"You're right. You'll go to war with them no matter what. Kumogakure and Iwagakure will never surrender outright.
Even taking their people hostage and threatening them won't help. But if those two join forces, I think we're bound to suffer losses.
We still haven't settled matters with some of the smaller countries. As for Sunagakure, our latest intelligence shows they've acquired a batch of resources, and now they're itching to make a move.
They're also over by the Dragon Vein. It looks like they're planning to use its power!"
Shikaku nodded.
He felt that Bai Ye really wasn't wrong about this.
For now, though, they should avoid war if they could.
Once they had consolidated their hold over these territories, they would have more room to maneuver when war came.
Besides, Shikaku had received intelligence from Sunagakure.
Sunagakure had always been under Konoha's surveillance.
Quite apart from the affair with Pakura, which had made Bai Ye pay closer attention to what might follow, there were other reasons.
Even in the past, Sunagakure had harbored more designs on Konoha than the other villages had.
It was often Sunagakure that went to war with Konoha first, setting off a whole chain of subsequent events.
For that reason, Sunagakure had actually always been Konoha's primary surveillance target.
It was only later, after Bai Ye captured Kumogakure's Jinchūriki and Ōnoki's granddaughter, that things changed.
That had led to the current situation.
But regardless, their surveillance had happened to catch Sunagakure's movements.
If Sunagakure really got its hands on that thing, it would be anything but good news.
Ultimately, Sunagakure currently had neither the standing nor the strength to take on Konoha.
But if they really tampered with the Dragon Vein's power, that would be terrible news for Konoha.
After all, that thing could genuinely