Big brother and little brother

The atmosphere at the High-Level Meeting of Hidden Sand Village was far from dull.

Even after confirming that Hidden Rain Village had received substantial military support from the Land of Night over the past year, they showed no sign of worry.

Given the disparity in size between the two sides and the difference in the number of elite ninjas on each side, Hidden Sand Village wouldn't need to expend much effort to crush Hidden Rain Village if they truly wanted to.

Even if Hidden Rain Village Hanzo, were to personally take the field, the outcome would not change in the slightest.

Ultimately, they were ninjas from some Gata place, not outsiders from a small country like the Land of Night.

Even though Hidden Rain Village revered Hanzo as a god and savior, in the eyes of the Hidden Sand Village leadership, he was just a group of ignorant ninjas from a small country, boasting about their strength. They believed that these people had never seen what a truly powerful ninja looked like.

They wouldn't deny that Hanzo was powerful, but that power came from the prestige he built up years ago by defeating the Hidden Grass shinobi. No matter what, he could never compare to the Five Kage.

"Lord Kazekage, what's the next step?"

"The other villages are watching our reaction. If we stay in this stalemate, others will think that Hidden Sand Village of trouble."

"Defeating Hanzo isn't difficult; the key is whether Iwagakure, Konoha, and the Land of Night, whose stance is ambiguous, will take this opportunity to cause trouble."

The high-ranking officials of Hidden Sand Village present all spoke in unison, leaning towards sending troops to teach Hidden Rain Village a painful lesson.

The core issue isn't about certainty like defeating Hidden Rain Village or Hanzo, but rather whether Konoha's forces will join in and cause trouble after Hidden Rain Village is defeated.

As members of a major power, they only ever value equal opponents, rather than focusing their energy on Hidden Rain Village.

Even the act of monitoring the Land of Rain was merely a side effect; the core purpose was to test the strength of the ninjas from other major powers.

Otherwise, Hidden Rain Village would never have developed to its current state.

Allowing Hidden Rain Village to survive and develop in this way is essentially a tacit approval from Hidden Sand Village, so that they can find an opportunity to reap the rewards as they have done in the past.

Then Hidden Rain Village is allowed to linger on, grow stronger, and be harvested again, in an endless cycle, constantly supplying Hidden Sand Village with resources...

They just hadn't expected that Hidden Rain Village would pull such a sneaky trick while they were careless, and even break the 'shackles' that Hidden Sand Village had carefully designed for the Land of Rain...

How could your own dog bite you?

This is utterly upside down!

"First, secretly send our Anbu to make contact with the Land of Night. They have troops stationed in the Land of Rain, which might affect our subsequent operations."

The Third Kazekage did not lose his mind because of the victory that was within his grasp, but instead planned to first test the attitude of the Land of Night.

Like the other high-ranking members sitting with him, he didn't take Hanzo, the leader of a small village, seriously. No matter how strong the other party was, he couldn't possibly be stronger than his Magnet Release.

As long as it's confirmed that the Land of Night won't get involved, then it will be the death day for Hidden Rain Village, the leader of Hanzo!

If Hidden Rain Village's backbone is broken, Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain can continue to provide life support to Hidden Sand Village like dogs.

Precisely killing Hanzo without expanding the scope is the optimal strategy for the Hidden Sand Village's Blood Land of Rain.

'Next, once we've dealt with the Land of Rain and Hidden Rain Village, we can use them as a springboard again...'

Thinking of the incredibly fertile, chosen land of a certain great power, the Third Kazekage's eyes lit up with eagerness.

He wants to complete the unfinished business of the previous Kazekage, Lord Shamon!

The Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Rain are just extras in his core objective. What he really wants to plunder are Konoha and the Land of Fire, which have occupied the Chosen Land!

And that opportunity is now!

◎

Inside a reception room in the castle tower of the General's Residence's Tenshu Tower.

"This sudden secret visit at this time, could it be about weapons, Mr. Ōnoki?"

Doichi, reclining on the sofa, casually glanced at the short, middle-aged man opposite him, who was also reclining on the sofa.

Ōnoki, grandson of the First Tsuchikage, disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, and the man who inherited the name of the Tsuchikage.

Over the years, the other person has barely grown taller, and their large red nose remains a very distinctive feature.

However, Doichi dared not underestimate this peer who was more than ten years older than him. Among the current Five Kage, he considered Ōnoki to be the most threatening one.

Even he could only temporarily avoid the brunt of Dust Release Kekkei Tōta, and dare not confront it head-on.

Any Susanoo exposed to Dust Release will instantly turn to ashes.

This Ninjutsu, which can break down matter into molecular states, is considered one of the most dangerous Ninjutsu in the Ninja World!

However, there was no animosity between him and Ōnoki. On the contrary, due to their elders, their relationship was quite harmonious.

Since taking office, his several major collaborations with Ōnoki have all ended in a win-win situation.

A few years ago, the two princesses of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth married his two younger brothers Tadayuki and Hideyuki, respectively, which laid the foundation for further cooperation between the Land of Night and the Iwagakure and the Land of Earth.

"It's all because you, Brother Doichi, haven't been very kind of you, secretly funding the Hidden Rain Village military for so long."

Ōnoki was slightly speechless as he looked at Doichi's feigned innocence.

What Hidden Sand Village can investigate, Iwagakure has its own channels to learn about the previous conflict between Hidden Rain Village and Hidden Sand Village.

Not only Iwagakure, but Konoha also couldn't hide this from their eyes.

"That's not how it works. Everyone knows that the Land of Night's military equipment was lost, but I never expected that Hidden Rain Village would pick up those missing batches of equipment..."

Doichi also sighed, as if he were truly regretting something.

I didn't come here to discuss this matter.

Ōnoki opened his mouth.

Having known Doichi for so long, he knew that this big guy wasn't as honest and simple as he seemed; he was quite cunning.

If you treat the other party like a fool, you might end up getting ripped off while still helping them count their money.

Fortunately, the blockade of Hidden Rain Village was just a side effect of Iwagakure's actions, a way for them to casually reap some benefits.

Aside from the incident in Kusagakure, the most ruthless and longest-lasting blood- Hidden Rain Village perpetrator in Amegakure was from Hidden Sand Village.

What is that?

Of Doichi knew that Ōnoki wouldn't make a special trip for such a trivial matter.

Although they were acquainted, their communication was mainly through letters unless there was something important to discuss.

"I plan to investigate the true strength of the Hidden Mist Village next. Would your Land of Night be interested in joining me?"

Ōnoki made no attempt to hide anything, directly stating Iwagakure's clear intention to target Hidden Mist Village, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Of course, Mr. Ōnoki."

Doichi agreed without hesitation.

While using proxies from small countries can bleed out the Hidden Mist Village, it's still too inefficient.

If Iwagakure wants to get involved, Land of Night will inevitably join in, causing more trouble for Hidden Mist Village as well.

On the contrary, as long as we grasp the point about the Land of Whirlpool, the Land of Night will naturally be on the side of justice.

He had been worried that the Uzumaki Clan's integration into the Land of Night was too slow, but now the opportunity had arrived!

As long as it doesn't affect the grand strategy against Konoha, the Land of Night can still spare a considerable amount of resources to help Iwagakure under limited circumstances, and may even be able to help Iwagakure control the restless Hidden Cloud Village.

And coincidentally, the Heavenly Dao Palace had recently completed the decryption of the Third Mizukage's corpse, obtaining a lot of Hidden Mist Village secrets that the Land of Night had not known before.

In particular, a large amount of information about the abilities of many Hidden Mist Village Jonin, including the Fourth Mizukage Genji and the two Jinchūriki, has been added and can be sold to Iwagakure at a discount.