Seeing Shibuki, Agun, and the others—like Fushimi and Tarashi—starting to look tense again, Menma quickly waved his hand.
"I don't want to build up everyone's confidence just to knock it back down," he said with a light laugh. "But honestly, you're all worrying too much. The Leaf won't move right away. The longer they wait, the more time we have to prepare. We can also keep an eye on how the Stone and Cloud fight plays out. If the Stone pushes hard and wins big, the pressure on the Leaf will only get worse!"
His calm, confident tone eased the mood in the room at once.
The others had seen Menma in action during the battle against the Cloud. They'd watched him crush the Fourth Raikage one-on-one and capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki without breaking a sweat. That kind of power had quietly shifted something deep inside them. Even if old habits made them tense at the mention of the Five Great Villages, one look at Menma was enough to settle their nerves.
With him here, what was there to fear?
The subtle change had already taken root in Shibuki, Agun, and the rest of the Waterfall leadership.
"Mhm. Then we just wait and watch the Leaf's next move?" Shibuki asked, glancing at Menma with clear trust.
"Exactly," Menma replied with a small smile. "Time is on our side. The later the Leaf acts, the better prepared we'll be. Plus, we get to see how the Stone does against the Cloud. If things go well up north, the Leaf's situation will become a lot more difficult."
Because the Stone had openly sided with them. If they crushed the Cloud and stationed troops along the northern border, who would feel the most pressure?
The Leaf, of course.
So they didn't need to do anything complicated. Just keep a close eye on the Leaf and react accordingly.
The only thing Menma still needed to consider was Hozuki Castle. Onoki had already sent word that the Stone would take responsibility for that area. Menma had expected it—the location was simply too strategic. It connected regions that became critical battlegrounds the moment war broke out. From the Stone's and Cloud's perspective, it was a vital chokepoint.
Having a newly risen major village like Menma's holding it made Onoki uneasy, which was perfectly understandable.
Menma had already mentally prepared himself for the cost. Nothing in this world came for free.
"Alright, then we'll do everything exactly as Menma-kun says," Shibuki declared from the head seat, nodding firmly before turning to Agun and the others. "Agun, Fushimi, Tarashi—you all understand, right?"
"Yes, Lord Shibuki," they answered in unison, meeting their leader's gaze with clear intent.
Menma caught the subtle double meaning in Shibuki's words but stayed quiet. At this point, everyone already knew where things were heading. There was no need to spell it out.
Including Agun.
This wasn't Menma forcing anything. It had been Elder Satoru's final wish, and Shibuki himself had accepted it willingly. Everything felt completely natural now.
It was easy to see that once the current storm passed, Menma's status in the village would change once again.
For Menma, it would be a welcome development.
For the Hidden Waterfall Village, it would likely be the right choice too.
As the Stone officially marched to war, new waves of turmoil rippled across the ninja world.
The Stone hadn't formally announced any alliance (Onoki wasn't foolish enough to reveal all his cards), but the sight of thousands of Stone ninja openly advancing eastward said everything.
They crushed every Cloud outpost in the Land of Frost and Land of Rice Fields along the way, swallowing territory in a shockingly aggressive advance. The smaller nations nearby were stunned.
When Dodai, who was temporarily running the Cloud in the Fourth Raikage's absence, received the news, his face twisted with pure fury.
"The Stone!! Damn you, Onoki!!"
This was a classic case of kicking someone while they were down. The Stone's move had struck the Cloud right in its weakest spot. Five thousand Stone ninja, led personally by Kitsuchi—one of the village's top fighters. Normally the Cloud would have countered with Darui commanding an equal-sized force. But now?
Their Raikage was badly wounded. Darui was dead. The Two-Tails Jinchuriki was captured.
The only remaining high-level fighter who could stand up to Kitsuchi was Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. But B wasn't suited to command large armies—he was far too… unique. If B went out, someone else would have to lead the troops, and right now the only person with both the prestige and the skill for that was Dodai himself.
The rest—Samui, C, Mabui—simply weren't up to the task.
If they did nothing, they'd be handing over all their forward outposts. That wasn't just a loss of territory and security; the Daimyo would never accept it. The Cloud had never suffered a real defeat since its founding. They had never been forced to kneel.
"Immediately—"
Dodai took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he prepared to issue orders.
"Lord Dodai! The Raikage has woken up!!!"
A burly, dark-skinned figure burst through the office doors. Dodai frowned, about to scold him, when the man's voice cracked with excitement.
Dodai's face lit up with pure joy.
Ever since the Raikage had been carried back two days earlier, he had remained unconscious despite full medical treatment. The injuries weren't just physical—Menma's blows had drained him mentally and spiritually as well. For a while his fever had refused to break, leaving everyone terrified the village might lose its leader.
Dodai rushed toward the hospital without another word.
By the time he reached the Raikage's private room, the village's most skilled elderly medical-nin was finishing a full check-up. The doctor's stern expression gradually softened as the examination continued.
"Lord Raikage, your physical injuries are mostly stable now. With a few more days of rest, you should be able to leave the hospital."
The white-haired doctor bowed respectfully to the Fourth Raikage, who was propped up in bed looking pale and exhausted.
The Raikage knew the truth. Treatment could heal wounds—even reattach severed limbs with special techniques—but lost vitality wasn't something that recovered overnight.
He gave a weak nod. "Thank you for everything, Doctor Kogan."
The doctor smiled gently, then turned to Dodai. "Don't keep Lord Raikage too long. He still needs rest."
With that, he left the room and closed the door.
"Tell me, Dodai," the Raikage said, his voice low but steady. "What's the current situation?"
Dodai took a deep breath and gave a concise report—everything that had happened over the past two days, the village's losses, and the Stone's massive invasion.
The Raikage had already guessed something was wrong the moment he saw Dodai's grave expression. Even so, hearing the full details made his heart sink. He never imagined one seemingly routine decision would bring such heavy damage to the Cloud.
Still, years of experience and the memory of his father's death kept him calm. The village had survived worse. At least the internal situation was stable now, and his long rule had earned him unshakable authority. As long as he was alive, the Cloud wouldn't fall into chaos.
"Humph. That old bastard Onoki only knows how to kick people when they're down," the Raikage snorted coldly. "Abandon all forward positions. There's no point clashing with him right now. Hold the border. Send B out there—Onoki won't push too far. I know him too well."
"Understood, Lord Raikage," Dodai replied, visibly relieved that his leader was thinking clearly.
The Cloud desperately needed time to recover. The Raikage himself needed rest. The doctor's words about "a few days" only meant he could leave the hospital, not that he was fully healed.
Now wasn't the time for a direct fight with the Stone. They would do what they had done over a decade ago—give up the outer outposts, even the Land of Hot Water if necessary. As long as they held their own borders, that was enough. Those territories weren't core interests. They could always take them back later.
"What about the Leaf and Mist?" the Raikage asked, his gaze sharpening. "Have they given up? Or are they making demands? And what's Menma Uzumaki doing right now?"
Dodai straightened and prepared to answer the two questions his Raikage cared about most.