Uchiha Yuu looked at the letter in his hand and the map before him, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.
"Minato Namikaze has begun cooperating with our plan. Konoha will gradually withdraw from the Fourth Shinobi World War."
Aside from that most important matter, there were still two minor issues to handle.
"Is Ōnoki still determined to resist?"
He turned to Kakuzu beside him. Ever since the previous naval battle ended, their alliance had existed in name only. Sunagakure had also made its position clear: it and Dawn Hidden Village would become an inseparable whole.
Caught in the middle, Ōnoki would face a dilemma with no way forward or back.
The main battlefield was now concentrated along Konoha's borders, while Iwagakure lay between the three sides. War was not something that could simply be stopped at will. Even if the naval battle had shattered the alliance, Ōnoki still had to bear the consequences. Konoha's ninja still held a grudge against Iwagakure's ninja.
With enemies on three sides, and his village's economy firmly controlled by Enlightenment Weapons Store, Ōnoki had absolutely no chance of making a comeback. All that supported him now was his stubborn temperament.
"He still chose to resist to the end, but there are dissenting voices within the village. They want to ease the conflict between both sides through negotiations. Some have even openly stated that Iwagakure's ninja failed to withstand the aftermath caused by battles between the strong because they themselves were too weak."
Kakuzu constantly kept watch over the changes in Iwagakure. Under its former oppressive policies, there had been only one voice in Iwagakure: the Tsuchikage's orders. Unfortunately, as the situation grew increasingly out of control, Ōnoki's prestige had come under serious question because of this alliance and his command of the Fourth Shinobi