But the Third Mizukage never expected things to develop this way.
"The Sand Village..."
A look of intense venom surfaced in the Third Mizukage's eyes.
Clearly, his Mist Village was the stronger one and had always held the advantage.
From the very beginning, he hadn't even pursued them relentlessly, even proactively proposing cease-fire conditions.
If the Sand Village had just compensated with a certain amount of resources and handed over Pakura, the executioner who had killed countless Mist ninja, the Mist Village would have withdrawn its troops from the Land of Wind.
Faced with such sincere conditions, the Sand Village had tactlessly refused.
Only then did he truly resolve to crush the Sand Village.
But to reduce the village's losses and minimize ninja casualties, he had requested Konoha to join the attack.
However, Konoha was too greedy.
Thinking only of paying nothing and simply picking up scraps.
Just at that time, the Uchiha clan rebellion erupted.
The Third Mizukage felt this was Konoha's karma.
Since Konoha was unreliable, the Mist Village would rely on itself.
The Third Mizukage believed that with the Mist Village's power alone, they could also crush the Sand Village.
But then came a succession of events: Fuguki Suikazan's betrayal, and Rasa revealing his hidden giant summoning beast.
Allowing the Sand Village to linger on for a while longer.
Only then did he get genuinely angry.
He planned to crush the Sand Village at any cost.
However, just at this moment, another upheaval occurred.
The Kaguya clan suddenly launched a rebellion.
That "Kaguya Kagami" claimed he was reporting the Kaguya clan, but in reality, "Kaguya Kagami" was the most vicious rebel of them all.
He came straight at him covered in explosive tags.
Using various methods to lower his vigilance.
If he hadn't learned half of the Hydrification Technique, he would inevitably have been heavily injured by "Kaguya Kagami's" suicide bombing.
"This Kaguya clan simply has no brains!"
"What benefit is there for them to rebel at a time like this?"
"When has the village ever mistreated them?"
The Third Mizukage couldn't understand it at all.
"Madmen, they are all madmen!"
"This Sand Village, this Rasa, it's like they are favored by the heavens."
"Time and time again, luck stands on his side."
The Third Mizukage felt it was too unfair. clearly, the Mist Village was stronger, clearly his strategy had no issues, yet the Sand Village managed to turn misfortune into fortune every single time.
Lying on the hospital bed, the Third Mizukage pondered for a long time.
Finally, he waited for news unfavorable to the Sand Village.
The Beni-yama clan had rebelled.
Just like the Kaguya clan.
Upon hearing this news, the Third Mizukage was pleasantly surprised at first.
But as he listened on, the Third Mizukage's expression changed.
The Kaguya clan's rebellion not only heavily injured him but also killed many of the Mist Village's elites, and most of the Kaguya clan ninja successfully escaped the Mist Village.
But what about the Beni-yama clan?
A whole clan, hundreds of ninja, against Rasa alone, and they couldn't take him down.
Not only did they fail to take him down, but they were also completely wiped out by Rasa.
"Too useless!"
The Third Mizukage had originally thought the Beni-yama clan's rebellion could also cause a massive weakening of the Sand Village.
But unexpectedly, it became the night Rasa made his name.
Exterminating a clan in a single night.
Starting today, everyone in the ninja world would have to re-evaluate Rasa's strength.
More importantly, the Kaguya clan rebellion and the Beni-yama clan rebellion erupted around the same time.
When the news reached the ninja world, it would be basically synchronized.
This meant that everyone in the ninja world would inevitably compare these two events.
The Third Mizukage could already imagine what kind of things those people would say.
"The Third Mizukage is too much weaker than Rasa."
"One exterminated a clan single-handedly."
"One was heavily injured and let the Kaguya clan escape."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the weakest Kage should be the Third Mizukage."
"Truly the shame of the Kages."
He would be reduced to a stepping stone for Rasa's fame.
The credit he had accumulated from painstakingly managing the Mist Village for so many years would be greatly diminished.
"Damn it!"
"My decades of effort have actually lost to luck!"
A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out violently.
The ninja below were greatly alarmed.
"Lord Mizukage, are you alright?"
Hidden Cloud Village.
The Fourth Raikage looked at the report in his hand, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, actually possesses such decent strength."
"Even if the Beni-yama clan was weak, if Rasa's strength was average, he couldn't have done it. Rasa's strength is probably already above the Third Kazekage's."
"One technique manifesting hundreds of sand soldier puppets, plus that giant summoning beast."
The Fourth Raikage looked out the window.
"I wonder when I will be able to surpass Father."
After a long time, the Fourth Raikage withdrew his gaze.
"I wonder if my decision to sign the armistice agreement was correct."
"War is both a risk and an opportunity."
"I need to think this over carefully."
"The Mist Village has probably truly suffered a heavy blow this time."
"The Kaguya clan defected, the Third Mizukage is heavily injured... and Rasa is rising strongly. He will inevitably pursue and attack the Mist Village relentlessly. If there is a chance to get a slice of the pie from the Mist Village, it must not be missed."
"In addition, the Uchiha clan and the Kaguya clan both defected from their respective ninja villages. Does my Cloud Village have the possibility of recruiting and subduing them?"
If it were just a few people, or a dozen, the Fourth Raikage wouldn't hesitate.
But the Uchiha and Kaguya had both preserved considerable strength.
Recruiting such rebels might replenish strength, but it could also be inviting wolves into the house.
Hidden Rock Village.
Onoki raised an eyebrow slightly.
"I didn't expect that brat Rasa to have grown to this extent. I underestimated him back then. The Third Kazekage has a decent successor. Meanwhile, my Rock Village can only continue to rely on me to hold it up for now."
The Hidden Rock Village was extremely strong at this time.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have attacked the Sand Village first, then Konoha later, and currently still be suppressing Konoha on the main battlefield, especially after the Uchiha rebellion occurred.
However, the younger generation of the Hidden Rock Village indeed lacked any outstanding figures.
"The Third Mizukage is still the same as before, about to squander away Gengetsu Hozuki's accumulation."
"If Teacher could see this scene, he would definitely be very happy."
Onoki had two teachers: Ishikawa and Mu. Both could be considered Onoki's teachers.
And the one Onoki referred to now was Mu.
Back then, during the Second Great Ninja War, he perished together with the Second Mizukage of the Mist Village, Gengetsu Hozuki.
Konoha.
Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence on his desk and couldn't help but reveal a smile.
The successive rebellions of the Kaguya clan and the Beni-yama clan had weakened the pressure of public opinion faced by Konoha and Hiruzen Sarutobi quite a bit.
After all, it wasn't just one ninja clan rebelling anymore.
And it wasn't just one ninja village facing rebellion anymore.
"The Kaguya clan, the Beni-yama clan, well done."
But suddenly.
A discussion about a certain ninja from the Mist Village made Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darken again.