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Fire Capital, daimyo manor.
Battle reports, like snowflakes, flew here.
In the study, the warm sun shone at an angle.
Shin leaned lazily in the spacious chair, his fingers playing with a warm jade pendant, seemingly unaware of the commotion outside.
The stalemate on the front lines, the daily increasing casualty figures, all seemed to have nothing to do with him.
Jiraiya's feinting troops were blocked, Iwagakure held fast, and the frontal battlefield was completely stuck.
Minato encountered the Third Tsuchikage's trap, the surprise attack plan failed, and he has returned to camp with injuries.
The Land of Lightning and Land of Wind front lines were also held down by Iwagakure's defensive tactics, with daily increasing casualties and low fighting spirit.
Onoki's strategy of building strong fortifications and fighting a war of wearing down was highly effective, and we... fell into a passive position.
With each report Aono gave, his heart sank a little further.
Any single piece of news was enough to make the frontline commanders frantic.
However, after Shin finished listening, he merely hummed without interest. "Understood."
Shin's calm reaction, on the contrary, made Aono's heart tighten.
He dared not ask more. He knew that his daimyo never did anything without being sure of success.
This current problem, which was enough to collapse the entire allied forces, might just be an unimportant thrown-away piece on that man's chessboard.
It seems that Onoki, that old fellow, is even more patient than I imagined.
Shin finally put down the jade pendant in his hand and chuckled, as if he had heard a joke.
He wants to play a war of wearing down with me?
Then drag down the allied forces and cause trouble in my backyard?
A good idea.
Too bad...
Shin's tone carried a coldness that saw through all of his prey's struggles, and he said lightly, "Does he think he's playing a game?"
He stood up and walked to the huge shinobi world map.
His gaze swept across the map, finally resting gently on the territory of the Land of Water.
Shin asked, "Is there any news from the Land of Water?"
Yes! Aono said. "Lady Mei wrote to say that several shinobi clans have pledged loyalty!"
Good! Shin nodded and instructed. "Send her a message, ask her..."
If the Konoha shinobi troops stationed on the border of the Land of Water are transferred away.
Will Kirigakure turn against us?
Aono's heart tightened.
Transfer the troops from the Land of Water border?
What does the daimyo want to do? He dared not think further and immediately bowed to accept the order.
Yes, I will handle it immediately.
A special messenger hawk, pitch black all over, soared from the highest point of the daimyo manor, turning into a black speck and disappearing into the sky.
Shin turned his gaze back to the window.
Outside the window was the prosperous scene of the Fire Capital.
Bustling traffic, lively crowds.
The shadow of war seemed not to have affected the peace of this capital city.
Land of Water, a remote coastal town.
The town was not large, its residents mostly fishermen, with simple folk ways.
However, in recent years, this simplicity and peace had been covered by a bloody shadow.
Blood Mist policy.
This cruel policy, put in place by the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, hung like a merciless butcher's knife over every Kirigakure shinobi.
In a dense forest outside the town, a brief and bloody battle had just ended.
Over a dozen corpses lay scattered on the ground.
They were all shinobi from Kirigakure, but now they lay dead at the hands of their own people.
Mei Terumi stood in the center of the corpses, her clothes stained with a few drops of warm blood.
Her face, which Shin found very charming, was now icy cold.
Before her, a middle-aged man knelt respectfully on one knee, a blood-stained katana held high above his head.
The man's voice trembled slightly. "We... From today onwards, we pledge our lives to you!"
Behind him were dozens of shinobi also wearing Kirigakure uniforms.
They were the native shinobi clan of this small town.
A clan that once had some fame in Kirigakure.
But now, they were rogue shinobi.
Because they had just, under Mei Terumi's leadership, personally killed the Anbu directly under the Mizukage who had come to monitor them.
They had no turning back.
Mei Terumi looked at the middle-aged man kneeling before her, and the clan members behind him, with no ripple in her heart.
This was the thirteenth shinobi clan she had turned.
Since making her decision, she had led the special operations team, made up of her companions, back to the Land of Water.
Then she found those shinobi clans who had deep hate under the Blood Mist policy but dared not resist.
Using the most direct and brutal methods, she forced them to choose sides.
Either follow her and resist Yagura's tyranny.
Or, like the Mizukage's dogs, be removed by her on the spot.
There was no third option.
This almost insane method allowed her to build a strong force within just half a month.
A force capable of stirring up huge waves within the Land of Water.
Stand up.
Mei Terumi's voice was calm. "From today onwards, you are no longer shinobi of Kirigakure."
"You are warriors fighting for yourselves, and for the future of your clan."
Her words made a glimmer of light flash in the eyes of these surrendered shinobi.
"Thank you, my lady!"
The middle-aged man stood up and put his sword back in its sheath.
Just then.
A jet-black shinobi hawk descended from the sky, landing steadily on Mei Terumi's arm.
Tied to the hawk's leg was a specially made scroll.
On it was the mark of the Land of Fire daimyo.
Mei Terumi untied the scroll and quickly unrolled it.
The content of the scroll was simple, just one sentence.
If the shinobi troops on the Land of Water border are transferred, will Kirigakure take advantage of the weakness?
Looking at this sudden question, Mei Terumi's brow furrowed instantly.
But very quickly, she understood the man's intention.
Move troops?
Transfer troops from the Land of Water border?
What does he want to do?
A bold idea came to her mind.
Could it be... he wants to send the troops from the Land of Water border into the war against the Land of Earth?
This thought sent a shock through her heart.
Is he planning a multi-front war?
Her mind raced, looking at the possibility of this plan and the deeper meaning behind it.
She knew very well that the main forces of Kirigakure had long been led away by Elder Genji to join the so-called allied forces of justice, to get a share in the Land of Lightning.
What remained in the village now were the old, the weak, the sick, and Yagura's brainwashed fanatics.
These people might be able to defend the village.
But to talk about taking the lead to attack the Land of Fire was simply a pipe dream.
Moreover... Mei Terumi glanced at the shinobi she had already turned behind her.
As long as she gave the order, these people could, at any time, deliver a severe blow to Yagura within the Land of Water.
By then, he would be too busy defending himself to even care about outside matters.
Understanding this, Mei Terumi's face broke into a smile.
She understood why that man had sent her to stir up trouble in the Land of Water.
What he needed was never an overthrown Kirigakure.
What he needed was a Land of Water in constant internal fighting, busy with its own affairs, and forever unable to pose a threat to the Land of Fire.
And she, and the resistance she represented, were his most important chess piece for containing the Land of Water.
So... this is my value.
Mei Terumi gave a self-mocking laugh.
She picked up a pen and quickly wrote a reply on the back of the scroll.
"Kirigakure's main forces have gone to the Land of Lightning, the remaining shinobi forces are not a concern, the rear is stable, you may take what you wish."
After writing, she rolled up the scroll again and tied it back to the shinobi hawk's leg.
"Go."
She gently raised her arm, and the shinobi hawk flapped its wings, soaring high and instantly disappearing into the clouds.
After doing all this, Mei Terumi turned around, the coldness on her face having faded. "Pass on my command."
Her voice echoed through the forest.
"Gather all the shinobi clans who have pledged loyalty to us."
"Tell them to prepare... for war!"
"Yes, my lady!"
The middle-aged man's heart tightened, and he immediately accepted the order and left.
Mei Terumi looked up toward the Land of Fire, complex emotions flickering in her eyes.
Will the future be new life, or destruction?
She did not know.
She only knew that the game of chess had begun.
And she was both a chess piece, and... the player.