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Sunagakure's garrison camp.
Inside the dimly lit main tent, the air was so heavy it felt like it could be wrung out.
The Land of Wind daimyo paced back and forth restlessly, each turn creating a gust of wind that made the candlelight flicker and shadows sway.
Rasa sat to the side, the brim of his straw hat casting a large shadow that completely hid his face.
Only his tightly clenched fists, resting on his knees, showed his current state of mind.
Just then, the tent flap was suddenly thrown open.
A Sunagakure scout, sent to gather information, stumbled in, his face still marked with terror.
"My lord! Lord Kazekage!"
He dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice shaking uncontrollably, mixed with the gasps of his hurried run.
"Iwa... Iwagakure, they..."
"Don't rush, speak slowly!" Rasa's eyes lifted slightly, his voice deep, steadying the scout.
The Land of Wind daimyo stopped pacing and listened hard.
The scout swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and then told the scene on the battlefield exactly as it had happened.
From how Iwagakure used earth walls as bait, to how Kirigakure and Kumogakure fell into the trap.
And finally, how Kitsuchi activated the Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Technique, turning the entire area into a maze of stone pillars, burying all enemies alive with a terrifying rockslide.
Every detail was told clearly.
When the last word fell, the entire main tent was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
The Land of Wind daimyo was frozen in place, the anger on his face completely gone, replaced only by bone-chilling dread and shock.
Rasa's face, hidden beneath his hat, had tight muscles, and his sharp gaze fixed on the scout as he said. "...The Kirigakure and Kumogakure forces, not a single one escaped?"
"Y-yes." The scout nodded with difficulty. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"That scale of attack... no one could have survived."
"Kitsuchi..." Rasa slowly said the name. Could that man, who always followed Onoki and seemed honest and simple, possess such a terrifying tactical mind?
No!
All of this must have been Onoki's plan. He just didn't make a move.
A kage not making a move can still be explained as mere friction!
He truly is an old fox who has lived from the Warring States period until now.
As Rasa thought, the Land of Wind daimyo was already furious, slamming his fist on the table. "What an Iwagakure! What a Land of Earth!"
His voice was no longer filled with rage, but with a deep sense of humiliation and powerlessness.
They had been played.
From beginning to end, they had been played for fools by the Land of Earth!
The Land of Earth deliberately delaying them, making them waste time at the border, wasn't for the sake of keeping those small profits at all!
They wanted everyone to witness firsthand how Iwagakure crushed its competitors!
This was a show of force!
A naked, clear display of military might!
The Land of Earth was using this method to tell everyone: want the Land of Lightning, that juicy piece of meat?
That Kumogakure cake, only Iwagakure is qualified to eat it!
No one else even has the right to sit at the table!
"Bastards! Bastards!"
The Land of Wind daimyo shook with rage. He felt as if his face had been brutally stomped on by the Land of Earth, then ground in twice.
He suddenly looked at Rasa, his eyes burning with a wild fire.
"Rasa! Gather the troops! We'll fight them!"
"My lord, please calm down!" Rasa immediately rose and held back the agitated daimyo.
"We only have a thousand men, and we are deep within the Land of Earth's territory. If we start a war, we have no chance of winning!"
"Then call for the village to send reinforcements!"
"If the Land of Earth dared to do this, they must have already prepared for us to turn hostile. It's possible Iwagakure has already gathered forces at the border."
"Then... then what do you suggest?" The Land of Wind daimyo roared. "Are we just going to stand by and watch them take all the benefits?"
"And then we'll slink back into the desert like stray dogs?"
"What about the honor of my Land of Wind?"
Rasa fell silent.
How could he possibly be willing to accept this?
To gather those 2.5 billion, the Land of Wind had been practically drained dry.
If he returned empty-handed like this, he, the Fourth Kazekage, would be the greatest joke in Sunagakure's hundreds of years of history.
However, fighting them head-on would be suicide.
The strength displayed by Iwagakure had completely exceeded his expectations.
It was very likely they had gathered their entire army!
Inside the tent, silence came down.
Only the daimyo's heavy breathing and the crackling of the burning candle could be heard.
After a long while.
Rasa slowly raised his head, a hint of firmness flashing beneath the shadow of his hat. "My lord."
"We... might still have one option."
"What option?" The Land of Wind daimyo looked at him sharply.
Rasa didn't answer directly, instead asking. "My lord, who do you think is the one who least wants to see the Land of Earth dominate right now?"
The Land of Wind daimyo paused, then a flash of understanding struck him. "Kirigakure?"
"Exactly." Rasa nodded. "Kirigakure lost everything this time. Their hatred for Iwagakure is definitely no less than ours."
"But..." The Land of Wind daimyo frowned deeply. "Even if we and Kirigakure join forces, we might not be a match for Iwagakure."
"Just the two of us, of course, isn't enough." Rasa's expression was dark.
"What if we add the Land of Fire?"
"The Land of Fire?"
The Land of Wind daimyo's breathing stopped instantly.
A name, without control, rose from the depths of his heart.
That man who, by his own power, held back thousands of Kumogakure shinobi, tore apart the Land of Lightning, and was still willing to sit at the negotiating table.
The Land of Fire daimyo, Shin Kurogane!
"You mean..."
"Using a tiger to eat a wolf." Rasa said each word slowly.
"Since the Land of Fire daimyo is willing to sit at the negotiating table, it means he absolutely does not want to see the balance of the shinobi world broken!"
"The Land of Earth wants to be the most greedy wolf, so we'll find an even fiercer tiger to teach them a lesson!"
A terrifying light instantly burst in the eyes of the Land of Wind daimyo.
That's right!
They could go to the Land of Fire!
Although the Land of Fire daimyo seemed very greedy, all of his actions were carried out within the rules.
However, the Land of Earth's actions had severely broken the rules of regional oversight and non-interference established at the four nations alliance meeting.
As a beneficiary of the rules and the starter of the meeting, the Land of Fire would never stand idly by!
More importantly, they now had a perfect reason for the Land of Fire to step in!
To uphold the dignity of the treaty!
"Good, good, good!" The Land of Wind daimyo repeatedly praised, his previous sadness completely swept away. "Rasa, immediately send someone to contact Kirigakure!"
"Tell them that my Land of Wind is willing to form an alliance with them!"
"And then..."
His voice paused, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
"Together, we will go to the Fire capital and pay our respects to the young and promising Lord Shin!"
"We will say that we are there to maintain the stability of the four nations alliance, to punish the treacherous Land of Earth, and to beg him to uphold justice for us!"
"Yes, my lord!" Rasa nodded heavily and turned to leave the main tent.
Under the cover of night, several dark figures silently left the Sunagakure camp, riding in two different directions.
One was to find the defeated Kirigakure.
The other carried a personal letter from the Land of Wind daimyo, traveling day and night, heading straight for the Fire capital.