Interlude: Nations at War
The Third Kazekage used a palm to squeeze his forehead in the silence, harsh eyebrows creased into a sharp glare as all of the councilors seated around the table waiting for him to comment. No one dared speak before him.
Esteemed Councilor Chiyo had just delivered a report from her Puppet Brigade, and most all in the room wore dark expressions.
Ironically, it was Chiyo herself who seemed the least depressed about it, wearing a only conflicted look. It seems her son and daughter-in-law were the only survivors of an ambush by Hanzō himself.
Everyone here understood her sentiment. To be spared by Hanzō was an acknowledgement of respect - and a badge worn by a very lucky few.
Chiyo herself had fought Hanzō many times, but Hitori and Satsuki were not yet even close to her strength. The Elder was doubtless both worried... and relieved.
The Kazekage leaned back and ran a hand through the spikes of his dark-blue hair to calm down, concentrating on the most important details. Even he grew annoyed at the thought of facing Hanzō. Their skillset was a troublesome match-up.
Previously thought to be heading north in response to Konoha's advances there, Amegakure's Hanzō had instead gone south and devastated Suna's invasion force. A long, meticulously prepared invasion, too, destroyed seemingly by luck.
It was infuriating.
Outmaneuvered again, Suna's incursions into Ame held a record of total defeat whenever Hanzō joined the encounter. Only when Chiyo herself took to the field did Suna ever have the firepower needed to fight to a stalemate. A stalemate.
There was no denying that, of the three Great Nations involved in this war, Suna's position was the weakest. Though the councilors would never admit it, the Kazekage had to recognize the truth.
Suna's Council and the Kazekage had committed almost all of Suna's economic resources to the war, building advanced puppets and spending massive amounts of resources on countless research projects.
It was only because of the Third Kazekage's limitless Iron Sand that they could even afford enough steel to supply their armies. Without an agricultural base, Suna already had to import massive quantities of food.
And ever since Konoha usurped their suppliers in the Land of Rivers, Suna had been producing their arsenal completely domestically. Though, espionage efforts had certainly accelerated development of more modern weaponry.
Alas, even espionage efforts were outdone by Konoha's dastardly old fox, Danzō.
It seemed Konoha had almost complete awareness of troop movements within the Amegakure war theater, an impressive undertaking that no one on the Council could scoff at. Whenever Suna platoons sortied out, Konoha always had a force ready to meet them.
Just how could they do it!?
"We need to draw everyone's attention North. Lure Iwa in and force Konoha to reinforce the northern garrisons. If information about Iwa's incursion into Kusa is correct, then Ōnoki is planning something huge. What we have to be sure of, is that Hanzō is also up north dealing with it. Away from our troops."
Murmurs of discussion broke out between the Councilors, though Chiyo was looking distracted. The Kazekage observed them all, listening to their rambling thoughts and tentative plans.
"Furthermore, let's see about enticing some foreign involvement. The far eastern nations as well, I've heard there might be troubling developments in Bloody Kirigakure..."
"Silence!" Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, shouted out to quiet his rowdy advisors.
His voice was the loudest of them all, despite being the smallest man in the room.
"What happened in Kusa is an unprecedented development. A previously unknown or neutral organization has shamelessly involved themselves in the war on our borders. If Iwa has any pride at all, we will eradicate them above all else!"
Ōnoki chewed on the fingernail of his thumb as he stared at the maps spread out on the council table before him. Frustrated by his short stature, he hovered into the air to get a better look - startling his councilors in the process.
They never liked to be reminded just how much more powerful Ōnoki was than them. Which Ōnoki delighted in, not-so-secretly.
Still, the arrogant old bastards all channeled their complaints anyway,
"Over five hundred of our finest Iwa shinobi were eliminated in the Konrin Mountain Range region, and from there into the grasslands of Kusa! While the razing campaign in the southern Land of Grass was completed successfully, the plan has come to a complete halt on the eastern front. All reporting saboteurs failed to return from their missions."
"Is Konoha responsible for this? Did they sway another faction to join them? How dare they trample upon our soon-to-be-annexed territory! As if they have the force to resist the mighty Unity of the Hidden Stone!"
"To think even Sarutobi would double-deal his negotiations with Kusa like this. And he had the gall to accuse us of exploiting Kusa!"
"The minor countries have been fooled by his false benevolence, haven't they? It is up to our glorious unity and endless legions to keep the peace in the weaker lands! They have to be saved from their own delusions and protected from themselves, lest they be fooled by the false promises of the eastern powers!"
"Argh, same with those traitors in the Land of Frost, and those useless fools in Takigakure!"
"Konoha's smaller allies have been a buffer - a thorn in our sides for far too long. Think of what would be within our reach if we-..."
The councilors all harrumphed their indignation and disdain, but another minister chimed in,
"Our recently dispatched scouts report unimaginably gruesome carnage. The invasion force was massacred shortly after the infiltrators reached the roads to Kusagakure - without any signs of Konoha meeting them. Brutal torture, strange mutilation of the corpses. If this is Konoha's work..."
Ōnoki leered down at them as a thought occurred to him,
"Aye, it could be the work of their Old Fox. Danzō, eh? He plays the game on the level of our predecessors. I don't doubt that he's aware of this... and up to something. It would be just like him to direct a problem like this to our doorstep, no matter who he sacrificed for it. Sarutobi-dono would never permit something like this officially, but... the timing is too perfect to attract our attentions from the southern fronts..."
The Councilors once again grew rowdy enough that Ōnoki couldn't hear himself think, forcing him to raise his voice and silence them again.
"Gah, I'll need to think on this more. In the meantime, draw our troops out of missions in Ame. We've done enough destruction there. Redeploy the Explosion Corps to the Konrin Mountains. I don't care if we have to level entire mountains, we cannot allow these foolish infiltrators to threaten the Land of Earth's heartland any longer!"
The Third Mizukage sat with his hand folded before his mouth, gazing out the wide bay windows overlooking Kirigakure below. Though he gazed outside, his eyes were almost perpetually closed - relying instead on his ability to perceive through moisture in the air. It often gave a far more comprehensive picture of his surroundings.
And right now, he needed some clarity.
His long black hair lay smooth against his frame, the sleeveless haori he wore revealing a dark purple Kirigakure uniform worn beneath.
He inhaled deeply as he leaned back to rest his head against the chair.
His legs rested on an impromptu footstool - the stacked corpses of two assassins who had come for him in the night. They stood no chance of course, but these days some were still foolish enough to try.
The passing idiocy of Kiri's usual factional infighting? Or perhaps, the preliminary signs of yet another civil war?
Which is it? Or both?
Maybe it was on the feudal side, aristocracy being ever so fickle.
The Third Mizukage came neither from the Second Mizukage's Hōzuki Clan nor the esteemed Karatachi Clan. Though he was trusted by the First Mizukage, he was still on the lower end of the primary caste in Kiri's three-caste system. As such, there were many in the elite clans who would wish him dead.
The beginning of his reign as Mizukage was marked by constant such attempts on his life, but the smartest had learned he was far too capable for mere assassination.
Rather, that made his most dangerous enemies go quiet, biding their time.
Was this a warning? The Blood Mist village held a tradition of sending messages through blood, and the blood of weak assassins was certainly loud and clear.
Perhaps it was time to cultivate some of the secondary caste to his side. If civil war really loomed on the horizon, it would be another long struggle. The resources of the Terumī Clan and the Yuki Clan would be invaluable for assassinating his rivals.
Of course, there is always the possibility of faction traitors with the Karatachi, too.
What to do, what to do indeed?
Perhaps it was time to direct some attentions outward as well, to secure further cards for his hand...
Existing plans had to be expanded, accelerated...
The Third Raikage considered his position calmly as the night rolled in. His massive muscular frame dwarfed the tiny sofa on which he sat.
On one hand, Kumogakure's relationship with the smaller allied nations was a great boon to the nation's overall economy and military might. Whenever Iwa threatened the smaller countries, Kumo had a chance to intervene and gain more allies.
This was a strategy co-opted directly from Konoha's shrewd but often dark foreign policy.
As Raikage, A1Yes, his name is literally 'A', as all Raikage supposedly take that name? I bolded the text to make it obvious that 'A' is his name. refused to abandon honor so flagrantly - even if he held great respect for Sarutobi Hiruzen. What he could not trust, was that the Hokage's words were going to truly reflect the actions of Konoha.
All the more so now, given news from Yugakure and the Land of Hotsprings. Very troubling rumors were circling, and the Raikage would soon have to decide whether or not a more active role in ongoing conflicts was required.
Ongoing conflicts... when so much else was already in the works...
On the other hand, there were always other matters on the table too, making this all the more difficult...
Dangers both close and far... a web of alliances and secrecy much more a of headache than simply fighting a battle.
These kinds of nuances were where his son and successor was still lacking. A Raikage needed to understand more than just might, though might certainly went a long way towards making the position easier. He should know, being the strongest of all prior Raikage.
It was all complicated by Kumogakure's inability to control the Eight-Tails. How could they project foreign military power without first stabilizing their home defense?
A held a hand to the scar on his chest, the shameful reminder that even he was not enough to reliably pacify the Eight-Tails' rampages.
If they could just halt the routine tailed beast rampages, Kumo wouldn't suffer so much damage and could finally solidify its position. Yet, in his estimation as Raikage, the war-deterrent posed by Kumo's possession of a tailed beast was still worth the casualties.
The Raikage's brothers had both perished, incapable of handling the fate of being the Eight-Tails jinchūriki. Now his nephew Fukai was struggling to cope. Everyone feared another rampage was on the horizon, even Fukai himself. Another tragedy would befall his family, another sacrifice, all for the sake of the village.
Yet, with the operations Kumo's higher-ups were planning... the timing couldn't be worse...
Jinchūriki... ongoing war... unrest in the smaller countries..
While the Raikage pondered and paced around, a small white snake slithered around in the rafters above...
In another section of Kumogakure's main government building, Fukai lingered by the wide bay windows - staring up at the full moon as the Eight-Tails tormented his heart and thoughts.
In the shadows underneath these windows, a Kumo kunoichi stood on guard, carefully observing Fukai.
A kunoichi with pale white skin, a blank expression dominated by hungry yellow eyes. Eyes that sported vertical-slit pupils like that of a snake2.
With a tiny, vicious smile, 'she' disappeared into the night.