The Iwagakure shinobi were delighted, openly enjoying the spectacle.
"Konoha must be completely dumbfounded right now."
"But this only worked because Konoha already had these problems to begin with. That's why it could shake their morale."
"If Konoha tried this on us, it wouldn't do a thing."
"In the end, this is all Konoha's own doing."
Back in Iwagakure—
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Onoki looked at the card one of his shinobi had brought him, and his eyes immediately lit up.
He only glanced once at the kunoichi illustration before his attention was completely hooked.
That teasing half-resistance. That sidelong gaze. That half-hidden allure.
It only made her seem even more tempting.
"Ahem!"
Realizing that the intelligence shinobi below was still waiting, Onoki coughed awkwardly and quickly flipped the card over.
He read through the text on the back in full.
"So everyone outside thinks these cards were distributed by Iwagakure?"
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama."
Onoki raised a brow.
Before this incident, he had known absolutely nothing about the cards.
Only after intelligence came in and the cards were brought before him did he learn what had happened.
That meant one thing—
It could not have been Iwagakure.
So if not Iwagakure, then who?
A guess quickly formed in Onoki's mind.
"The Uchiha…"
At present, only two forces had truly hostile relations with Konoha.
One was Iwagakure.
The other was the Uchiha.
And the Uchiha's hatred for Konoha ran even deeper than Iwagakure's.
"Dropping huge numbers of these cards from high altitude. Beautiful kunoichi on one side, rumors on the other. Driving a wedge between Konoha and its own clans."
"Making those clans grow wary of Konoha."
"And making Konoha less trusting of those same clans in return."
"The Hyuga were singled out in particular."
"Besides the fact that their situation in Konoha somewhat resembles what the Uchiha once faced… it seems the Uchiha hold a certain resentment toward the Hyuga as well."
"Whoever did this, it's a good thing for Iwagakure."
"But this responsibility? We won't carry it."
Onoki looked at the intelligence shinobi below.
"Spread the word. Tell everyone these cards were not distributed by Iwagakure."
"But also make it known that we welcome any and all ninja clans of Konoha who wish to defect. If they come, they will become part of Iwagakure."
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama."
Onoki turned his gaze toward the distant Land of Fire and smiled.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi… in this war, the advantage is entirely with Iwagakure."
"Konoha has stood as the strongest village for too long."
"It's about time Iwagakure took that place instead."
"The title of number one shinobi village will belong to us."
Very quickly, Onoki's stance spread.
Iwagakure's shinobi discussed it excitedly.
"So it really wasn't done by Iwagakure?"
"What do you know? Tsuchikage-sama just doesn't want to admit it openly."
"But in truth, we aren't the ones creating division between Konoha and its clans. Konoha is simply the kind of village where that division can happen."
"The Uchiha are the clearest example."
And before long, some of them began discussing the kunoichi images on the cards instead.
"I wonder where those kunoichi are from. They're gorgeous."
"If only I could marry one."
That was something Rasa had never anticipated.
When he created the cards, his only goal had been to spread the rumor about Uchiha Kagami and earn points.
The reason he had printed a kunoichi image on the opposite side had merely been to increase the chance that people would actually pick the card up and read it.
But to his surprise, both Konoha's shinobi and Iwagakure's shinobi were unusually focused on the women on the cards.
For a time, the kunoichi on the cards became something like celebrities.
Of course, there was no way anyone would ever find the real women they were based on.
Because they did not exist in this world.
Rasa had simply imported teachers from another world and dressed them in kunoichi uniforms styled after Iwagakure.
"How many kunoichi are there in total?"
"Ten, I think."
"You've collected all ten?"
"No. I only found six. Some of the cards with certain kunoichi are much rarer. They're hard to get."
"I really want to complete the whole set."
For a time, a craze for collecting the cards even began spreading through Iwagakure's forces.
When Rasa received that report, his expression grew rather complicated.
"So things ended up like this…"
"That part was completely beyond my expectations."
"But fortunately, the result is still good."
Because even on Konoha's side, despite Hiruzen Sarutobi already issuing orders for all the cards to be destroyed, some shinobi were still secretly collecting them.
Not just collecting them—
Trading them as well.
"Kakashi, what are you looking at?"
A voice rang out.
Kakashi jolted, then smoothly slipped the card in his hand into his pocket as if nothing had happened.
"Nothing. I was checking the area."
"Oh. Got it."
The other person nodded in understanding and did not grow suspicious.
Kakashi let out a quiet breath of relief.
But when he looked at the other man, something complicated flickered in his eyes.
On the front of the card was a beautiful kunoichi.
On the back, every line circled back to the Uchiha.
At the same time, an elderly Hyuga entered the Hokage Tower.
He was the current head of the Hyuga clan—the father of Hiashi and Hizashi.
The moment he stepped inside, his manner was exceedingly respectful.
"Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Sit."
The Hyuga clan head sat across from him.
Hiruzen continued, "You're already aware of the incident on the battlefield—the one involving Iwagakure airdropping cards, yes?"
At those words, the Hyuga clan head stood up again at once.
"Hokage-sama, the Hyuga clan absolutely has no intention of rebelling. The Hyuga of Konoha are Konoha's Hyuga. Without Konoha, there would be no Hyuga clan…"
Hiruzen waved a hand, cutting him off.
"I know."
"I called you here only to tell you this—the village will not suspect the Hyuga without reason."
"This is Iwagakure's attempt to sow discord."
"As long as I remain Hokage, the village will never act recklessly. You may rest assured of that."
"As for the Uchiha, you understand their situation. They were the ones who acted first."
The Hyuga clan head nodded.
"Hokage-sama, I understand. I will make sure the Hyuga fight with peace of mind."
"Good. You may go."
Hiruzen watched him leave, but his brows remained tightly knit.
"Iwagakure's methods are truly despicable."
"But in the end… this all comes back to the Uchiha."
"If there were no Uchiha, none of this would have happened."
…
…
Sunagakure.
Rasa stared at the rapidly rising number on his system panel, and his eyes gradually brightened.
"2548!"
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