At that same moment-
Atop a snowy mountain thousands of meters above sea level, a raging blizzard whirled all around, yet the magnificent complex of pure-white palaces stood unshaken, entirely unaffected by the storm.
Akanishta Heavenly Dao Palace.
On an elevated viewing platform in Hisoten on the Ninth Floor, Irori and Kicho stood side by side.
Neither had any leisure to admire the beautiful scenery around them. On the contrary, they were in a terrible mood.
Yayoi had been asleep for less than a year when something like this happened, catching both them and the Land of Night off guard.
Especially now, while Yayoi was in a deep sleep, completely unaware of anything happening outside.
Before his evolution was complete, he would wake no more than three times a year, and each waking period would not last very long.
"I never expected the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Cloud Village to attack the Uzumaki Clan so suddenly... The Hidden Cloud Village is one thing, but why did the Hidden Mist Village get involved too?"
Kicho could not understand that.
Geographically speaking, the Hidden Mist Village was indeed the best springboard for attacking Uzushiogakure aside from Konoha... But this did not align with Kirigakure's current interests.
The struggle between the Third Mizukage and Genji was so intense, yet they still dared to expand outward at a time like this, attacking a politically sensitive small nation like Uzushiogakure... Were they really not afraid the situation would spiral out of control and trigger a war?
Admittedly, turning internal conflict outward and gaining leverage through victories abroad was indeed one way out of the Hidden Mist Village's internal struggles... Yet something about the way they were acting still felt wrong to Kicho.
She simply could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
In any