At the Tsuchikage Building in Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office.
"What?! Konoha launched a surprise attack on Sunagakure more than a week ago?!"
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was so shocked by the report that he slammed his hand onto the desk and shot to his feet.
Then—
Crack!
His entire body froze.
"Argh! My back!"
"Tsuchikage-sama, please take care of yourself! Should I call a medical shinobi?"
A shinobi dressed as an Iwagakure ANBU stood opposite Ōnoki's desk and spoke with concern.
"I'm fine!"
After recovering, Ōnoki waved his hand, then angrily demanded,
"What are you people doing?! Something happened more than a week ago, and you're only reporting it now!"
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi hurriedly explained,
"Tsuchikage-sama, Konoha's operation this time was not only extremely sudden but also highly unusual. Our operatives embedded within Konoha had no idea that Konoha would take the initiative and launch a war!"
"Furthermore, Konoha employed an elite-force strategy this time. They didn't deploy many personnel, nor did they bring much logistical support. That's why we failed to detect anything unusual for so long!"
"More importantly, Sunagakure's response was also very strange. It seems they were actually helping Konoha suppress the spread of information. That's why it took us so long to discover what had happened!"
"Sunagakure helped Konoha conceal the news?"
Ōnoki froze, then angrily said,
"That was the conclusion reached by the Intelligence Analysis Department? Have they lost their minds?!"
"Sunagakure obviously concealed the fact that they had been attacked by Konoha because they suffered heavy losses and were afraid that we'd take advantage of their weakened state! What does that have to do with Konoha?!"
"You couldn't even figure that out?!"
Ōnoki was furious.
If he hadn't been afraid of aggravating his back injury, he would have flipped the desk over right then and there!
But Ōnoki wasn't actually angry about Konoha attacking Sunagakure.
At most, that incident had cost Iwagakure an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
And given Iwagakure's current circumstances, even if they had received the information earlier, they might not have sent troops anyway.
Therefore, Konoha's attack on Sunagakure wasn't particularly relevant to Iwagakure.
What truly enraged Ōnoki was the dereliction of duty by Iwagakure's intelligence personnel and the erroneous judgment made by the village's Intelligence Analysis Department!
What was the most important thing in this era?
Talent, of course!
Whenever Ōnoki thought about the endless stream of talented people emerging from neighboring Konoha, with several renowned powerhouses appearing every so often, while Iwagakure had been suffering from a lack of successors, his anger only grew stronger.
He still hadn't found a suitable successor!
It was simply unfair!
Why were all the geniuses born in Konoha?
Could Konoha really be the Sage of Six Paths' favorite child or something?!
If Uchiha Ren had known what Ōnoki was thinking, he would undoubtedly have nodded and agreed.
Konoha really had been founded by the descendants of both branches of the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline. The reincarnations of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons had also been born in Konoha.
Not only that, descendants of the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother also lived in Konoha.
With all these factors combined, Konoha really wasn't much different from being the Sage of Six Paths' own favored child!
"What about the aftermath of the war?"
Ōnoki took a deep breath to calm himself before asking again.
"What are Konoha and Sunagakure's respective positions?"
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi answered,
"According to unofficial reports, Konoha attacked Sunagakure this time because Sunagakure rejected Konoha's terms for peace negotiations and refused to pay compensation for its defeat!"
"So Konoha's strategic objective this time was to plunder the various resources within Sunagakure and the Land of Wind!"
"Although this information hasn't been officially confirmed, judging from the subsequent reactions of Konoha and Sunagakure, its credibility is above ninety percent!"
"According to reports from our operatives inside Konoha, the amount of resources Konoha brought back from Sunagakure and the Land of Wind this time was enormous. The estimated value is more than 20 billion ryō!"
"How much?"
Even Ōnoki was startled by that figure.
"You're saying Konoha seized more than twenty billion ryō from Sunagakure this time?"
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi nodded.
"If anything, the actual amount is even higher!"
"Tch!"
Ōnoki sucked in a cold breath and muttered,
"Has Konoha finally figured things out? And how could Sunagakure possibly have that much money...?"
Seeing his expression, the Iwagakure ANBU shinobi added,
"Tsuchikage-sama, Sunagakure itself may not have much money. But even the poorest regions have people who are wealthier than ordinary civilians."
"The nobles and wealthy families of Sunagakure and the Land of Wind certainly aren't poor!"
"According to unofficial reports, once Konoha's forces entered the Land of Wind this time, they split into numerous small teams and disguised themselves as bandits, carrying out raids throughout the country."
"That is why they managed to obtain such an enormous amount of loot!"
"Damn it! That move by Konoha really was impossible to guard against!"
Ōnoki cursed under his breath before continuing,
"Looks like we need to strengthen our border defenses."
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi froze.
After hesitating for a moment, he said,
"Tsuchikage-sama, according to what we've heard, Sunagakure suffered this defeat precisely because it deployed most of its forces along its border defenses, leaving the interior of the Land of Wind practically undefended. Konoha seized that opportunity!"
Ōnoki replied sternly,
"Idiot! How can Iwagakure's situation be compared to Sunagakure's?"
"Sunagakure's borders are incredibly long. Spreading its forces along them accomplishes very little!"
"Our borders aren't nearly as extensive. Increasing the number of troops stationed along them naturally increases the strength of our defenses!"
Although the Land of Earth had a vast territory, most of its western and northern borders were surrounded by clusters of small countries, meaning that it didn't need to station too many troops there.
Meanwhile, much of the eastern side of the Land of Earth consisted of coastline.
As long as they secured several important ports, the region would remain safe.
Therefore, Iwagakure's defensive burden was far lighter than Sunagakure's.
"I spoke out of turn."
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi realized that he had simply been overly cautious and immediately apologized to Ōnoki.
"Forget it."
Ōnoki waved his hand, no longer interested in pursuing the matter.
"Besides plundering Sunagakure's resources, Konoha's greater objective this time is probably to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."
The Iwagakure ANBU shinobi blinked.
"Sunagakure is the chicken, so... we're the monkeys?"
"Who else would it be?"
Ōnoki replied irritably.
"We also suffered heavy losses during the recent Battle of Kikyō Mountain. We even lost two Renchūriki. Going head-to-head with Konoha gives us no advantage."
"And now Konoha's envoy is still waiting in our village for our answer..."
After a pause, Ōnoki shook his head.
"No. We absolutely cannot let Konoha achieve its objective."
"Otherwise, it will take Iwagakure more than a decade to recover its strength!"
"We have no choice but to go talk to that barbarian from Kumogakure!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789