"Mobilizing seven thousand ninja would force Ōnoki to cooperate with us, even if he had other ideas."
The Third Raikage shook his head. "If we don't work with Ōnoki, Sunagakure could become a problem. Its movements have been discreet, but our spies in the Land of Wind have noticed them.
"Sunagakure's public stance is ambiguous. It might tip off Konoha in exchange for the Land of Fire delaying enforcement of the Staircase Mountain Treaty.
"Then we wouldn't just be facing Konoha. Sunagakure could launch a surprise attack, while we'd still have to guard against Iwagakure going back on its word. We could end up attacked from three sides."
A cold sweat broke out across everyone in the Command Headquarters. It was entirely possible. Ōnoki was cunning and treacherous, and breaking his word was nothing new to him.
Even at its peak, Kumogakure could not claim it would win against three great nations at once. The Land of Wind's fate showed them what lay ahead.
"What do you propose, Lord Raikage?"
"We follow the battle plan we drew up years ago and seize the northern part of the Land of Earth.
"This time, we're joining Iwagakure against Konoha under the pretext of passing through its territory. Most of Iwagakure's forces have already been called back to assemble near the village.
"This is our best chance. Whether Ōnoki genuinely wants to cooperate or not, Iwagakure's defenses won't be as tight as usual when we first enter the Land of Earth, even if he reinforces them.
"Ōnoki will never expect us to strike at the start of our alliance. Keep this operation secret. Once we're stationed in the Land of Earth, I'll notify the troops before we act."
"Yes, sir."
Kumogakure's commanders had their own agenda, but the soldiers under them knew nothing