"Join Konoha?"
"Why join Konoha? Aren't we people of the Hidden Sand Village? Moreover, what's going on in the village? Why is it now forbidden to leave the village?"
"Not sure, could it be that war is about to start again... damn, how do we earn money if we can't leave the village? Hasn't the Fourth Generation Kazekage said when we'll be allowed to leave?"
The transformation within the Hidden Sand Village was too great; Rasa ordered the village to be sealed off, putting all his Hidden Sand Ninjas into a state of war because nearly five thousand Konoha Ninjas were just outside the village.
And divided into three large corps, they completely surrounded the Hidden Sand Village. Without a Tailed Beast, Rasa couldn't possibly launch a sudden attack against the Konoha Ninjas.
Even the Land of Wind Daimyo couldn't sit still due to the Konoha Ninjas and immediately sent people to the Hidden Sand Village to inquire.
Since the establishment of the Five Great Countries and the Five Great Ninja Villages, this was the first time they've encountered such a situation, with the Ninja Army of an enemy country arriving so close to their own territory.
Upon hearing this news, the Land of Wind Daimyo didn't even enjoy his meals; his biggest worry shifted from collecting taxes to improve the Daimyo Mansion's revenue to wondering what exactly the Konoha Ninjas intended.
Since ninjas earn rewards by accepting commissioned tasks, Ninja Villages generally don't stray too far from their nation's capital. Now, with so many Konoha Ninjas near the capital of the Land of Wind, the Daimyo found himself unable to sleep.
He sent two groups of emissaries; aside from the Hidden Sand Village, the Land of Wind Daimyo also dispatched emissaries toward the Daimyo's Mansion of the Land of Fire. He wanted to ask the Land of Fire Daimyo what this meant, and whether he remembered the agreement made by the previous Daimyo, questioning how they could let their country's ninjas act so boldly!
However, the Land of Wind Daimyo's efforts would surely prove futile. The Land of Fire Daimyo, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Internal Affairs, the three most powerful individuals in the Land of Fire, all had their minds fully occupied by Konoha.
The Kotoamatsukami command from Uchiha Shisui dictated that they follow the orders of the Fifth Generation Hokage, comply with Konoha's directives, unless a new Daimyo is put in place, essentially turning the Land of Fire into a unified military and political powerhouse.
But currently, the Daimyo's son is only four years old, and since it's just Konoha Village growing stronger, Kotoamatsukami has never been exposed in the Ninja World. Apart from Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Yoichi, nobody knew that the actions of these three were influenced by an Illusion Technique.
Outside the Hidden Sand Village, the Konoha Ninjas' camp was only three kilometers away, but the Hidden Sand Ninjas only dared to rely on towering earthen walls, without daring to take any offensive moves.
Even the exit to the east of the Hidden Sand Village was occupied by ninjas from Pakura's side, dividing the vast Hidden Sand Village into two areas. Rasa now had over seven hundred Hidden Sand Ninjas forging a defensive line in the middle of the village.
Once the ninjas from Pakura's side made any move, the ninjas on Rasa's side would likely launch an immediate attack.
However, after Pakura emerged from the Kazekage Building, the ninjas on her side made significant moves, and Konoha even deployed a Ninja Army into the Hidden Sand Village, capturing the earthen walls at the eastern exit.
Upon learning this news, Rasa was so furious he crushed the desk in front of him with gold dust.
Soon after, his Anbu came to report that the ninjas from Pakura's side began advocating a village merger plan. Upon hearing this, Rasa's eyes turned red, and without much thought, he summoned his subordinates to gather.
Pakura was beyond redemption. Just moments ago, Rasa even considered proactively admitting mistakes to Pakura, seeking her forgiveness, and later negotiating with Konoha Ninjas to ensure the Hidden Sand Village's legacy.
But now, it seemed that Pakura was the one person in the Hidden Sand Village who must be eliminated, and he had to find a way to kill her... even if it means war.
"Lord Fourth."
"Kazekage-sama!"
"Fourth..."
Once everyone arrived, Rasa, with a grim expression, spoke: "You all know Pakura's actions. Tell me, what good suggestions do you have now."
In the room with more than a dozen people, no one spoke after hearing Rasa's words; it was silent without a sound.
It's not that they were refusing to offer opinions to protect themselves; the paths they could choose were nearly blocked, leaving only war or honest surrender.
As for other plans, facing five thousand Konoha Ninjas and one thousand Hidden Sand Ninjas led by Pakura, what good plan could there be?
After a while, Chiyo spoke: "Lord Fourth, previously using poison was possible, but now the Konoha Ninjas may even have the village's herbal gardens under surveillance, and many poisons haven't matured yet. If we really want to resist, it's best to battle desperately tonight..."
"Have Konoha Ninjas become this audacious?"
Rasa asked, somewhat incredulous; he truly was the most humiliated Kazekage in history, ashamed before the wind shadow statues.
"Although we haven't found Konoha Ninjas, the feeling of being watched should be the Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan of Konoha... Now that those people from Pakura and the Konoha Ninjas get along so well, there might be Hyuga Clan ninjas mingling among Pakura's subordinates."
Since discovering Pakura colluding with Konoha Ninjas, Chiyo stood firmly on Rasa's side because she had an unresolvable grudge with the Fourth Hokage Hatake Sakumo.
Even if the past incident was a shame for Pakura, Pakura's village merger plan couldn't be accepted; hence, in Rasa's camp, Chiyo possibly had the most unwavering stance.
"Konoha has many Secret Techniques and Bloodline Clans. Over time, we're likely to be slowly discovered by Konoha Ninjas, learning all our information. By then, resistance would truly be powerless to halt."
Rasa was moved and then looked at Chiyo to ask: "Elder Chiyo, your meaning is..."
"Gather all forces, bring out everything we have, eliminate Pakura and her group, while expelling the Konoha Ninjas."
Elder Chiyo decisively told Rasa: "Among the Konoha Ninjas this time is the First Generation Hokage. Although I don't know how they resurrected this God of Shinobi, he is likely the Hokage most opposed to ninja deaths; as long as we show a willingness to battle to the end, it's possible we'll make the Konoha Ninjas stop their attack, and maybe the Hidden Sand Village can be preserved..."
The Hidden Sand Ninjas were left speechless by Elder Chiyo's decisive attitude after hearing her plan. For a moment, no one could say a word.
However, Chiyo believed this plan was the most feasible. She was very old and had experienced the First Ninja World War.
At that time, the Konoha Ninjas, using secret techniques and bloodline ninjas, held an absolute advantage in the chaotic Ninja World War, but the First Generation Hokage voluntarily stopped the war.
After the Five Kage Summit, Chiyo learned from the Second Generation Kazekage that the First Hokage wished to use negotiation to resolve the First Ninja World War, to avoid further ninja deaths, which also led to the division of the Tailed Beasts.
So by exploiting this weakness of the First Hokage, they might be able to save the Hidden Sand Village.
Rasa pondered for a while, then looked at Chiyo and asked, "Can this really work?"
"Apart from this method, the only option is to surrender. After all, the Second Generation Hokage is a Reanimation Body, while the First Hokage has truly been revived... Our chances are still good."
"Then let's do it. Galor People, bring out everything from the storage and distribute it to the Anbu, Jonin, and Chunin."
Rasa also firmly told everyone in the room: "Everyone, this may be the last chance for the Hidden Sand Village. If you do not wish to become wandering ninjas of a destroyed village, then give it your all to fight for a space of survival for our descendants."
"Yes, Fourth Lord!"
The high-ranking members inside the room responded, and one by one they resolutely left the Kazekage Building. Each of them was determined to fight to the death; rather than becoming lowly people in Konoha, it was better to stay in the Hidden Sand Village as high officials.
In Konoha, there is no preferential policy for them; starting as ordinary ninjas? Don't be ridiculous!
Elsewhere
Pakura also dispatched several squads of ninjas to distribute Konoha's village merger plan in the Hidden Sand Village, mainly to the ordinary villagers.
The front side showed the benefits of the merger plan, and the back was the application form. Anyone who filled it out could leave the Hidden Sand Village from the eastern exit, where Konoha ninjas would settle anyone who defected to them.
The total population of the Hidden Sand Village was less than 100,000, and more than 5,000 Konoha ninjas could be divided into 1,000 to settle 70,000 to 80,000 people. Plus, Uchiha Yoichi had sent several Wood Release Bloodline ninjas over from the village.
Their Wood Release was not as powerful as Senju Hashirama's, but it was certainly effective for building houses.
Once the ninjas along the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind border were all driven back, the Wood Release Bloodline Ninjas of Konoha chose two places to start building settlement points.
Currently, there are makeshift wooden house settlement points. In the future, these two places will be central to building oasis towns.
Before leaving, Senju Tobirama had handed over the plan to Uchiha Yoichi, and after meeting with Pakura, he also made sure Pakura's teams saw it, ensuring that whenever any members of Pakura's ninja family were transferred, they were accompanied by her faction's Hidden Sand Ninjas.
"An oasis, it's a rare sight in the Land of Wind. They're mostly occupied by the nobles of our country. Even the Hidden Sand Village had to build high walls to block the sandstorms..."
Pakura sighed as she spoke. Many born in the Hidden Sand have never seen an oasis, except during missions outside the country. It's only then that they learn the color of leaves. Staying in the village, seeing the green of leaves is a luxurious dream.
Living in an oasis could be said to be the dream of many villagers in the Hidden Sand Village. Even hearing about this could attract many to join them.
Once someone succumbs to temptation, they pack up their belongings, and with their whole family, take the merger plan application to head toward the eastern exit. If any of Rasa's ninjas try to stop them, Pakura's ninjas would intervene and protect them.
Moreover, as more people join, the more Rasa's ninjas try to stop them, the more they provoke resistance from the villagers of the Hidden Sand Village.
"Second Generation Hokage, it seems to be going smoothly. In less than a week, I estimate more than half of the villagers will leave for the oasis settlement points. How are the preparations for what comes next?"
"The Fifth Generation has already prepared resources, so you don't need to worry about settling the villagers of the Hidden Sand Village. What we need to focus on now is the Fourth Kazekage."
Senju Tobirama said with arms crossed, as there were designated personnel for the oasis, so he only needed to keep a strict watch on Rasa, the biggest threat, and the remaining Hidden Sand Ninjas.
"Don't take it lightly, young lady. My brother and I attended the First Five Kage Summit, and we're well aware of the Hidden Sand's usual tactics. Even in unfavorable situations, they'll strike like a lone wolf. In the First Ninja World War, the Hidden Sand Village was at the greatest disadvantage, yet they dared to demand exorbitantly of Konoha..."
"If it wasn't for my brother's soft heart... Had it been me as Hokage, there would already be no Hidden Sand Village nor the Land of Wind; your First Kazekage offended the Kage of four villages with one sentence."
Pakura and the other Hidden Sand Ninjas twitched at their lips. Although they were unaware of these events from decades prior, they trusted that the Second Generation Hokage wouldn't deceive them on such matters.
"So, do we need to guard against Rasa acting desperately?"
"War is inevitable. The Fifth Generation is aware of this result. The Konoha Ninjas sent here aren't for a parade; tonight let two more Konoha Ninja Corps enter the Hidden Sand Village. Otherwise, if Rasa launches a surprise attack, you won't be able to hold..."
Upon hearing Senju Tobirama's words, Pakura's expression hardened, and after contemplating for a few seconds, she nodded in agreement: "Understood, should we prepare ninja suits for the Hidden Sand?"
Previously, Konoha's reconnaissance ninjas and ninjas from the Hyuga clan infiltrated wearing Hidden Sand outfits, already gathering much intelligence on Rasa's ninjas.
"No need, during the day try not to come out of buildings. Preparing ninja outfits is too conspicuous, and the Fourth Kazekage will certainly notice."
Senju Tobirama shook his head and then told Senju Hashirama next to him: "Brother, if war breaks out, it'll be up to you. Don't be soft-hearted!"