"The Leaf ninjas are attacking the village!"
A shrill scream suddenly echoed across the skies of Kumogakure. Immediately, the Kumogakure ninjas guarding the gate drew their weapons and pointed them directly at Jie.
At the same time, Jie noticed a commotion breaking out within the village as the scream spread. It seemed even more ninjas were hastily gathering toward the entrance.
Seeing this scene, Jie and the three kids exchanged glances, completely baffled by the situation.
"Do I look terrifying, or is it you guys?" A helpless smile appeared on Jie's face as he looked down at the trio. "Or has the reputation of Konoha ninjas become this ferocious in the ninja world? We haven't even done anything yet, so why did it turn out like this?"
Hearing Jie's words, the three kids also felt incredibly wronged. Even Jie didn't know the answer to this question, so how could they?
Jie didn't look intimidating at all. If anything, he was fairly handsome. The kids didn't seem threatening either.
Especially Hinata. With her slightly chubby cheeks, she looked more like an ordinary little girl than a shinobi.
Under these circumstances, the only reasonable explanation was that the Kumogakure shinobi had been thoroughly beaten down by the Hidden Leaf. Now, merely seeing a Konoha forehead protector was enough to trigger an instinctive fear response.
Mei Terumi and the rest of her group, who had arrived at Kumogakure's entrance almost at the same time as Jie, were equally bewildered by the scene before them.
What exactly was going on here? Were the Kumo shinobi only capable of seeing Konoha ninja while completely ignoring the Kirigakure delegation?
Several living people were standing right in front of them, yet they seemed utterly unworthy of Kumogakure's attention.
Yet this blatant disregard clearly illustrated just how terrified the Kumogakure ninjas were of the Hidden Leaf. It couldn't even be called wariness. It was pure, unadulterated fear.
Thinking of this, Mei took a deep look at Jie.
'I wonder what kind of impact the appearance of the Konoha ninjas will have on the plan?' she thought silently.
Meanwhile, as the standoff took place at the village entrance, inside Kumogakure, the Fifth Raikage, Yugito Nii, was deep in discussion with Rasa of Suna and Onoki of the Hidden Stone.
"Since you two were willing to come to Kumogakure this time, you must also harbor dissatisfaction toward the Hidden Leaf," Yugito said calmly.
"After all, the Leaf has already siphoned countless benefits from the major ninja villages. If we let them continue developing like this, how will the rest of us survive?"
"So, to change the current situation, we must fight back."
"Fight back?" Onoki coldly snorted, his eyes fixed on Yugito's young face as he spoke mercilessly. "The Hidden Leaf has major ninja clans producing generations of talents, and now they have a massive supply of resources."
"After developing peacefully for five years, heaven knows how strong they are now. With our current meager strength, what exactly are we supposed to use to fight back?"
"Tsuchikage, don't be hasty. It is exactly because the Hidden Leaf's power is so vast that we are having this meeting today," Rasa intervened, smoothing things over between the two.
Suna could be considered the village with the fewest losses among the three. Although they had paid billions in reparations, they had at least obtained many human puppets personally crafted by Sasori of the Red Sand.
Furthermore, due to geographical reasons, the historical animosity between Kumogakure and Suna was arguably the lowest among the major ninja villages.
It was precisely because of this relationship that Kumogakure and Suna had facilitated today's summit. As for the Hidden Stone, Rasa simply assumed that since they were similarly oppressed by the Hidden Leaf, they would share the same mindset.
However, Rasa had conveniently forgotten the blood feud that had spanned decades between Kumogakure and Iwagakure. After all, Kumogakure's Third Raikage had died at the hands of the Hidden Stone.
Hearing Rasa's words, Onoki snorted again but didn't continue pestering them. After a moment of silence, he spoke calmly. "The Hidden Leaf is too powerful now. The balance of power has been completely broken. Establishing an alliance isn't a bad option."
Onoki had been the Tsuchikage for decades, sitting in power even longer than Hiruzen Sarutobi. Naturally, his political wisdom could not be underestimated.
If Rasa and Yugito could see the writing on the wall, Onoki certainly could as well.
He understood perfectly well that concluding an alliance treaty was imperative. Otherwise, they would simply be waiting for the Hidden Leaf to bleed the other ninja villages dry to fuel its own growth.
When the Leaf's strength could no longer be contained, that would be the moment it bared its fangs at the entire ninja world. That day would mark the beginning of the Fourth Great Ninja War, and the absolute doom of the other ninja villages.
So, for Onoki, signing an alliance treaty was fine, but the leadership of this alliance had to be firmly in his own hands. Hence his earlier, dismissive performance.
However, while Onoki's calculations were shrewd, Yugito and Rasa were not naive.
Anyone capable of becoming the Kage of a village possessed formidable political acumen. They naturally understood Onoki's underlying intentions.
As for Yugito, her body was currently being influenced and guided by Matatabi. The Two-Tails had lived for thousands of years since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
Its vast, ancient experience, combined with its dedicated learning over the past five years, meant Matatabi's political intellect was completely on par with the sharpest human politicians.
So, after Onoki finished speaking, Yugito merely smiled casually, completely disregarding the old man's posturing.
"Since we are forging an alliance, it must naturally function like one," she said smoothly. "And if one wants the leadership of this alliance, they must naturally shoulder the responsibilities that come with it. "
"Therefore, whoever leads the alliance must bear the brunt when facing the threat of the Hidden Leaf. If the Tsuchikage feels that Iwagakure can handle that, then I have no objections."
As soon as Yugito finished speaking, Onoki's expression drastically changed.
During the battle five years ago, in a mere twenty minutes of engagement, there had been a casualty ratio exceeding twenty-five to one. With such catastrophic losses, Iwagakure hadn't fully recovered even half a decade later.
Remembering that slaughter, Onoki simply didn't have the confidence to make such a bold guarantee.
"Since the Tsuchikage doesn't want to take up this burden, what does the Kazekage think?" Seeing Onoki shut his mouth, Yugito turned around and directed the question to Rasa.
"Me?" Rasa froze slightly.
Although he was the one who had proposed the alliance, and he certainly harbored intentions of fighting for the leadership position, he never expected Yugito to yield it to him so easily.
Things out of the ordinary always hid a deeper motive.
Rasa didn't agree immediately, his mind racing as he tried to deduce the trap hidden within her offer.
Right at that moment, all three Kage paused.
Whether it was Rasa, Onoki, or Yugito, they all heard the sudden, chaotic commotion erupting from outside the village.
Seconds later, a Kumogakure ninja frantically pushed open the heavy doors of the meeting room, his face pale as he shouted at Yugito.
"Lord Raikage, the Hidden Leaf is attacking the village!"
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