Iwagakure Declares War!

The war potential of those two villages had been nearly exhausted. They had no way to launch a large-scale war, but with Kumogakure's support, they could still fight.

The two villages would not need to send many people to hold Iwagakure back.

That would prevent Iwagakure from attacking Kumogakure with its full strength.

Bribe them?

The ideal was full, but reality was harsh.

Iwagakure was too poor to offer enough sincerity to persuade Konoha and Sunagakure.

Sunagakure was one thing, but Konoha was Kumogakure's ally. Convincing them to betray an ally would be even harder.

The two sides had held proper negotiations and become allies, only to turn around and betray each other. That would greatly damage Konoha's reputation.

Ōnoki dared to say for certain that the Third Hokage, who cherished his reputation, would not do such a thing.

That meant that if Iwagakure wanted to wage war against Kumogakure, it would have to face retaliation from three villages at once.

Kumogakure would counterattack fiercely, while Konoha and Sunagakure would most likely only try to hold them back. They would not fight to the death.

Ōnoki claimed that he was unwilling.

But inwardly, he had already begun calculating how many people he should send once the war began to hold back Konoha and Sunagakure. This question had plagued him all along.

It was not until he returned to the village and voiced his concerns that Kitsuchi gave him a reasonable answer.

"Father, no matter how wealthy Kumogakure is, it cannot support Konoha and Sunagakure without limit. Those two villages will not fight to the death. Once the money and supplies run out, they will withdraw."

"Konoha only wants to fulfill its duty as an ally. Sunagakure's motives are even simpler—they want money and resources."

"Fighting on two fronts while bearing