Stone Shinobi vs. Cloud Shinobi

The fierce battle was painful for both Stone Shinobi and Konoha. The brief respite was merely the prelude to an even more intense conflict.

While Konoha was mobilizing its troops, Stone Shinobi wouldn't sit idly by. The defeat of Mist Shinobi didn't silence Sand Shinobi and Cloud Shinobi; instead, they came on strong, seemingly determined to finish the job in one battle, uniting the forces of the Three Great Shinobi Villages to completely annihilate Konoha's army on the Shikoku battlefield.

Konoha appears to be in dire straits, on the verge of collapse at any moment.

However, no matter how perfect a plan may seem, it will ultimately be unable to escape the complexities of human nature.

Almost without warning, on what seemed like a peaceful day, the conflict between the Stone Shinobi and the Cloud Shinobi erupted!

"Ōnoki!"

The Third Raikage personally led countless Cloud Shinobi northwards, his unparalleled Lightning Release Ninjutsu sweeping through the land like a whirlwind, firmly suppressing the Konoha Allied Forces led by Jiraiya in the Land of Waterfalls.

Today, Ai, who had harbored some ambitions and imagined how to expand the territory of the Cloud Shinobi in the rich land of the Land of Fire, stared intently at the scroll in his hand. With a furious palm strike, the command camp of the Cloud Shinobi suddenly cracked open with countless fissures and collapsed in an instant.

"Oh no! Get out of the way!"

The guards in front of the tent moved swiftly, leaping away from the ruins. They seemed to have never worried about their own men. Their faces showed a hint of helplessness, as if such scenes were commonplace.

"Lord Raikage!"

Amidst the ruins, Ai's figure was surrounded by lightning. Seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, he slowly emerged from the dust, his eyes still burning with unquenchable rage. This outburst did nothing to calm his heart.

"Summon the Jonin Commander immediately! That scoundrel Ōnoki has gone too far!"

The guards exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with undisguised shock. They knew the Third Raikage's personality well; he was unlikely to let this go unpunished. They simply didn't know what had happened...

"Yes!"

With the guards gone, the Cloud Shinobi, this war machine, began to move wildly. Countless ninjas swarmed in from all directions, and orders were issued from the council hall.

"Ōnoki! He has repeatedly ambushed my Cloud Shinobi, his behavior is unpredictable and fickle. We will not let this go today!"

"Crush the Stone Shinobi!"

"Crush the Stone Shinobi!"

One of the three logistics warehouses of the Cloud Shinobi, located near the Land of Land of Rice Fields, was seized by the Stone Shinobi. This news shocked the entire Cloud Shinobi and ignited fury in everyone's eyes.

In this war, if the Cloud Shinobi were invaders against Konoha and their operations were driven by wartime objectives, then the Cloud Shinobi Stone Shinobi were naturally hostile towards the Iwa Ninja.

The cunning and shameless Stone Shinobi repeatedly attacked the Cloud Shinobi, breaking the alliance. When the Cloud Shinobi were gathering their forces, they sent envoys again to renew the alliance, using the pretext of dividing the Land of Fire to temporarily appease the Cloud Shinobi's anger.

This isn't the first time...

Every member of the Stone Shinobi harbors a certain amount of anger towards the Cloud Shinobi, but this time, they will not tolerate it!

"Even if we have to retreat back to the Land of Lightning, we'll let those Stone Shinobi know that the Cloud Shinobi are not to be trifled with!"

"Yes! Kill Ōnoki!"

"Could this be a trap?"

Some in the crowd raised objections, but they were drowned out by shouts. A spark of lightning appeared in the Third Raikage A's hand. He had absolute confidence in himself. The lightning flashed, and his tone was iron-blooded and firm.

"Let's go! We'll crush the Stone Shinobi!"

In the mountains of the Land of Grass, Ōnoki floated silently in the air, while the strategists of Stone Shinobi sat upright in his tent.

"Lord Tsuchikage, isn't targeting the Cloud Shinobi at this time too dangerous...?"

In fact, he strongly opposed the plan to attack the Cloud Shinobi, but Ōnoki never adopted it. Now that the situation is so favorable, if the Three Great Shinobi Villages unite, they will surely be able to defeat Konoha. There is no need to create unnecessary trouble.

"Cloud Shinobi... just idiots..."

Thinking of the Third Raikage, Ōnoki chuckled softly, then turned to look at the crowd, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

Konoha is full of talented people who can shoulder great responsibilities, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Minato Namikaze, and Fugaku Uchiha. Now, another one has emerged: Kato Osamu, who killed the Mizukage.

In contrast, the Stone Shinobi Ōnoki led by Onoki himself, the Cloud Shinobi by the Third Raikage himself, and the Sand Shinobi, Rasa and Pakura, are fighting separately for the position of Kazekage...

Now that the war has progressed this far, he no longer holds much hope.

"You are all pillars of our Stone Shinobi, yet you are short-sighted..."

Ōnoki's voice drifted over, and all the members of the think tank frowned slightly. How could someone who had reached these positions with their intellect tolerate such remarks? If it weren't for Ōnoki's status, they probably would have already spoken up in rebuttal.

Do you really think we will be the final victors in this war?

Although unwilling to admit it, Ōnoki understood that this was the truth, and that the ultimate victor in this battle would likely still be Konoha...

"What makes you say that Lord Tsuchikage?"

"Jiraiya is being suppressed by the Cloud Shinobi in the Land of Waterfalls. Minato Namikaze is powerful, but he is only one person. On the Grass Shinobi battlefield, our Stone Shinobi will ultimately prevail. Although the Sand Shinobi is weak, Tsunade alone cannot hold the line. In such a situation, how can Konoha not be defeated?"

"The Battlefield Mist Shinobi..."

Ōnoki remained noncommittal, slowly uttering a term that drew surprise from the think tank members.

"The Allied Forces of Mist Shinobi suffered a crushing defeat. Orochimaru is left to defend Mist Shinobi alone, while his Hyuga Clan and that brat Kato who killed the Mizukage will surely come to their aid..."

"With the Genji now in charge, the Mist Shinobi has consolidated all its forces and blocked all sea routes; it's unlikely they will launch another attack so easily..."

The people sitting below the stage pondered for a moment before speaking again.

"The Hyuga has fought a bloody battle; though they're troublesome, how much power do they still possess? As for Orochimaru and that brat Kato..."

"According to our intelligence agents in Konoha, these two are probably no longer trusted by Hiruzen Sarutobi..."

Each major ninja village naturally has intelligence agents from other villages. Even if they can't uncover classified information, they can still discern certain trends, and this intelligence naturally becomes an aid on the battlefield.

"He who has not planned for defeat is not qualified to speak of victory..."

Stone Shinobi spoke calmly, explaining why the Ōnoki hadn't retreated yet. Even though he believed Konoha, the Three Great Shinobi Villages weren't without hope.

But he needed to cover for the Stone Shinobi. Even if the Stone Shinobi couldn't take an inch of the Land of Land of Fire, they absolutely couldn't end up like the Sand Shinobi and the Mist Shinobi...

"The Cloud Shinobi's power is too great, and their strength has hardly been damaged. Their battle with Jiraiya in the Land of Land of Waterfalls was not particularly fierce. The entire Shinobi World knows that Konoha and our Stone Shinobi are about to engage in a major war in the Land of Grass..."

"If our Stone Shinobi were to mobilize all our forces and exchange them with Konoha, even if we defeated Minato Namikaze, our strength would be severely diminished. If the Cloud Shinobi were to betray our alliance now and turn against our Stone Shinobi, Konoha would be more than happy to see it happen, and might even take advantage of our misfortune..."

"At that time, the Land of Fire will not be destroyed, and our Stone Shinobi will instead become the target of being divided up by various nations..."

"So what? What should you all do?"

A hint of hesitation flashed in the eyes of everyone in the think tank. This situation was not just impossible, but very likely.

A written alliance is nothing but a piece of paper to them. They were blinded by the seemingly favorable situation before, but now they have come to their senses.

The Cloud Shinobi are indeed too strong...

"As the war has progressed, Mist Shinobi has suffered heavy losses, Sand Shinobi is embroiled in internal strife, Stone Shinobi has suffered countless casualties, Konoha is barely holding on, and four of the Five Great Shinobi Villages are injured. Only Cloud Shinobi remains strong and well-equipped..."

Ōnoki paused, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes. He had considered dividing the Land of Fire, but he had to consider other things.

"The Shinobi World must not be dominated by one force. I would rather unite with Konoha to weaken Cloud Shinobi..."

"If the Land of Earth cannot become a strong nation through this war, I would rather see five weak nations!"

"Now do you understand!"

A hint of resentment flashed in Ōnoki's eyes. In this war, Stone Shinobi had already lost. This last gamble was no longer about winning, but simply about not losing too badly.