"That damned Nagato of the Akatsuki."
"DAMN!!"
Fresh off a brutal battle, the Raikage raged inside his newly set-up camp.
The reason for his fury was simple enough.
After receiving news from Nagato, he had summoned all the top cloud ninja for an emergency meeting.
In the end, he made the painful decision to retreat.
But before they could even act on it, they realized Ōnoki and Nerugui had already brought their combined forces straight to them.
Their suicidal tactics even gave him pause.
Once the war ended, he found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.
How could that not make him furious?
If only Nagato hadn't withdrawn with the Akatsuki, none of this would've happened.
"Raikage-sama, please calm down."
"At least for now, Ōnoki doesn't have any reinforcements either."
One of the senior Kumogakure officers kindly tried to reason with him—only for it to backfire spectacularly.
"Foolish!!!"
"Just because there are no reinforcements right now doesn't mean there won't be any at all!"
"They're desperately holding us back now—what happens when those reinforcements arrive?"
Third Raikage had been itching for someone to vent on, and this guy walked straight into the crosshairs.
"..."
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, completely at a loss for words.
"Father, we still have some time before things reach a breaking point."
"We should focus on finding a solution as soon as possible."
His son stepped in with a word of reason, and Third Raikage's expression finally eased a little.
"At this point, taking the Land of Earth is no longer likely."
"Withdrawing is our best move for now."
"But judging by Ōnoki's stance, he's definitely already laid traps along our escape routes."
"How do you think we should turn the tide?"
Although unwilling to admit it, Third Raikage knew his plan to conquer the Land of Earth had already failed.
Getting out of the Land of Earth as quickly as possible was now their top priority.
The longer they delayed, the more dangerous their situation became.
"Raikage-sama, what if we took a detour?"
Tudai's suggestion drew everyone's attention immediately.
"A detour?"
Third Raikage frowned slightly and turned his gaze toward the map hanging in the tent.
"Yes."
"Going back the way we came is now extremely risky."
"A detour might take longer, but Ōnoki probably never expected us to take that route."
"We can return through either the Land of Rivers or the Land of Hot Water."
Tudai stepped forward and pointed out two possible paths on the map.
"It's not a bad idea."
"But you need to understand—either path means dealing directly with the Akatsuki."
"Those regions are currently under their control."
Raikage paused in thought, feeling uneasy about it.
Right now, the alliance between the Cloud Ninjas and the Akatsuki was fragile. Marching such a large force through their territory was absolutely forbidden.
"You're right."
"Though cracks have formed in our partnership with the Akatsuki, we haven't gone past the point of no return yet."
"If it's just a request for passage—they might not say no."
Tudai wasn't entirely confident either, but at the moment, he truly couldn't think of a better solution.
"What do you all think?"
The Third Raikage didn't respond further to Tudai. Instead, he let his gaze sweep across everyone in the tent.
"The Akatsuki are in expansion mode right now—they definitely won't allow us passage through their territory."
"I think it's worth a shot."
"If they deny passage, why not force our way through?"
"Who do those Akatsuki punks think they are? It's time someone taught them a lesson."
"No harm in cutting ties. Even if we can't claim the Land of Earth, we're still more than capable of handling them."
...
Voices clashed and opinions flew across the tent, quickly turning it into a chaotic mess.
The Third Raikage looked upon the disorder without even the slightest urge to intervene.
Even he had no idea what to do next.
Meanwhile, compared to the Cloud ninja side, Ōnoki's demeanor remained uncharacteristically calm.
Minato wasted no time relaying news of the Akatsuki retreat.
Thanks to that, Ōnoki managed to intercept them before the Cloud ninjas could make their escape.
Despite the major battle to block the Cloud ninjas' retreat, Iwagakure had yet to gain a significant advantage.
Still, Ōnoki couldn't suppress a smile as he envisioned mercilessly crushing the Cloud ninjas once Rōshi and Kitsuchi returned.
"Tsuchikage-sama, everything has been arranged."
"All crossroads leading to the dock are under surveillance."
With Nakano Daisuke returning alongside Konoha reinforcements, he'd steadily reclaimed his influence within Iwagakure's power hierarchy.
"Good."
"Do they really think they can run? Not a chance."
"Not even a window will be left unguarded."
Confidence flickered in Ōnoki's eyes.
The casualty reports failed to dim his cheerful mood.
"The news about the Akatsuki retreating is certainly great news."
"Though both Rōshi and Kitsuchi were seriously injured, this intelligence came at a perfect time."
"If it had arrived even a little later, the Cloud ninjas might've truly slipped away."
An Iwa high-ranking ninja spoke with heartfelt feeling, grinning widely from ear to ear.
"That's right."
"When we arrived, the Cloud ninjas were clearly preparing to retreat."
"The Raikage must be furious enough to flay those Akatsuki alive by now."
Another chimed in, grinning just as widely.
"They only have themselves to blame for forming an alliance with the Akatsuki in the first place."
"This chapter isn't over yet!"
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"Now look at their situation—it's nobody else's fault."
"They simply failed to keep their eyes open."
Someone casually remarked, voice laced with schadenfreude.
"Useless allies."
"Only tangible gains matter."
"To ensure smooth expansion, the Akatsuki abandoned the Cloud ninjas without hesitation."
"This should serve as a warning for us to heed."
As he spoke, the man's gaze intentionally or unintentionally glanced toward Nawaki.
The atmosphere inside the tent instantly turned awkward.
Everyone understood exactly what he implied.
If the Akatsuki could abandon their allies and flee, then what about Konoha?
"Hehe~"
"Being the good guy sure is hard!"
"What you said, I'll relay your words back to Konoha exactly as you said them."
Nawaki showed him no courtesy whatsoever. He glared back with a forced smile.
"You misunderstood."
"I didn't mean any offense."
"We're all very grateful for Konoha's assistance."
"My point was that in the future, we should be more cautious when choosing allies."
The man hadn't anticipated Nawaki would respond like this and scrambled to defend himself.
"It's fine."
"Konoha will also be more cautious from now on."
"After all, not everyone deserves our help."
Nawaki showed no intention of backing down. His smile dripped with mockery.
"Apologize."
"If you don't know how to speak properly, just shut up. No one will think you're mute."
Ōnoki realized if he didn't intervene now, the situation could spiral out of control.
What an idiot, unable to read the room at all. He honestly couldn't fathom how he'd been so blind as to promote this man.
Does this fool even realize what he just said to someone's face? What exactly is going through his mind?
Even at best, having such thoughts is fine, but shouldn't he at least keep such thoughts to himself?
Inwardly, Ōnoki cursed the man a thousand times and still felt it wasn't enough.
"I'm sorry, I spoke without thinking."
"Please, Lord Nawaki, show your magnanimity and don't take my words to heart."
Since Ōnoki had spoken, however reluctant he was, he had no choice but to apologize.
"No need to apologize. You were right."
"I feel a bit tired. I'll take my leave first."
After saying this, Nawaki stood up and walked away without looking back.
It's nearly time to pull back.
As soon as Nawaki left, Ōnoki's scolding erupted without pause. Not a single person in the tent dared to speak up.
What had started as a rather pleasant debriefing ended in discord.
...
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