"Give me the list."
A snatched the petition from Dodai's hands. When he saw the familiar company designations, the lightning in his palm burned through a corner of the paper.
Dodai did not stop him.
"These three units saw the Eight-Tails suppressed by Wood Release with their own eyes at Bluestone Gorge. They aren't afraid to fight. They believe continuing the offensive offers no chance of victory."
An elder turned and pointed out the window.
"Shinobi obey orders. A public petition undermines morale. We should arrest the ringleaders first!"
"How many should we arrest?"
Dodai placed a second stack of lists on the desk.
"Of the seventeen companies on the front line, nine have requested more Soldier Pills, six refuse to attack without medical supplies, and contact has been lost with the other two."
The elder grabbed the lists.
"Then requisition supplies from the village."
The finance officer at the door pushed up the glasses on his nose.
"The commercial warehouses in the village are jointly managed by the Daimyo's Residence of the Land of Lightning and the merchant associations. Forced requisitioning will be recorded as the army seizing civilian supplies."
"Kumogakure is about to fall, and you're still worrying about accounts!"
"It's precisely because Kumogakure hasn't fallen yet that we cannot force the Daimyo's Residence to classify us as rebels."
Dodai took the lists from the elder and turned to A.
"Konoha is waiting for us to fall into chaos first."
A did not deny it.
He could see Sasuke's intentions, but he could find no way to break the blockade.
The Eight-Tails had been captured, Iwagakure had withdrawn its troops, trade routes in every country had closed, and the Daimyo's Residence had suspended military funding. Even if Kumogakure deployed all its remaining forces, there was no guarantee they