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.
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."
As he was talking, he suddenly heard some footsteps. Roshi, Gin and a few Iwa ninjas appeared outside his office. Onoki's eyes widened on seeing Gin's right arm. He became serious and said, "Roshi, Gin stay here. Others leave. The ones who are injured visit the hospital."
Everyone immediately obeyed. Only Onoki, Kitsuchi, Roshi and Gin were left in the office. Onoki tossed Roshi the letter and said, "Explain."
While Roshi read the letter, Onoki asked Gin, "How did you lose your arm? And why did so few ninjas come with you? Where are the rest?"
Gin was an Elite Jounin. Though Iwa wasn't in a bad situation like Suna, every Elite Jounin was precious. They were an important pillar of their village. They wouldn't want to lose one pointlessly.
Gin sighed and said, "I made an error and it cost my arm. Without Roshi's help, I might have died. As for the others… They were all killed."
Onoki and Kitsuchi were shocked. Losing 19 capable ninjas in one single mission was a big blow. All of them had Chunin or Jounin ranks. Onoki became very serious and asked, "You mean that 19 ninjas died on the mission? Including Chiharu whose aid you requested?"
Seeing Gin stand silently, Onoki commanded, "Tell me everything that happened."
Gin nodded and informed Onoki about the events from their ambush on the bridge until he retreated.
A grim expression appeared on Onoki's face. Gin's plan was appropriate. But other than the first move, nothing went according to his plan.
He wondered, 'Since when did Konoha get the guts to openly kill 19 ninjas of my village in one single operation? Is Hiruzen no longer afraid that we might not help them when Kumo attacks? Why did his Anbu not retreat after seeing such a large-scale attack? Or did he deploy them specifically to target us?'
He muttered, "How did Konoha know that we would ambush the Kagawa family? And why did that old monkey send such a strong Anbu squad? Besides, who other than Danzo learnt Vacuum jutsus? Was it Hiruzen's younger son?"
Gin shook his head and said, "His fighting style and physique were very different. He is probably much younger. Someone who didn't participate or didn't gain any fame in the Third Great Ninja War."
Roshi interrupted the conversation and said, "He was The Spectral Swordsman who gained fame over the last year. As suspected, he was from Konoha."
Onoki frowned and said, "Konoha always raises new talent. Fortunately, I sent you. Did you bring his body back?"
Roshi plainly replied, "Unfortunately, I couldn't kill him."
Kitsuchi was surprised. He asked, "Even you couldn't kill him?"
Roshi's strength was above his own and on par with Han's. If he couldn't kill him, it meant that only one person in Iwa could kill him. His eyes moved towards Onoki who looked visibly angry.
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.
