Kumogakure High-Level Meeting
In any case, the turmoil in Konoha has nothing to do with Yun Yan for the time being.
On the surface, Yun Yan was on a mission with Kakashi at the border of the Fire Country from beginning to end. He was unaware of what had happened in Konoha, let alone that Root had been attacked by the mysterious No-Face in the middle of the night.
All he needs to do is play dumb.
And so, Yun Yan continued his so-called reconnaissance mission with Kakashi at the border.
Not long after, Hiruzen Sarutobi's new orders were brought over by Ninja Hawk.
Upon receiving the new orders and seeing the contents of Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, Kakashi and Yun Yan exchanged bewildered glances.
They both understood that the core idea behind Hiruzen Sarutobi's order was simply to maintain the status quo.
Seeing Kakashi's helpless expression, Yun Yan shrugged and immediately said:
"It doesn't matter. Although I'm quite annoyed by Sarutobi's orders to exercise restraint, I've already killed enough people in the Land of Lightning Country."
So, let's do as Sarutobi says and maintain the status quo.
"The two of us will continue patrolling and scouting along the border of the Fire Country. If we encounter any invading Kumogakure ninjas, we'll just take them out."
At this point, Yun Yan added a special note:
"Yes, kill as many as they are, don't let a single one go back."
Seeing Yun Yan's indifferent attitude, Kakashi was helpless.
As he put away the Hokage's order, he agreed with Yun Yan's idea:
"Yes, that's what I think too. Let's maintain the status quo and defend the border. There's no need for us to take any further action."
Moreover, I think the Kumogakure will definitely not give up. They will definitely send more ninjas to invade and provoke us. The two of us will face them here on the border."
It would be ideal if two people shared similar thoughts and attitudes.
And so, the two split up, wandering and searching around the borders of the Fire Country.
What happened in the following period was pretty much as they had guessed.
As expected, the Kumogakure was enraged by Yun Yan's recent massacres within their territory.
Driven by a desire for revenge, by a sense of injustice, and by upholding the pride of the Lightning Country and the dignity of the Kumogakure, many ninjas were dispatched under the orders of the Fourth Raikage.
These Kumogakure ninjas received only one order: to invade the borders of the Fire Country and carry out various provocations and sabotage operations.
Any action, even burning, killing, and looting, is acceptable as long as it harms the living forces of the Fire Country and Konoha, as long as it disgraces Konoha!
With these feelings and upon receiving this order, many Kumogakure ninjas sprang into action. One by one, filled with murderous intent, they crossed the border between the Lightning Country and the Fire Country, plunging into the vast forests of the Fire Country, and then...
And that was it.
Of course, that was the end of it.
You should know that Yun Yan and Kakashi had been lying in wait for them at the border of the Fire Country.
Kakashi is easier to deal with because he has Ninja Dog like Pakkun under his command. These Ninja Dog are extremely skilled at scent tracking. As long as a ninja from Kumogakure crosses the border and enters the Fire Country, Kakashi can lead his Ninja Dog to track them down by scent.
Once Kakashi tracks down the invading target, he immediately takes action without hesitation, continuing until the target is killed.
Kakashi's strength is also quite good. Dealing with these invading Kumogakure ninjas wouldn't be a piece of cake, but it wasn't a big problem either.
To put it simply, as long as he's not facing Kage Level opponent, Kakashi is basically 100% confident of victory.
Even against Kage Level opponent, Kakashi has a 50% chance of success.
The Kage Level shinobi of Kumogakure... disdain carrying out such provocative missions of invading national borders.
Kakashi relies on his summoning beast, the Ninja Dog, while Yun Yan has an even easier time.
Simply choose a high place to stand, then activate the Mangekyō Sharingan and use the Endless Vista. This is practically equivalent to a large-scale radar scan, clearly scanning the entire border.
When did the Kumogakure ninjas invade? How many invaders were there? Where were they currently located? What was their strength? Yun Yan had no clue about these details.
Now that they have nowhere to hide, finding and eliminating them will be much easier for Yun Yan.
Therefore, during this period, any ninjas who invaded from Kumogakure were either killed by Yun Yan or by Kakashi. It was like waiting for a rabbit to run into a trap, inviting it in without hesitation.
To put it simply, none of the Kumogakure ninjas who invaded the border of the Fire Country returned home.
The operation in Kumogakure was like pouring lives into a bottomless pit—it was a one-way trip.
As time went on, the Kumogakure finally realized something was wrong, and they were starting to feel the strain.
Yun Yan's previous rampage in the Land of Lightning Country had already depleted a significant portion of the Kumogakure's manpower.
The fact that many of the ninjas sent out by the Kumogakure never returned has dealt a significant blow to the Kumogakure.
This can't go on!
The higher-ups in Kumogakure became aware of this.
They held a serious high-level meeting regarding this matter.
The time is about a month after Yun Yan and Kakashi carried out their mission at the border. The location is the Raikage's Office in the Kumogakure Raikage Building of the Lightning Country. The people are the Fourth Raikage A, and various high-ranking officials of the Kumogakure. The event is that they are holding this meeting.
The meeting's content was simple: to discuss how to handle the current border friction.
As the border skirmishes between their Kumogakure and Konoha intensified, and despite the fact that so many of their ninjas who had invaded never returned, the situation was unfavorable for Kumogakure. This couldn't continue.
In a solemn atmosphere, under the chairmanship of the Fourth Raikage, this highly controversial and contentious meeting officially began.
The Kumogakure is a village that values martial prowess above all else. The ninjas in the village are also prone to fighting at the slightest disagreement. Therefore, even in serious village meetings, the atmosphere is filled with tension!
The meeting had barely begun when one of the high-ranking members of the Kumogakure couldn't contain his temper and slammed his fist on the table, erupting in anger:
"This must be a conspiracy by Konoha! There must be high-level Konoha troops stationed on the border of the Fire Country!"
Otherwise, there's no way to explain why so many of our excellent ninjas never returned!
Another high-ranking member of the Kumogakure, equally agitated, nodded vigorously in agreement:
"That's right, I think so too. This is Konoha's strategy of waiting patiently and waiting for the enemy to run into their trap."
Damn it, we've fallen into their trap! This border skirmish has turned into a one-sided war of attrition!
For every hot-tempered radical, there is bound to be a more cautious conservative.
Seeing the two people get angry, a high-ranking member of the Kumogakure timely expressed his concern:
"Everyone, regardless of whether it's a conspiracy by Konoha or not, things cannot continue like this."
The mysterious ninja's rampage in the Land of Lightning Country already caused our Kumogakure to lose a great deal of manpower.
This time, a large number of people were sent to invade the Fire Country, but none of them returned, which is another significant loss of manpower.
The combined losses from both sides have crippled our Kumogakure, so this matter cannot continue any longer."
Upon hearing this, one of the hot-tempered high-ranking members of the Kumogakure angrily rebuked:
What do you mean by that? Are you planning to back down!?
Lord Raikage, our Kumogakure has suffered such a great loss this time, we absolutely cannot let this go!
This relatively conservative high-ranking member of the Kumogakure couldn't help but sigh:
"I'm not admitting defeat, nor do I intend to just endure this. It's just that the village can't withstand this kind of drain; it can't continue like this."
"We can't keep going like this! Are we just going to let this go?"
"No! We can't swallow this injustice silently. Konoha must pay the price! The dignity of Kumogakure is inviolable!"
"I know that the dignity of Kumogakure is inviolable, and I agree with that."
However, this piecemeal tactic can no longer be implemented; it's a cardinal sin in military strategy. Sending more troops to the border of the Fire Country will only lead to the same irreversible outcome, without even making a ripple."
"Uh... that makes sense. Should we change our strategy towards Konoha?"
"Change! We must change!"
I propose we start a war immediately, let Konoha see our power, and let Konoha know our might!
"That's right. Since the Fourth Hokage died and the Third Hokage returned to power, Konoha has been in a period of weakness. If we don't seize this opportunity to attack Konoha, when will we ever have another chance like this!"