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Fire Capital, daimyo manor.
It was late at night when the black shinobi hawk returned to the Fire Capital with Mei Terumi's reply.
Shin was not resting at this time.
He stood with his back to the door, alone before the giant sand table, his fingers touching a brown chess piece representing the Land of Earth.
Aono walked in silently, took the scroll, and presented it with both hands.
Shin didn't turn around, merely saying, "Read it."
"Yes."
Aono unrolled the scroll and read Mei Terumi's reply, word for word.
"Kirigakure's main force has gone to the Land of Lightning. The remaining shinobi forces are nothing to worry about. The rear is secure. You may take it for yourself."
When the last word fell,
A brief silence came over the study.
"Haha!"
"You may take it for yourself?"
After a long while, Shin's laughter broke the quiet.
The laughter was filled with clear pleasure.
"This woman is quite interesting."
He took the scroll from Aono's hand, looking at the elegant yet sharp handwriting, his admiration growing stronger.
This woman saw through his plan.
But she didn't expose him, nor did she bargain.
Instead, she straightforwardly stated her position and proved her value.
She told him that she had helped stabilize the game of the Land of Water, and he could confidently go for what he truly wanted.
A clever woman.
A woman who knew how to make the most of her value.
"Truly my woman."
Shin casually tossed the scroll into a nearby brazier, and a tongue of flame instantly ate up the elegant handwriting.
His gaze returned to the sand table.
On the sand table, most of the red flags of the Land of Fire were gathered at the northwestern border with the Land of Earth and on the Land of Lightning battlefield.
Only in the east, along the border with the Land of Water, were a few small red flags still standing alone.
Those were Konoha's eastern border defense forces.
An elite force set up to guard against Kirigakure.
And now... Shin reached out and firmly pulled the flags representing the eastern border army from the sand table.
Then he planted them on the western border, where the Land of Fire met the Land of Wind.
A seemingly simple action.
Instantly reversed the balance of power on the entire sand table!
"Issue my command."
"Immediately send the eastern border army to the Land of Wind border at full speed to meet up with the western border army there."
"Furthermore, in my name, immediately send a letter to the daimyo of the Land of Wind."
"Tell him that I hope the Land of Fire's troops can enter the Land of Wind and launch an attack on the Land of Earth with them!"
"Yes, my lord!"
"Go do it."
Shin waved his hand, his gaze once again falling on the sand table.
Aono bowed and left, his steps hurried.
The entire daimyo manor, in the dead of night, began to run at high speed like a precise machine once more.
One top-secret order after another was issued from this center of power, flying to every corner of the Land of Fire.
A massive storm, sweeping across the entire continent, was quietly building.
Shin looked at the vast land representing the Land of Earth on the sand table, a cold smile flashing in his eyes.
"Onoki, do you think you can rest easy by hiding in your turtle shell?"
"Do you think you can make me retreat with your open plan?"
"You look down on me too much."
"And you look down on... war too much."
He reached out and gently placed a black chess piece representing a rogue shinobi on Iwagakure.
As long as enough pressure was put on Iwagakure at the border, these rogue shinobi would launch an attack on Iwagakure.
Among these rogue shinobi, there was also a bounty hunter on whom he placed great hopes.
A fellow with five hearts.
"The game has just begun," Shin murmured to himself.
The next day.
A state letter bearing the seal of the Land of Fire daimyo was delivered to the Land of Wind daimyo with the greatest speed.
When the Land of Wind daimyo finished reading the contents of the letter,
He leaped from his seat!
"Hahahaha!"
The Land of Wind daimyo's laughter echoed through the empty palace, startling the birds in the garden into flight.
"Good, excellent!"
He clutched the letter tightly, trembling with excitement, almost unable to speak properly. "Heaven helps me! Heaven truly helps me!"
"Quick, tell Ra... no, arrange a carriage for me. I'm leaving for Sunagakure immediately."
Sunagakure, inside the Kazekage building.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa was listening to the battle report with a gloomy face.
Just then,
A shinobi responsible for communications walked in.
"Kazekage-sama! An urgent letter from the daimyo manor!"
Daimyo manor?
Rasa's heart stirred, and he immediately took the letter.
When he saw the contents of the letter, his usually dark eyes widened instantly.
"This..."
The gloom on his face vanished, replaced by an expression of unbelievable shock and wild joy.
"What's wrong, Rasa?" Ebizo asked quickly, seeing his unusual expression.
Rasa didn't answer but handed him the letter, his voice trembling slightly from excitement.
"You... see for yourselves."
Ebizo took the letter in confusion, and the high-ranking Sunagakure officials also gathered around.
The next second,
A collective gasp of cold air erupted in the entire conference room.
"The Land of Fire... wants to meet up with us?"
"Directly attack the Land of Earth's rear?"
"Oh my god! Is this true?"
Everyone was completely stunned by the contents of the letter.
Happiness came too suddenly!
They were still racking their brains over the battle situation.
As a result, the Land of Fire directly handed them a bigger, more tempting prize!
The Land of Fire sending reinforcements to attack Iwagakure with them.
It was simply... too tempting!
"Excellent!"
"Now, let's see how arrogant those bastards from the Land of Earth can be!"
After a brief shock, an uncontrollable cheer erupted in the conference room.
Everyone's faces were filled with excitement and expectation.
However,
After his initial joy, Rasa quickly calmed down.
His brows furrowed tightly once more.
"Rasa, what are you still worried about?"
The Land of Wind daimyo walked in from outside, laughing heartily, his face beaming with triumph.
He raised the state letter in his hand and said, "This is a great stroke of luck!"
"My lord."
Everyone present immediately stood up and bowed.
After the bow, the worry on Rasa's face did not go away at all. "My lord, don't you think this matter... is a bit strange?"
He said in a deep voice, "Why would the Land of Fire suddenly propose such a plan?"
"Aren't their main forces confronting Iwagakure's main forces on the Land of Grass front?"
"Moreover, allowing a Konoha army of two thousand men to enter our territory..."
Rasa paused, then voiced his deepest concern.
"This is the same as... inviting a wolf into our house!"
His words cooled the excitement in the conference room.
Indeed.
The power of the Land of Fire was obvious to all.
Allowing such a strong army into their country, if they took the opportunity to make some moves... the consequences would be unthinkable.