"My lord! My lord! Something terrible has happened!"
In the Capital of the Land of Water, Kiyomori was roused from his sleep by his servant. He wondered what could possibly be urgent enough to disturb his peaceful slumber.
Kiyomori glared furiously at the official who had burst into his bedchamber. If the information this official brought was not important enough, he would make the man pay.
"All the ships along our shore have disappeared!"
"What did you say?!"
In the end, the official's information did not disappoint him. As a noble of an island nation, Kiyomori understood the importance of ships all too well. When he heard that every ship along the Capital's shore had vanished, he leaped out of bed in shock.
Beyond Konoha's regular forces, Hokage Madara had another secret force under his command. At present, Kirigakure's forces were confronting the Land of Water's army, leaving the Large Island where the Land of Water's Capital stood poorly defended.
Gato's ships already accounted for eighty percent of the Land of Water's merchant fleet. Since Gato bribed the country's senior officials year after year, his ships could naturally pass freely through all its ports, including military harbors.
With Gato's permits, Hokage Madara's subordinates could easily infiltrate the Land of Water's remaining ships.
Once the Land of Water's Daimyo was stranded on an isolated island, a chill immediately rose in his heart.
All the island's ships had been sailed away, which meant no news could get out. Even if Kiyomori were killed, no one would know. That meant not only the Akatsuki, but any other great nation that took a dislike to him could leave him with only days to live.
At a time when the Akatsuki had already carried out a round of killings in the Land of Water, Kiyomori