Chapter 312: The Difference between Iwa and Suna
Hiroshi's expression became grim. He muttered, "It hasn't been even a month since the Iwa and Konoha armies withdrew from our borders. I thought the situation would calm down since Suna no longer made any strange moves. Instead, they clashed inside our country. And Iwa even deployed their Jinchuriki while Konoha sent someone who could fight a Jinchuriki!"
Ryoichi said, "Kagawa Noriyuki was probably aware of something. That's why he had issued a secret mission to Konoha. So we can't blame Konoha."
Hiroshi shook his head and said, "No. The fact that their Anbu Captain was The Spectral Swordsman shows that they had ulterior motives as well. But you are right. We can't blame them. We can't afford to offend both villages.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Besides, I have already received multiple messages from Mizukoshi. The area around the town is extremely damaged. Even the town walls have suffered a lot of damage. Fortunately, there weren't many casualties.
I have discussed this with Daimyo. He has already started the process of launching a protest against Iwagakure by sending an official letter to the Earth Daimyo. He also sent a message to the Fire Daimyo and Waterfall Daimyo. A diplomatic process will begin soon. It should apply a lot of pressure on Iwa and Onoki."
Ryoichi nodded. He had anticipated a similar action. The only thing that he didn't expect was that Mizukoshi would send a message before he reached. He asked to see the messages to confirm that there were no falsehoods. To his surprise, all messages stated the truth other than the fact that Ide Tomoki feigned ignorance about any collusion with Iwa.
Hiroshi said, "I have asked our ninjas to begin preparing for an emergency situation. You should join them. Your participation will increase their morale a lot. Help them increase their preparedness. Though I doubt Iwa and Konoha would start a war, I want to make them unwilling to start a war on our lands."
Ryoichi nodded. Before he left, he said, "We need to investigate the Ide Family. Noriyuki was confident that they had invited the Iwa ninjas. In addition, they didn't help us in the fight."
Hiroshi's expression became serious. He said, "I know. Don't worry, I have already made my move. They won't be let off easy."
Iwagakure -
The next morning, a letter from the Earth and Fire Daimyo reached Iwagakure and Konohagakure respectively. Onoki had just gotten to his office while complaining about his back problems. Suddenly, the door slammed open and a ninja rushed in, "Lord Tsuchikage! We have an emergency letter from Lord Daimyo."
Onoki looked at him and scolded, "Why are you creating such a ruckus? I almost pulled my back once again!"
The ninja was quite used to the scolding and didn't get offended. Kitsuchi took the letter and said, "Don't mind father."
He opened the letter and began reading. His eyes widened. He quickly handed the letter to Onoki and said, "This matter is serious."
Onoki read the letter. His eyes widened. He muttered, "What the hell are those fools doing? Why did they create such a ruckus?"
Kitsuchi asked, "Which mission were they sent on, Father? And why did you deploy Roshi? I could have gone if needed."
Onoki replied, "I have to keep giving him and Han missions occasionally to keep them active."
Onoki got up and scolded, "Don't you feel any shame in admitting that so bluntly? How did he get away from you? Tell me everything that happen... Ugh"
He immediately sat back in his chair and said in a pitiful voice, "I pulled my back again!"
Roshi sighed at his old Kage's antics and narrated his fight with Fujin. His words shocked Kitsuchi and Onoki. Both their expressions became grim. They recalled that in the past, Minato had managed to escape from Tailed Beast Bombs as well.
After thinking for a bit, Onoki sighed and said, "Another fearsome talent has appeared in Konoha. And he will be even more troublesome due to his Wind nature. Kitsuchi, get to work and find out who this ninja is.
Also, make plans to eliminate him. Considering his speed, Hiruzen might be planning on making him the next Yellow Flash. He needs to be eliminated before the start of the next war.
And send some spies to check on Konoha's current strength. They are acting too brazenly. I am afraid that their strength might have already recovered sufficiently enough to start the next Great War or at least close to it."
Kitsuchi nodded. Roshi waved the letter and asked, "What should we do about this?"
Onoki replied, "I will just reply that the information is false. Even if Kusa provides proof, what can they do?"
Gin became a bit serious and asked, "But what if the Daimyo gets offended and decreases our budget like what happened to Suna?"
Onoki scoffed and replied, "Do you think I'm as weak and stupid as Rasa? The Earth Daimyo won't dare to do something like that. If he dares to, I'll just reduce him and all the Nobles to dust."
Kitsuchi and Roshi weren't surprised by the claim. However, Gin's eyes widened. But he didn't say anything. After all, though Onoki often suffered from back pain and looked silly, he was still his Kage.
Onoki noticed his expression and said, "You are thinking too much. Even if I kill the Daimyo, we won't suffer any consequences. After all, Rasa looks like he wants to do the same. If I do it, he will kill the Wind Daimyo as well. The Water Daimyo currently holds no power.
So only Konoha and Kumo can try to attack us and Suna. But, there is no way they can cooperate properly with each other. It's more likely that Kumo will take the opportunity to attack Konoha. Though we may enter the Fourth Great Ninja War, our strength will not be affected."
Gin understood the situation and said, "I didn't think about it so deeply."
Kitsuchi added, "But, our relations with the Daimyo are quite good. So things won't deteriorate to that extent."
Onoki nodded and said, "So you don't need to worry about this. Leave and treat your arm first."
Gin nodded. The meeting ended. Onoki wrote a reply to the Daimyo denying the accusations. He wrote a letter to Ide Tomoki as well.