Although Loulan's outer city appeared peaceful on the surface, having merely slowed construction and trade, everyone at the highest level knew the truth.
The kingdom had already entered a state of war.
Loulan — Inner City
At the very center of the capital stood the cluster of towering spires known as the Inner Core.
Inside the conference room on the eleventh tower...
Every executive member of White Cross had already taken their seats.
There was:
Nawaki, wearing a bull-horn mask.Kakuzu, his oni mask hanging around his neck.Garura, her painted mask resting on her shoulder.Guren, her sheep mask placed neatly on the table.And at the head of the room...
Queen Sally, the only one not wearing a mask.
Whenever Kaito was absent...
She possessed the highest authority.
She cleared her throat.
"Then..."
"I hereby call the second White Cross Strategic Conference concerning the state of the world to order."
She looked around the table.
"The Third Shinobi World War has officially begun."
"What are everyone's thoughts?"
Nawaki was the first to answer.
"We should strengthen security throughout Loulan's surrounding territory."
"Our priority should be preventing battles between foreign shinobi from spilling into the outer city."
"The civilians living there mustn't become casualties."
Sally nodded.
"That's a good proposal."
"We'll adopt it."
She folded her hands.
"What about the rest of you?"
Silence lingered briefly.
Then Kakuzu spoke.
"I propose something different."
"Let's take advantage of the war..."
"And attack Sunagakure."
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone's expressions changed.
Garura immediately thought of one person.
Yashamaru.
Her younger brother still lived in the Sand Village.
She had never found an opportunity to bring him away.
Nawaki frowned.
If Loulan entered the war directly...
Everything would depend entirely upon Kaito.
Even if Kaito were incredibly powerful...
How many times could he unleash techniques on the level of Atomic Release?
If every nation coordinated...
If hundreds of enemy squads attacked simultaneously...
Even White Cross's strongest members would eventually become tied down.
Then...
The remaining enemy forces would flood into Loulan itself.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Guren quietly lowered her head.
She simply didn't want more people to die.
As for Sally...
She had actually considered invading the Sand Village before.
The only problem...
Was that such an operation required Kaito.
Her own strength was limited to Loulan and its surrounding territory.
She couldn't command an invasion army herself.
"How about this?"
Sally finally suggested.
"We'll settle it by vote."
"If the majority agrees..."
"I'll ask the Director for permission."
"If not..."
"We'll pretend this proposal was never made."
"I oppose."
Nawaki answered immediately.
"...I oppose too."
Guren slowly raised her hand.
"I support it."
Garura's answer came without hesitation.
"But..."
"We rescue my younger brother, Yashamaru, first."
She knew Yashamaru wasn't particularly exceptional.
But he was already fifteen years old.
He had become a Chunin the previous year.
Sooner or later...
He would be sent to the battlefield.
The information came from Loulan's own intelligence network.
In response to the spies every great nation had sent against Loulan...
White Cross had also quietly established its own espionage organization.
They now possessed newspapers.
Intelligence agents.
And information flowing from every nation.
The vote stood evenly split.
Two in favor.
Two opposed.
Even Sally looked surprised by Garura's decisiveness.
"Lady Sand Spirit..."
"Weren't you originally from Sunagakure?"
"If attacking the village means its destruction..."
"Are you truly alright with that?"
Garura's expression never changed.
"The moment I chose to serve Director Kaito..."
"I became one of his people."
She paused.
Then continued quietly.
"And besides..."
"The disappearance of the Third Kazekage made me realize something."
"This era..."
"The era ruled by shinobi..."
"Will always produce wars driven by greed."
Her eyes gradually filled with disappointment.
"If even the strongest Kazekage in history..."
"Can become nothing more than the spark that ignites another war..."
"Then..."
"What purpose does Sunagakure truly serve?"
She slowly lifted her head.
"...Loulan should replace it."
Kakuzu immediately understood what she meant.
"You want Loulan to absorb the Sand shinobi."
"No."
Garura calmly shook her head.
"I want Loulan..."
"To replace the entire Land of Wind."
"..."
Even Kakuzu fell silent.
"...You've lost your mind."
He spoke bluntly.
"Loulan's economy is stable."
"Our technology surpasses every nation."
"But that doesn't mean we can annex an entire great country."
Lowering his voice slightly, he added,
"If you said invading the neighboring Land of Rain..."
"I might actually believe it."
"But the Land of Wind?"
"It contains over a dozen cities comparable in size to Loulan itself."
"Even if we conquered them..."
"Who would govern them?"
"The officials all answer to the Wind Daimyo."
"And unlike shinobi..."
"They're ordinary civilians."
"They'll unite to protect their own interests."
"Even if we seize the cities..."
"Civil unrest would erupt."
"Trade would collapse."
"The cities would suffer enormous damage."
"By the time reconstruction even begins..."
"Another nation will already be invading."
Only then...
Did Garura truly realize the scale of ruling an entire country.
Even Sally quietly nodded.
She had become Queen only after joining White Cross.
Before that...
Loulan had been a weak nation.
Most of their intelligence came from passing merchants.
Only recently had they developed newspapers...
Spy networks...
And genuine national power.
But even now...
Their standing army numbered only a few hundred.
Not even a thousand soldiers.
If war truly erupted...
Everything would still depend upon one man.
Kaito.
Just then—
"Director!"
"Director has arrived!"
The guards outside shouted respectfully.
Everyone inside the conference room immediately became quiet.
Click.
The door opened.
After spending over six months buried inside his laboratory...
Kaito finally emerged.
Before coming...
He had even taken the time to cut his hair and wash up.
Closing the door behind him...
He smiled.
"Looks like everyone's doing well."
"Director!"
All five members stood simultaneously.
Sally immediately vacated the main seat.
Kaito waved casually.
"Sit."
Taking the chair at the head of the table...
He looked around.
"So."
"I heard the war finally started."
Then his eyes landed on Kakuzu.
"And you."
"Where the hell have you been all this time?"
"Hunting bounty targets."
Kakuzu answered matter-of-factly.
Kaito laughed.
"Still the same as always."
"How much did you make?"
"About one hundred million ryō."
"Tsk."
"Less than two years..."
"And you've already earned over a hundred million."
"That's impressive."
Kakuzu shook his head.
"I'm nowhere near your level."
"I heard you've been researching interdimensional travel."
"...Did you succeed?"
Kaito nodded confidently.
"Of course."
"The World Gate has stabilized."
"I can travel between worlds whenever I want now."
"Remarkable..."
Kakuzu couldn't hide his curiosity.
"I wonder what the version of me in that other world is like."
At that moment...
Guren raised her hand enthusiastically.
"Teacher!"
"Long time no see!"
Kaito smiled.
"Long time no see, little Guren."
"How's your training going?"
The little girl touched her slightly swollen cheek with a mischievous smile.
"Thanks to Teacher's guidance..."
"I've learned my lesson."
Kaito pretended not to understand the obvious sarcasm.
"Is that so?"
"Good."
After exchanging greetings with everyone...
Sally finally briefed him on everything that had happened during his six months of isolation.
The outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War.
The shifting balance between the Five Great Nations.
And White Cross's ongoing discussion about how Loulan should respond.
Kaito listened quietly...
Without interrupting a single word.
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