The decision to challenge the Hidden Leaf Village had been made long ago. No matter who stood before Onoki, his resolve would not waver, because a strong Hidden Leaf Village was not in the best interest of the Land of Earth. As the leader of the Hidden Stone Village, he had a duty to suppress their increasingly evident ambition.
However, it was too early. As far as Onoki knew, the Hidden Leaf Village still had ninja troops on standby that had not been deployed. Even when facing two ninja villages, the Hidden Leaf Village was far from reaching its limit. Yet, precisely because of this, Onoki's apprehension towards them deepened, and his desire to see them eliminated grew stronger.
Onoki had always acted after careful consideration. He never made hasty decisions before the situation became clear—a lesson his master, Mu, had taught him. He would never forget that during the First Great Ninja War, in his hot-headed youth, he had tried to persuade his master to ally with the Hidden Cloud Village to fight the Hidden Leaf Village, due to his dislike for Madara Uchiha. However, his master calmly chose to assist the Hidden Leaf Village, working together to confront the Hidden Cloud Village.
Later, it proved that his master's foresight was unique and correct. The Hidden Cloud Village, which posed a great threat to the Hidden Stone Village, suffered heavy losses in the war, allowing the Hidden Stone Village to seemingly break free from its constraints. Using its status as a victorious nation, the Hidden Stone Village leveraged this to secure many benefits for its country.
Since then, Onoki had always demanded of himself to learn from his master's keen insight and not be swayed by his personal emotions. This applied to the current Great Ninja War as well. Admittedly, just like in the previous Great Ninja War, allying with the Hidden Leaf Village was the least risky option for the Hidden Stone Village. After all, with the powerful strength of the Hidden Leaf Village, as long as the Hidden Stone Village was willing to assist, the Hidden Sand Village, which already had limited military strength due to financial issues, would not be able to withstand their attacks.
However, while the Hidden Stone Village would gain benefits, the Hidden Leaf Village would also gain. No matter how it was calculated, the Hidden Leaf Village's strength would still surpass that of the Hidden Stone Village. And this was a situation Onoki absolutely refused to accept. After finally waiting for a Great Ninja War, how could he allow the Hidden Leaf Village to continue growing so powerful?
Onoki impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. Just by the sound, one could feel the conflict in his heart. He couldn't decide whether to declare war on the Hidden Leaf Village yet. He felt it was still too early; he should wait for the Hidden Leaf Village to suffer more severe losses in its battles with the other two ninja villages before the Hidden Stone Village joined the fray.
However, what was certain now was that the supplies promised to the Hidden Sand Village had not yet been delivered. The previous supplies had already been destroyed by the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu, and it would take time to re-mobilize them. Moreover, if supplies were gathered again, they might be targeted once more.
"We must redesign the supply transport routes. The Hidden Sand Village also needs to contribute to this; we can't always be the ones paying the price," Onoki muttered softly. "Of course, we also can't let the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu be so arrogant. Someone must be sent to track them."
After deciding on the next course of action, Onoki began writing orders and a letter to be sent to the Hidden Sand Village. Once everything was written, he dispatched the orders, and the letter was sent through secret channels to the Hidden Sand Village. The delivery speed was incredibly fast, akin to an urgent emergency.
When the Third Kazekage, Ebizo, received the letter, he read it carefully, his forehead furrowing deeper. He hadn't expected the Hidden Leaf Village to act so quickly, and Onoki's response to the situation seemed overly cautious, leaving him feeling a mix of anger and helplessness.
Originally, Ebizo's wish was that the Hidden Sand Village shouldn't initiate war so quickly. It should have at least brewed for a few years, allowing their ninja numbers and material reserves to catch up. That would have been the best time. However, the Hidden Sand Village had been constrained by the old Daimyo for many years. To break free from this situation, it had to seek a breakthrough from the outside. The newly enthroned Daimyo needed a victory to solidify his position,
And the Hidden Sand Village also needed the Daimyo's support. Both sides had needs, which ultimately led to the outbreak of this war.
But currently, the Hidden Sand Village's war effort was not going smoothly. They encountered various degrees of trouble in battles in both the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. Especially recently, the Hidden Leaf Village changed its combat strategy, focusing primarily on defensive battles. Once a battle began, the Hidden Sand Village always suffered more severe losses.
Although Ebizo hadn't fully grasped the Hidden Leaf Village's suffocation strategy, he vaguely sensed its presence, feeling that the upcoming battlefield would be a long-term campaign. In other words, supplies would be paramount, otherwise, their ninjas would starve to death before the enemy even attacked.
Currently, the Hidden Sand Village's supplies were still relatively abundant. Ebizo's request to the Hidden Stone Village was entirely a plea of poverty. He felt no shame; the Hidden Sand Village was inherently short on supplies, and getting some from other villages, no matter the means—whether by snatching or deceiving—was not an issue.
Moreover, Onoki might not have failed to guess. He just needed a clear excuse. Ebizo had long known that this big-nosed man was simply waiting to reap the benefits. Despite his anger, there was nothing he could do, as the other party indeed had the capital to observe. But if that were the case, he had to offer something to satisfy the Hidden Sand Village's appetite.
Now Onoki stated in the letter that the Hidden Stone Village's material support had to be temporarily halted. Ebizo could understand the other party's concerns. Currently, the Hidden Sand Village's resources could still hold out, but the problem was that Onoki, that cunning fellow, once he had this excuse, feared that future material support would not be as smooth as before.
As someone equally skilled in strategy, Ebizo could imagine how the other party would maximize their interests. First, they would stop the supply of resources until the Hidden Sand Village was on the verge of collapse, and only then would they start sending supplies, much like keeping a dying patient on life support.
Onoki's main target was certainly the Hidden Leaf Village, but that didn't mean he would let the Hidden Sand Village off the hook. He definitely hoped that after the war, the Hidden Sand Village would suffer heavy losses, almost crippled, and the Hidden Leaf Village would also be contained. This was Onoki's envisioned perfect blueprint.
Despite the anger Ebizo felt at being used, the most frustrating part was that they had no choice but to take this path. It was because the Hidden Sand Village's strength was simply that, requiring reliance on other ninja villages.
Thinking of this, Ebizo would sneer inwardly, feeling that the muddled old Daimyo's death was truly a good thing. In the past, they had hoped for this old man to die quickly more than once. Some radical individuals even suggested uniting with certain people in the capital to assassinate the old Daimyo. However, if this matter were to leak, the Hidden Sand Village's position would become extremely dangerous. No one would be willing to hire and trust a ninja who assassinated their employer. If the employer betrayed the Hidden Sand Village, then so be it—in the Hidden Sand Village's own view, the old Daimyo's actions could also be considered a betrayal—but after all, it hadn't affected the Hidden Sand Village's survival. Such a reason was still untenable, so this suggestion was abandoned.
Yet, whether it was heaven's mercy or not, the old Daimyo died in such a muddled way. Although the Hidden Sand Village's investigation showed that the old Daimyo's death was not so simple, what did that have to do with the Hidden Sand Village? It wasn't an assassination they orchestrated. The struggles between those powerful figures in the capital were not for the Hidden Sand Village, as mercenaries, to criticize. Moreover, the Hidden Sand Village even benefited from it. The new Daimyo began to support the Hidden Sand Village, resolving the financial problems that had always plagued them, so no one pursued the cause of the old Daimyo's death any further.
Perhaps in the homes of some Hidden Sand ninjas, they might secretly celebrate how good and wonderful the old Daimyo's death was. At least Ebizo himself almost had such an impulse. Fortunately, he was already an older middle-aged man and wouldn't lose his composure like a youngster.
Although that annoying old Daimyo was dead, his lingering influence remained. The current predicament of the Hidden Sand Village was all thanks to him. Ebizo was helpless; he could only search for opportunities within this situation to ensure the Hidden Sand Village gained the maximum benefit.
Regarding Onoki's actions, Ebizo also thought to himself that if one day the Hidden Sand Village was pushed to a dead end, there was no telling what they might do.
In his heart, there was always a crazy thought: if the Hidden Sand Village was truly doomed to defeat, he would rather die than let the Hidden Stone Village, who was secretly playing dirty, pay the price. For example, by pledging allegiance to the Hidden Leaf Village and turning against the Hidden Stone Village—
At least for now, Ebizo had not completely given up hope. He believed that the Hidden Stone Village would definitely enter the battle. The key was whether the Hidden Sand Village could hold out until then. As long as the Hidden Sand Village could still breathe a little, once the Hidden Stone Village intervened, it could alleviate the pressure on the Hidden Sand Village, allowing them to recover their strength and seek opportunities.
Ebizo discussed this matter with the high-ranking officials remaining in the village. After a slight hesitation, he decided to inform his elder sister on the front lines. Although he knew she would surely be furious and would likely hurl many insults at Onoki, it was better to tell her early than to conceal it and be discovered later.
Sure enough, when Chiyo, on the front lines, learned of this, she publicly berated Onoki, tearing him to shreds in front of everyone. Everyone thought that if Onoki had actually been in front of Chiyo, she might truly have gone up and bitten a piece of flesh off him.
Chiyo couldn't help but be angry. Being on the front lines, she understood the current situation far better than Ebizo, who stayed in the village. While the war in the Land of Rivers had yielded some gains, the situation in the Land of Rain was entirely different. Due to the rainy season, the war had been stalled, and the resulting ceasefire meant a massive consumption of supplies.
Especially in the harsh environment of the Land of Rain, the loss of supplies—particularly food and clothing—was astonishing. These items were already scarce in the Hidden Sand Village. While the Land of Wind had mineral resources, and thus a large stock of weapons and similar supplies, what good were they if they couldn't fight?
After Chiyo calmed down, she knew that continuing like this would be futile. She simply wrote a letter to her brother, telling him that he absolutely had to communicate with the Hidden Stone Village and resume the supply of materials as soon as possible. It didn't matter if he had to lie; he should portray himself as miserably as possible to trick that old man Onoki and get the supplies back.
At the same time, Chiyo also instructed her brother to send a request for alliance to the Hidden Cloud Village, appealing to both reason and emotion. Although the two villages had a camaraderie from fighting side by side during the First Great Ninja War, Chiyo didn't believe that the Hidden Cloud Village wouldn't harbor any designs on the Hidden Leaf Village. Even if there were one or two high-ranking officials in the Hidden Cloud Village who were close to the Hidden Leaf Village, in the face of the village's interests, such personal feelings had to take a backseat.
This was the insight Chiyo, who managed the village alongside Ebizo, had gained. Sometimes, it wasn't about the will of one person or a few people. Just as Ebizo felt that now was not a good time to go to war, due to changes in the political climate within the Land of Wind's capital, at the request of the new Daimyo and those young Hidden Sand ninjas, the Hidden Sand Village still initiated war against the Hidden Leaf Village, even though it wasn't the best time.
However, on this point, the Hidden Cloud Village was just like that old man Onoki, their attitude very ambiguous; it was impossible to tell what they were thinking. Given the temperament of the Land of Lightning, the Hidden Cloud Village shouldn't have been like this. One could only say that the lessons learned from the previous rebellion by Kinkaku and Ginkaku had made the Hidden Cloud Village curb its outward explosiveness and learn to think calmly. This undoubtedly made the Hidden Cloud Village's power even stronger.
Regardless, the Hidden Sand ninjas now had to unite with all possible allies, otherwise, the situation for the Hidden Sand Village would only worsen.
After receiving his sister's letter, Ebizo spared no effort in contacting the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village. This was something he had been doing before, but now Ebizo was trying even harder. Perhaps hard work pays off, as Ebizo finally received a promise from the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Hidden Cloud Village agreed that they would declare war on the Hidden Leaf Village in the near future, joining other ninja villages to confront the Hidden Leaf Village. This news greatly pleased Ebizo. With this, facing the attacks of three ninja villages, he believed the Hidden Leaf Village might not be as at ease as before. And with the Hidden Cloud Village joining, the Hidden Stone Village would certainly not miss this opportunity and would in turn join the war.
The Hidden Sand Village's situation was finally looking up, Ebizo thought with satisfaction.