After a long pause, Onoki finally rang the bell on his desk, summoning an Iwagakure Anbu ninja.
"Honorable Tsuchikage."
An Iwagakure Anbu ninja immediately appeared with Body Flicker, kneeling on one knee before Onoki.
Unlike Konoha's Anbu, which had become a mixed bag full of privileged brats with no real merit, Iwagakure's Anbu strictly followed the original principles established by Tobirama Senju when he first created the Anbu system. They emphasized loyalty and reliability, prioritizing secrecy and efficiency over individual combat strength.
Precisely because of this, Iwagakure's Anbu had never been particularly conspicuous, yet their achievements in intelligence gathering were just as effective as Konoha's much larger Anbu force.
This time, Onoki needed to mobilize these most loyal subordinates once again to carry out secret operations for both himself and the village.
"You go contact those underground ninjas through the black market. Try your best to recruit anyone worth hiring."
Onoki quickly brushed a bunch of names onto a scroll and handed it to this Iwa Anbu ninja, adding firmly, "Don't worry about whether they're loyal or where they come from—even rogue ninjas from our own village, as long as we can hire them to fight for us and they won't violate the mission contract terms, nothing else matters!"
"Understood."
These words made the Iwagakure Anbu hesitate momentarily, but still, he said nothing, respectfully accepting the list scroll with both hands.
"Also, don't deliberately bargain down prices. If their abilities are sufficient, we can increase the black-market hiring rate by two-tenths. But they must complete assembly quickly and be ready for our use!"
Still somewhat concerned, Onoki added another instruction.
"At once!"
Understanding the urgency, the Iwa Anbu responded solemnly before vanishing in a puff of smoke with Body Flicker.
"I hope those guys actually prove useful…"
The Tsuchikage's office fell silent again, Onoki's whisper laced with helpless sorrow. As leader of a village, being forced into backroom dealings—resorting to recruiting shadow-dwelling shinobi through black markets to protect village interests—was undeniably a heartbreaking reality.
But Onoki had no choice. Who could have predicted that Iwagakure, once feared across the ninja world for its sheer numbers, would end up in such dire straits?
After a moment of melancholy, Onoki quickly gathered his spirits, picking up his brush and furiously writing orders—assigning specific tasks to Iwagakure Jonin based on his understanding of each one's capabilities, deciding who would march off to war and who should remain behind guarding the village.
Hyuga Soushu's plan to expand his territory had triggered the village's strongest backlash.
After learning about the content of the clan representative meeting, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi issued thirteen decrees within a single day—an unprecedented number—with strict demands that Hyuga Soushu absolutely must not continue expanding the scope of conflict, especially forbidding further expansion toward regions like the Land of Waterfall and the Land of Rain.
Meanwhile, Sakumo Hatake had also sent a private letter, subtly urging Hyuga Soushu not to push further at this fragile moment when peace seemed within reach—lest it spark an even greater crisis.
In addition, Sakumo Hatake mentioned a piece of intelligence regarding Sunagakure—that the moment Iwagakure suffered another defeat and was completely wiped out by Konoha, the Kazekage had already issued mobilization orders across his village, preparing for a confrontation with Bird Country. Under these circumstances, the most appropriate course of action would be to ease tensions appropriately, allowing Iwa the freedom to deal with their deadly enemy, the Sand ninja, in an all-out brawl.
Hyuga Soushu accepted both men's requests and suggestions. However, due to differing degrees of closeness, he chose to publicly circulate among all Jonin the thirteen decrees personally issued by Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, while directly choosing to withhold Sakumo Hatake's secret message.
"How could such utterly foolish words actually—"
The Jonin from various ninja clans, reunited once again and having just read through the content of the decrees, exploded into outrage—one short-tempered clan Jonin immediately jumped up cursing loudly, but under the piercing gaze from Sarutobi's own Jonin, he could only sit back down grudgingly.
"If Hokage-sama has made such demands, then our operations in the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfall will temporarily halt for now."
Hyūga Soushu appeared very magnanimous, even expressing a slight sense of regret: "It's such a shame—so many powerful ninja clans forced to divide up limited territory and rewards within the small expanse of Herb Country."
"And we still have to hand over forty percent to the village!"
A Jonin muttered softly from within the crowd.
Not loud, but everyone heard it loud and clear.
As a result, the expressions on the faces of the clan Jonin worsened further.
They or their clans might not have fully bought into Hyuga Soushu's joint-operation proposal, but they sure as hell liked the idea of expanding.
After all, uniting Konoha's ninja clans—with two prestigious houses like the Hyuga and Uchiha leading the charge—even if Hanzō remained a poor thorn in their side in the Land of Rain, capturing the rich prize that was the Land of Waterfall should have been no issue at all.
But now, thanks to the Hokage's decree, all those dreams had gone up in smoke—and it tasted damn bitter.
It hadn't even been theirs yet, but seeing it slip away still hurt worse than if they'd never dreamed of it at all.
"General Soushu, will we continue advancing northward?"
Worried that the rising anger among the clan Jonin was turning even more against the Hokage's side, an Akimichi Jonin finally stepped forward reluctantly to interrupt the discussions.
"According to reliable intelligence, Iwagakure may plan to reinforce their border forces further. Relying solely on the border troops may prove insufficient for fulfilling your originally planned tactical objectives."
"When the law doesn't forbid something, then we're free to act! Besides, a field general doesn't take orders sitting down!"
Hyuga Soushu replied rather casually: "Moreover, since Iwagakure neither seeks death nor wishes to surrender, we must advance northward ourselves to resist their invasion!"
"But they haven't invaded yet,"
Spoke bluntly another simple-minded Akimichi Jonin.
"Our strategic core lies in proactive defense, gradually weakening Iwagakure's war capabilities. While future developments may force us to cross into the Land of Earth, such actions are purely temporary measures—a necessary response to the severe threat posed by Iwa."
Hyuga Soushu wore a look of self-righteous solemnity on his face. What he said was clearly shameless, but on the surface, it somehow made a bit of sense.
"We are Konoha ninja, the number one village in the Ninja World. Proactive defense is perfectly normal!"
Fugaku Uchiha wholeheartedly agreed and eagerly added further justification: "Since General Soushu has selflessly chosen not to strike against the Land of Waterfall and Land of Rain, we should instead shift our focus from small countries to powerful ones. It seems Iwagakure isn't so formidable after all!"
"That's right!"
"Well said!"
The Jonin from warlike ninja clans immediately voiced their approval. As for the Jonin aligned with the Hokage faction, although they didn't speak up, they remained silent, silently accepting Soushu's approach.
"Since everyone has no objections and our preparations have already been made, we'll break camp and march north in one hour!"
Soushu brought down the hammer with finality. The Jonin assembly gave a thunderous chorus of agreement.
When Third Tsuchikage Onoki personally led Iwagakure's reinforcement unit to the southeastern border of the Land of Earth, the special envoy of the Earth Daimyo had already arrived at the border city. Upon learning of Onoki's arrival, the daimyo's envoy immediately requested an audience, forcing Onoki to make time in his busy schedule to meet him.
"Honorable Tsuchikage! We must not allow this war to continue!"
The daimyo's envoy's very first words caused Onoki's expression to drastically darken.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Onoki asked with a darkened face, his voice heavy with implied threat: "Does the Daimyo doubt Iwagakure's capabilities?"
"It's not about doubting Iwagakure; it's simply unnecessary to wage such large-scale warfare over mere minor states—it's just not worth it."
Though clearly intimidated by Onoki's ominous demeanor, the envoy still stuck out his neck and continued: "Just consider how much the Daimyo has already invested in this war—yet these precious funds have yielded nothing satisfactory in return!"
"Boom!"
Onoki smashed the nearby table with a single palm strike, his narrow eyes locking onto the insolent envoy with deadly intensity: "What did you say?!"
"Honorable Tsuchikage, our nation is indeed experiencing hardship. The Daimyo sincerely hopes we can cease hostilities."
Startled and cowering like a cornered animal, the envoy ducked his head and hesitated before speaking: "Moreover, the Daimyo is deeply concerned about the current situation in the Land of Lightning, therefore..."
"Therefore what? Surrender? Or seek peace?!"
Onoki directly interrupted the envoy's words.
"Peace is valuable, but Iwagakure is even more precious."
Trying his best to remain humble while navigating around the furious Onoki, the envoy could only use circumlocution: "Sacrificing our invaluable Iwagakure in a war that gains us nothing would be too great a cost..."
"So what does the Daimyo intend to do then?"
Onoki coldly questioned.
"And how much military funding will be allocated?"
" Military budget? What military budget?! "
The daimyo's envoy turned pale with shock.
He hadn't mentioned anything about this!
In fact, the reason why the Earth Daimyo had sent this envoy was precisely because he refused to continue allocating special military funds. He hoped Onoki, known for his stubbornness and difficult personality, might show some flexibility. Yet why had the conversation suddenly turned toward military financing?
"The village has temporarily conscripted thousands of black market ninjas, and they shall fight for the Land of Earth!"
Onoki blurted out, "These people are expendable—no need for extra compensation even if they end up dead. Although the hiring cost is a bit high, it's still totally worth it; therefore, it's only reasonable that His Lordship should cover this expense!"
"Thousands of black market ninjas?"
The Daimyo's envoy felt his mind go blank, unsure of what to say.
Could the black market really mobilize thousands of underground ninja? Tell it to the ghosts!
Perhaps regular village ninja knew little about the underground black market, but the courtiers and nobles who routinely used it for dirty tasks knew all too well! The scattered and disorganized black market, filled with low-level operators, could never muster so many fighters!
Therefore, he instinctively dismissed Onoki's words as nothing more than another excuse to squeeze more cash out.
"Those black-market ninja care only about payment—they won't side with anyone for free. Regardless of whether we continue fighting Konoha or not, those promised payments can't be avoided!"
Onoki urged, "It's not that much money, just two hundred billion ryo! Hurry up and have the Daimyo send it over—and don't give me paper currency! The underground black market only accepts gold kan!"
"Two hundred... billion..."
The Daimyo's envoy was stunned again by Onoki's brazen demand!
Did he not know how the black market operated—whether they accepted paper money or not?
Onoki had one hell of an appetite! Even someone attempting to extort money under false pretenses wouldn't go this far!
Even after Kumo's defeat, the war reparations paid by the Lightning Daimyo hadn't exceeded that figure!
Besides, they had merely considered peace talks—where had this massive military budget suddenly come from? If the Earth Daimyo were willing to pay such an outrageous sum, it'd almost be better just to keep fighting!
"If we don't spend our treasury funds soon, they might end up becoming war reparations in the future!"
Onoki snapped irritably, "Go quickly and report to His Lordship—the decision to fight or negotiate is mine alone to make, and I assure you it won't spill onto our homeland!"
"But two hundred billion..."
Originally intending to persuade Onoki to retreat, the envoy now returned empty-handed, worse yet carrying a request for two hundred billion ryo. If he went back like this, there was no telling whether the Daimyo would actually provide the money—but one thing was certain: both he and his entire family would likely lose their heads!
For the ferocious Earth Daimyo, who had long struggled to rein in Onoki, the leader of Iwagakure, killing a mere Noble Envoy would be like swatting a fly!
"Go now!"
With furious eyes and a chakra-infused shout, Onoki made the envoy tremble, his mind going completely blank.
Once outside Onoki's command post, the cold wind snapped him back to reality. That's when the envoy muttered, "I..."
Getting out was the easy part—it was getting back in that turned into a nightmare.
Trying to return and negotiate further with Onoki, the envoy found himself blocked at the entrance by Iwagakure Anbu wearing grim expressions. No matter how loudly he shouted, his voice couldn't penetrate the soundproof barrier already set up, failing to reach the ninja inside the command post.
Only late at night, out of options, did the envoy begin his reluctant journey back, praying desperately that Onoki might show some mercy. Yet even as his carriage left the border city where Iwagakure had stationed its forces, he still hadn't heard that one longed-for sentence.
At this point, desperation gave birth to boldness within the daimyo's envoy. He immediately issued a direct order: "Make a detour! Turn around and head straight south!"
"But—"
His attendants froze in shock.
Heading south? Wouldn't that be walking straight into the lion's den—the territory controlled by Konoha ninja?
"Onoki dares not take action—I will!"
"Onoki refuses to seek peace—I will negotiate!"
"Whatever Iwa cannot accomplish, I shall accomplish!"
Cornered and desperate, the daimyo's envoy decided to throw all caution to the wind, completely bypassing Iwagakure's authority. With the appointment orders from the daimyo in hand serving as his authority, he was determined to act first, report later.
"If I return directly like this, there's absolutely no way I'll escape unscathed!"
Seeing how unwilling his subordinates looked, the envoy glared threateningly as he warned them, "If we return to the daimyo's court right now carrying such an embarrassing request, the young master certainly won't let me off easily!"
"As for the likes of you—tch!"
These two threatening sentences immediately frightened those household-born servants badly enough. The carriage quickly obeyed the command, turning around and detouring away from the territories occupied by Iwa's Ninja Force, taking the side roads toward the frontline confrontation at the southeastern border.
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