"Tsuchikage-dono's words are incorrect," The Third Raikage opened his eyes, his deep gaze fixed on the short old man opposite him, sharp as a dagger. "Although a Kumogakure's Shinobi commanded the last operation, each village sent supervisors. The Allied Forces' actions required approval from each supervisor to proceed."
"But they all died," Onoki coldly replied.
"Death is normal on the battlefield."
"Then why didn't the commander you sent die?"
"If he had died, none of the Allied Forces would have returned."
"And how do you explain that out of the thousand-plus who returned, six hundred were from Kumogakure?"
"This..."
The Third Raikage was left speechless.
He was certain that during the joint attack on Sunagakure, the person he sent to command the operation absolutely did not, as Onoki claimed, preserve his own village's strength by using Shinobi from other villages as disposable cannon fodder.
After all, no one here was a fool.
If he had done that, he wouldn't have been able to command the Allied Forces.
But everyone has their own self-interest.
After the attack plan failed, that commander likely considered the cooperation ended.
Therefore, thinking to preserve the lives of his own village's people during the retreat was only natural.
Everyone present understood this clearly.
Yet, Onoki insisted that Kumogakure had ill intentions from the very beginning of the operation.
He wasn't doing this to seek justice for his own fallen Shinobi or anything of the sort; no justice could be regained. He simply wanted to gain advantages in the upcoming attack on Konoha.
Konoha was not Sunagakure. It was powerful, and there was no golden opportunity of weak border defenses and internal security waiting for them.
To defeat Konoha, they must bring out their true strength for a head-on collision. The four villages would mobilize their full forces, a total of thirty thousand Shinobi troops.
With such numbers, they naturally couldn't all charge in at once.
That wouldn't utilize the advantage of numbers.
During the deployment of troops, there were also differences in the level of danger assigned to various positions.
What Onoki wanted was to take advantage here, assigning safer positions to Iwagakure's Shinobi as much as possible.
Regarding this point, all four people present were well aware.
Therefore, the Third Raikage absolutely could not concede on this matter.
If Onoki just wanted a slight advantage, that might be manageable.
After all, Kumogakure's actions during the last retreat were indeed not honorable. To regain mutual trust and cooperation, they must show sincerity.
But the key issue was that Kumogakure had wronged three villages last time. Once concessions were made to Onoki, concessions would also have to be made to Kusagakure and Amegakure.
In that case, the dangerous missions in this joint operation would mostly fall to Kumogakure, essentially using Kumogakure's Shinobi as cannon fodder.
This was something the Raikage could never agree to.
Once again, the meeting descended into mutual bickering, ending unhappily.
Hanzo watched the three village leaders leave angrily and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
He genuinely wanted to organize this attack on Konoha. For that, even if Amegakure had to make the most sacrifices, it didn't matter.
Amegakure, sandwiched between three Great Shinobi Villages, was in a truly difficult position. Whenever conflict arose, it inevitably became a battlefield among the three villages.
Doing nothing, yet having to bear the losses brought by war, thus forced to join the fray.
To break this situation, the only way was to become a Great Shinobi Village themselves.
But the Land of Rain had constant heavy rainfall, unsuitable for crop cultivation, limited living standards for the people, and perennial warfare... Maintaining Amegakure at its current scale was already the limit for this country.
So, to grow stronger, they could only eliminate other Shinobi Villages and seize their mission resources.
Kusagakure was actually a good target.
But Kusagakure's location was strategically advantageous, easy to defend and hard to attack, even more challenging than Sunagakure.
Moreover, Kusagakure was clever.
Utilizing the superhuman and versatile abilities of Shinobi, which made guarding and imprisoning difficult, and leveraging the treacherous terrain that was hard to enter and exit, they established the Blood Prison, specifically receiving heinous criminals that other countries found difficult to handle.
Thus, Shinobi Villages from various countries not only wouldn't attack them but would even pay them an annual fee.
If Amegakure wanted to attack Kusagakure, they first had to consider whether they could breach that treacherous terrain, and secondly, consider the attitudes of other countries.
Once Kusagakure was destroyed, who would provide the Blood Prison?
Therefore, this path was also impassable.
And the other nearby village, Takigakure... It wasn't that Hanzo didn't want to attack them, but he simply didn't know where their village was located.
That left only Iwagakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure on the map to attack.
But among these three villages, there wasn't a single one he could defeat alone.
During the Second Shinobi World War, he led Amegakure in an attempt to mediate the war between Iwa, Suna, and Konoha in the Land of Rain, but failed.
In the end of the Second Shinobi World War, he launched an invasion against Konoha but was pushed back, ultimately failing and even giving Konoha the legendary Sannin.
Although he was indifferent to this, he had to acknowledge the fact of Amegakure's defeat.
That's why he cherished this opportunity so much.
As long as he could leverage the Allied Forces' strength to eliminate one of the three Great Shinobi Villages, Amegakure would have the chance to grow and become one of the new Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Then they would no longer have to endure the losses brought by war even when doing nothing.
"Hanzo-sama, Danzo wants to see you."
Looking at the Amegakure's Shinobi who came into the room to report, Hanzo frowned.
Danzo had actually arrived in Amegakure several days ago, but Hanzo hadn't received him.
As an envoy from Konoha arriving during this special period, his purpose was obvious.
Hanzo couldn't give up this opportunity, so he hadn't met him.
However, considering the lack of progress in the war council over the past few days, Hanzo began to doubt the success of this operation.
Undoubtedly, the combined strength of the four villages was stronger than Konoha's.
But an alliance was still an alliance; it couldn't be commanded as smoothly as a single entity.
Moreover, with the current disagreements among the villages, it was highly likely they would hinder each other on the battlefield.
'Meeting him wouldn't hurt. Let's hear what he has to say first. Perhaps I can find another path.'
Hanzo's thoughts turned. He said to the subordinate before him, "Invite him to my private quarters. Also, ensure secrecy. Don't let Shinobi from other villages see."
"Yes."
…
In a dimly lit room, Danzo knelt, sitting in meditation.
One of his subordinates stood close behind him; another was pressed against the paper door, probing the outside.
"Danzo-sama, we've been here for so many days, and Hanzo still hasn't received us. Is he..."
The remaining words were left unsaid, but he knew Danzo understood what he was asking.
Danzo's eye opened slightly, revealing a sharp, cold glint that immediately vanished as if it were an illusion.
He spoke with an air of composed certainty, "He will see me. Judging by the timing, it should be within these few days."
"Danzo-sama, Hanzo's personal guard is approaching," the subordinate pressed against the door, probing outside, suddenly turned and reported.
"Here he comes, then?" A slight smile appeared on Danzo's face. He instructed, "Proceed according to the plan. Ensure that Hanzo meeting me becomes known to Onoki, and only to Iwagakure."
"Yes."