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'What did we even do wrong? Why are we getting kicked by our ally and falsely accused?'
Faced with such condemnation, the Grass Ninja Village's leader nearly spat blood in frustration.
If the Rock Village wanted to frame them, couldn't they at least come up with a more plausible excuse?
The Rock Village ninjas strutted into the Land of Grass like they owned the place—who would dare provoke them?
Having decided to move against the Grass Ninja Village, the Rock Village showed no mercy.
Not long after, several squads infiltrated the Grass Ninja Village and eliminated half of their leadership—those fond of wearing animal-themed masks.
When the news spread, everyone realized the Rock Village was behind it, as they had a clear motive to target the Grass Ninja Village.
But wiping out so many of their leaders? That was a bit terrifying.
For a moment, smaller ninja villages across the nations were on edge, fearing that other major villages might follow the Rock Village's example and come for them.
Fortunately, the Grass Ninja Village seemed to be an isolated case.
No other small villages were inexplicably attacked or purged by a major village.
This made the smaller villages with budding ambitions quickly rein themselves in. The Grass Ninja Village's fate snuffed out their fleeting hopes.
Among the many small ninja villages, the Grass Ninja Village's strength wasn't the strongest, but it was certainly upper-tier.
Yet, they were cleaned out without a chance to resist.
It was a stark reminder of the massive gap in power between small villages and the five great ninja villages.
Without sufficient strength, it was best to keep any ambitions buried deep, or they'd meet a gruesome end.
The Grass Ninja Village's attempt to outsmart Konoha backfired spectacularly. With half their leadership gone, the remaining members immediately fell in line, not daring to stir up trouble again.
If it were any other matter, the Rock Village might have faced some criticism.
But when a small village dared to challenge a major one and got punished for it, the other great ninja villages tacitly turned a blind eye.
Not just other villages—even the Cloud Village, which had always been at odds with the Rock Village, acted as if they knew nothing.
No one spoke up for the Grass Ninja Village, and no one condemned the Rock Village's actions. It was as if everything the Rock Village did was justified.
The Grass Ninja Village got what it deserved.
In this round, Konoha came out unscathed, the Rock Village took a slight hit but nothing major, and the Grass Ninja Village was utterly ruined.
Kazuki didn't bother paying much attention to the Grass Ninja Village's fate.
As long as the Rock Village acted as promised, it didn't matter how things turned out for them. The rest was irrelevant.
At the moment, Kazuki had no time to focus on such trivial matters. He had already led a team to the border outpost camp.
The sudden arrival of the Hokage's Advisor at the border camp signaled that something big might be brewing.
The camp's atmosphere grew tense instantly.
Many ninjas whispered among themselves, speculating whether Kazuki's presence—and his decision to stay at the camp—meant there was a risk of war breaking out with the Sand Village.
A meeting of jonin was held as scheduled. This time, Kazuki had brought along Shikaku, the head of the Jonin Corps, to the border camp.
The camp's command center wasn't large, and fortunately, not many were qualified to attend the meeting.
Only ninjas of jonin rank could participate.
All told, including those Kazuki brought from the village, there were barely twenty people in the command center.
Two-thirds of them were from Konoha.
In theory, a border camp with four or five jonin stationed was already a sufficient force.
All eyes were on Kazuki, who sat at the head of the table, meticulously reviewing intelligence scrolls collected by the Anbu.
The command center was silent, everyone waiting patiently.
After reading through all the scrolls, Kazuki finally looked up. "In a few days, a caravan will arrive from the daimyo's mansion. Detain it. No need to harm anyone or tamper with the goods—just find an excuse to hold them."
Use the Sand Village's own tactics against them.
Since he was at the border, Kazuki intended to make the Sand Village respect Konoha's authority.
Only by making them submit—by making them fear—would they back off.
Otherwise, warnings and reminders were useless. They'd just ignore them.
The Sand Village was in for it now.
The ninjas present understood that Kazuki's orders meant they'd be turning the Sand Village's favorite tactics back on them.
Many couldn't hide their excitement or gritted their teeth in anticipation.
They'd been fed up with the Sand Village's antics for a long time. Now, it was their turn to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Detain a caravan?
If you can do it, so can we. And they'd specifically target an important one.
The Sand Village sent plenty of caravans to the Land of Fire, buying goods and transporting them back.
Let's see how anxious you get when we hold them up.
The caravan arrived as expected, even reaching the border ahead of schedule.
After all, the supplies were essentials the Sand Village needed, so the sooner they arrived, the better.
They were almost at the border camp.
The caravan had traveled this route many times and had never been hassled by Konoha's ninjas.
As long as they didn't pull any stunts or smuggle contraband while gathering intelligence, Konoha's ninjas would generally let them pass with minimal fuss—maybe just a quick cargo inspection.
"Stop!" a voice commanded.
As the caravan approached the camp, it was abruptly halted. The caravan members weren't too surprised and approached cheerfully to negotiate. "Honorable ninjas, the cargo on the wagons consists of daily necessities purchased on behalf of the Sand Village from the Land of Fire's daimyo mansio-"
"Seize all the cargo and take it back to the camp for a thorough inspection to check for contraband or strategic supplies," the leading jonin ordered, cutting them off.
"???"
The caravan members were stunned as Konoha's ninjas moved to confiscate the goods.
This was a first. Konoha's ninjas were usually reasonable.
Even if a grumpier ninja was on duty, they'd only give them a hard time with a sour face, nothing more.
Confiscating cargo without even inspecting it? That was unprecedented.
And taking it to the camp for inspection?
Once it went into the camp, would it ever come back out?
"Sir, is there a misunderstanding? We're transporting ordinary daily goods—no contraband, let alone strategic supplies," a caravan member protested.
"Food doesn't count as strategic supplies?" the jonin shot back, his sharp gaze nearly scaring the caravan members to death.
Food counts as strategic supplies?
That might hold water in the Land of Wind, but in the Land of Fire? That was laughable.