Chapter 186
2-in-1-chapter
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"That's the first time I've heard you say that. But honestly, Kitsuchi, don't you think you're exaggerating Konoha's power? I know they're strong—otherwise they wouldn't have held the rich lands of the Fire Country—but after three great shinobi wars, even their deep reserves must be close to exhaustion, right? The Cloud shinobi have been winning steadily in the Land of Hot Water."
Kitsuchi looked at Bun'ya in surprise, his bitter smile deepening. "I didn't expect to hear that from you, Bun'ya. You really think we hold that much of an advantage over Konoha?"
"Of course. Both old Jīn and Han have gone to the front, and the Tsuchikage himself is overseeing the campaign. The Cloud have also committed their full strength—Fourth Raikage and both of their Jinchūriki are already on the battlefield. How could Konoha possibly win when fighting on two fronts?"
Bun'ya's rebuttal was sharp.
After a few seconds of silence, Kitsuchi finally said, "Don't forget Dōshinin. He almost annihilated Konoha's defense forces. Back then, we all thought Konoha was finished—but then that Yellow Flash appeared and snatched away victory that was already in our grasp. Even if the Yellow Flash is dead now, who can say another won't appear? A Red Flash? A Black Flash?"
"Konoha may have declined," he continued, "but a starved camel is still larger than a horse. And that camel isn't dead yet. The so-called God of Shinobi left Konoha with more strength than you can imagine. To defeat them, we would need the combined effort of the Cloud, Sand, and Mist, wearing them down bit by bit until their strength and potential are exhausted—not fighting separately and being destroyed one by one."
"That's only speculation, isn't it? There was only ever one Yellow Flash. Someone like that doesn't appear twice."
Bun'ya clearly disagreed.
The conversation ended without resolution. Still, both men were steady and sincere by nature. Even if their opinions differed, their disagreement never went so far as to break their friendship. At most, it would leave them unsettled for a while—but soon enough, they would be back to sharing a quiet drink together after work.
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Two days later, Land of Grass.
With his stomach full of unease, the current leader of Kusagakure followed closely behind the Konoha shinobi who were guiding him. No matter how cautious he was, the moment he saw Leaf shinobi mingled in the same camp with Mist shinobi—people he had not seen for decades—his mood grew even heavier.
Why had war broken out again?
At sixty-five, the Kusagakure leader Aipuwei carried a lifetime of worries. He had been born at the tail end of the Warring States era and had witnessed with his own eyes its conclusion and the birth of the Five Great Nations. He had once looked forward to the peaceful world envisioned by the First Hokage, but with the First's passing, the tranquil world he had created was buried with him.
Three shinobi wars had shattered Aipuwei's faith in peace.
Now he only hoped the next war would not arrive too soon.
That wish had not been granted. In fact, the opposite was true. Barely more than six years had passed since the end of the Third Shinobi World War, and a new conflict was about to erupt. Wedged between two great nations, the Land of Grass would be drawn in whether it wished it or not.
Grass shinobi did not have the luxury of choice. They lacked the strength of Takinogakure and the samurai of the Land of Iron to declare neutrality. They could only continue as Konoha's vassals and join the war.
"Lord Jiraiya, the people from Kusagakure have arrived."
"They're here? Show him in."
Aipuwei passed the guards at the entrance and stepped into the command tent, where he saw Jiraiya seated at the head. "Lord Jiraiya, we meet again."
"Aipuwei, your spirit looks good."
Jiraiya answered with a smile.
The two were not strangers. They had dealt with each other during both the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, though their acquaintance amounted to little more than a few polite greetings. With Kusagakure's poor fighting strength, there had been no chance to build anything like true camaraderie with Konoha's shinobi.
"Old, old. I'm not what I used to be. These days, walking a long distance makes my legs ache."
Sighing, Aipuwei sat in the lowest open seat with a gesture from Jiraiya.
After sitting, the old man finally spared a glance for the two people at Jiraiya's sides. One was a Nara he had not seen before. Despite his talk of being old, Aipuwei's shrewd eyes immediately picked out the clan crest on Nara Suzaku's clothing.
As for the other, he had white hair and violet eyes, looked to be around twenty, wore a Mist forehead protector, and revealed shark-like teeth when he smiled.
"If you're short on energy, choose a successor early. Otherwise if you slip away one day without warning, you'll leave a pile of trouble for those who come after."
"I would if I could. The youths in the village are all disappointing. Not a single one is decent. Each generation is worse than the last. We've had to lower the standards for promoting Jōnin again and again. They don't train seriously and keep dabbling in crooked shortcuts…"
Aipuwei sighed repeatedly, disparaging his juniors until it sounded as if he were calling them a pack of useless layabouts.
Jiraiya listened to the old man's grumbling and smiled without commenting.
Cough, cough.
Seated at Jiraiya's right, Nara Suzaku cleared his throat and, without ceremony, cut off Aipuwei's rambling. "Chief Aipuwei, that's enough small talk. We didn't call you here to hear complaints. How are the preparations we assigned you?"
Pressing Grass shinobi into service was the usual pattern. The battlefields of Iwa and Konoha were either in the Land of Grass or the Land of Rain.
The Rain shinobi had hard spines, refused to defer to Konoha, and wouldn't obey Iwa either. Suna's envoys had been turned away as well. No matter how wretched things were under Hanzō's rule, after the Second Shinobi World War both Iwa and Suna tacitly avoided the Land of Rain during the Third.
Now the Land of Grass was the battlefield between Konoha and Iwa.
Accordingly, before Jiraiya's main force arrived, envoys had already gone ahead to Kusagakure, met Aipuwei, and conveyed Konoha's orders: assist the border garrison in watching the frontier to prevent Iwa raids, and prepare supplies to provision the army.
"We've done our best to gather supplies, but we're not sure how much your side requires…"
"Do your utmost to procure what you can. As for matters that aren't your concern, ask fewer questions. Or do you think Konoha plans to eat and drink here for free?"
Nara Suzaku's attitude was high-handed. He gave no deference to Aipuwei's age.
"Besides supplies, where are your people? The border garrison reports they haven't seen a single Grass shinobi. I want to know where your manpower is."
"Well…"
Sincere embarrassment and shame spread across Aipuwei's deeply wrinkled face. "Lord Jiraiya, it isn't that we refuse to help. It's that only six years have passed since the last war ended, and the village still hasn't recovered. The older shinobi who could fight were nearly all killed in that war. The youngsters now are simply not up to it. If we send them to the front, they'll only be a burden. So this old man thought to have them contribute more from the rear by doing hard labor."
Jiraiya said nothing.
Bang!
Nara Suzaku slammed the table and barked, "Cut the nonsense, Aipuwei. Don't mistake Lord Jiraiya's kindness for permission to dodge orders. Whether Grass shinobi can be of use is not for you to decide. Allocation of manpower is not your place to overstep."
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