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In the Tsuchikage's office of Iwagakure, the Hidden Stone Village, Ōnoki scrutinized the constant stream of intelligence reports arriving from the Land of Wind.
Compared to the other villages, Iwagakure was arguably the party paying the closest attention to this war.
Because of the conflict between Kirigakure and Sunagakure, the latent crises facing Iwagakure were beginning to surface, forcing Ōnoki to take it seriously.
"What a bunch of useless fools!!!"
After reviewing the various reports and discovering that Kirigakure's offensive was timid, faltering, and even their basic camp operations were becoming problematic, Ōnoki couldn't help but curse aloud.
Compared to Iwagakure and Konoha, both of which had ample experience in dealing with Sunagakure, Kirigakure's performance in their war against the Sand was one humiliation after another, looking utterly pathetic.
Whether Kirigakure was useless or not, Ōnoki didn't particularly care.
His focus was on the fact that as long as the war continued for even one more day, the negative impact on Iwagakure would not cease.
The thought of the rising prices of various goods within the village and the growing complaints from the citizens filled Ōnoki with intense irritation and restlessness.
Should he really go through with it?
Ōnoki was still deliberating. He didn't dare make a hasty decision. Although the Daimyo and other high-ranking officials were all in favor of resolving the village's problems by launching an external war, Ōnoki hesitated to act rashly. The Land of Earth still had two powerful, watchful neighbors.
And both of these neighbors harbored deep-seated hatred towards Iwagakure.
Konoha went without saying. Historically, Iwagakure had always enjoyed taking bites out of Konoha, time and time again. Coupled with their experiences in the Third Great Ninja War, it was needless to say that Konoha's people utterly despised Iwagakure.
Konoha alone would be bad enough, but there was also Kumogakure, the Hidden Cloud Village, which similarly brimmed with profound hatred for them. Because he, Ōnoki, had been responsible for leaving the Third Raikage within the borders of the Land of Earth, drawing a final period to the career of such a legendary shinobi, turning him into a historical tale of the ninja world.
After the Third Raikage's death, Kumogakure had remained eerily calm, showing no overt signs of seeking revenge. While provocations still occurred, they were only minor skirmishes.
Ōnoki was not a naive man. He believed that given the opportunity, A, the Fourth Raikage, would absolutely not hesitate to deliver a fatal blow to Iwagakure.
With these two powerful enemies—Kumogakure and Konoha—present, Ōnoki dared not make a move.
In the past, he might have set his sights on Konoha as the target. Unfortunately, the Konoha of today was not the Konoha of yesterday. The current Konoha not only had powerful, well-equipped forces but also ample financial reserves. They had no fear of Iwagakure starting a war. In fact, Konoha had already made defensive preparations.
Konoha could not be touched. The same logic applied to Kumogakure, unless he wanted to lead his village into an abyss.
His gaze fixed on the map, Ōnoki pondered deeply for a moment before shaking his head helplessly. "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer....."
The stakes were too high. As the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, he dared not act recklessly. Otherwise, with one misstep, he, Ōnoki, could go from being the village's great contributor to becoming its greatest sinner.
A sliver of hope still lingered in Ōnoki's heart, hoping for a turning point to arrive.
As long as Iwagakure remained still for a day, Kumogakure and Konoha could only watch and wait, biding their time patiently.
Sure enough, no matter which world you were in, there were always people who feared nothing.
Looking at the village's tourism tax revenue, Kazuki couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for those who, even amidst the large-scale outbreak of war, continued to travel everywhere.
The war between Sunagakure and Kirigakure had actually led to a significant increase in the number of people coming to Konoha for temporary residence and tourism—something Kazuki had never anticipated.
Due to the war's impact, many smaller nations had become unsafe, making Konoha the preferred choice for refuge and tourism for many. Konoha's stable prices and the guaranteed safety of the Land of Fire attracted numerous arrivals.
"Was this a case of unintentionally planting a willow that grows into a shade tree?" Kazuki mused to himself.
He hadn't expected that the village's advance preparations—stockpiling vast quantities of supplies, controlling internal prices, deploying substantial forces along the borders for defense—all these arrangements had, in the eyes of others, transformed into signs of safety and reliability.
Ah, well, no point overthinking it. Increased tax revenue could also alleviate financial strain. This was a good thing.
Shaking his head, Kazuki gathered the documents and handed them to Izumi. "From now on, there's no need to send such documents to me. Take them directly to the Hokage's office. I believe our Hokage will be quite pleased to see them."
Izumi took the files, walking somewhat awkwardly in her not-too-high heels with a slightly strange gait towards the Hokage's office.
All girls loved beauty, and Izumi was no exception. Influenced by Tsunade and Shizune, she, as a secretary, had also begun to pay more attention to her appearance.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing the knocking, Kazuki called out without looking up, "Enter."
"Lord Advisor, this is an urgent intelligence report from the border camp. Please review it."
A ninja from the Intelligence Division opened the door, hurried into the office, placed a scroll on the desk, and then stood at rigid attention, awaiting Kazuki's response.
"The border camp?" Kazuki frowned. "The western camp?"
The western camp was under Jiraiya's command, guarding against both Kirigakure and Sunagakure. In the current climate, a sudden urgent report from there wasn't necessarily good news.
"Yes," the Intelligence ninja replied with a slight bow.
Kazuki opened the scroll, scanned its contents briefly, and suddenly began to laugh.
"???"
What in the world was written in that scroll to make the Advisor laugh so heartily? The Intelligence ninja was utterly bewildered. These encrypted intelligence scrolls were for receipt and verification only; they couldn't just open and read them casually.
"Hahaha, Kirigakure is really something else," Kazuki chuckled for a moment before picking up the scroll, rising from his seat, and heading outside, motioning for the Intelligence ninja to follow.
Upon reaching the Hokage's office door, he instructed the ninja to wait outside and then opened the door and entered.
So much money, so very much money...
Tsunade was staring at the tax revenue figures on the document, her eyes practically turning into sparkling yen symbols, radiating a golden glow.
She had mentally prepared herself for a decrease in the village's financial tax revenue. Who would have thought a huge surprise would land in her lap?
"Rein it in a bit; you're practically drooling," Kazuki said, a few metaphorical black lines appearing on his forehead at Tsunade's money-obsessed expression. "I need to make a trip to the border immediately. There's a matter at the western camp that requires my attention."
It's just increased tax revenue. Look at you.
"The western border camp?" Tsunade's greedy expression vanished, her entire demeanor shifting.
"It's not a major issue. Don't scare yourself," Kazuki said, tossing the scroll to Tsunade.
Tsunade quickly opened and read it. After swiftly scanning the contents, she relaxed. As long as it wasn't a crisis on the border, all was well.
With her worries eased, Tsunade snorted dismissively. "Kirigakure is really wishful thinking, asking Konoha for help at a time like this. Whose terrible idea was this? Terumi Mei's?"