Mist and Sand joining forces?
Kitsuchi and Darui's eyes both flickered slightly when they heard Maki's words—especially after seeing that Ao's expression didn't change at all.
If the Mist really had joined hands with the Sand, then the thing they'd been worrying about might actually be easier to handle.
The reason the four of them were meeting here alone, away from their armies, was simple: none of them trusted the other villages and all of them wanted a clearer picture of the current situation.
"You two should already understand the situation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"From the First Shinobi World War up until now, every village has basically fought alone. Even when they 'join forces', it's only ever temporary."
"But what we have right now might be the one and only chance to completely crush Konoha—to erase it from the map of the shinobi world."
Ao's face was utterly serious. He paused for a moment, taking in the thoughtful looks on the others' faces, then a faint smile flashed in his eyes.
After waiting a bit, once he felt that his words had sunk in enough, Ao spoke again:
"If the four great hidden villages combine their strength and truly manage to destroy Konoha in one stroke, then the vast territory of the Land of Fire will be completely opened up to us four."
"Unlike Konoha, which sits right in the middle, there aren't any deep grudges between our four villages at the core. We can split Konoha evenly among us."
Hearing Ao's voice, both Kitsuchi and Darui straightened, a spark in their eyes.
They instantly painted their own mental pictures of the future from what Ao had said.
Just as he claimed, the benefits that would come from wiping out Konoha far exceeded anything any village had ever imagined.
With a territory as enormous as the Land of Fire, even if all four villages spent it together, it would still take many long years to fully consume.
Until the four great villages had completely digested the Land of Fire, there would be almost no room for another war to break out.
The payoff here was too huge. Even those without any head for economics could see that a four-village joint strike on Konoha was the smartest move.
As for the idea of taking it all alone?
Not even worth thinking about. No single village had the ability to swallow that whole.
Off to the side, Maki's breathing had already grown heavy. Of the four villages, the one most eager for this plan to succeed was undoubtedly the Sand.
Compared to the rest, the Sand could practically be described as poor. They didn't need an even split—just biting off one solid chunk of Konoha would be enough to feed them for a long time to come.
Seeing that Kitsuchi of the Stone and Darui of the Cloud were both tempted, but still looked a bit hesitant, Ao's smile deepened.
"Since both of your armies have brought jinchuriki (Tailed Beast hosts) with them, I think it's safe to say your Kage are thinking along the same lines."
As soon as he said that, Kitsuchi and Darui couldn't help looking at each other again before quickly turning away.
"Our Tsuchikage-sama said this: the head of the Kinoshita Clan, Kinoshita Jiro, was killed by Konoha's people. So, of course, we Stone are here to help the Mist get justice."
Kitsuchi declared, sounding very earnest.
Darui shot him a disdainful glance, then turned his eyes to Ao and gave a single, calm word:
"Fine."
With that, he turned and headed back toward the Cloud division.
Feeling that contemptuous look, Kitsuchi's cheeks burned slightly. He quickly hurried back to the Stone division as well.
Even he felt embarrassed saying that line… but there wasn't much he could do. Those were the exact words his old man Ohnoki told him to use.
As for how they'd actually divide Konoha and who got what—none of the four of them so much as mentioned it.
Bringing that up now would do nothing but prove to everyone else how stupid you were.
Watching the two men walk away, Maki raised a brow and said quietly:
"Looks like the two of them need to report all this back to their villages."
Ao gave a faint, knowing smile.
"Of course. Most of their spies in Konoha were wiped out already. Getting intel on what's really happening out here is one of their main objectives."
"But now that this is settled, you Sand had better get ready too. When the dust settles, the village that inflicts the heaviest losses on Konoha is probably going to see the biggest reward."
Ao turned and headed back toward the Mist division, tossing that "kind" reminder over his shoulder.
Maki's eyes flickered as Ao's silhouette faded into the distance. Then, with a few swift jumps, he vanished from sight as well.
Elsewhere, once Kitsuchi and Darui returned to their respective forces, they immediately used Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to send detailed reports of everything that had just happened back to their villages.
It wasn't long before the technique's chakra ripples stirred again, and almost simultaneously, both of them received their replies from home—
Joint assault on Konoha!
Standing at the head of the Stone division, Kitsuchi stared toward Konoha, his gaze turning icy.
"Prepare to attack Konoha!"
Over in the Cloud division, Darui stared at the orders in his hand and gave a helpless shrug.
"Darui, are we really going to attack Konoha?"
Bee walked up beside him, an uneasy expression on his face.
"Bee, I know what you're thinking," Darui said softly. "But there's no such thing as 'personal will' between hidden villages."
"Raikage-sama gave his word. Unless something truly extreme happens, he won't make you fight."
Darui let out a quiet sigh, then walked to the very front of the Cloud division. Feeling hundreds of eyes on him, he pulled a troubled face and spoke evenly:
"Prepare to attack Konoha."
On Isobu's head—
Yuto watched as more and more cracks spread across Konoha's barrier, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Minato's Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) repurposed into a barrier really was a powerful defense. But every barrier had its limits.
After tanking three consecutive Bijuu Dama (Tailed Beast Bombs), this barrier had already held up admirably.
Unfortunately, Yuto doubted it could withstand another.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind brushed past Yuto's ear.
Ao appeared beside him, dropping to one knee with a respectful look on his face.
"How did it go?"
Yuto turned to him, sounding mildly curious.
"Pretty much exactly like you predicted. The only surprise is that both the Cloud and the Stone brought their jinchuriki (Tailed Beast hosts) along."
Ao replied quietly, still respectfully.
"So they both brought jinchuriki, huh? Seems this generation's Raikage and Tsuchikage have more backbone than I gave them credit for."
Yuto couldn't help but laugh, looking utterly unconcerned.
To him, it didn't matter if he had to "share" Konoha, or even hand its entire territory to the other three villages.
His goal was to unify the entire shinobi world. In the end, no matter whose land it was now, it would all be his.
And if two jinchuriki had come straight to him, that just saved him the trouble of hunting down their Tailed Beasts later.
"Konoha, Konoha… with four villages and the power of five Tailed Beasts all gathered here, I wonder if you can possibly endure it."
A bright smile spread across Yuto's face as he looked toward Konoha.
More precisely, his gaze rested on the distant stone faces carved into the cliff, and on one in particular—the enormous visage of Hashirama on the Hokage Rock.
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