Dodai's figure shrunk to a blurry black dot at the edge of the horizon, finally disappearing behind the desolate rock wall.
Satoshi slowly withdrew his gaze.
Oh, you stupid little one, feel the cruelty of the Ninja World.
You think that little potato can stand up for you?
Heh, if he doesn't take the opportunity to stab you in the back, it's already considered an act of utmost benevolence.
Naive!
Meanwhile, Dodai, who was desperately fleeing, naturally knew nothing of this. At this moment, his heart was filled only with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.
He still thought he had hidden himself well, using his superb skills to shake off Konoha's pursuers.
He gritted his teeth, harboring a firm belief. He absolutely had to bring back reinforcements. This belief gave him infinite motivation. He broke through his physical limits, squeezing out the last bit of his body's potential.
He traveled without food or drink, and managed to reach the gates of Iwagakure before collapsing from exhaustion.
He fell to the ground with a thud, using his last ounce of strength to shout at the blurry figures of the guards.
"I am Dodai of Kumogakure, I request an audience with the Tsuchikage."
After speaking, he fainted.
"Medical squad!"
Someone rushed over.
Kurotsuchi squatted down, and deftly pried the letter from Dodai's hand.
She quickly glanced at the seal on the envelope, and her expression instantly became serious.
"Please have the medical squad treat him, I'm going to see Grandpa."
Kurotsuchi stood up, and rushed towards the office like a gust of wind.
At this moment, in the Tsuchikage office.
Ōnoki and Kitsuchi were arranging the next round of strategic plans.
On the map, the markers representing Konoha's forces were expanding at an unsettling speed, while Kumogakure could only defend staunchly, yet found it difficult to advance even half a step.
"The Hyuga clan and the Aburame clan of Konoha have too strong reconnaissance abilities. We need to find a way to create some smoke bombs to confuse their vision."
"Also, write to Sunagakure, tell them not to cling to their small plot of land. If they need to stab Konoha in the back, they should do it."
"We're risking our lives on the front lines, not so they can take advantage behind our backs…"
Kitsuchi and the others nodded repeatedly, diligently recording Ōnoki's every command.
The Fourth Great Ninja War was unprecedented in scale. A single misjudgment could drag Iwagakure into an abyss of no return.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open abruptly, and Kurotsuchi walked in quickly, handing the blood-stained letter to her grandfather, Ōnoki.
"Grandpa… Tsuchikage-sama, a ninja from Kumogakure is requesting aid, and brought this letter of appeal."
"Who? Kumogakure?"
Hearing this, Ōnoki let out a sound of surprise, and a wave of unease welled up in his heart.
He took the letter, quickly scanned it, and his face grew increasingly grim.
"Father, what's wrong?"
Kitsuchi's heart tightened when he saw his father's face.
"You take a look." Ōnoki handed the letter to Kitsuchi.
He, meanwhile, floated to the map and stared intently at the location of Kumogakure.
"Father… this…"
Ōnoki naturally knew what Kitsuchi was thinking.
Given A's barbaric personality, he would absolutely not send someone to ask for help unless it was a last resort. He couldn't bring himself to do it.
In other words, Kumogakure's current situation must be extremely critical, perhaps even facing utter destruction. A might also be out of commission.
Ōnoki couldn't help but gasp. How long has it been since the fighting started?
Even if Kumogakure had dispatched a large number of ninjas and been ambushed by despicable Konoha ninjas, it shouldn't have happened so quickly.
Ōnoki exchanged a look with Kitsuchi. "Kitsuchi, what do you think? Help or not help?"
Kitsuchi pondered for a moment and said, "We are interdependent on each other. Once Konoha recovers, we, Iwagakure, will be next to be attacked."
Hearing this, Ōnoki nodded.
He agreed with Kitsuchi's point of view. Before they completely broke ties, they could still deter fence-sitters. Now, it's difficult.
Kitsuchi added, "However, this is a matter concerning Kumogakure's survival. Let's wait until the Kumo ninja wakes up before discussing it further."
"Mm."
Ōnoki was very pleased. His son, though appearing simple-minded, was actually quite reliable. He hadn't wasted his years of teaching him.
Besides him, his granddaughter Kurotsuchi also displayed some of her talent.
Once they weathered this storm, Iwagakure might be ready for a complete takeoff.
"Then we'll wait until he wakes up."
Dodai was unconscious for a long time, only waking up around noon on the third day.
"Raikage-sama!"
Tsuchidai suddenly awoke from a nightmare, shouting hoarsely.
His body twitched from the pain as the violent movement pulled at his wounds.
What greeted his eyes was an unfamiliar grayish-white rock ceiling, and the air was filled with a strong smell of medicinal herbs.
He found himself lying on a clean bed, with several burly Iwa ninjas standing by the bedside and a girl.
"Kurotsuchi…"
"I'll go find Grandpa, please wait a moment."
Just a few minutes later, a short figure floated inside.
Seeing Ōnoki, Dodai was incredibly excited. Finally, he found a savior.
But he forcibly suppressed his surging emotions. The composure of Kumogakure's strategist came into play at this moment. He couldn't lose his composure, nor could he show despair.
What he needed was Iwagakure's reinforcements, not sympathy.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Kumogakure needs your help."
Ōnoki nodded. "Tell everything that happened in detail."
"A short while ago, there was activity in the Land of Lightning, the Hokage, single-handedly…"
No, he couldn't tell the truth. If he let the shrewd Ōnoki know that Kumogakure was almost destroyed by the Hokage alone and even A was easily subdued, he would definitely be terrified and would never send troops.
For Kumogakure, he had to drag him and Sunagakure into this. Three villages together might not survive, but without them, everyone in Kumogakure would die.
Dodai's eyes were wide, acting as if it were all true.
"It wasn't a normal attack. The Hokage led tens of thousands of ninjas, circling around to attack Kumogakure."
"At that time, most of our village's elite were dispatched to various front lines, leaving the rear extremely vulnerable."
"That despicable Hokage actually used the civilians in our village as hostages, forcing Raikage-sama to come out and negotiate. Raikage-sama had no choice but to go for the sake of the innocent villagers."
"But that was a trap from the start."
"On the surface, it was negotiations, but in reality, he had already laid an ambush with countless ninjas."
"The despicable Konoha ninja poisoned Raikage-sama. Jiraiya and the Hokage, with their elite, swarmed him, only then managing to subdue Raikage-sama."
"Later, they used Raikage-sama as a hostage and stormed into Kumogakure…"
"Now, we don't even know what Kumogakure looks like."
After hearing all this, Ōnoki was half-skeptical.
A might appear like a brute on the surface, but he actually had some cunning.
Coupled with the strategist Dodai and a host of high-ranking officials, how could they be so easily ambushed?
This was too outrageous.
Furthermore, tens of thousands of ninjas?
Did no one report them killing their way into the Land of Lightning?
What kind of battle would that be? Doesn't that mean the Land of Lightning's defenses were completely breached?
Ōnoki was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke, "Tell me all the intel on Satoshi, don't miss any detail of the engagements."
"Understood."
Dodai's heart tightened, knowing that the most crucial moment had arrived. He immediately focused all his attention, beginning to recall the battle with Satoshi.
He carefully exaggerated, deliberately weakening Satoshi's strength a little, making him not unconquerable.
He emphasized the despicable nature of Konoha's human wave tactics and the Hokage's reliance on sneak attacks, poison, hostages, and other underhanded methods to win.
Dodai said that Susanoo was vulnerable before Dust Release. Flying Thunder God was also just a means of escape.
And now Konoha had stretched its front lines too long, so supplies must be an issue, blah blah blah.
In summary, if we swarm him, he may not be able to kill everyone cleanly.
Otherwise, if this bastard was invincible, Ōnoki would definitely not go to his death.
This was knowing how to read people.
A strategist should be like this!
Half an hour later.
"Your injuries are not yet healed, rest well here first. We will go discuss countermeasures."
After speaking, Ōnoki gave Kitsuchi a look, and the two left the ward, coming to a quiet corner outside the door.