The former was their so-called "temporary ally."
The latter was the enemy who had just crushed them on the battlefield.
Both demanded the Cloud's full attention.
It wasn't pleasant to admit, but the loss of over two thousand Cloud ninja wasn't the real disaster. The true catastrophe was the capture of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. That was something the Hidden Cloud could never accept.
In short, the Cloud's immediate priority was to stabilize the situation while doing everything possible to get the Two-Tails back.
No matter what it took.
The key now rested with the Hidden Leaf.
At least, that was how the Fourth Raikage saw it. He believed there was still a decent chance—if they played their cards right.
"The Leaf and Mist both stopped advancing the moment they heard about our defeat," Dodai reported, his face grim. "The Leaf's envoy arrived yesterday asking about our next move. I was planning to send a small team to keep them talking. If we could push the Leaf and Mist into attacking Menma Uzumaki, it would still work in our favor. But with the Stone's invasion… we probably can't spare anyone right now."
The Raikage's expression darkened.
Dodai shook his head, clearly reluctant, but continued. "About Yugito… Lord Raikage, I don't think we should pin too much hope on getting her back right away. We can try, but we have to be realistic."
"Hm!?" The Fourth Raikage's eyes narrowed. "Why? Explain, Dodai."
It wasn't that the Raikage was slow. As a leader, it was easy to fall into blind spots when your own pride and long-held assumptions were involved.
"Yes, Lord Raikage. The initiative is no longer in our hands. The Tsuchikage and the Stone's offensive will completely tie us down. I hate to say it, but if we're not careful, we could suffer even heavier losses. We can't rule out the possibility that the Stone wants to use this chance to cripple us permanently and clear their eastern border once and for all. The situation right now is almost identical to when the Third Raikage died… except the Stone is in a completely different position. We can't gamble on this, Lord Raikage. It's not about probability anymore."
Dodai didn't soften his words. His blunt honesty was exactly why both the Third and Fourth Raikage had trusted him so deeply.
The Raikage stared at him for a long moment, then let out a heavy breath. His face grew even more solemn.
"You're right. The initiative has slipped away. From now on, every decision has to be based on the enemy's moves."
"Yes, Lord Raikage. You see clearly."
"What's there to see?" The Fourth Raikage gave a self-mocking snort and shook his head. "From now on, you're in charge of all operations, Dodai. Abandon whatever needs to be abandoned. Keep our losses to the absolute minimum. As for Yugito… squeeze as much as you can out of the Leaf. Even if we only get her back, that's enough…"
"Understood, Lord Raikage. I will carry out your orders."
Dodai bowed deeply. Inside, he let out a long, silent breath of relief. There had been a real fear that his hot-tempered Raikage would stubbornly charge ahead regardless of the cost.
That kind of recklessness could have brought even greater disaster to the Cloud.
Steady defense and careful diplomacy were now their best—perhaps only—options.
Forced into a corner, the Cloud obeyed the Fourth Raikage's command.
They began abandoning every forward outpost and territory they had seized over the past decade. These lands had been painstakingly secured, and the Raikage had once hoped to use them as springboards for further expansion.
One defeat had turned all of it to dust.
Because of this, the advancing Stone forces met almost no resistance after their initial clashes. They pushed forward unopposed, steadily building their own strongholds and bringing the entire region under Stone control.
As long as the Cloud and other villages didn't launch a powerful counterattack, it would only take three or four years for the Land of Frost and Land of Rice Fields to fall completely into the Stone's sphere of influence.
From then on, every mission and request from those nations would belong to the Stone.
This was the standard method every major village used: expand your sphere of influence, then harvest the missions and rewards that came with it.
The three Great Ninja Wars had been fought for exactly these reasons.
The Leaf had stayed dominant for so long because the Land of Fire was incredibly wealthy. Its people issued missions constantly, and the pay was generous. Smaller nations would rather send their requests to the Leaf whenever possible.
The other four great villages had always fought the Leaf for control of these resources.
Now the Stone was doing the same to the Cloud.
Kitsuchi, leading the invasion as his father's personally appointed commander, had prepared for brutal fighting. But after a few minor skirmishes at the very beginning, the Cloud simply… vanished.
No counter-reconnaissance teams. No resistance at the forward bases.
Kitsuchi was stunned.
It wasn't until he received the latest reports that he understood.
"What? The Cloud has withdrawn across the entire front? Are you certain?"
Kitsuchi's eyebrows shot up. He stared at the reconnaissance squad leader with clear disbelief.
In all their past clashes, the Cloud had never given up forward positions so easily.
Or at least, they had always fought first.
This kind of immediate retreat was something the Stone had never seen in over a decade.
Kitsuchi had fought the Cloud countless times. He had even clashed once with the Fourth Raikage when he was younger. He knew their style well enough to feel that this decision was completely unexpected.
But only a few seconds later, he remembered the Cloud's devastating losses in the recent battle.
Everything clicked.
"Send word back to the village. Ask the Tsuchikage for instructions. All forces, move out immediately. Seize every strategic point and bring this entire region under our control."
Kitsuchi looked at the elite jonin gathered around him and gave the order with absolute authority.
"Yes, sir!"
Since the Cloud had chosen to retreat, the Stone saw no reason to hold back.
They would swallow the Land of Rice Fields and Land of Frost first. That rich prize had been something the Stone had hungered for for years.
This was the absolute minimum they had come to achieve with this campaign.
When the message reached the Hidden Stone, Onoki's reply came back swiftly.
He didn't just want the Land of Rice Fields and Land of Frost.
Onoki ordered Kitsuchi to push all the way to the Lightning Country's border. Territory was one thing, but crippling the Cloud was another.
This time, the Third Tsuchikage wanted both.
Kitsuchi immediately advanced. Establishing permanent bases and negotiating with the local daimyos and nobles would be left to the diplomats. In this era, every nation's leaders were pragmatic survivors. If they couldn't resist, they would submit to the strongest.
That was the unchanging truth of the ninja world.
The aggressive Stone advance.
The Cloud's full defensive retreat.
The two forces finally clashed head-on at the western border of the Land of Lightning, igniting another fierce war.
The new flames of battle drew the immediate attention of every ninja village across the continent.
"A new Great Ninja War is coming!"
That single thought echoed in almost every mind.
Yet while most of the ninja world worried that peace was ending and death was returning…
In the Land of Rain.
Deep in the heart of the village that spent nearly every day under endless drizzle…
A certain group welcomed the coming war with open delight.
They were the members of the Akatsuki.
The man who called himself a god.
And the woman who called herself an angel.