Keeping myself busy thinking about what I was really passionate about and enjoying, I carefully delayed the moment of recognizing that the first stone, which was the trigger for the avalanche, had already been thrown.
No matter what anyone said, the Third Shinobi World War had begun, and soon enough, maybe in a few hours, the Hokage would order a general mobilization, even though the clans' power had already been put on high alert the moment the Council recognized the inevitability of a general war.
I remember the meat grinder of the past, and even though, at this moment, Konoha is stronger than ever, Kirigakure is too busy with its own internal problems, Sunagakure is our reliable ally, tied down by both money and self-interest, and Amegakure can secure its borders with my help, but when there's a huge unaccounted-for factor in the form of fucking Uchiha Madara and Kuro Zetsu, anything can happen.
For now, I'm just one of many, and my influence on the overall international scene is not easily visible from the outside - thanks to the precautions I've taken - but the further away I get, the greater the risk of detection. And I still haven't worked out a way to if not kill the black slime, then at least temporarily neutralize it, let alone detect it.
***
The next morning, the Fourth Hokage announced a general mobilization for the Kumogakure attack.
A wartime headquarters was officially formed, discussing the situation on the northeastern front - no one expected Iwagakure to stay out of the fun for long, as all the recruited informants and scouts were saying - and a strike force of five hundred clan fighters, supported by two thousand regular ninja, marched almost immediately to the border.
Preliminary plans had already been made, all that was left was to put them into action, but it was not without surprises.
Thanks to the double scrolls of communication that the Anbu had purchased from me, Konoha was able to detect the pulling together of the Cloudbenders' forces not in the direction from which the first strike had come, but on the borders with Frost and Hot Springs, which caused some confusion among the staff.
When, on the same day, urgent reports came in that the military forces of these countries were amassed, but not on the side where they should have been, and there were no reports to us - our permanent military allies - of Kumo's movements, it became clear to everyone that the diplomatic negotiations had in fact failed, despite the fervent assurances of the ambassadors sent earlier.
- How was it that Kumogakure was able to snag the top brass of these small villages so unnoticed by our informants? - Hatake rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, then focused his gaze on Jiraiya.
It was a legitimate question, the toad sannin had the most extensive spy network in the world, later reinforced by the one Danzo had created and the authority he'd handed over relatively recently, so he had to have at least some hints about the planned betrayal of his allies.
- In fact, it's quite easy to do - it's enough to gain the loyalty of a few people from the top, and the rest will follow them, - sighed the white-haired shinobi, - the head of the village and the advisors are the most powerful and determine the policy of hidden villages, so if you want to, you can pick up the keys to them and do it discreetly, the only question is the price, and the rank and file will not know anything until the last moment.
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