Small Nations Caught in the Crossfire, Yet Powerless to Do Anything

The flames of revenge engulfed the entire Kumogakure.

Just three days later, the Fifth Raikage's prospective commander, Darui, led an army of 5,000 to the Land of Waterfalls, accompanied by the Fourth Raikage A, along with the Kumogakure's Anbu and the Yugito Nii Jinchūriki the Two-Tails.

The village was left with Elder Dodai, Killer B (the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki), and Mabui, who knew the "Heavenly Transfer Technique" and could teleport people to rescue others in emergencies.

However, when the army of Kumogakure arrived at the border of the Land of Earth, they did not launch a general offensive as outsiders had expected.

Darui, in his capacity as the Fifth Raikage's prospective and acting Raikage, forcibly ordered everyone to refrain from attacking and remain in place.

Having traveled for three whole days, even ninjas were exhausted, making it an unfavorable time to attack.

But more importantly, the three days of travel also gave him three days to think things through calmly.

He then realized with a start that the Kumogakure could not fight this battle!

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't!

Although Konoha was severely damaged by Orochimaru and the Uchiha, it still had Tsunade and Jiraiya, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and a 20,000-strong ninja army that it had managed to muster, making it a formidable enemy.

In addition, there Uchiha Feng and his Uchiha Clan, who dared to defy the world and rebuild the Land of Whirlpools, making himself the Sovereign.

In particular, their blatant betrayal of their ally, which they formed an alliance with Iwagakure immediately afterward, demonstrates that Uchiha Feng's ambitions should not be underestimated.

It's safe to say that once Kumogakure and Iwagakure clash, regardless of who wins or loses, the Uchiha, Konoha, and even the previously silent Sunagakure and Kirigakure will undoubtedly take advantage of the situation and try to devour the loser.

Just like not long ago Kumogakure and Iwagakure wanted to divide up Konoha.

If Kumogakure and Iwagakure were to suffer heavy losses in a major battle, both villages would likely be doomed. This is probably the main reason why the Uchiha Clan Head Land of Whirlpools Iwagakure Kumogakure asking for anything in return.

"Pass down the order..."

The army retreated thirty li and set up camp.

Have the Anbu keep a close watch on the movements of the Iwa Ninja, and annihilate anyone who dares to cross the border and advance towards us!

But if they don't move, we won't move either!

Looking at the Iwa Ninja defense line not far ahead, Darui finally forced himself to make a difficult decision through gritted teeth, suppressing his resentment.

"Darui?!"

What are you trying to do? We've come this far, and you're telling us to retreat?

The Fourth Raikage A, who was accompanying him, looked puzzled and angry, and immediately questioned the other party.

"Boss, don't overthink it. The retreat was out of restraint, not a sign that we're giving up on revenge."

Darui looked at Ai intently and explained patiently.

"Iwagakure wants to weaken us by using the Uchiha clan, and even make us fight against the Uchiha clan."

The Uchiha also want to use us, hoping to direct the hatred of our Kumogakure towards Iwagakure.

Although Iwagakure is indeed hateful, both Iwagakure and the Uchiha are our enemies, and the more our enemies want us to do something, the less we should do as they wish.

So, hmph, we will report the grudge to Iwagakure, but we will never do things the way they want.

Relay my order: have all the Anbu ninja disperse and not launch a direct attack on the Iwa Ninja defenses, nor are they allowed to attack any of the Iwagakure's strongmen.

From now on, the Anbu will only intercept and kill small teams and lone ninjas from Iwagakure who are out on missions. We will ruin Iwagakure's reputation and ensure that no one will ever issue missions to their village again!

As for the 5,000 troops, they held their camp tightly. If the Iwa Ninja n't attack us, we wouldn't attack them either. But we would advance our camp a few miles each day, keeping the Iwa Ninja under constant pressure so they couldn't attend to anything else.

Furthermore, Samui! Go to Konoha and Land of Whirlpools and give them all the information we have about Iwagakure. Iwagakure can give our information to the Uchiha, so naturally we can give the information we have about Iwagakure to others as well."

Everyone: "Yes!"

"..." Ai didn't respond to Darui, but just stared blankly at him. Just when everyone thought Ai was about to refute Darui, Ai smiled:

"Hahaha, you're smarter than me, and you're in Kumogakure now, so naturally we have to listen to you!"

Although he was still furious, he smiled with great satisfaction. Entrusting Kumogakure to Darui was indeed the right choice.

Thus, a great war that could have swept across the entire Ninja World was suppressed to the brink of explosion thanks to Darui's composure.

Next, the Cloud Ninja suppressed their overwhelming rage and, following the Fifth Raikage's order to prepare Darui, began a continuous and endless series of small-scale skirmishes against Iwagakure.

The dense forests of the Land of Waterfalls, the Nameless towns of the Land of Grass... and so on, any place in any small country outside the borders of the Land of Earth could suddenly become a place where the Kumogakure's Anbu ambushes and kills Iwa Ninja.

This certainly caused heavy casualties in Iwagakure, but it also dragged small countries that became the battlefield into the flames of war, causing them to suffer unimaginable devastation.

Small countries have no say in the face of large countries; they have no choice but to silently endure it.

Inside the tower of Amegakure.

Konan looked at Nagato and asked:

"Nagato, Kumogakure has extended its war to the Land of Rain. Should we do something?"

"Hmph, another power struggle between major nations, but with smaller countries footing the bill."

Forget it, as long as the war hasn't reached Amegakure, we don't need to worry about it.

"It's good that they're weakening themselves by fighting to the death, which will make our plan to capture the Tailed Beasts easier."

Nagato snorted coldly and ignored him.

"Are we still going to carry out that plan to capture the Tailed Beasts and then force peace into the Ninja World with the power to destroy it?"

I think what Uchiha Feng said makes a lot of sense. Even if we master that power, as long as we don't solve the root cause of the war, we'll only end up like the dragon-slaying youth who becomes the dragon himself.

Why not try to change it?

"Konan, although I admit that what that guy said makes some sense, having no worries about food or clothing..."

Haha, don't you think that's too idealistic and completely unrealistic?

We once had such ideals, but reality has long since given us a harsh slap in the face, telling us that the world is incredibly cruel.

It cannot accommodate an ideal world, just as it does not allow Yahiko's ideal to exist. Uchiha Feng's so-called ideal world will ultimately be crushed by reality.

Only when people truly experience pain and fear will they understand the harm of war, and only then can the world move towards peace.

"Can..."

Konan wanted to say something more, but after opening her mouth, she said nothing in the end.

The two sides have had many such conversations in the past two months. They couldn't persuade Nagato before, and now, without any new ideas, they are still destined to fail.

It's better not to say anything then. It's not too late to speak when you think of a new argument that can persuade Nagato.

However, Konan felt that given her poor communication skills and Nagato's stubborn insistence, she probably wouldn't be able to persuade Nagato.

Perhaps only by letting Nagato meet Uchiha Feng in person, or by personally seeking his advice, could Nagato be persuaded.

(Feng: Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! I still need to get the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique for free, please don't come any closer!)