Chapter 57 The Sand Village's Invitation to Cooperation
"What's wrong? What did the letter say?" Homura Mitokado asked.
Jiraiya unfolded the letter to everyone; its contents were very brief, consisting of only two lines of text.
Location: Amegakure Village (Village Hidden by Rain).
They discussed the matter of a three-way siege of Iwagakure.
"What!? A three-way attack on Iwagakure?"
Homura Mitokado also looked shocked.
The sudden invitation for cooperation from Sunagakure is quite unexpected!
"Could this... be a conspiracy? A trap to ambush us..." Minato wondered.
The Souji shook his head slightly and said:
"Unlikely. These important meetings are always conducted by top leaders.
If there are many of them, we won't go at all.
If there are few of them, even if there are ten or eight more Jonin... frankly, they won't pose much of a threat."
"So, does Sunagakure really want to discuss cooperation with us?" Minato pressed.
"I can't say for sure... but it's highly likely."
"But why did this happen all of a sudden? We've been fighting like mortal enemies all along, Sunagakure's actions are too sudden, aren't they?" Jiraiya wondered.
"As you all know, there was an attack by Iwagakure on Sunagakure last night, right?"
"Yes, we know that both sides suffered significant losses in the end.
But will this lead to Sunagakure suddenly deciding to cooperate with us, and even Amegakure?"
"Yes, once you understand the fundamental reason why Sunagakure is at war with us and Iwagakure, it's not hard to understand."
"The root cause?" Minato asked.
The Souji looked at the words on the letter and slowly said:
"Sunagakure's declaration of war and the disappearance of the Third Kazekage are just superficial reasons.
The entire village of Sunagakure has tens of thousands of people.
Unless the higher-ups are insane, they would never risk the entire village for someone who is likely dead... not even the Kazekage who is hailed as the strongest in history!"
"The fundamental reason for Sunagakure's war was to demonstrate its strength to the daimyo of various countries and prevent them from losing confidence in Sunagakure due to the Kazekage incident, which would lead to a significant reduction in mission quotas and the loss of its main source of income."
"you mean..."
Minato still looked confused.
Even Jiraiya was the same, except that he didn't show it on the surface.
The Souji glanced at the two of them, thinking to himself that they really didn't know much about this kind of thing.
Jiraiya was a simple-minded, hot-blooded, and somewhat foolish character, while Minato, although quite intelligent, rarely received this kind of operational and strategic training before truly rising to the upper echelons of the ninja village.
Therefore, this was a rather unfamiliar area for Minato, and it was normal that he couldn't understand it for a while.
"What Sunagakure seeks is victory, a victory that makes the daimyo of various countries think they are very powerful!"
"As long as we can win, everything else is just trivial and unimportant!"
"Sunagakure suffered a major defeat in the Land of Rivers, and now they have been attacked by my Zero Ryo...
cough cough, stealing all of their frontline ninja tool inventory, as well as Iwagakure.
They have suffered too many losses and can no longer continue fighting."
"But if they really launch a strong war and end up losing and retreating back to the Land of Wind in no time, then the Sand Village will truly be a complete joke in the ninja world.
Losing face is one thing, but the key is that the daimyo of various countries will completely lose faith in them, which is a crisis of survival."
Minato pondered for a while, then a look of sudden realization dawned on him:
"I understand... That's why Sunagakure is willing to set aside its opposition to us and Amegakure to join forces against Iwagakure, striving to at least win the final battle before retreating!"
"But why are they looking for us instead of Iwagakure?
Individually speaking, we're the stronger one, right?
Shouldn't they join forces to eliminate the strongest one?"
Jiraiya was still somewhat puzzled.
The Souji replied:
"This is because our style is different from that of Iwagakure.
Tsuchikage Onoki has always been an ambitious man. Like Kumogakure, Iwagakure has always been expanding its military.
If we join forces with Iwagakure to defeat Konoha, then Iwagakure is very likely to continue its advance into the Land of Wind and wipe Sunagakure out of the ninja world."
"On the contrary, although Konoha is the strongest, it is the kind of good-natured ninja in the ninja world that never takes the initiative to start a war and only defends and counterattacks.
If it joins forces with us to defeat Iwagakure, we will only retreat to Konoha afterward.
The possibility of us continuing to attack Sunagakure is extremely low."
In this way, the withdrawal of the three great nations from the Land of Rain was a development that Hanzo of Amegakure was happy to see, and naturally, he and Sunagakure reached an agreement.
Finally, the Souji smiled and said:
"So once you understand these key points, it's not hard to understand why Sunagakure is joining forces with us."
"..."
Jiraiya and Minato both looked troubled.
"I find this hard to understand... Souji-nii, you're really amazing..." Minato exclaimed.
"Hmm... It's such a pity I never knew there was someone like you before!" Jiraiya exclaimed in admiration.
"Souji, your analysis is excellent! You were able to analyze these key points in an instant.
Your talent in this area is no less than that of the Nara clan!" Homura Mitokado also praised Souji.
"Uncle Homura, do you think we should accept the Sand Village's request?"
"You're asking me? You're the Souy here. Even I'm just here to assist you. You're the one who makes the decisions on the important matters!"
"..."
Jiraiya looked bored, scratched his head, pondered for a while, and finally said:
"Alright then, let's meet with Rasa and old lady Chiyo first and see what they have to say.
Sigh... I never thought that after being stabbed twice by that old lady and finally recovering from my injuries, I was just about to return the favor when it suddenly turned into discussing cooperation with them. Life is truly unpredictable!"
...
Rain-Hidden Village.
The Konoha leadership arrived at the center of Amegakure, in front of the tall building where Amegakure leader Hanzo resided.
There were four people on this trip: Jiraiya, Minato, Souji, and Nara Shikahiro, the chief strategist of Konoha and the current head of the Nara clan.
Although only Mitokado Homura remained, Iwagakure suffered heavy losses due to the Sunagakure's all-out counterattack the previous day.
Even the Tsuchikage, Onoki, was injured as a result. Furthermore, Konoha's camp was also guarded by several elite Jonin with extremely strong abilities, including Uchiha Fugaku, Aburame Shiki, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza.
If Iwagakure launches a large-scale attack, it will inevitably be discovered, and the people of Konoha will be able to return immediately.
If only a few strong individuals launch a surprise attack, the defensive force led by Homura Mitokado can withstand it.
Souji glanced at Nara Shikahiro. At this point in time, Shikamaru's father, Nara Shikaku, was still just the young master, and the position of clan leader still belonged to him.
Based on the original timeline, it is estimated that the Ino-Shika-Cho clan leader would have died in the Third Shinobi World War, and the Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Shikaku generation would have succeeded him as clan leader.
In front of the leader's building, more than a dozen Rain Shadows were waiting.
The leader, a middle-aged man with an eye patch covering his right eye, said respectfully:
"Welcome, distinguished guests of Konoha."
"I am, the deputy of Lord Hanzo of the Salamander."
"I'm kandachi, Lord Hanzo and the distinguished guests from Sunagakure have been waiting for you for a long time.
I will lead the way for you. Please follow me."
Ps..
Shoutout to Nour-Eddine Bourguiba for joining my Patreon! 🙌
Really appreciate your support ❤️
________________________________________
________________________________________
Can't wait for the next chapter?
30+ advanced chapters are already available on Patreon!
👉 patreon.com/Tanji_Fanfics
________________________________________
________________________________________
End of this chapter...