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"Takigakure has repeatedly emphasized their innocence and also wishes to send a delegation to Iwagakure for peace talks. However, Iwagakure has refused. Therefore, Takigakure has separately dispatched envoys to our village, seeking an audience with the Hokage-sama. It seems they want our Konoha to intervene and mediate peace talks."
After finishing his report, Shikaku neatly filed the documents away.
The shinobi world's situation was growing increasingly chaotic, and he, as the commander of the Jonin Division, was becoming busier.
"Reject them. Tell Takigakure's envoys that this matter has nothing to do with Konoha. They need to resolve their conflict with Iwagakure on their own."
Kazuki didn't even need to think before refusing.
Leaving aside the fact that Iwagakure was absolutely determined to take action against Takigakure, even if it was just a war of words, Konoha had no desire to get involved in such thankless work.
In a nutshell, hopeless allies are impossible to carry. To prevent such deadweight from dragging you down, it's best not to get entangled in the first place.
Given Takigakure's series of bizarre blunders and inexplicable behavior, it was entirely possible that the moment you stepped in to help them, before you could even reach an agreement, they would turn around and sell you out.
This was an extremely high probability.
The current Takigakure was strikingly similar to the Kusagakure of the past—both belonged to a category utterly undeserving of sympathy.
Even if Takigakure's leader came in person, even if the Daimyō of the Land of Waterfalls himself arrived, Kazuki would still pay them no heed.
"Being slandered, and while insisting on your innocence, you simultaneously send compensation gifts to the enemy who framed you. Only someone with a brain full of holes would do such a thing. Just like the old Kusagakure, anyone who gets involved with them ends up cursed. Do they really think Konoha is stupid?"
Takigakure's recent actions had completely shattered Kazuki's patience.
"....."
Shikaku wanted to laugh but struggled to maintain a stern expression.
Honestly, when this particular maneuver from Takigakure surfaced, he too was speechless.
Could you really play it like this?
"Besides us, Takigakure has probably also sent people to the other villages, asking them to help plead their case. Kirigakure and Sunagakure are likely too busy, but Kumogakure is a real possibility."
Kazuki speculated that, given Takigakure's timid and submissive nature, they wouldn't put all their eggs in one basket when seeking aid.
Kumogakure was probably also on their list of targets for pleading.
A strange look flashed in Shikaku's eyes as he let out a long sigh.
"It's likely Iwagakure won't even agree to meet them, given their actions... which are truly baffling."
He hesitated, swallowing the words "utterly idiotic" before they could escape.
Sending compensation to the very party that slandered you, indirectly confirming your guilt in the attack on Iwagakure's squad—only someone whose head was filled with pounds of bean curd residue could pull off such an operation.
As Kazuki and Shikaku had anticipated, when Takigakure's envoys arrived at Kumogakure, the Raikage's reply was as follows.
"Tell them to get lost."
You're so stupid it beggars belief, and you still have the nerve to come asking for help?
After learning about Takigakure's series of blunders, the Fourth Raikage, A, was so furious he had already smashed several desks.
According to his initial plan, Ōnoki would find a random excuse and directly attack Takigakure. Takigakure would resist while seeking help, and then Kumogakure would seize the opportunity to jump in, denouncing Iwagakure for breaking the rules and openly waging war on a minor village. They would then get involved in the war themselves, catching Iwagakure off guard.
When Iwagakure mobilized large forces to engage Kumogakure, Konoha would then deliver a backstab.
This would leave Iwagakure facing enemies on three fronts.
By that point, Ōnoki would be utterly flustered. No matter how strong Iwagakure was, it wouldn't be able to sustain a war on three fronts simultaneously and would be forced into a retreat.
But then, everything went sideways. Takigakure personally waded into the mud pit, grabbed a handful of muck, and stuffed it right into their own pants.
They handed Iwagakure a perfectly legitimate excuse to launch a war.
Just how mind-bogglingly stupid do you have to be to do something like that?
The mere thought of this mess made A's blood pressure skyrocket.
If Takigakure hadn't stuffed that metaphorical yellow mud into their own pants, Kumogakure could have used the pretext of the Five Kage's pledge to openly declare war.
Now, Iwagakure's attack on Takigakure was completely justified and reasonable; no one could find any fault with it.
If Kumogakure declared war on Iwagakure now, they would instead face condemnation from Iwagakure.
While such condemnation wouldn't cause Kumogakure any real pain, it was still an infuriating and humiliating position to be in.
Who the hell wants to attack Iwagakure under the stigma of kicking them while they're down, when they could have waged war openly and justly?
"Damn Takigakure! A bunch of morons!! Even dumber than pigs!!!"
A felt his blood pressure rising yet again.
His assistant, Mabui, sighed softly to herself. Raikage-sama was starting up again.
Ever since Takigakure's self-incriminating, confession-without-pressure operation came to light, A seemed to have entered a phase of menopausal-level irritability.
After driving away Takigakure's envoys, A, his face as dark as thunder, ordered in a low voice:
"Increase surveillance on Iwagakure. Monitor their ninja movements closely at all times."
Regardless of the pretext—whether a noble-sounding one or a less savory one—A had no intention of waiting any longer. This was a golden opportunity for revenge against Iwagakure. Once missed, there might not be another.
"Tsuchikage-sama!!!"
In Iwagakure's temporary command center, a group of high-ranking officials stared excitedly at Ōnoki. They knew the moment had arrived.
Once the war began, the internal pressures and conflicts within the village would be transferred onto another village.
While it wasn't a war against Konoha, Takigakure was a decent substitute. As a minor village, its strength was weak, no match for Iwagakure. Most importantly, the Land of Waterfalls was fairly prosperous. A full-scale invasion would give Iwagakure everything it needed.
Resources, wealth, population—none of these would be a problem.
"Since Takigakure is unwilling to hand over the perpetrators, we will proceed as planned."
Compared to before the Four-Tails incident, Ōnoki had aged considerably. The age spots on his face had multiplied, his complexion was paler, and he looked weary. Fortunately, Takigakure's own stupidity had provided Iwagakure with a perfectly reasonable excuse to launch a war.
With the excuse handed right to them on a silver platter, what were they waiting for?
All that was left was to crush them.
If possible, Ōnoki would have preferred not to start a war at this time. Compared to the small ambitions in his heart, he was far more concerned about the Akatsuki. Unfortunately, circumstances forced his hand. The village had reached the end of its rope. Without an external war, a cascade of problems would inevitably follow.
Fortunately, the enemy was foolish enough. They had even done the groundwork for Iwagakure.
With Ōnoki's order, Iwagakure's long-planned fangs were finally bared.
Without a formal declaration of war, over a thousand Iwagakure ninja directly invaded the Land of Waterfalls, catching Takigakure completely off guard.
A new war had erupted.
At this point, even many who had initially thought Takigakure brought it upon themselves began to sense something was off.
Iwagakure's declaration of war felt rather abrupt, and Takigakure seemed utterly unprepared. Most tellingly, the Iwagakure ninja were acting like bandits, looting everything in sight. This was less an act of retaliation and more outright plunder.