence and strength are top-notch, as can be seen from the original Hokage manga, where he was able to deal with and Impure World Reincarnation reanimated Kinkaku and Ginkaku who were still carrying the Six Paths Treasured Tools.

Ai understood and nodded approvingly.

"Although I think it would be better to take action first and then talk, you are now in Kumogakure, so your opinion is the most important."

And what you said is also true. The situation is not very clear right now. If we take action directly, we might be met with fierce resistance from Konoha, and we would probably suffer heavy losses. At that time, that old fox Ōnoki will definitely stab us in the back.

So it's good to understand the situation first, and also to find out what that old fox is thinking."

While praising Darui, he also considered potential risks for him as a former Raikage.

"Ōnoki, Iwagakure!?"

That's definitely a problem.

Upon hearing this, Darui picked up his teacup again, took a sip, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"Hehe, boss, we're going to 'help' Konoha, not to do anything bad."

Therefore, if Iwagakure really intends to do something, we can easily join forces with Konoha to attack them from both sides. And Sunagakure strength has been greatly diminished, will certainly not miss the opportunity to weaken its neighbor.

"When it's three against one, our arch-enemy is going to have to bleed a lot."

"Huh?! You can do that? You're pretty good, kid."

Upon hearing Darui's explanation, Ai's eyes widened instantly, revealing a cunning glint in them.

He was both amazed by the wisdom of his juniors and filled with anticipation for the opportunity to take on Iwagakure in a three-on-one battle, after all, he had only lost his hands, but still had his feet.

"Someone come here." Darui called out towards the door when he saw that Ai had no objections.

"The Yondaime-sama, Darui- sama."

Moments later, a Anbu appeared silently in the corner of the room.

"Send people to keep a close eye on the recent movements of Iwagakure, especially Ōnoki's itinerary and the Anbu Iwagakure."

"Yes."

The Anbu disappeared again immediately upon receiving the order.

Darui then looked at Ai again and said:

"What a coincidence, that something so important has happened in Konoha at this time... If we don't do something, we'll feel like we're letting this opportunity slip by."

But when it comes to actually doing something, I always feel that things are too coincidental.

"Boss, do you think I'm being too cautious?"

Although intelligence suggests that the simultaneous occurrence of the Three Great Shinobi Villages was merely a coincidence, with Kumogakure bringing it upon themselves, Sunagakure overestimating its own abilities, and Konoha simply being the victim.

But Darui had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. He had no evidence, but his intuition told him that someone might be hiding something and had caused the current situation to occur.

But... without any evidence, he himself didn't know whether he should worry about it.

So he sought help from his former superior, the Fourth Raikage. And the reason A sat in the Raikage's Office with Darui was precisely to teach Darui!

"Huh?! If it were me, I would definitely follow my instincts."

But that's because I'm not as bright as you, so I can't give you specific advice; you'll have to make your own judgment.

But clearly, Ai couldn't offer Darui any good advice when it came to using his brain.

"No, boss, what you said is the same as saying nothing at all," Darui said, rubbing his temples.

"You little brat, it's not like I've only known you for a day. I've always been like this, okay?"

When I was the Raikage, the tasks that required thinking were already left to you, Hitler, Samui, and the others. When have you ever seen me consider so many things?

Ai retorted without hesitation; of course, he didn't mean to refute Darui, he was just joking with him.

Darui gave a wry smile, ignored Ai, and began to think on his own.

Regardless of whether there's some conspiracy involved.

The Hidden Sand was severely weakened after being manipulated by Orochimaru, Konoha's weakness was indeed a fact, but also an opportunity.

However, with Iwagakure present, if Kumogakure acts Kumogakure, it could very well backfire.

Not to mention, there's also Kirigakure, which shouldn't be underestimated, and which has announced its alliance with the Uchiha Kirigakure, located next to Kumogakure.

A few years ago, the Huo Feng from the Land of Water was able to sever one of his beloved Fourth Hokage's arms in a fair one-on-one duel. Now, so many years later, his opponent's strength is likely to be even greater.

Therefore, he had to be steady, slow, and discreetly take a share of the spoils from the weakened Konoha and the still-developing Uchiha, where no one could see him.