Yōgan froze for a moment.
"Are we really going to full-scale war now? Our current funding…"
Onoki rubbed his temples, a headache forming. "There's no helping it. Konoha's foundation seems to be far deeper than we imagined. Even now, we haven't managed to clearly assess the strength of many key figures within their ranks.
Danzo from Konoha… that guy is no amateur. Most of the spies we planted have disappeared without a trace, and the ones who do manage to send reports back—well, it's mostly worthless information.
What's truly terrifying… is the unknown."
It was clear from his tone that Ōnoki held Yōgan in high regard. Noticing the thoughtful expression behind Yōgan's mask, he went on:
"I'll reach out to the Kazekage of Sunagakure. If we can launch a joint strike, even a village as strong as Konoha wouldn't dare continue holding back in the face of a two-front assault.
Most of their hidden cards will have to be revealed in this war. And more importantly—only by exposing the full extent of their strength can I justify demanding further war funding.
That old bastard of a Daimyō has been sitting on the fence ever since we held back our forces. I need to give him a war—show him that Iwagakure is still worth investing in."
Hearing Ōnoki lay things out so plainly, a look of sudden understanding appeared beneath Yōgan's mask.
"I understand, Tsuchikage-sama."
He bowed once more, respectfully, and then vanished in an instant.
...
Deep within Iwagakure, on a deserted street, Yōgan stood silently in his ANBU mask, letting out a quiet sigh.
"This clan really is incapable of living like normal people…"
He stepped into a narrow alleyway. What greeted him was a chaotic mess of craters, scorch marks from explosions, and the faint rumble of distant detonations.
Yōgan pressed a hand to his forehead, clearly troubled. Just thinking about having to communicate with this group was enough to give him a headache.
This was the gathering place of the Explosion Release Unit. While called a "unit," it was in truth an entire clan.
Most members of this clan possessed a kekkei genkai known as Bakuton (Explosion Release). Those who wielded this bloodline could imbue their hands with explosive chakra, reducing anything they touched to powder.
This clan lived for destruction. Even those who didn't inherit the kekkei genkai were masters of explosive tags.
When bored, they'd blow things up just for fun. A day without the sound of explosions left them twitchy and restless.
For this reason, they didn't have many friends. After all, who wants to befriend a walking bomb?
Imagine two good friends playing around. You hit the other person and say, 'I hate you,' and then when they punch you back, their hand slips... boom! You've exploded.
Beautiful scene, isn't it?
Despite having few friends in the village, the people of Iwagakure still held great respect for them. Eccentric they might be, but they were fearless warriors—the sharpest blade in Iwagakure's arsenal.
Countless battles had been turned in Iwa's favor by the breach this clan's explosions created.
Thinking of this, Yōgan stepped through the main gate of the Explosion Release Clan. A few children were at the entrance, folding paper planes out of explosive tags. Instinctively, Yōgan edged a few steps away.
"Don't worry, Captain Yōgan," came a voice. "Those are low-grade tags, meant to get them used to handling explosives. Even if they go off, they won't do much harm."
It was the clan head, already waiting at the entrance after receiving the message.
As ANBU Commander, Yōgan was very familiar with his identity. He gave a nod and followed him into the house, taking a seat while explaining the situation:
"Clan Head Takekawa, I've just received orders from Tsuchikage-sama for you to bring your clan members and accompany me to the front line in Amegakure to prepare for battle against Konoha."
Upon hearing this, Takekawa's eyes lit up. Rubbing his hands together with glee, he asked eagerly:
"Captain Yōgan, is that true? We've been waiting for this day a long time."
Yōgan gave a small laugh.
"It's true. I hope you can organize your forces quickly. We depart tomorrow morning."
"No need to wait until morning."
Takekawa said this without warning, then slammed a fist onto the table beside him.
BOOM!
The poor coffee table was instantly reduced to flaming splinters in a burst of fire and smoke.
Fortunately, Yōgan had noticed his movements early and used a Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) to put distance between them. Otherwise, the blast wave alone might have sent him flying.
Before he could even wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, Takekawa turned and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"All you men with kids—get your asses out here! We're going to war to blow things up!"
As soon as Takekawa's words fell, cheers erupted from the courtyard behind them. About three minutes later, a dozen or so young and middle-aged men between the ages of 20 and 35 appeared at Kengō's door, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
Takekawa let out a loud, hearty laugh. Raising a brow, he turned to Yōgan and said:
"What do you think, Captain Yōgan? Pretty damn united, aren't we?"
Yōgan could feel the sweat pooling beneath his mask, but he managed to reply:
"The Explosion Release Unit lives up to its name. Since everyone's ready, let's move out."
...
As Yōgan led the Explosion Release Unit to the battlefield, both Sunagakure and Konohagakure were already in motion.
After receiving Ōnoki's letter, the Third Kazekage, Ryūnosuke, didn't hesitate to respond. Suna's situation was arguably even worse than Iwa's—the Wind Daimyō had only allocated a fixed budget at the start of the war.
And he'd made it clear: "This is all you get. Ask for more, and you might as well ask for my life."
Ryūnosuke's only real leverage for allying with Iwagakure came from the resources and groundwork his master, the Second Kazekage Shamon, had accumulated over the years.
He was even more reluctant than Ōnoki to engage in a war of attrition. So when he learned that Ōnoki was ready to act, he eagerly agreed. Suna began dispatching a large number of shinobi to the front, preparing to coordinate with Iwa for a two-pronged attack on Konoha.
But all these subtle movements hadn't escaped the watchful eyes of Danzo's spies.
While Danzo was certainly a troublesome figure in Konoha's internal affairs, when it came to external threats, his intelligence network was formidable.
Despite multiple rounds of personnel changes and political purges, some of his spies had survived and managed to get intel back to Konoha.
Thanks to those reports, the Konoha quickly deduced the impending joint action between the two great villages.
Konoha, of course, would not sit back and wait
With confirmation that the burrowing unit had been wiped out, Konoha seized the opportunity to transport large amounts of supplies to the front.
Their alliance with Amegakure remained strong. With the delivery of food, Hanzo the of Salamander was finally in a stable position. He led a fifty-man team to the Suna front, ready to confront Chiyo directly.
Tsunade, who had been training medical ninja outside, also returned to her post in time
Jiraiya, who was currently mentoring Nagato and the others, also received the intelligence. He made it clear: when the full-scale war began, he would appear on the battlefield without fail.
At this point, it was almost certain:
The great war was about to erupt.