"Kitsuchi, stockpile more food. And prepare some money—we may need it for reparations."
At Onoki's instruction, Kitsuchi looked troubled. "Father, our village's funds... don't seem like they'll be enough."
To maintain shinobi numbers, the village usually didn't have much disposable money to begin with.
Now they had to buy grain and pay reparations...
There was no way to make the accounts balance.
Onoki snorted, his voice low. "Did you forget what I told you earlier?"
"What Kumogakure can do, Iwagakure can do as well."
"If we take control of Iwagakure in place of the daimyo, would we still be short on money?"
In the past, maybe it could slide. But now Kumogakure had set the precedent—why should they keep obeying the daimyo like fools?
Wasn't it better to be their own masters?
Onoki refused to believe that after this, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Konoha Village would form another shinobi alliance like the one they used to attack Kumogakure—only to come after Iwagakure.
Kirigakure.
Mizukage Tower.
"Fourth, we've failed. Almost all the shinobi we brought were killed."
"Kumogakure's power has already surpassed what we can imagine."
Looking at the disheveled Elder, Yagura Karatachi's baby-faced expression revealed a rare smile.
"Elder... isn't that a good thing?"
He didn't care much about victory or defeat in this battle.
He didn't care how strong Kumogakure was, either.
From start to finish, he had only one goal—
to weaken the shinobi clans in the village that possessed Kekkai Genkai.
Now, it seemed the plan was going very smoothly.
Seeing Yagura Karatachi like this, Elder hesitated. "Our objective may be achieved, but what do we do from here on out?"
"Kumogakure is a pack of warmongers."
At that, Yagura's smile vanished. He said coldly, "Right now, the most important thing is to keep the village's power firmly in our hands. As for everything else, it can wait."
Shortsighted fool!
Elder cursed inwardly, then said in a heavy voice, "The losses among those shinobi clan members we sent out were severe. They won't let this go."
"Fourth, you should think through what you'll do next—and do it soon."
With that, Elder turned and left the Mizukage's office.
After he was gone, Yagura sighed.
How could he not understand that powerful enemies were closing in from all sides?
But what choice did he have?
If he had power like Uchiha Yuzuru's, he would have countless ways to make the village's shinobi clans obedient.
But he didn't.
Whether it was strength or prestige, those clans would never submit to him.
If he couldn't subdue them, then he would wipe them out—every last one.
Still, Elder was right: after losing so many elite shinobi in one blow, those clans wouldn't stop.
He needed to offer them something as compensation.
With that thought, Yagura Karatachi clapped his hands, and an ANBU appeared before him.
Sunagakure.
The Third Kazekage slammed a fist into the wall, his face twisted with fury.
Ebizo had just brought word: the 3,000 shinobi they'd sent out had all been killed!
To seize more territory after defeating Kumogakure, he'd dispatched the village's elite.
They were the backbone of Sunagakure, without exaggeration.
And now those 3,000 were all dead on the battlefield.
The Third Kazekage felt as if his heart were bleeding.
"And Rasa—tell him to get out there and collect more gold dust."
"If it weren't for that bastard, we wouldn't have suffered losses like this. The daimyo must take responsibility for everything."
After hearing the Third Kazekage, Chiyo let out a cold laugh.
A few sentences, and he'd pushed every ounce of responsibility onto someone else—back then, she wondered who it was that had strongly supported the daimyo's decision.
Sensing the atmosphere turning sour, Ebizo hurriedly said, "If you ask me, all the blame should be pinned on those Konoha bastards."
"If Konoha hadn't handed over the Uchiha clan and Hatake Sakumo to Kumogakure on a silver platter, the shinobi world wouldn't have a shinobi village strong enough to break the balance."
The Third Kazekage and Chiyo nodded in agreement.
That's right—the real root cause was Konoha.
If the people of Konoha weren't stupid as pigs, how could the shinobi world have been dragged into so much damn chaos?
Still, complaints were complaints. Deep down, the Third Kazekage and Chiyo felt a little better.
They were heartbroken over losing only 3,000 shinobi—so what must it feel like for Konoha, losing nearly 4,000 elites in one go?
And most crucially...
In this battle, the ones who had shone like gods—Uchiha Yuzuru and Hatake Sakumo—should have been Konoha's powerhouses in the first place.
Konoha Village.
Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Danzo, what is going on here?"
"Fine, you failed—but why were the 4,000 shinobi you brought out almost completely wiped out?"
"It was only one day! Even 4,000 pigs wouldn't all get slaughtered in a single day!"
"Look me in the eye and answer me!"
Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's rage, Shimura Danzo's expression didn't change. "Isn't it Uchiha Yuzuru? His Mangekyo Sharingan was beyond my expectations."
"One slash killed thousands. In a situation like that, it wouldn't matter who went."
Seeing Shimura Danzo still trying to shove the blame away, Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed a palm onto the desk. "Danzo, you were the overall commander. You must take responsibility."
Shimura Danzo said with displeasure, "Why should I?"
"If you'd listened to me and exterminated the evil Uchiha clan early, would any of this have happened?"
"Besides, Hatake Sakumo was driven away by you. That has nothing to do with me."
"And Orochimaru..."
Shimura Danzo sneered. "We had already surrounded Third Raikage and the others. It was your student who suddenly released the Summoning Technique, letting the Eight-Tails fire off a Tailed Beast Bomb and throw all our plans into chaos."
Looking at how righteously Shimura Danzo spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen almost laughed from sheer anger.
Orochimaru had lost an arm, and this old teammate of his still wanted to smear him with filth.
He really did want to be Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pointed at Shimura Danzo, enunciating each word. "Starting today, you are confined to Root's base. Without my orders, you are not to go anywhere."
"Whatever."
Shimura Danzo turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
"Orochimaru, go tend to your injuries first."
"Yes."
After Orochimaru left as well, Sarutobi Hiruzen slumped into his chair, hollow and dazed.
According to records within the Senju clan, the Mangekyo Sharingan in its initial stage carried severe side effects.
Overusing the Mangekyo Sharingan's power would have one's light taken away forever.
Yet Uchiha Yuzuru—that lunatic—had thrown caution to the wind and unleashed such a monstrous attack with the Mangekyo Sharingan...
Sarutobi Hiruzen truly wanted to ask him: Why are you working that hard? Who the hell is even in Kumogakure that's worth this?!
Just then, an ANBU appeared in the Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, this is a scroll Kumogakure sent over."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank. He opened the scroll and glanced at it—only to nearly pass out on the spot.
Those bastards in Kumogakure wanted them to pay another ten billion ryo in reparations?
They really thought Konoha was an ATM.
I... damn it...
Endure! Endure! Endure!
Sarutobi Hiruzen, in a rage, raged for a moment—then let out a helpless sigh.
Konoha, as it was now, truly couldn't withstand any more turmoil.
It was money, wasn't it?
This was the one thing he was best at.
After thinking it over, Sarutobi Hiruzen made his decision.
He'd have each household in Konoha pay a bit more, then have the major clans contribute even more.
And finally, just like Kumogakure, they'd overthrow the Land of Fire daimyo and squeeze some money out of the nobles and aristocrats.
If he calculated it that way, they might even have some left over.
Konoha Village.
On the street.
"Do you guys know what's going on with the shinobi alliance? Why hasn't there been any news for days?"
"What a stupid question. Frontline battles are obviously classified. You think they report the latest progress to you every day?"
"Sure, sure, but I just can't shake the feeling that something's off."
"This time it's Konoha, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure forming the shinobi alliance together. And the daimyo of every country are backing us. What is there to worry about?"
"Exactly! Once we win this, we'll repay the humiliation we've suffered a hundredfold!"
"You're damn right. This time, we'll make Kumogakure pay reparations, and we'll make the Uchiha clan come crawling back and atone!"
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