Something feels off...
As the leader of a village, he naturally had many preparations to make before the plan began. Gathering intelligence, recruiting allies, preparing supplies—everything had to be arranged by him.
It was now early January, and the weather outside was bitterly cold.
"Our current allies are the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, but there has been no news from the Land of Earth..."
By normal logic, with three major nations forming an alliance, the fourth nation being recruited should have agreed immediately without hesitation. Yet the Land of Earth had acted as though it had seen nothing, making no move even now.
"The Land of Lightning's war reparations have been pushed back forty years. Only by defeating the Land of Fire can they wipe the debt clean, so they agreed readily."
"Hozuki Gengetsu, the Mizukage of Kirigakure in the Land of Water, looks like a sneaky bastard. He agreed to the alliance so eagerly—clearly, he's up to no good."
"As for the Land of Earth... its Tsuchikage seems to be a bandaged man called Mu. He and the Mizukage appear to have had conflicts long ago. Could that be why?"
The Kazekage thought for a long time but could not figure it out. Still, with the combined strength of three nations, they should be able to defeat Konoha, right?
Besides, that so-called God of Shinobi had been dead for years. His younger brother had not shown his face in all that time either. Perhaps he was just a useless man.
The next day, the Second Kazekage, Fūma Yōkan, discussed deploying troops with the advisory council in high spirits. He also maintained close contact with the Lands of Lightning and Water. No one could resist the temptation of the Land of Fire's fertile territory. This time,