As a Great Hidden Village whose strength currently rivals that of Konoha, the Hidden Cloud naturally maintains a powerful sense of superiority over the Hidden Mist—which currently sits at the bottom of the five nations.
Driven by the expansionist ideology prevalent within the Cloud, the Fourth Raikage launched a bold war of subjugation against the Mist.
The Cloud's momentum is ferocious. While a force of ten thousand shinobi might not seem insurmountable to some, for a Mist Village ravaged by a series of internal purges and civil wars, scraping together even two thousand battle-ready ninja is their absolute limit.
The conflict has been a one-sided slaughter.
This military campaign received "tacit encouragement" from Konoha and the Hidden Stone. After all, the fall of the Mist would deal a heavy blow to the Sand's burgeoning maritime influence—a direct attempt to stifle Shiraishi's newly established Department of the Navy.
As Mizukage, Hozuki Haigetsu wasted no time in sending a formal plea for assistance to the Sand. Shiraishi held the letter in his office, his eyes clouded with contemplation.
Within the Thought Network, Haigetsu shook his head. "The current strength of the Mist can't hold out against the Cloud for even a week. The shinobi who survived the purges aren't exactly frontline warriors."
Years of internal strife had wiped out the hot-blooded, loyal elite. Those who remained were "battlefield veterans" in the worst sense—shrewd survivors who couldn't be relied upon to lay down their lives for the village.
"Can you not even assemble a new Seven Ninja Swordsmen?" Shiraishi asked.
"Samehada was stolen, and the other blades haven't found suitable masters yet."
Facing the Mist's dire straits, Shiraishi nodded. "I understand."
Back in the real world, Shiraishi sat at the massive circular conference table in his Kazekage robes, sipping hot tea. "Let's hear it. What are your thoughts?"
The heads of the Jonin Assembly were all present. One Jonin spoke up immediately: "The Mist are notoriously treacherous. This plea for help could easily be a trap."
"I agree," added Arakawa Arashi, head of the ANBU. His impression of the Mist remained soured by the Yamaji Mochiharu(Mochun) incident.
He was convinced the Mist had brainwashed their operative, leading him down a path of darkness. He remained firmly anti-Mist.
Morimoto Ryoji, however, offered a different perspective. "The Mist has no strength left to set traps. If we stand by and watch them fall, the Cloud will seize our newest sea-rail routes within the month."
As the head of the Navy, Ryoji staunchly supported the intervention. Since the end of the "Bloody Mist," the new Mizukage had shown no desire for expansion and had cooperated fully with the Sand's maritime projects.
To Ryoji, supporting the Mist was non-negotiable. He glanced at Arashi. "Watching the Mist be destroyed is an act of foolish nearsightedness."
"Enough, you two," Jogaki Shikasa interjected, frowning at the friction. Shiraishi, however, didn't mind the bickering, letting the debate play out.
"The Mist is our ally," Shiraishi finally spoke. "If we sit idly by while they are invaded, we lose our standing as a leader in the shinobi world."
If the Sand claimed the role of "Big Brother," it had the obligation to protect its "Little Brother." This went beyond mere logistics; it was about the prestige required to eventually unify the shinobi world.
"Morimoto Ryoji, the Department of the Navy will handle the relief of the Mist."
"Lord Kazekage," Shikasa said, surprised. "Do you not require the Jonin Assembly to coordinate the logistics?"
He was taken aback that the mission was handed entirely to the Navy. While sea combat was Ryoji's domain, the traditional pillars of the Sand—the Sealing Corps, Barrier Teams, and Puppet Brigades—usually fell under the Assembly's purview.
"The Navy's combat style is self-contained," Shiraishi explained. "Their puppets and tools have been independently allocated for years.
They are more than capable of handling a maritime conflict on their own. Since the Cloud must take the islands one by one, the main battlefield will remain on the water."
The efficiency of the Sand was terrifying. Within days of the decision, six of the Sand's newest battleships, docked at the Land of Artisans, set sail toward the Land of Water.
These were thousand-man class vessels with reinforced hulls, but their true terror lay in the Three-Barrel Tailed Beast Ball Cannons—a destructive force capable of chilling the blood of any maritime power.
The Cloud had expected Sand's intervention, but they hadn't expected six specialized naval fortresses.
The ships began an indiscriminate bombardment of Cloud-occupied islands. While the Cloud's losses weren't catastrophic—having learned how to counter Tailed Beast Balls during their conflicts with the Land of Fangs—the psychological shadow cast by the weapons was immense.
The aggressive entry of the Sand forced three of the Five Great Nations into a stalemate. Fearing a full-blown world war, Konoha and the Stone stepped in to mediate.
Since none of the parties truly wished for a total war at this stage, they agreed to sit at the negotiating table.
"I hear a very beautiful 'Snake Queen' has arrived in the village?"
Having settled the immediate political crisis, Shiraishi returned home to prepare a dessert for his wife. Maki was currently nursing little Aoki Shigeru, her movements gentle as she soothed the child.
On a side note, to better care for Shigeru, Maki had mastered a specific body secret technique: Milk Consumption. Not only had her bust size doubled, but the nutritional value of her milk was staggering.
Shigeru was bursting with energy as a result. (Of course, Shiraishi occasionally "competed" with his son for a drink at night—the flavor was one thing, but the post-milk activities between husband and wife were a different story.)
Maki had only bothered to learn this one specific secret technique for the sake of her son; otherwise, she would never have touched such "fringe" jutsu.
What bothered Maki most, however, was that Shiraishi seemed to have brought home another "stray woman."
This one had an extraordinary temperament—the air of an empress who believed she was the most beautiful under heaven—and her "shameless" attire made Maki's blood boil.
Though his wife spoke casually, Shiraishi could tell she was in a foul mood. Just as he was about to offer a few soothing words, Maki shook her head.
"Actually, Master Pakura told me about it. Apparently, she went to 'investigate' the truth about this Snake Queen earlier today."
Investigate the Snake Queen? Shiraishi's heart skipped a beat. Is Master Pakura trying to get herself killed?
True to Shiraishi's suspicion, Pakura had indeed been easily subdued and pinned to the floor by Shirohebi-hime. However, the way the situation developed afterward was... very unexpected.
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