He truly had no other choice but to do this.
As for the Hidden Rain...
"Relax. I'm just using those guys. A promise? What's that? They're just a bunch of outsiders. Once our plan succeeds, we can dispose of them however we want," Suien said coldly with a snort.
He had never intended to honor that so-called promise.
He was the man who was going to become the Leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Ally with the Rain Ninja? Honor past promises?
Don't make him laugh.
That so-called contract was nothing more than a scrap of paper.
"Is that really how it is!? Then I understand, Lord Suien!"
Hearing his boss's words, the horse-faced man was stunned for a moment, then nodded in strong agreement.
He didn't think Suien was doing anything wrong in the slightest.
This world was morally bankrupt. Credibility? Promises? The spirit of a contract? All of these were just jokes.
No one truly cared about these issues.
Wasn't the Sand Village's betrayal of their alliance to join Orochimaru in attacking the Hidden Leaf a short while ago the best proof!?
Anyone who took these things seriously had lost their mind.
"Then we must make more preparations, Lord Suien. We should allocate more personnel to prevent the Rain Ninja from..."
Just as the horse-faced man's brain started spinning rapidly, intending to offer strategies to his boss...
"No need for all that trouble. I have another backup plan. You don't need to worry at all."
Suien waved his hand dismissively, speaking with a very smug expression.
"Eh?"
The horse-faced man instantly revealed a look of astonishment.
His boss had other preparations?
Why didn't he know about any of this?
"They should be arriving soon..."
Ignoring the confused expression of his horse-faced subordinate, Suien looked toward the distant south with a look of anticipation and muttered softly.
The curtain was about to rise on this great play.
But among the "characters" about to take the stage, one important protagonist was still missing.
And this "protagonist" was none other than Menma and his group.
Due to the time lag and distortion of intelligence, there had been a certain degree of deviation by the time Menma received the news and set off.
But in Suien's plan, Menma and his group were crucial existences.
Therefore, even with the delay, Suien still had to wait for Menma's arrival. Of course, Suien didn't know Menma's true identity.
The identity presented to the outside world was still that of a subordinate of the "Fire Nation Daimyo."
That's right!
Menma could claim at least one-third of the credit for Suien's defection and the upcoming coup.
It couldn't be said that he was the sole, direct trigger.
But he had certainly acted as a necessary catalyst.
The reason Menma did this was simple: he wanted to completely exacerbate the internal problems within the Hidden Waterfall Village. It was impossible to intervene in a ninja village that had no problems. Only when internal strife occurred—and a major crisis that affected the entire village at that—would the kind of opportunity Menma was hoping for appear.
Anyway, operating on the philosophy that failure wouldn't result in much loss, Menma had absolutely no scruples.
Just as Suien had prepared almost everything and was waiting for the final moment, Menma and his group crossed the strait by ship and traveled north. About three days later, they arrived on the outskirts of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
"You should all be clear on the plan this time, right? Unless it's the very end, do not make a move. We are just supporting characters. Understood?"
Menma looked at Tayuya and Suigetsu Hozuki in front of him with a serious expression.
Although failure in this plan wouldn't bring Menma much loss—at most a waste of time and energy—this step was incredibly important for the future.
Menma needed a force of his own.
A force that would obey his commands completely.
If he failed here at the Hidden Waterfall, he would have to start from scratch, which meant losing the first-mover advantage.
This was something Menma could not tolerate or accept.
So, for this Hidden Waterfall "rebellion," Menma hoped it would unfold according to his wishes. Even if there were ups and downs in the middle, as long as the overall goal was achieved, that was enough.
And on this point, the assistance of Suigetsu, Tayuya, and the others would play a certain role.
"Yes, we understand, Lord Menma."
Suigetsu and Tayuya immediately bowed.
"Good. Karin, you and Tayuya stay here on standby. If anything happens, signal immediately. Understood?"
Menma turned to look at Karin on his left.
"Mhm, I know. Don't worry, Menma."
Karin nodded heavily.
After such a long period of training, the current Karin was much steadier than before.
Except for her personal combat strength being a bit weak—barely counting as a Chunin—she had grown a lot in other aspects.
Menma could rest assured leaving many things to Karin to handle.
Especially in terms of sensory ability.
This girl had perfectly inherited the Mind's Eye of the Kagura of the Uzumaki clan. She was even more terrifying than Menma in this regard; she could now accurately detect chakra signatures within a radius of twenty to thirty kilometers. With Karin there, there was no need to worry about Tayuya and the others encountering a sudden enemy ambush.
"Alright then, let's go, Suigetsu."
Menma nodded with satisfaction.
Whoosh!
After calling out to Suigetsu beside him, he leaped into the air, flashing rapidly toward the northeast.
Suigetsu hurriedly followed close behind.
It was a three-day journey.
Along the way, Menma had been worried that events would develop too quickly, exceeding his expectations.
But upon arriving in the Land of Waterfalls and connecting with the intelligence personnel Orochimaru had left there, confirming that the situation was still in an acceptable state of "stability," he breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the conflict hadn't erupted prematurely, it was within a controllable range.
News of Menma's arrival reached Suien shortly after.
At the agreed-upon location.
Menma had used the Transformation Jutsu in advance to revert to the appearance of the young man he had been when he first visited the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Although Suigetsu was somewhat surprised by Menma's behavior, he didn't say much.
He knew his identity clearly, and he knew his place even better.
He was just an errand boy.
Leaving aside the terrifying threat of Orochimaru hanging over him, Menma's strength... well, although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Suigetsu trusted his sixth sense implicitly.
This guy is definitely a monster too!
Suigetsu thought firmly in his heart.