[Border of the Land of Fire]
[Kumo Encampment]
"I really didn't expect it♫, that Akatsuki leader to be this strong, ♪, this guy, what an idiot."
"Why don't we send a few people into the Land of Fire first and try."
Killer Bee paced irritably inside the tent.
He'd been here a while, but because of Akatsuki's intimidation, Kumo didn't dare enter the Land of Fire.
The nearby Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito, opened her eyes,."Killer Bee, you should sit down."
"Uchiha Rengoku isn't a fool. If he pulled his forces back, that means they're absolutely confident."
"Uchiha's Mangekyo counters us too strongly. If we strike, we must all go together."
Killer Bee's expression darkened. Years ago Rengoku had beaten him badly, even caused the Raikage to lose an arm, and he'd been wanting revenge ever since.
He had trained so hard hoping for a chance to attack Konoha.
Now the opportunity had come, yet they wouldn't let him act. Killer Bee felt very frustrated.
What frustrated him more was that his being held back wasn't because of Konoha, but just because of a mercenary organization.
"We can only reduce losses if we wait for confirmed intel," Yugito said. She had been captured last time too, so she also wanted revenge.
But she was much calmer than Killer Bee; she knew war was a long game, so she wasn't in a hurry.
This time Kumo had dispatched a large force, planning to strike like thunder once Konoha's situation was clarified.
But after Sarutobi Hiruzen and others were wiped out and Konoha pulled all its border guards back, Kumo people dared not advance. They only sent spies secretly to gather intelligence.
Kumo's spies, however, were no match for the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga Byakugan's field of view extended over ten kilometers.
They didn't even know how many of their own people had already been completely exposed.
"Byakugan!"
As some of the Hyuga's few experts, Hyuga Tsukihiko and others were specially sent to monitor Kumo's forces.
Their team of three were all Hyuga. As team leader, Tsukihiko was the strongest and had the farthest visual range.
Tsukihiko was the main observer; the other two teammates were there to protect and watch whether Kumo had sent anyone this way.
Although Kumo's defenses were relatively tight, they were useless against the Byakugan.
They simply couldn't hide across ten kilometers from the Hyuga's sight to avoid detection.
Kumo didn't even realize Hyuga squads were nearby.
When Tsukihiko observed, he never stared at anyone for too long. Jinchuriki were sensitive, and staring at Killer Bee or Yugito for too long would attract attention.
After a period of careful observation, Tsukihiko had mapped out Kumo's basic troop dispositions.
He wrote all that intelligence into a messenger bird and sent it back.
———
[Uchiha Compound]
Not long after, Rengoku received the frontline intelligence sent by the Hyuga clan.
It included not only Kumo, but Iwa and Suna as well.
Suna had deployed troops for only a short while before withdrawing. Probably uncertain how long a fight would last, or hoping Iwa and Kumo would act first.
Iwa had already amassed over two thousand at the border, clearly aiming high, though their jinchuriki were absent; whether they hadn't arrived or were hiding was unknown.
Kumo had about two thousand, and both of their jinchuriki were present in the formation.
Iwa and Kumo were both waiting for the right moment; once it came, it would be a thunderous strike.
Iwa and Kumo might even tacitly set aside old grudges, enter the Land of Fire first, and deal with things together.
Rengoku didn't pay much attention to the other details.
But seeing both Kumo jinchuriki together gave him a two-pronged idea.
The Kirigakure clone, time for it to work.
———
[Kirigakure Village]
Kirigakure was completely different from the war-ready Kumo, Iwa, and Suna.
They made no move at all, doing whatever they normally did.
Many thought it best if the other villages fought it out. After all, Kirigakure hovered overseas and could stay safely on the sidelines.
But today Yagura convened a high-level meeting.
"I will be away from the village for a while. All village affairs will be managed by Terumi Mei in my stead."
"Postpone the merchant caravans to the Land of Lightning. Everything waits until I return."
Kirigakure's high-level meetings were not like Konoha's. In Kirigakure, the strongest fist became the Mizukage.
The Mizukage, like a monarch, decided everything; the other elders could only give advice, and whether it was taken depended on the Mizukage's will.
Although unstated, Yagura's words were clear: he intended to intervene in this war.
When he said that, the elders grew anxious.
"Mizukage-sama, Kirigakure has only just recovered some strength. Now is not the time for large-scale deployments."
"Yes, Mizukage-sama. They haven't even started fighting yet. If we intervene now, the losses will be huge."
"Yes, yes…"
Kirigakure had just caught its breath these last three years; the elders disagreed with sending troops.
Yagura pressed his hand down, signaling everyone to listen.
The elders soon fell silent. His prestige was still high.
"We certainly won't deploy on a large scale."
"Because only I will go."
The elders looked at one another. Finally one elder spoke, "Mizukage-sama, this is too dangerous."
"If anything happens to you, what will become of Kirigakure?"
Yagura waved his hand, "Fortune favors the bold. Kirigakure needs a quick recovery; this risk is worth taking."
His mirror clone, that is, Rengoku's Three-Tails clone, had already informed him what kind of cooperation this would be.
"Report what goods we're currently short of to Terumi Mei."
"Terumi Mei, you can contact them."
Saying this, Yagura handed Terumi Mei a list.
Terumi Mei took it and saw it was full of names of famous merchant guilds in the Land of Fire and how to contact them.
She looked surprised. These guilds wouldn't serve just one village; merchants from many villages would deal with them, sharing risk and spreading profit.
But now it was clear: these guilds would make a special effort to bring needed goods to Kirigakure.
She guessed why Yagura was going to the Land of Lightning.
Merchant caravans were interconnected; the Water Country's guilds had business relations with Fire Country merchants.
Because of past dealings, many faces were familiar.
Terumi Mei had heard about the previous scandal where Fire Country merchant convoys were cheated.
And now Sarutobi Hiruzen was already dead.
Clearly, Rengoku had reached another cooperation deal with their Mizukage.
It was just unknown whether Yagura would be safe this time.
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