Chapter 647: Four Kage Surround and Kill?
Land of Earth.
A border town.
As Dodai led a squad of elite Kumogakure Jonin into the town, a Ninja wearing an Iwagakure uniform immediately stepped forward to greet him.
"Please follow me," the Iwagakure Ninja said calmly.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure had clashed many times in recent years, so for him to treat a Cloud Ninja normally was already enough to satisfy his conscience. As for remaining respectful throughout, that was simply impossible.
Dodai nodded slightly and followed him, showing no objection to the Iwagakure Ninja's attitude.
The Iwagakure Ninja did not like him, and he did not like the Iwagakure Ninja either.
If not for the highly concerning intelligence provided by Iwagakure, Kumogakure would never have attended a meeting hosted by Iwagakure.
The group followed the Iwagakure Ninja and soon arrived at a building guarded by many Ninja.
Dodai noticed that there were not only Iwagakure Ninja there, but also Sand Ninja and Mist Ninja. This meant three of the Four Great Ninja Villages had already arrived, with only Kumogakure remaining.
"For the sake of order during the meeting, only two guards are allowed to enter," the leading Iwagakure Ninja reminded them.
"You two, follow me. The rest stay here," Dodai said to the two strongest members of his squad.
Logically speaking, Iwagakure should not dare to cause trouble for three of the Four Great Ninja Villages at the same time, but it was always better to be safe. Stronger guards were never a bad thing.
Then Dodai entered the building and was led into the conference room inside.
The first person Dodai saw upon entering the conference room was Kitsuchi, seated at the head of the table.
Normally, Kitsuchi's seniority would not be enough to preside over this meeting.
However, Kitsuchi was the one who had discovered the intelligence, so Ōnoki had helped him secure the position.
Although Kitsuchi's personality was relatively straightforward, he was still Ōnoki's own child. Ōnoki could not allow him to be treated unfairly.
Dodai's gaze shifted to the right, where he saw a female Ninja with delicate features wearing a Sunagakure forehead protector.
He recognized her at a glance.
Pakura, the hero of Hidden Sand Village, a well-known Scorch Release Ninja in the Ninja World.
Noticing Dodai's gaze, Pakura returned a cold look.
Kumogakure's sneak attack had caused Hidden Sand Village a great deal of trouble, forcing them to pay a considerable price before driving Kumogakure out of the Land of Wind.
Dodai did not mind her reaction.
The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure had disappeared, leaving the village leaderless and trapped in internal conflict. Why would Kumogakure not seize such a good opportunity?
Next, Dodai shifted his gaze further right and saw a Mist Ninja with a serious expression.
Dodai quickly searched through his mind for information and soon found the man's details.
Mizuyū, the Jonin Squad Leader of Hidden Mist Village.
"It seems Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand both attach great importance to this intelligence," Dodai thought.
Pakura and Mizuyū were both Ninja with considerable standing in their respective villages. Their presence at this meeting was itself a statement.
Seeing that Kumogakure had arrived, Kitsuchi looked around, recalled the draft in his mind, glanced at the documents in front of him, and began speaking.
"Since everyone is here, I assume you are all interested in cooperating to eliminate Hayate Mugetsu and crush Konoha's ambition to dominate."
After he finished speaking, the two Iwagakure Ninja standing behind Kitsuchi began distributing documents to the representatives of each village.
"Regarding Hayate Mugetsu's strength, I can say with full responsibility that there is no exaggeration whatsoever. These are photos of the battlefield after his battles. You may look through them," Kitsuchi continued.
Eliminating Hayate Mugetsu was the major point of this plan, the core objective.
Cooperating to destroy Konoha was unrealistic. Although the Four Great Ninja Villages, if they cooperated sincerely, did possess such strength, the problem was that the Four Great Ninja Villages could not truly cooperate with absolute sincerity.
Each of the Five Great Ninja Villages had very deep foundations, including some powerful but deeply inhumane Ninjutsu.
For example, Konoha's Edo Tensei not only required living sacrifices, but was also an insult to the controlled dead.
Once Senju Hashirama learned of this Ninjutsu, he ordered it sealed and forbade its use.
However, this prohibition was not absolute. In a true life-and-death situation, who would care about humanity or inhumanity? Protecting Konoha would certainly become the priority.
If Konoha truly fought with everything it had, who would be willing to stand at the very front against them? At that point, the alliance would naturally collapse.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Ōnoki's goal was only to kill Mugetsu and suppress Konoha.
Dodai took out the photos distributed by Iwagakure, and his pupils instantly constricted.
To make the other Ninja Villages understand the seriousness of the situation, Iwagakure had taken the photos very seriously. There were close-up shots, aerial views, and all kinds of angles.
To better demonstrate the extent of the destruction, many photos even showed an Iwagakure Ninja standing in the frame, using their height as a comparison against the damage on the battlefield.
Looking at the scene, which seemed as though it had been bombarded by meteors, Dodai's expression became solemn.
From the creation of the first Ninja Village, Konoha, until now, the Ninja Village era had only lasted a few decades. Most Ninja still remembered that there had once been an invincible strong man named Senju Hashirama.
With Senju Hashirama as the one and only example, the combination of Wood Release and a young super genius made it very difficult for anyone to feel at ease.
Sunagakure might not care, but for Kumogakure, which wanted to replace Konoha's position, the appearance of a second Senju Hashirama was absolutely unacceptable.
Kumogakure had endured and lain low for decades. If another second God of Shinobi, Hayate Mugetsu, appeared, wouldn't they have to endure another few decades of frustration?
"How are we cooperating? Speak quickly. We, Kumogakure, absolutely cannot stand by and watch Konoha's evil deeds!" Dodai said in a deep voice.
Hayate Mugetsu had to be killed.
Even if it meant paying a slightly higher price, they had to kill him. Otherwise, it would have a disastrous impact on Kumogakure's strategy for the next few decades.
"Evil deeds? Do you Kumogakure actually have the nerve to use that word?" Pakura could not help retorting.
Moreover, Pakura had dealt with Mugetsu once before and knew that he was an upright and broad-minded person.
If she had known this meeting was to discuss assassinating Mugetsu, she would not have come.
Mugetsu had once given her a path to survival. Although Pakura would not betray her village for Mugetsu, she was unwilling to unite with other Ninja Villages to lay a trap for him.
Sunagakure could act against Mugetsu, but that person could not be her.
"Your Excellency, do not be blinded by past hatred. Remember what we are here for today," Dodai said calmly, without retorting.
The most important task right now was eliminating Mugetsu. Other matters could be set aside for now.
"Heh, I'm not doing this out of hatred. I just find your words amusing," Pakura mocked without restraint.
His words sounded nice, but it had been Kumogakure that invaded Sunagakure, not Sunagakure that invaded Kumogakure. Of course Dodai could calmly advise her to let go of hatred.
Kitsuchi felt a headache coming on. Just as he was about to mediate, a Sand Ninja behind Pakura spoke.
"Pakura, don't forget the village's mission," Yashamaru said with a smile.
He had been sent by Rasa to monitor Pakura. On one hand, it was to prevent Pakura from causing trouble. On the other hand, it was so he could replace Pakura in the cooperation at any time.
Pakura glanced at Yashamaru indifferently and said nothing more.
She disliked Rasa, but her impression of Rasa's brother-in-law was acceptable, so she was willing to give him face.
"You Sunagakure people are quite interesting," Mizuyū said. He had not expected to see such entertainment at a meeting, where a representative's guard offered opinions to the representative.
Pakura did not respond, and Yashamaru merely smiled without speaking.
One did not hit a smiling person, so Mizuyū did not continue on this topic either.
"It seems Hidden Sand Village still hasn't recovered from its internal strife. We really chose the wrong opponent back then. If we had attacked Sunagakure, perhaps the outcome wouldn't be like this now," Mizuyū thought.
Mizuyū naturally felt some regret about the current situation in Hidden Mist Village.
More than a thousand Ninja had been captured by Konoha, including a Mizukage candidate like Yagura, putting Hidden Mist in an extremely passive position.
"Cooperation is actually very simple. Currently, our Iwagakure Ninja Force is still confronting the Konoha Ninja Force in the Land of Grass, and Hayate Mugetsu is among the Konoha Ninja Force there," Kitsuchi began explaining Iwagakure's cooperation plan.
"We, Iwagakure, will serve as bait and vanguard, engaging the Konoha Ninja Force."
"The Konoha Ninja Force is weak. Without Hayate Mugetsu's help, they are certainly no match for Iwagakure, so Hayate Mugetsu will definitely make a move."
"Your villages only need to dispatch elite teams to lie in wait in the Land of Grass. Then you can seize the opportunity to surround and kill Hayate Mugetsu, leaving him in the Land of Grass forever."
In truth, Iwagakure had already formulated a detailed plan for a joint operation between the Four Great Ninja Villages. However, that required confirming cooperation first before dividing the work, so Kitsuchi first spoke only about the core.
"We, Kumogakure, are willing to cooperate," Dodai immediately stated.
Kumogakure had held a high-level meeting regarding this conference, and the conclusion of that discussion was clear.
Hayate Mugetsu had to die.
He absolutely could not be given any more opportunities to grow.
"Cooperation is a serious matter. We need to ask Lord Kazekage's opinion," Yashamaru said, not agreeing immediately.
Rasa had not given him the authority to participate in the war, only to analyze the feasibility and report back.
"I also need to report to Lord Mizukage," Mizuyū said as well.
Hidden Mist's situation was too awkward. Let alone the fact that the Third Mizukage had not given him authority, even if he had, Mizuyū would not dare make this decision himself.
"Then I'll add a few more pieces of intelligence," Kitsuchi said after thinking for a moment.
In Ōnoki's expectations, these Great Ninja Villages would not agree to cooperate so easily.
Kitsuchi's task was to explain Mugetsu's danger as clearly as possible, making the Great Ninja Villages feel a sense of crisis.
After the meeting, the representatives each used their own methods to contact their villages and report on the meeting's progress.
Pakura straightforwardly told Rasa that she would not undertake this mission.
After learning from Yashamaru that this mission had high feasibility, Rasa readily agreed to Pakura's request.
There were plenty of dangerous missions. There was no need to give Pakura a dangerous mission that also had a good chance of producing great merit.
If Pakura was lucky enough to steal the kill and eliminate Mugetsu, her reputation would certainly rise another level, which would be extremely unfavorable to him.
"Kumogakure has already agreed, and Hidden Mist will likely agree as well. This time, the alliance of the Four Great Ninja Villages should be fine," Rasa nodded to himself.
Hidden Mist had lost one Jinchuriki to Konoha two years ago, along with five precious Ninja swords. Recently, they seemed to have suffered another defeat. Rasa did not believe Hidden Mist would not want revenge.
As for Sunagakure, Rasa would not miss an opportunity to kick a neighbor while they were down.
"Konoha has no choice but to suffer this great loss," Rasa could not help smiling.
This was the first time in the Ninja Village era that the Four Great Ninja Villages had united against a single Ninja Village.
No matter how strong Konoha was, it would not be able to withstand it.
In terms of strength, they were the Shinobi Alliance. Their powerful individuals and ordinary Ninja both far surpassed Konoha.
In terms of intelligence, they had formed a secret alliance that Konoha knew nothing about. They were in the dark while Konoha stood in the light.
Rasa could not imagine Konoha not losing.
In this situation, perhaps only the resurrection of Senju Hashirama could resolve it.
With a true Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, all Ninja from the Great Ninja Villages would settle down.
On the other side, after receiving Mizuyū's intelligence report, the Third Mizukage found it difficult to make a decision.
On one hand, there was a junior he valued highly and over a thousand Mist Ninja.
On the other hand, there was the chance to wash away previous shame by inflicting a major defeat on Konoha.
The Third Mizukage was not a naive optimist who believed he could strike at Konoha while simultaneously rescuing his captured comrades.
It was possible to do so, but the probability of the plan succeeding was very low.
Because the captives had likely already been taken back to Konoha.
By the time they eliminated Hayate Mugetsu, Yagura and the thousand Mist Ninja would either be killed by enraged Konoha Ninja or still serve as bargaining chips.
It was too difficult to rescue so many Ninja from Konoha. If Konoha could not defeat them, would killing captives not be simple?
"No, I have another option."
A flash of inspiration struck the Third Mizukage.
Why was he resisting peace talks with Konoha?
Was he determined to fight Konoha to the end?
No.
It was because Konoha was extorting them by relying on the large number of hostages they held. Signing a peace treaty would cause Hidden Mist to lose a large amount of wealth, making the Third Mizukage lose both money and reputation.
If he did not cooperate with Iwagakure and instead told Konoha about Iwagakure's plans, demanding equal peace talks as a condition to become Konoha's ally...
Then Hidden Mist Village would not only avoid financial disaster, but Yagura and the others would also be absolutely safe and not killed out of spite. Perhaps even the five lost Ninja tools could be recovered.
The only downside might be that Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure, the three Great Ninja Villages, would see their goodwill toward Hidden Mist drop sharply.
But upon closer thought, this was not an issue either.
Because he would have Konoha as an ally. If Hidden Mist became a double-crosser to help Konoha, Konoha could not simply ignore them, right?
This way, Hayate Mugetsu, the second God of Shinobi, would not only pose no danger to Hidden Mist, but could also become a great asset to Hidden Mist.
"As long as Hayate Mugetsu can withstand the combined forces of the three villages, then this option is the best one," the Third Mizukage thought, increasingly feeling that he should abandon the darkness and embrace the light.
Although Hayate Mugetsu was a Konoha Ninja, the Third Mizukage had great confidence in him.
A ruthless individual capable of capturing most of the Mist Ninja Force, including Yagura, plus the help of Hidden Mist, meant the Shinobi Alliance might not be invincible.
Thinking of this, the Third Mizukage had Anbu summon Genji.
The Third Mizukage could ignore the opinions of others, but Genji's opinion still had to be taken seriously.
The Third Mizukage told Genji his thoughts.
"Genji, what do you think Hidden Mist should choose?"
"Use the cooperation as a bargaining chip and stand with Konoha," Genji replied after thinking for a while.
If there had not been over a thousand captives, Genji most likely would have chosen to join Iwagakure in attacking Konoha.
But with over a thousand captives, for Hidden Mist, allying with Konoha naturally came with benefits.
Cooperating with Iwagakure, regardless of whether they won or lost, could not guarantee the lives of those thousand-plus captives.
Cooperating with Konoha gave them a good chance of winning. If they won, the captives would definitely be safe and sound, and Hidden Mist would also gain Konoha's friendship.
Seeing that Genji agreed with him, the Third Mizukage quickly passed the resolution at the high-level meeting. He contacted Iwagakure to agree to cooperate and send troops, while also contacting Konoha.
To show Hidden Mist's sincerity, Genji volunteered to personally lead a team to Konoha for cooperation talks.
When Ōnoki learned that all three Great Ninja Villages had agreed to cooperate, he personally went to the border town to preside over the meeting.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Ōnoki prepared to take action himself this time.
Not only would he personally act, Ōnoki also invited the Third Raikage, the Third Mizukage, and the Fourth Kazekage to join him.
The reason he gave was that Hayate Mugetsu's presence might cause Konoha to send more troops. Since Hayate Mugetsu had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, a sufficient number of powerful individuals were needed to group together and encircle him.
Kumogakure's desire to eliminate Mugetsu this time was no less than Iwagakure's. The Third Raikage was the first to reply, stating that he would also be present.
The Third Raikage did not trust others. He wanted to personally kill Hayate Mugetsu and eliminate future trouble.
Immediately afterward, the Third Mizukage also replied, stating that he would be at the encirclement site to personally lead the elite Hidden Mist Anbu assassination squad in carrying out the assassination mission.
Seeing that the other Kage were all attending, Rasa, who had not originally planned to go, also changed his mind and decided to personally go to the Land of Grass to join the excitement.
If the other Kage went and he did not, would that not make him seem cowardly?
As the only Fourth Kage among the Five Great Ninja Villages at the moment, Rasa felt he could not disgrace Sunagakure.
"The Kage of the Four Great Ninja Villages gathering just to kill one person. This is a first in the entire Ninja World, isn't it?" Ōnoki smiled.
The plan was proceeding exactly as he had envisioned, and Ōnoki was in an excellent mood.
So what if Hayate Mugetsu had the potential of Senju Hashirama?
They only had to nip that potential in the bud.
As long as he had not truly become the second God of Shinobi, there was still a chance.
At this moment, Ōnoki was glad that he had consistently targeted Konoha since the beginning of the war.
If Konoha had not been pushed to the brink, Konoha's higher-ups might have kept Mugetsu's Wood Release hidden, only revealing it once he had nearly reached Senju Hashirama's level.
To ensure Mugetsu remained in the Land of Grass without any mishaps, Ōnoki truly went all out.
In addition to the main battlefield in the Land of Grass, Ōnoki strongly suggested that Hidden Mist send troops again to invade the southeast of the Land of Fire, attracting Konoha's attention and preventing the Konoha Ninja Force in the Land of Grass from receiving too many reinforcements.
Similarly, Ōnoki also suggested that Kumogakure send some personnel to operate along the border of the Land of Rice Fields, creating the false impression that Kumogakure had not given up on opening a front from the Land of Rice Fields and thereby diverting Konoha's attention.
As for Sunagakure, Ōnoki did not suggest they declare war on Konoha.
He thought it would be better for Sunagakure to appear suddenly and catch Konoha off guard.
Because if Sunagakure declared war on Konoha, then all Four Great Ninja Villages would be at war with Konoha, which might make Konoha tense and increase personnel at the borders.
Days passed, and Ōnoki's arrangements were completed step by step.
Hidden Mist's presence was once again detected in the southeast of the Land of Fire, and Kumogakure Ninja became active along the border of the Land of Rice Fields.
Rasa, the Third Raikage, and other helpers brought their elite forces and secretly entered the Land of Grass.
Once everything was ready, Ōnoki gave an order to Retsuishi, the commander of the Iwa Ninja Force.
"Attack the Konoha Ninja Force at all costs."
To keep the operation secret, Ōnoki did not even go to the Iwagakure Ninja Force, creating the impression that he was still in Iwagakure.
Except for a small portion of high-ranking officers in the Iwa Ninja Force, most of the Iwagakure Ninja did not know that their Kage had arrived on the battlefield.
It was nothing more than Ōnoki worrying that he would scare Hayate Mugetsu away.
If Mugetsu escaped to some hidden corner and quietly trained for ten years before reappearing, Ōnoki truly would have no solution.
Such a large-scale movement, with the entire Iwagakure Ninja Force in the Land of Grass moving directly toward the Land of Fire's defense line, naturally could not be hidden from Konoha's intelligence Ninja.
"Something's strange. They retreated and avoided battle before, but now they're launching a large-scale attack with almost no restraint. Have they received reinforcements?" Jiraiya's expression was serious.
The Iwagakure Ninja Force on the Land of Grass battlefield had already approached two thousand men. If another thousand-man reinforcement force arrived, that would become a Ninja Force of three thousand Ninja.
Such terrifying power, if directed at countries outside the Five Great Nations, would be impossible for anyone to resist. They would all fall within a short period.
"Don't we have reinforcements too? And we have Teacher Mugetsu. We're definitely going to win!" Obito said, implying that with Mugetsu present, there would be no surprises.
"Even with our reinforcements, we still don't have as many Ninja as the enemy's known Ninja Force," Jiraiya retorted.
Even with reinforcements, the Konoha Ninja Force in the Land of Grass currently only had fifteen hundred Ninja, a number even smaller than the Iwa Ninja Force without reinforcements.
"Then should we ask the village for more reinforcements?" Kakashi suggested.
He also trusted Mugetsu's power, but it would certainly be better if they could reduce the probability of accidents.
"I'll contact them, but even if they come, they won't arrive in time," Jiraiya said. His expression was not panicked.
Although they were outnumbered, Jiraiya was quite confident.
After all, that person had arrived.
"Don't worry. Trust me, trust yourselves, and trust everyone," Mugetsu said with a smile, placing his hand on Kakashi's shoulder.
As the core target, Mugetsu had received all the intelligence Hiruzen had given him.
Being targeted was within Mugetsu's expectations. That was why he had only truly displayed his Wood Release on the battlefield after possessing it for so long.
Mugetsu's established genius image combined with Wood Release would make Konoha's hostile forces incredibly wary.
Apart from Konoha itself, no other Ninja Village would want to see another Senju Hashirama appear.
So, during the battle with the Mist Ninja Force, Mugetsu had deliberately held back and captured a large number of Hidden Mist prisoners.
The purpose was to make Hidden Mist hesitate, giving him one less opponent.
Mugetsu was not afraid of facing the Third Tsuchikage or the Third Raikage alone. But if multiple Kage came together, bringing elite Ninja with them, then Mugetsu would be overwhelmed.
His Chakra was not enough.
Mugetsu could not kill that many people before running out of Chakra.
He could only use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape after his Chakra was nearly depleted.
"If it were a little later, perhaps Hidden Mist's defection wouldn't have mattered either," Mugetsu thought, feeling the stirring in his eyes.
Mugetsu did not know what his Byakugan would evolve into.
In the original work, the only advanced eye related to the Byakugan was the Tenseigan from the movie.
Everyone else had normal Byakugan. Even the final boss, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, had Byakugan that looked the same as those of a normal Hyuga Clan member, just with stronger abilities.
It was just that the Tenseigan seemed to require some Ōtsutsuki Chakra combined with a pure Byakugan.
His Byakugan was definitely pure enough, but Mugetsu truly did not know where to obtain Ōtsutsuki Chakra.
However, no matter what, evolution was a good thing.
His Chakra would definitely increase somewhat.
It was only a pity that his own increase could not be doubled like his disciples' growth.
.....
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