Yugao Arrives

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had already received word that the Land of Grass had changed hands.

Upon hearing the news, he immediately dispatched an envoy to the Land of Grass.

Likewise, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind also sent an envoy to investigate.

However, shortly after the envoys from both sides entered the Land of Grass, all contact with them abruptly ceased.

The next day, the Third Tsuchikage and the Fourth Kazekage realized something was wrong and sent teams into the Land of Grass again.

This time, their teams were led by formidable Ninja, but they came under attack from the Land of Grass's Ninja. A fierce battle broke out, and in the end, the Ninja from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind withdrew from the Land of Grass and returned to their villages wounded.

"What outrageous nerve! What does the Land of Grass think it's doing? How dare they act so brazenly?! Do they think they're above the law?!" The Fourth Kazekage Rasa flew into a rage in his office.

"I hear the Land of Earth's Ninja were also attacked by the Land of Grass!" the Ninja delivering the report said.

"Hmm?" Rasa frowned. "This is very unusual! How could the Land of Grass have the nerve to attack two great shinobi villages at once?"

"Indeed. Even if this man managed to seize Kusagakure, he certainly couldn't be powerful enough to challenge the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stopped at taking Kusagakure!" An adviser beside him analyzed the situation. "In my opinion, he must be plotting something. We should hold our position for now and observe the situation before doing anything."

"Yes. For now, keep gathering intelligence on the Land of Grass and see how things develop," Rasa said with a nod.

After all, the Land of Rain lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Grass, so the Land of Wind had relatively little reason to worry.

The Third Tsuchikage reached much the same conclusion.

But the Land of Earth's situation was different. It shared a border with the Land of Grass, with the Land of Fire just beyond it.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the Land of Earth had lost its clash with Konoha, and naturally, the Third Tsuchikage bitterly resented that defeat.

Later, when he heard that the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, had died during the Nine-Tails' Attack and that Konoha had suffered heavy losses, he had constantly sought an opportunity to stir up trouble.

This incident in the Land of Grass was clearly a fine opportunity for the Land of Earth.

Thus, Ōnoki ordered a large force to infiltrate the Land of Grass in secret, intending to launch a surprise attack directly on Kusagakure's headquarters.

In his eyes, the Land of Grass was ultimately just a small country. How powerful could Kusagakure possibly be?

It was nothing more than a battlefield for the great nations.

The Land of Grass was merely a stepping stone. Ōnoki's true objective lay elsewhere: he wanted to use this opportunity to provoke Konoha.

Ōnoki knew perfectly well that Konoha, in the Land of Fire on the other side of the Land of Grass, would never stand by while he attacked the Land of Grass.

Because once the Land of Earth conquered the Land of Grass, the Land of Fire's border would face a direct threat from the Land of Earth.

That was something no great nation wanted to see.

So, in Ōnoki's view, Konoha would certainly send troops to stop him when the time came.

As long as fighting broke out between the two sides, he would have an excuse to send troops directly against Konoha.

No movement among the great nations could escape the scrutiny of those watching closely.

In Amegakure, Obito Uchiha listened to White Zetsu's intelligence report with a smile tugging at his lips and murmured, "Uchiha Sora, let's see how you handle this trouble!"

"Madara, your plan really worked. It's a shame the Land of Wind didn't get involved. Otherwise, the entire shinobi world might have been thrown into chaos," White Zetsu said.

"It's only a matter of time," Obito said. "But we need to start laying the groundwork for our plan ahead of schedule! Let's take this opportunity to begin collecting the tailed beasts!"

"What? We're starting the plan now?" White Zetsu exclaimed in surprise. "But we haven't even assembled all our core members, and I still haven't gathered all the intelligence on the tailed beasts!"

"There's no need for that anymore. Every additional day Uchiha Sora exists is another obstacle to my plan. We can only move against the tailed beasts while he's too busy to spare us any attention."

"Besides, this is also an opportunity to force him to come out and confront us!" Obito Uchiha said slowly.

"All right, I'll go inform Nagato." White Zetsu nodded and left.

While Obito Uchiha was busy laying his plans to begin collecting the tailed beasts ahead of schedule, Konoha had already received word that Ōnoki was preparing a covert attack on Kusagakure.

Uchiha Sora, however, still knew nothing about any of this.

That was the advantage of a great shinobi village's powerful intelligence network.

After learning of the Land of Earth's movements, the Third Hokage burst into laughter in his office.

"Ōnoki, you've really miscalculated this time!" the Third Hokage said to himself with a laugh.

Then he issued an order. "Postpone the scheduled negotiations in Kusagakure. Send someone to deliver this intelligence to Uchiha Sora!"

After a pause, the Third Hokage summoned his secretary and asked, "By the way, has Uzuki Yugao returned?"

The secretary nodded. "She returned two days ago. She seems to have already heard the news about Kusagakure, and she's been rather down."

"I see. Then let her deliver the intelligence!" After some thought, the Third Hokage added, "Tell her there's no need to rush back to report once her mission is complete!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" The secretary left to carry out his orders.

Early the next morning, Uzuki Yugao arrived at Kusagakure in the Land of Grass.

Uchiha Sora, who had been researching ninjutsu, came out to receive her personally.

"Yugao, what brings you here?" As though welcoming an old friend, Uchiha Sora smiled and invited Uzuki Yugao to sit down. He dismissed the subordinates around them and brewed her a cup of tea.

Uzuki Yugao looked sorrowful. Seeing the same familiar smile on Uchiha Sora's face sent a stab of pain through her heart. She desperately wanted to act as though she didn't care, but when she opened her mouth, her words became an icy accusation. "Sora! Why?!"

Uchiha Sora's hands paused briefly, then he smiled and offered the teacup to Uzuki Yugao.

Yugao did not take it. Her beautiful eyes were slightly red as she stared at him.

Uchiha Sora sighed softly. "Kakashi asked me that question too. I told him it was because of pressure from the village leadership."

"But now, I'll tell you the real answer!"

"Because Konoha is too small a stage! The Konoha of today has long since been corrupted by its narrow-minded leaders!"

"In this rotten village, restraints are everywhere! What I want to pursue is true freedom and strength!"

"Only by leaving Konoha can I do the things I want to do without any weight on my conscience!"

"To explore the mysteries of chakra, to attain true strength! To become someone no one can restrain-what could be more desirable than achieving those things?"

PS: She replied this afternoon. I wanted to ask her out for barbecue tonight, but she wouldn't agree. Sigh!