"Kyoichi, what exactly did you talk about with Sunagakure?"
"Honestly, nothing much. I barely got a few words out before they bailed. I only just wrapped things up with Iwagakure today—guess Sunagakure's starting to get anxious."
Kyoichi chuckled.
He knew Tsunade would bring this up, so he intentionally let Ebizō sweat it out today.
After explaining the whole situation—
Tsunade couldn't help but laugh. She could already picture Ebizō tonight, racking his brains trying to figure out what was going on. After all, the affairs of Kitsuchi and Roshi were only known to Iwa-nin and Konoha—hardly any outsiders were aware.
He was probably under the impression that Konoha and Ōnoki had reached so kind of secret agreent.
Tsunade laughed for a while, then her face grew serious. "So, what's your next move?"
"This matter with Yahiko—I haven't had a chance to explain it in detail. Today's a good ti."
Kyoichi didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he began explaining his plan to help Yahiko unite the smaller hidden villages. Tsunade couldn't keep a straight face by the end of it—
Because...
The plan sounded very plausible!
If Agakure succeeded in forming a western alliance, and then absorbed the already half-crippled Kusagakure, this Small Village Alliance would beco a formidable power wedged between the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth.
On the bright side...
They might no longer face direct conflict with the Land of Earth.
A power of that scale—Ōnoki would have to be blind to think of pulling another stunt like launching a direct invasion into the Land of Grass to attack Konoha. Unless, of course, he had a death wish for Iwagakure.
However...
From Konoha's standpoint, if this new power veered off-course from Kyoichi's intended trajectory, then one day it might no longer be a three- or four-village alliance attacking Konoha—
It could beco five.
So Tsunade's first reaction was: danger.
Not just a crisis for Konoha.
But for Kyoichi himself.
As powerful as he was, he couldn't fight five villages alone. In truth, the only reason he managed to fend off four nations last ti was because Sunagakure's attack had co so abruptly—and they were the first to be dealt with.
The following three villages attacked a year later, and they didn't coordinate tightly. In the end, they were picked off one by one.
If it happened again... the enemy wouldn't be so foolish.
"You little brat. One misstep and you could lose everything."
"As things stand? That's unlikely."
Kyoichi shrugged.
Of the current four major villages—aside from Sunagakure—the other three hadn't suffered as devastating losses as in the original tiline. But thanks to Kyoichi's maneuvering, both Iwagakure and Kirigakure had backstabbed Kumogakure.
And Kumogakure was no pushover.
Until that issue was resolved, the other two wouldn't dare start a war.
As for Kumogakure...
Wasn't he already setting up the next move?
"Forget it. I've seen so of your recent moves. As for Wood Release... Orochimaru should be motivated. He's always been obsessed with it, and he's conducted so... questionable research in the past."
Tsunade frowned at that.
Those past experints of Orochimaru's—Hiruzen had only recently dredged them up again while digging through old files. The old man had nearly blown a fuse and almost executed Orochimaru on the spot.
Though he hadn't followed through, Orochimaru's rank had been stripped the mont he returned victorious.
That man...
She could only hope he wouldn't cause trouble in the research institute.
Tsunade sighed internally but didn't voice her concerns. She had no intention of interfering in Kyoichi's affairs for now—everything he'd laid out sounded rock-solid.
The only problem was...
What if, in the future, the tail wagged the dog?
For now, though, with Agakure spearheading the Small Village Alliance, they could draw away a significant portion of attention and pressure, giving Konoha a much-needed breather from being constantly under the microscope.
After debriefing Tsunade, Kyoichi enjoyed a peaceful night of rest.
Ebizō wasn't so lucky.
All night long, he kept turning things over in his head—what was Kyoichi planning? Why was Agakure's stance so strange?
The more he thought...
The more he suspected Agakure might be leaning toward an alliance with Konoha.
The next day...
He attempted to contact Yahiko again. This ti, Yahiko agreed to a eting.
"Ebizō-sama, allow to go in your stead. If Agakure is up to sothing, at least you'll be safe and can respond."
Pakura spoke with concern.
Ebizō was going alone to et Yahiko—she was genuinely worried. But the old man just waved her off.
"What danger could there be? We're in Konoha. Every hidden village in the shinobi world is gathered here. If Agakure dares to make a move now, then I can only say Hanzō must have been blind to choose such a foolish successor."
Ebizō shook his head and strolled off casually.
His forehead protector tucked in his pocket, he andered down the main road toward a prearranged shop.
Upon entering...
He gave a code phrase. Soone silently led him to a private room.
And yet—
When he stepped inside, even though he'd ntally prepared himself, he still froze for a mont.
Kanda Kyoichi was here too!
"Well now, Kanda Kyoichi... I've heard you're descended from the Senju. The Senju Clan... truly terrifying bloodline. Every generation produces prodigies."
Ebizō sighed.
He wasn't clueless. The so-called Small Village Alliance spearheaded by Agakure—it was clearly being orchestrated by Konoha.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Kusagakure's devastating losses—besides their own indecision—may well have involved Agakure. And if the small villages truly united...
Konoha might lose so mission commissions, but the real losers would be Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Because the western countries were farther from Konoha. Although missions sotis still reached Konoha, most commissions were made in person.
In fact, most of those commissions had been split between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
That's a massive pie.
Now that Agakure was tying them all together, Sunagakure and Iwagakure were being shut out.
"Ebizō-senpai flatters . Your reputation is well known throughout the shinobi world... Please, have a seat. We can continue where we left off."
Kyoichi smiled faintly.
He'd been tracking Ebizō's movents over the past few days.
Now, none of them brought up the backroom dealings from before. For the mont, the room seed almost harmonious.
Yahiko remained outwardly composed, but deep down, he was impressed.
This Kyoichi guy...
He had known all along, yet remained calm and unfazed. And Ebizō—knowing full well that Konoha was aware—still managed to collect himself with ease.
All foxes, through and through.
He, by contrast, felt rather naive.
He sighed inwardly and let them do the talking.
"The northern part of the Land of Wind is a desert. At the root, it's a geographical issue—followed by insufficient water flow. That's what causes the desertification."
Kyoichi explained.
Ebizō didn't argue. He nodded lightly.
The north was desert, surrounded by mountains with very little rainfall—a dry, arid region.
In contrast...
The southern region bordered the sea. It wasn't particularly poor, just lagging behind the Land of Fire.
After all, the Land of Fire occupied the best land in the entire shinobi world.
No other country could compare.
"Why not carve through the mountains and redirect water? The Land of Rain and the northern parts of the Land of Rivers flood every year. Even the neighboring Land of Birds has lakes. Your region is bone dry—why not balance it out?"
"Carve the mountains and redirect water?"
Ebizō blinked.
That... was possible?
"Yes. Carve through the mountains, redirect the rivers. Is that so hard for shinobi? As long as Sunagakure's Earth Release users aren't all dead, this should be doable. Worst case, you could hire us."
Kyoichi smiled. "Konoha would be happy to do business."
"I see. The Land of Rain, northern Land of Rivers, Land of Birds... and us—it forms a network."
Ebizō understood imdiately.
Connecting water routes would naturally boost transportation. And once the infrastructure was in place, the bonds between Sunagakure and the small village alliance would only grow stronger.
The final outco...
"A shinobi alliance. Don't take this the wrong way, but Sunagakure really is relatively weak—especially after the last battle. I'm sure you've realized by now, we never even touched the Third Kazekage. Before you started the war, we didn't even know what had happened."
Kyoichi said plainly.
Yahiko, beside him, added at the perfect mont, "Agakure can also guarantee we had no part in that matter."
"The Third Kazekage... The investigation is still ongoing. Let's set that aside for now."
"No, what I'm asking is—have you ever considered the possibility that it was an inside job? With the strength of the Third Kazekage... how could he have died without a trace?"
Ebizō was no fool.
And when speaking to soone smart, you didn't need to spell everything out. A hint was enough.
He fell into deep thought.
The Third Kazekage had long been hailed as the strongest in Sunagakure's history—and not without reason.
Magnet Release and Puppet Jutsu were invented by the Second Kazekage. Chiyo inherited the puppet arts, while the Magnet Release was elevated to new heights by the Third.
With Magnet Release, he had an edge over many types of shinobi—
Including Sunagakure's own puppet masters.
But...
Poison?
Ebizō's expression darkened.
If it was an insider... and poison was involved... then not even the Third Kazekage would have stood a chance.
Within Sunagakure, the only ninja who could lower the Third's guard and who'd been acting suspiciously lately...
...Sasori?
He lapsed into a long, grim silence.
Ebizō had once suspected this, but he had never dared to believe that Sasori was behind it. Yet if that truly were the case, then everything would have to be re-investigated from the ground up.
Why did Sasori leave?
His sister must know sothing.
The more he thought about it, the more Ebizō felt that Kyoichi's theory made sense.
He collected his thoughts and shifted the topic, saying, "Let's return to the matter of cooperation. If Sunagakure were to work with Agakure, the Land of Birds, and the northern region of the Land of Rivers, what would we need to offer? And what would we gain?"
"Agakure will need your support in founding the new alliance village," Yahiko answered. "As for benefits... you'd get improved trade, a more stable climate, and any overflow or unmanageable missions will be selectively handed to Sunagakure."
Ebizō nodded and turned to Kyoichi.
He didn't believe...
...that Kyoichi was doing all this just to facilitate the alliance.
"Unblock the waterways, build new roads, and once the trade routes are up and running, allow and protect the Land of Fire's rchant caravans as they enter the Land of Wind," Kyoichi laid out his terms. "Also, if you're looking to increase greenery, you might consider working with us in Konoha—we have a batch of saplings available for sale."
"If that's all, Sunagakure can accept it," Ebizō said after a mont's thought. "As for the saplings... we'll talk again after the irrigation is sorted."
Water ant life—it ant roads.
Even if the irrigation couldn't reach all of the northern desert, at the very least, that small region near the neighboring countries could start to thrive. Sunagakure's days might beco a little easier.
Besides...
They didn't have many options to begin with, not with their current level of strength.
But what puzzled Ebizō was this—
Konoha's demands were so modest... what exactly were they scheming?
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