Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
In the Tsuchikage's office, Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki floated in midair with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the map of the Shinobi World on the wall.
"Judging by the timing, those muscle-headed brutes from Kumogakure should have fully engaged Konoha by now, shouldn't they?"
A sly, cold smile curled across Ōnoki's lips as he muttered to himself.
Although Iwagakure had not directly declared war on Konoha this time, how could Ōnoki, the most calculating Tsuchikage in the Shinobi World, let such a rare opportunity slip away?
Of course, Ōnoki had not attacked blindly either.
His plan was to let Kumogakure test Konoha's strength first.
If Kumogakure gained the upper hand, Iwagakure would attack Konoha without hesitation.
If Konoha gained the upper hand, Iwagakure would attack the Land of Lightning instead.
In other words, no matter what happened, Iwagakure would not lose out.
"Dad! Dad!"
"The intelligence is here! The report on the battle between the Kumogakure ninja and the Konoha ninja is back!"
Just as Ōnoki was dreaming of reaping the benefits of their conflict, the office door was suddenly shoved open.
His son Kitsuchi walked in, holding a top-secret intelligence scroll high in his hand.
"Oh? It's finally here!"
"Hmph, let me see how many casualties Konoha and Kumogakure have suffered, and whether it's time for Iwagakure to take the stage..."
A gleam flashed in Ōnoki's eyes. He impatiently snatched the intelligence scroll from Kitsuchi's hand and began reading.
But after only a few seconds, Ōnoki's cloudy old eyes suddenly widened, his pupils trembling violently as though he had seen something unbelievable.
"This... how is this possible...?"
Ōnoki's voice began to shake, and his hands trembled uncontrollably around the scroll.
He could not help it. The information recorded in the report was