108: The Raikage uses the empty city plan, and the Tsuchikage steals the home base!

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

Everything here was hard. The wind was hard, blowing against the face like sandpaper. The mountains were hard, with craggy giant rocks forming the Village’s most solid barrier. People’s hearts were also hard.

Ōnoki floated in mid-air, his short stature contrasting sharply with the huge stone dome of the Tsuchikage’s office. His iconic large red nose twitched slightly, and his cloudy old eyes were half-closed, as if he were feigning sleep, or perhaps sniffing out the faint scent of blood drifting from the Land of Fire.

“Bang!”

The heavy stone door of the office was violently slammed open by a huge force.

An Iwagakure reconnaissance Ninja, covered in dust and with a wound on his shoulder, stumbled in, his voice filled with uncontrollable ecstasy and exhaustion.

“Lord Tsuchikage! The Land of Fire… the Land of Fire front line… it’s in complete chaos!”

Ōnoki slowly turned around, his cloudy old eyes suddenly wide open, a sharp glint flashing through them.

“Speak.”

“The Four Village Alliance… is finished!” The reconnaissance Ninja used all his strength to raise a scroll wrapped in oilcloth high above his head. “Hidden Mist deserted! Sunagakure stood by! Lord Raikage of Hidden Cloud Village… that brute, like a madman, led the entire Village’s main force deep into the Land of Fire, determined to fight Konoha to the death!”

The office fell into a deathly silence.

Only the faint rustle of the intelligence scroll as it unrolled in Ōnoki’s hand could be heard.

He read it word for word, his deeply lined old face showing no emotion. But his trusted aides standing by knew that the calmer this old fox was, the louder the calculations in his mind were.

After a long while, his hand loosened.

The scroll fluttered to the ground, like an insignificant fallen leaf.

“Gather Kitsuchi, and all Jonin, for a meeting.”

...

The atmosphere in Iwagakure’s war room was so heavy it could almost drip.

Kitsuchi, Ōnoki’s son, a man as burly as a mountain, stood with his arms crossed, his brows deeply furrowed, staring intently at the map on the table. On the map, the chess piece representing Kumogakure’s main force had already penetrated deep into the heart of the Land of Fire, like a sharp dagger piercing Konoha’s heart.

“Father, did you call us here just to see this?” Kitsuchi’s voice was low, with a hint of impatience. “What does it matter to us if Kumogakure and Konoha fight to the death?”

“See?”

Ōnoki sneered. His short figure floated over everyone’s heads, finally landing at the other end of the map.

He didn’t reach out, but simply pointed his chin heavily towards the Land of Lightning on the map.

That location was Hidden Cloud Village.

“No, I’m letting you see this.”

The Iwagakure Jonin present looked in the direction he indicated, at first somewhat confused. Hidden Cloud Village? Why look at it?

But soon, a few old veterans who had experienced the Second Ninja War suddenly began to breathe heavily, their eyes glowing with a terrifying light.

A crazy, bold, yet fatally tempting idea grew wildly in everyone’s heart.

“Hidden Cloud Village… is empty now.” Ōnoki’s voice was very soft, but it was like a heavy hammer, striking hard at everyone’s heart. “Their Fourth Raikage, their Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, ninety percent of their combat power, are all in the Land of Fire, preparing to put on an earth-shattering fireworks display with Konoha.”

He paused, satisfied with the expressions on everyone’s faces, which ranged from shock to fanaticism.

“That brainless stupid ox, in order to catch a rabbit, even abandoned his own den.”

“Now,” Ōnoki’s lips curved into a sinister smile that almost showed his molars, “it’s our turn to visit his home and make ourselves at home.”

Boom!

The conference room instantly erupted, the suppressed atmosphere completely ignited by the fervent flames.

“Damn it! I’ve wanted to do this for a long time!”

“Last time, over thirty of our brothers died in their sneak attack. This debt must be repaid tenfold, a hundredfold!”

“We’ll break into Hidden Cloud Village, smash their ugly Raikage monument, and replace it with Lord Tsuchikage’s!”

“And empty their treasury!”

The desire for revenge instantly burned red in the eyes of every Iwagakure Ninja. It was the long-suppressed, towering rage from being ambushed by Kumogakure and losing countless comrades.

“Silence!”

Kitsuchi slammed his fist on the stone table, producing a dull thud. The fervent shouts instantly ceased.

He suddenly stood up, his massive body casting a deep shadow, and faced his father.

“Father, are you serious?”

“When have I ever joked with you?” Ōnoki’s gaze darkened.

“You know what this means!” Kitsuchi’s tone also grew heavier. He pointed at the entangled factions on the map. “This is an all-out war against Kumogakure! The Ninja World War will completely spiral out of control because of this! At that time, it won’t just be Kumogakure and Konoha; we, Iwagakure, will also be dragged into this bottomless meat grinder!”

“Abyss?” Ōnoki laughed, his laughter dry, like two rocks rubbing together. “Kitsuchi, my son, when did you become like those weaklings from Konoha who tremble at the sight of blood?”

“I’m not a coward!” Kitsuchi took a step forward, the oppressive feeling from his massive body pressing directly on his father. “I’m thinking for the Village! Our foundation is rock, not a raging fire that can be wantonly burned! Steady and sure is our way of survival!”

“Way of survival?” Ōnoki floated up, his short figure at eye level with his tall son, his cloudy eyes showing no warmth. “The way of survival is when Kumogakure slaps us, kills dozens of our comrades, and we still smile and ask if their hand hurts?”

“Rock? Rock will only stay in place, waiting to weather into sand!”

His voice suddenly rose, sharp enough to pierce everyone’s eardrums.

“They were the first to tear up the peace! They were the first to use underhanded tactics like sneak attacks! If they don’t play by the rules, then we’ll use our fists to teach them what the new rules are!”

“This is different!”

“There’s no difference!” Ōnoki said decisively, giving Kitsuchi no chance to retort. “I’m not asking for your opinions; I’m giving an order.”

He slowly raised his hand, and in his palm, a pure white cube appeared out of thin air, rotating slightly. That seemingly harmless light caused the air in the entire conference room to begin to distort, emitting a terrifying aura capable of decomposing all things into atoms.

Several Jonin standing in the front row instinctively took half a step back, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

“Iwagakure Ninja never fear war.” Ōnoki surveyed the crowd, his gaze finally resting on Kitsuchi. “We are born only for victory.”

Kitsuchi looked at the Dust Release in his father’s palm, its destructive power making his throat dry. He knew that no one could change the decision of this monster known as the “Two-Scales.”

His clenched fists finally released weakly, and he lowered his head.

...

The night fell like spilled ink.

Inside the secret underground passages of Iwagakure, elite units were silently assembling. Camouflage paint obscured their facial expressions, and the only sounds were the faint muffled scrapes of armor. The air was filled with the mixed scent of oil, sweat, and earth.

Kitsuchi stood on a high vantage point, silently observing it all.

His heart was like a giant rock split in two: one half was the obedience of a Ninja, the other, the hidden worry of a commander.

Things were going a little too smoothly.

That Fourth Raikage, Lord Raikage, was known throughout the Ninja World for his short temper and arrogance, but would he really be so foolish as to leave his home wide open for the enemy?

“Still worried?”

An old voice sounded beside him. Ōnoki leaned on his cane, uncharacteristically not floating, and winced from an old injury in his waist.

“These old bones are falling apart. It’s a good time to go to Hidden Cloud Village and grab some good medicine.”

Kitsuchi didn’t turn around, his gaze still fixed on the ready-to-depart troops below.

“Father, I just feel that sometimes, hunters can fall into their own traps.”

“Then dig the trap even bigger, and swallow both the prey and the trap.” Ōnoki’s gaze pierced through the darkness, looking towards the Land of Lightning, a sinister curve on his lips. “I can’t wait to see the expression on that stupid ox’s face when he finds out his home has been raided.”

He patted Kitsuchi’s broad shoulder.

“The reconnaissance team has already departed. We’ll have news soon. Prepare to move out, my son.”

“Go and reclaim our glory from the Land of Lightning, with interest.”

...

Land of Lightning border.

The steep mountains cast grotesque shadows under the moonlight.

Several inconspicuous rocks suddenly rippled like water, and three Iwagakure reconnaissance Ninja emerged. They lay in the shadows of the ridge, carefully observing the distant Kumogakure outpost with binoculars.

Everything was as the intelligence reported.

Defenses were lax, manpower was insufficient, and most outposts even had only a few Chunin, yawning against the walls.

“Captain, it seems the intelligence is correct.” One Ninja whispered, barely concealing his excitement. “Kumogakure’s defenses are like paper.”

The leading captain nodded, put away his binoculars, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

“A bunch of arrogant fools, they’ll soon pay the price for their hubris.”

He took a small scroll from his Pregnant and prepared to transmit this great news back to the Village.

However, just as his fingertip was about to touch the scroll.

The surrounding insect chirps suddenly ceased.

A bone-chilling killing intent erupted from behind them without any warning!

The captain’s hair instantly stood on end. He twisted his head sharply, but his mind was blank.

He could do nothing.

A dark figure, too fast for his dynamic vision to catch, flashed across his neck.

Pfft.

Warm liquid spurted out, staining the rocks beneath him.

The man flicked his wrist, shaking off the blood droplets from his blade, not even glancing at the other two bodies lying in pools of blood. He spoke softly to the empty shadows, in a flat, emotionless tone.

“The fish are on the hook.”