"Third Lord!" Karatachi Yagura arrived at the Mizukage Office and greeted the Third Mizukage with respect.
The Third Mizukage had always nurtured him as if he were the Fourth Mizukage, something Karatachi Yagura kept close to his heart, fostering a strong relationship between them.
"You'll once again serve as the commander of our forces. Give it your all and reclaim what we've lost in the Hidden Mist." The Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Karatachi Yagura looked at the Third Mizukage with gratitude.
Thanks to the Third Mizukage's protection, the previous defeat hadn't subjected him to much criticism, though internally Karatachi Yagura still felt tormented by it.
As a ninja with personal pride, such a crushing failure was a hurdle he couldn't easily overcome.
"I won't disappoint the expectations of you or the village. This time, I will decisively defeat the Konoha Ninja Squad!" Karatachi Yagura declared solemnly.
Since that defeat, Karatachi Yagura had reflected deeply, not only studying more strategic tactics but also enhancing his own training.
These changes hardly qualify as a transformation, but compared to before, there's been definite progress.
Facing the same situation, he felt confident to perform better than in the past.
"It's good that you have this confidence," the Third Mizukage said with a smile.
Confidence is crucial; if you don't even believe you can do something yourself, how can you expect others to believe it?
"Don't rush once you arrive in the Land of Waves, wait for my orders."
The Hidden Cloud's forces have only entered the Land of Fire, and haven't yet engaged in fierce battles with Konoha's ninja squadrons, so the Third Mizukage wasn't in a hurry for Yagura to launch an attack.
The current ninja world is chaotic; if there's an opportunity, they could even choose to avoid attacking the Land of Fire and opt for another major country instead.
While revenge is important, one must not forget the original intention for joining the war: The Hidden Mist's aim in the ninja world war is to gain a share of the continent's benefits, nothing more.
...
The Hidden Sand Village, Kazekage Office.
"No intensive battles with Konoha's ninja squad yet, huh." Rasa said regretfully as he put down the intelligence report.
He merely wanted to see Konoha and the Hidden Cloud fight bloodily, regardless of whose blood was spilled.
The Hidden Cloud seized the opportunity during the Hidden Sand's internal turmoil, launching heavy attacks.
Even as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages with its vast resources, the Hidden Sand Village had been weakened by the consecutive blows of internal chaos and Hidden Cloud's invasion.
Therefore, Rasa eagerly wished to see Hidden Cloud in misfortune.
As for Konoha, the reason was simpler: the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire were separated by only the Land of Rivers, a distance too close.
Rasa didn't want a neighbor stronger than the Hidden Sand; if he had the choice, he wanted one that needed Hidden Sand's help and was half-dead.
A neighbor that can bring help to the Hidden Sand is indeed a good neighbor.
...
Compared to the eager Hidden Mist and indifferent Hidden Sand, the Hidden Rock's approach to the current ninja world situation was a different choice.
Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
"In the present ninja world, there's probably no ninja who hasn't heard of Sosuke." Kitsuchi looked at the increasingly prosperous town, feeling a sense of emotion.
The first time he arrived in Six Paths City, it was even less developed than some remote villages, but now it appeared to be a relatively prosperous town.
Sosuke's growth was even more astonishing than that of Six Paths City; when first learning of Sosuke, he was just a ninja of moderate fame in the Land of Rain.
Now, Sosuke was recognized across the ninja world, having become a legendary ninja surpassing Half-God Hanzo.
"No wonder it's him." Thinking of Sosuke's personality and ability, Kitsuchi found it all quite normal.
Kitsuchi then withdrew his gaze and headed directly to the Ninja Sect's base.
Kitsuchi often acted as a representative of the Hidden Rock, liaising with the Ninja Sect. Most ninjas from the Ninja Sect were familiar with Kitsuchi, and he quickly met Sosuke in the Ninja Sect's guest hall.
"We sincerely apologize for what happened to your sect; we never expected Konoha's ambitions still linger, coveting the Land of Rain." Kitsuchi recited the prepared remarks.
It would have been challenging for him to come up with these words on his own.
Seeing Kitsuchi's firm expression as he said he was sorry, Mokgetsu suspected Kitsuchi probably didn't do well in disguise lessons at the Ninja Academy.
"It's not necessarily Konoha coveting the Land of Rain, perhaps it's just Shimura Danzo himself holding bias against me." Mokgetsu replied with a smile.
He could easily guess the Hidden Rock Village's intentions.
Approaching the one who killed Shimura Danzo at this time could mean nothing other than attempting to make the Ninja Sect a pawn against Konoha.
"Is there an inside story?" the Hidden Rock Jonin accompanying Kitsuchi suddenly became intrigued and asked quickly.
Currently, the widely circulated reason for Shimura Danzo's death within the ninja world was Konoha's desire to seize Sosuke's Ninja Sect inheritance, thus sending Shimura Danzo to assassinate Sosuke.
However, ninja from the Great Ninja Villages were skeptical of this; the Five Great Ninja Villages have deep resources and numerous secret techniques and ninjutsu, taking action for an unknown Ninja Sect inheritance devalues them greatly.
Claiming Konoha oppresses the Land of Rain seemed slightly more credible, given that the Land of Rain indeed had growing momentum.
"Just personal speculation, considering the suddenness of the incident, I haven't fully investigated yet." Mokgetsu shook his head and replied.
He did know the inside story but couldn't disclose it.
The Hidden Rock Jonin suspected Sosuke was hiding something but refrained from asking more, opting to remain silent.
They might have means to manipulate the Ninja Sect, but regarding Sosuke, they had no effective strategy.
As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose have nothing to fear.
If Sosuke were forced to disband the Ninja Sect and then single-handedly caused havoc in the Land of Earth, the Hidden Rock would indeed have a headache for a while.
"Our collaboration with the Ninja Sect has yielded significant benefits for us, hence we wish to pursue deeper cooperation." Kitsuchi, though not adept at social finesse, noticed Sosuke's unwillingness to discuss Shimura Danzo further, prompted a different dialogue tactic.
"What kind of deep cooperation?" Mokgetsu asked, feigning interest.
Despite knowing the impending dialogue's content, pretending was necessary.
After all, the Hidden Rock had contributed significantly to Six Paths City's construction and had delegated quite a bit of commission money to the Ninja Sect, making it only polite to show some consideration.
"Expand the training scale for ninjas, co-found a Ninja Academy, and the Hidden Rock can delegate some commissions to the Ninja Sect," Kitsuchi listed the conditions the Hidden Rock could offer.
The Ninja Sect had limited ninja numbers, making any major movement easily detectable; recently, the Hidden Rock in the Land of Rain had discovered the Ninja Sect's initiative to establish a Ninja Academy.
"Surely, there's more to it." Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Starting a Ninja Academy was indeed a significant challenge for the former Ninja Sect, but only before Mokgetsu took over Rain Village.
Since taking over Rain Village, Mokgetsu could arrange for some Rain Ninja to receive training and become instructors.
Kitsuchi nodded and continued: "To ensure the safety of our cooperation, the Hidden Rock will dispatch ninjas to safeguard the Ninja Sect, guaranteeing cooperation security."
"Sosuke, what do you think of such deep cooperation?" Kitsuchi asked Sosuke.
Kitsuchi felt the conditions offered by his father were rather decent, almost treating the Ninja Sect as a small Hidden Rock Village.
"The Hidden Rock's conditions are excellent," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
"Then..." Kitsuchi's face showed a smile, thinking Sosuke was going to agree.
Before Kitsuchi could finish, Mokgetsu interrupted: "However, I refuse."
Accepting this so-called deep cooperation with the Hidden Rock would allow the Hidden Rock Village to legally deploy ninja squads within the Ninja Sect.
Not only would Mokgetsu not agree, even if Hanzo were present, he would certainly reject such cooperation.
Kitsuchi's smile froze, not expecting Sosuke to suddenly change stance.
PS: I might be experiencing a lack of sleep lately, as my mental state has been subpar.
I intended to write more during the holiday, but it's only about four thousand words now.
I hope to sleep before one tonight to adjust my routine.