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"I just arrived myself."
A responded in a gruff, somewhat muffled voice.
After a few brief pleasantries, A cut straight to the chase.
"Kazuki, from my observations, Takigakure won't be able to hold off Iwagakure for very long. Therefore, we need to provide Takigakure with some support."
"Support?" Kazuki frowned slightly.
"You mean, Kumogakure and Konoha should each dispatch a group of ninja to the Takigakure battlefield to assist them in resisting Iwagakure?"
This wasn't a good option.
While it would certainly muddy the waters in Takigakure, having multiple factions converge in one place could easily recreate the scenario of the Second Great Shinobi War—multiple forces fighting back and forth in Amegakure, one faction attacking another today, a different one tomorrow.
The end result would be that no one benefited.
"Correct."
A nodded, elaborating on his perspective.
"I believe we should firmly tie down Iwagakure's progress within the Land of Waterfalls. That would be advantageous for us."
"Why is it necessary to tie Iwagakure down specifically in the Land of Waterfalls?"
Kazuki wasn't fully convinced. Seeing A about to rebut, he continued first.
"I understand your position. If Iwagakure's forces are tied down in the Land of Waterfalls, and with Kumogakure and Konoha attacking, Iwagakure would be fighting on three fronts. That's a solid idea, but I believe it's completely unnecessary."
"Takigakure is unreliable, just like the old Kusagakure."
"My idea isn't to expect Takigakure to contribute significantly, just to have them bog down a portion of Iwagakure's forces. With Kumogakure and Konoha launching a two-pronged assault, Iwagakure simply won't be able to withstand it. Even if they've plundered vast resources from the Land of Waterfalls, it won't matter."
Fighting on two fronts against two enemies stronger than themselves—how could Ōnoki possibly hold the line? He'd be fighting with his head.
"So, Konoha does not agree to sending personnel to the Land of Waterfalls battlefield?"
A knew persuading Konoha to agree to this proposal would be somewhat difficult, but he hadn't expected Kazuki to refuse so decisively.
Kazuki shook his head again, his refusal firm.
"If we send people, it's equivalent to the village declaring war on Iwagakure. That would render our previous plan useless, making a backstab against Iwagakure almost impossible. Konoha will not engage in such folly."
Kumogakure could certainly send support, but Konoha could not.
Because Konoha's plan and position was precisely to be that sneaky opportunist, not to jump out and draw fire.
Therefore, Kazuki would not accept such a suggestion.
Kumogakure could do it; they could openly provide support. But saying that would sound like stirring the pot, so Kazuki refrained.
How A considered it was his own affair. Konoha had no control over it. In any case, sending people to meddle in the Land of Waterfalls was out of the question unless Konoha had already declared war on Iwagakure.
By that point, Konoha would have already played the backstabber, plunging a knife into Iwagakure's back. Having done that, sending a few people to support the Land of Waterfalls battlefield would be inconsequential.
A: "....."
So, Konoha just won't be satisfied until they've played the sneaky bastard this once, is that it?
Is it because Iwagakure played that role during the Third Great Shinobi War, and it still rankles?
Thinking about it, that seemed plausible. At that time, Konoha had just concluded its war with Sunagakure.
Seeing Konoha severely weakened and suffering heavy losses, Iwagakure had quietly plunged a knife into their back without a word.
Should he mention it?
Better not. There was no need to play the villain here. Let Kumogakure handle their own mess this time.
This secret meeting was destined to end in disappointment for A. Trying to drag Konoha into the rescue mission early was impossible. If anyone was going to rescue them, it would have to be Kumogakure.
A did indeed return disappointed. No matter how he tried to persuade, Kazuki remained adamant in his refusal. It was an absolute rejection.
On this matter, arguing until the sky fell wouldn't help. Konoha would not get involved in the war until they had successfully played the opportunist card.
With Konoha's refusal, A had no recourse. He couldn't very well hold a knife to Kazuki's throat and force him to agree, could he?
If he dared try such a thing, Konoha and Kumogakure would likely clash before they even had a chance to fight Iwagakure.
Returning to Kumogakure, A immediately convened a high-level meeting.
"Konoha refused. They are unwilling to send personnel to the Land of Waterfalls battlefield to support Takigakure. Therefore, any support must come from us alone. My proposal is to dispatch an elite unit to infiltrate the Land of Waterfalls. Using Takigakure's forces, we launch an ambush, making Iwagakure suffer a severe setback. Subsequently, Takigakure will publicly announce that they formally issued a mission commission to our village, which is why we dispatched ninja forces to assist them in resisting the enemy invasion."
It must be said, Kumogakure's little scheme was quite clever.
They wanted to interfere in the Land of Waterfalls battlefield, to bog Iwagakure down there, yet they didn't want to directly declare war on Iwagakure. So, they chose to collude with Takigakure.
First, they would secretly infiltrate their people. Then, Takigakure would act as the bait while Kumogakure launched the ambush, dealing Iwagakure a heavy blow.
Afterwards, Takigakure would publicly claim they had hired Kumogakure through a formal mission commission.
This way, even if Ōnoki was furious enough to jump in rage, he couldn't directly accuse Kumogakure of anything, since Kumogakure hadn't officially declared war.
They had merely accepted a mission commission. Surely Ōnoki, no matter how domineering, wouldn't try to forbid others from issuing commissions, would he?
Once Iwagakure was thoroughly entangled and sinking deeper into the Land of Waterfalls, Kumogakure would then officially declare war and launch a frontal assault.
No sooner said than done. A promptly sent word to Takigakure's envoy, who had returned.
Both sides quickly reached an agreement. As for what price Takigakure paid, that remained unknown for now.
Soon, a ninja force numbering over five hundred infiltrated the Land of Waterfalls in batches, preparing to cooperate with Takigakure in launching an ambush.
In Konoha, Takigakure's envoy was still stubbornly lingering in the village, unwilling to leave. Even Kazuki had to admire the man's persistence—to just plant himself in Konoha and refuse to budge.
Fortunately, this didn't pose a major issue for Konoha. If the other party didn't want to leave, they could stay!
Once the official reception period was over, all living expenses would be out of their own pocket. Either way, Konoha wouldn't be the one losing out.
Expecting Konoha to keep supporting them as guests indefinitely was simply impossible.
Just when everyone believed Takigakure was finished, shocking news arrived from the Land of Waterfalls battlefield.
Kumogakure had dispatched a significant number of ninja who infiltrated the Land of Waterfalls and, in cooperation with Takigakure forces, launched a successful ambush.
The ambush caught Iwagakure completely off guard, inflicting heavy losses and forcing them to retreat and reposition their defensive lines significantly.
When the news broke, it left many stunned.
Was Kumogakure planning to intervene in the war?
Reacting the fastest, Iwagakure immediately accused Kumogakure of breaking the rules, engaging in warfare without a declaration by directly participating in the conflict.
Faced with Iwagakure's accusations, Kumogakure showed no intention of responding.
Instead, it was Takigakure that jumped out, announcing that Kumogakure's involvement was due to accepting a mission commission issued by Takigakure, hence why they had dispatched a force to support them.