"Only two ninjas from Konoha entered the second match?"
"Yes, General Byōdōin got hold of the registration list for the second match. None of the other factions signed up!"
"The registration list? Where did he get it?"
"When Lord Linduo came in earlier, he seemed to have a scroll tucked against his chest. It looked just like the one General Byōdōin was holding."
After hearing the soldier's explanation and recalling the argument between those two earlier, they quickly pieced together what had happened.
"Come to think of it, Linduo's attitude really did change after he went out and came back. He got inside information... could Konoha have leaked it to him? Surely not?"
"Why not? The Land of Fire has supported Konoha for decades. Having an undercover mole pass along information would be perfectly normal."
With their subordinate's report, everyone soon worked out the chain of events.
But "everyone" was an overstatement. With the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire pulling out, and the Land of Water now clearly intending to go it alone, only the representatives of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth were really left.
Their countries were sworn enemies. Even sitting down to talk required them to keep their tempers in check. Sincere cooperation?
Simply impossible...
"Ahem. The Land of Water insists on acting alone, so its representative must be counting on the Land of Fire's weak military. He won't commit all his troops. How about this? Your Land of Wind handles the fighting afterward, and we'll take this match..."
"Heh."
The Land of Wind's representative chuckled.
The Land of Earth's representative looked a little embarrassed. The other man was no fool; naturally, he could see what he was after.
"Let's speak plainly. The Land of Fire wants to swallow up Konoha,