With that thought, Rasa looked back at Ebizo.
"Ebizo, when do you think Kirigakure and Konoha began their alliance?"
Ebizo blinked.
"Just now, isn't it?"
Rasa shook his head.
"I suspect Konoha and Kirigakure reached an alliance long ago. Otherwise, Konoha would never have stationed forces at the borders of the Land of Wind in the first place."
"And I also obtained an important piece of intelligence before: inside Kirigakure, a man named Ao has appeared with the Byakugan. That Byakugan was most likely Konoha's gift to Kirigakure."
Ebizo's pupils shrank.
"Konoha gave the Byakugan to Kirigakure as a gift?"
Rasa nodded.
"That is the intelligence I received. It won't be wrong."
Ebizo's gaze shifted rapidly.
"Ever since the era of shinobi villages began, Konoha has valued the Byakugan immensely. And the Hyuga Clan has always treated the Byakugan as something that absolutely cannot be allowed to leak out. They even created the Caged Bird Seal because of it."
"How could they possibly hand it over just to form an alliance with Kirigakure?"
"Would the Hyuga Clan ever agree to that?"
"Then what was the point of creating the Caged Bird Seal in the first place?"
Rasa glanced at him.
"And what if this was never something the Hyuga Clan agreed to at all?"
Ebizo showed a look of disbelief.
"Then it was a decision made solely by Konoha's higher-ups?"
"For Konoha to treat the Hyuga Clan like that… isn't that a bit too much?"
"But then again, perhaps it isn't beyond them. Otherwise, the Uchiha Clan would never have been driven to that point."
"They knew they would lose. They knew they would die. And yet they still rebelled."
"Even a man like Uchiha Gen died."
"A village like that is not worthy of trust or loyalty."
Rasa continued,
"I suspect the Kaguya Clan rebellion is connected to this as well. Everyone knows that the Kaguya and Hyuga Clans have been on good terms for generations."
"Under normal circumstances, if the Hyuga Clan had truly agreed to hand over a Byakugan, then it most likely would have gone to the Kaguya Clan."
"But Ao is not a Kaguya."
"Which means the Kaguya very likely learned some part of the truth. Fearing that the Kaguya would reveal the matter to the Hyuga Clan, Kirigakure's higher-ups killed the relevant Kaguya—or used some other method to silence them."
"And that was what finally triggered the Kaguya Clan rebellion."
Ebizo fell silent for a while.
"Kazekage-sama… what you're saying is highly plausible. That is, if this Ao of Kirigakure truly possesses the Byakugan."
"I never imagined Konoha could do something like this."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi… it seems I judged him correctly all along. For the sake of profit, he'd do anything. A shameless rat."
"Kazekage-sama, what would you like me to do?"
Rasa let out a cold snort.
"Since Konoha insists on involving itself in our war with Kirigakure, then we'll reveal the truth behind their alliance to the world."
"Let the entire shinobi world see their true faces."
"And let's see how the Hyuga Clan reacts to it."
"Do as before. Spread the information throughout the shinobi world."
"Focus especially on the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth."
Ebizo nodded.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
[Ding!]
[The rumor you spread—"The evil Hiruzen Sarutobi, the greedy Kirigakure, and the betrayed Hyuga Clan"—has begun spreading.]
[Current remaining activation points: 1. After activation, the rumor's persuasive effect will increase, and its spread will generate points.]
[Activate this rumor?]
"Activate!"
[Activation successful.]
Along with the mechanical notification, Rasa watched the system panel.
The points, which had not moved for quite some time, finally changed again.
From 0… to 1.
…
…
The Third Mizukage received word that Konoha and Kirigakure had formally completed their alliance. At once, he let out a breath of relief, and for the first time in a long while, a faint smile appeared on his darkened face.
"I never expected Yagura to actually pull it off."
But the next moment, he frowned again.
"Still… what price did Yagura offer them?"
"With Hiruzen Sarutobi's temperament, he wouldn't agree so easily."
"Especially not when Kirigakure is in such a poor position."
Yagura, meanwhile, had no idea how wary the Third Mizukage was of him.
Yagura knew only this:
Through his own efforts, Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally agreed to the alliance and had even dispatched quite a few shinobi to support Kirigakure.
With their familiarity with the terrain of the Land of Fire, they had already provided Kirigakure's army with considerable assistance.
Gradually, Kirigakure's forces had stabilized.
And once Juzo Biwa returned, perhaps they could even launch a counterattack.
"I'm sorry, sensei. I handed your research results to Konoha without your permission…"
"But it was all for the village. I believe you'll understand."
Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the document in his hand with a subtle expression.
"I didn't expect Kirigakure's research into jinchuriki and tailed beasts to have reached this level."
"It surpasses even the Uzumaki Clan in some respects."
"They achieved something neither Lady Mito nor Kushina has been able to do."
"This will be of tremendous value to Konoha."
"Allying with Kirigakure may indeed earn Konoha another enemy in Sunagakure…"
"But it is worth it."
"As for Sunagakure's strength—it's only that much."
"Kirigakure has simply had terrible luck."
"It first suffered several major internal problems of its own."
"And no matter how strong Rasa is, how could he compare to Minato?"
Hiruzen had immense confidence in Namikaze Minato's strength.
"Minato is absolutely stronger than Rasa."
Following the alliance, Kirigakure shinobi had gone to Konoha's army, while Konoha shinobi had gone to Kirigakure's army. The number exchanged on both sides was the same, yet both sides had grown stronger.
Because the abilities of the two villages were fundamentally different.
Once combined, new possibilities emerged—and that translated directly into greater combat power.
That left both the Sunagakure army and the Iwagakure army looking grim.
"I never imagined Kirigakure would actually ally with Konoha."
One Sand shinobi cursed outright.
"Those shameless Konoha bastards. We never provoked them in the slightest, yet they took the initiative to make themselves our enemy."
"The Uchiha rebellion was a good thing."
The Iwagakure shinobi were just as displeased by the sudden appearance of Kirigakure's allies, because it meant they had to devise entirely new battle strategies.
By contrast, both the Kirigakure and Konoha shinobi were in excellent spirits.
"Sunagakure was only lucky."
"Kirigakure will win it all back."
And just as the Konoha-Kiri alliance was reveling in its success—
A new rumor began spreading quietly through the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.
"Konoha sold out the Hyuga Clan, gave the Byakugan to Kirigakure, and used it to form an alliance…"
The moment one Hyuga shinobi heard it, his expression changed.
Join my Patreon to read public release chapters and get 1 chapter ahead for free. Paid members can read more advanced chapters.
Continue reading here
patreon.com/Inkveil_