"Third Tsuchikage!"
When Ōnoki returned to camp, all the ninjas gathered around him.
"Immediately! Return to the village immediately and submit a diplomatic request to the Land of Rain. Tell them it was all a misunderstanding." It was a little cowardly, but Ōnoki had no desire to see the village he had worked so hard to develop destroyed overnight by an enemy far stronger than them.
"Yes, sir!"
All the Stone shinobi quietly packed up their supplies and hurried back to the village.
"Commander Axel, the Land of Earth's ninjas have withdrawn!"
"What? They were scared off already?" Axel asked incredulously.
"We don't know yet. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see whether it's a trick!"
"Mm." Axel nodded expressionlessly.
The next day.
"Bishop Ria, this is the Land of Earth's request for a diplomatic meeting, along with the frontline report Commander Axel sent back." Her assistant, a priest, handed Ria the two documents.
"Oh? The fighting hasn't even started, and they're already asking for a diplomatic meeting. Do they want to argue over who started it before we fight?" Puzzled, Ria took the documents.
She opened the Land of Earth's diplomatic document first. It claimed that the border conflict had arisen from a misunderstanding and so on, and expressed the hope that it could be resolved through dialogue.
When Ria opened the second document, the battle report, she finally understood what had happened.
"That Ōnoki really is a crafty old fossil. Slippery as an eel. If he wants peace talks, fine. Take an order to our colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We can agree to peace talks, but the Holy Church must be allowed to establish an embassy in the Land of Earth! And we must be permitted to do some missionary work there."
"Yes, Bishop