Chapter 243: Where is Their Next Move?
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Yagura Karatachi tossed the handwritten letter from the Thunder Daimyo aside. Beside him, the Elder Genji asked tremulously, "Mizukage-sama, what do you think?"
Yagura replied, "I think nothing of it. This Thunder Daimyo is either an idiot or someone is manipulating him."
Genji nodded. "This new Daimyo's actions are indeed bizarre."
The "One Country, One Village" system was the foundation of the current ninja world order. Especially for the Five Great Nations. Even a village as powerful as the Cloud only used "offices" to conduct business in smaller countries.
The bait thrown out by the Thunder Daimyo was obvious. Any major village that wasn't stupid could see it was a poisoned bait.
However, the question was: would anyone think they could eat the bait themselves and let the poison kill the Cloud?
"A reward tempting enough to move a Great Ninja Village, and an opportunity to cause trouble for Kumogakure..." Yagura muttered to himself.
Genji asked, "What does Mizukage-sama plan to do?"
Yagura said, "Kumogakure and Kirigakure currently have important trade relations regarding Healing Talismans. In other fields, we have cooperation and no conflict. This kind of deliberate provocation won't shake the Cloud's foundation. In fact, given the Cloud's style, anyone who dares to reach out during the chaos will likely get their hand chopped off. Not only should we not accompany this Daimyo in his madness, but we should also proactively send an envoy to the Cloud to clarify this matter."
Genji asked again, "What if the Land of Lightning really falls into chaos?"
Yagura said coldly, "Then they can't blame anyone else. But the Mist will not be anyone's scapegoat."
A smile appeared on Genji's face. He stood up with his cane and said, "In that case, I am relieved."
With that, he left the Mizukage's office.
The chaos in the Land of Lightning was eye-catching, and the conditions offered by the Thunder Daimyo were tempting. However, when Raihara Yukihiro arrogantly sent out multiple handwritten letters, confidently waiting for a horde of ninja to serve him, things didn't go as he expected.
"Refused? Why refused?"
His subordinate below said, "I don't know. Kirigakure's reply only stated that the 'One Country, One Village' system should not be violated."
"Damn it!"
Yukihiro hurled the iron inkstone from his desk. Ink splattered across the white wall, but the subordinate below didn't flinch.
Before Yukihiro could continue cursing, another report came in.
"Daimyo-sama, a letter from Iwagakure."
Yukihiro said urgently, "Bring it here quickly!"
Taking the letter from the attendant, Yukihiro tore it open impatiently.
But after reading a few lines, he shredded it.
"A bunch of idiots! IDIOTS!"
Within a few days, the Daimyo's Court received replies from the major villages one after another—except for Sunagakure, whose letter was likely still on the way due to the distance.
Without exception, every village rejected the Thunder Daimyo's invitation, making Yukihiro jump with rage.
On the other side, the Third Raikage, who had been kept in the dark, met with envoys from several major villages. Only then did he realize the situation in the Daimyo's Court had deteriorated to this extent.
Due to the basic rules between Ninja Villages and Nations, villages wouldn't search the Daimyo's correspondence. Even the autonomous Cloud maintained this principle, which allowed Yukihiro to send out so many letters, making the Cloud the last to know.
Fortunately, no village was truly bewitched. Hanzo of the Rain even sent the original letter directly to the Third Raikage, his attitude very open.
Aside from the Rain, the unified stance of the other villages wasn't because they cared about world peace or maintaining order.
The core reason was simply that the Cloud was strong enough.
No one guessed wrong. If anyone dared to extend a hand into the Land of Lightning, the Cloud would likely not only break that hand but snap their neck as well. This was a bottom line the Cloud would never tolerate, and they had the power to enforce it.
By the time Dana received this news, he was already halfway to the Land of Lightning's capital.
In the forest, countless black figures moved rapidly. Birds and beasts fell silent wherever they passed.
The Special Strategy Division of Kumogakure was an independent department that had surpassed the Anbu in scale, led by Yotsuki Dana. Its members were elite, and its equipment was the most advanced in the village.
The chaos in the capital was a serious matter. With numerous retainers and nobles assassinated and panic spreading, Dana personally led dozens of his division members to take control.
After listening to the report from the Communication Snail, Dana understood.
"So this is where Madara and Zetsu's backup plan lies? But what is the deeper meaning...?"
To be honest, even if one or two villages were stupid enough to intervene, the Cloud had absolute confidence in crushing them. Plus, the Cloud held the moral high ground.
Now, all villages had rejected the Daimyo's invitation...
But was this hidden move over?
Did Madara and Zetsu think this alone could start a ninja war?
Where was their next move?
"Truly troublesome!"
That was why Dana had handled everything related to Madara and Black Zetsu with extreme caution since his arrival. Once targeted, with the enemy in the dark and the Cloud in the light, the "guarding against a thief for a thousand days" scenario was the hardest.
He would rather face one or two Great Ninja Villages in open warfare.
"All squads, attention. Arrival in approximately one hour."
"Yes!"
His "Pulse" Vision remained active, but he detected nothing unusual along the way.
Asuka Castle, Daimyo's Bedroom.
Raihara Yukihiro woke up from a hangover, a familiar headache splitting his skull. His throat felt parched.
"Water! Someone! Bring water!!"
However, no one answered him.
He opened his bleary eyes and looked around, only to see a figure sitting in the corner of the room, staring at him expressionlessly.
"You! You... who are you!"
The figure stood up. Yukihiro saw the forehead protector—it was the symbol of the Cloud.
A tall Cloud ninja.
"How did you get in?! What do you want?! This is Asuka Castle!" Yukihiro shouted with false bravado.
The intruder stopped a meter in front of Yukihiro, bending down to look at the shriveled man. "I'm here to give you a reminder."
"What reminder...?" Yukihiro turned his head away slightly, afraid to meet his gaze.
"Don't think no one knows what you've done, Raihara Yukihiro. Doing certain things is very dangerous. Don't think just because you have the title of Daimyo, you can do whatever you want..."
The Cloud ninja reached out and patted Yukihiro's cheek. "The village will send someone to take over Asuka Castle immediately. I'm here to remind you: cooperate when the time comes. Don't make it ugly for everyone. You still have several brothers alive. Removing you and supporting another Daimyo would be as easy as flipping a hand."
Yukihiro trembled all over, unsure if it was from rage or fear. He pointed a shaking finger at the ninja. "You... how dare you..."
However, this threat only made the ninja pat his face harder.
"I've said what needed to be said. Behave yourself. Just eat, drink, and play in Asuka Castle obediently. When the village's people arrive, cooperate well. Don't make things difficult on the surface. Also, three months from now is our Dana-sama's wedding. That princess here in the castle... she better be washed clean and ready. Don't let any mishaps occur."
Finished, the Cloud ninja gave the quail-like Yukihiro a look of disdain and vanished from the room.
Yukihiro's drunkenness was completely gone. His face flushed red, and a thick sense of humiliation drowned him.
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! Cloud ninja all deserve to die!!!"