North Sea Area of the Land of Earth.
The offensive from the Hidden Cloud was unusually fierce. At the very beginning of the war, they captured several islands in the northern sea area of the Land of Earth in one fell swoop. Using these islands as temporary bases, they continued to harass and attack the borders of the Land of Earth.
The battle with the Hidden Cloud had lasted for several months. Under the leadership of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, the side of Hidden Rock only assumed a defensive posture to withstand the attacks from the Hidden Cloud.
After all, engaging in combat with the Hidden Cloud in the sea area was highly disadvantageous to Hidden Rock.
Due to the unique style of the Hidden Rock Village, the ninjas in the village primarily focused on practicing Earth Style Ninjutsu. By leveraging the advantage of the earthly terrain, there have been many instances in past Ninja Realm Wars where they achieved victory against the odds. However, once they lose the advantage of standing on solid ground, the superiority of Earth Style plummets, severely diminishing the strength of the Hidden Rock Ninja.
Coupled with the fact that Lightning Style counters Earth Style, facing the Hidden Cloud Ninja head-on would undoubtedly trap Hidden Rock in a quagmire, leaving them in a dilemma.
Considering this, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, did not advocate proactively attacking the Hidden Cloud. Instead, he ordered the Jonin and Chunin of Hidden Rock who were skilled in Earth Style to build fortresses using Earth Style Ninjutsu along the northern coastline, focusing on repelling the Hidden Cloud Ninja with widespread Earth Style attacks.
In this situation, Hidden Rock was unable to immediately end the battle here, and likewise, the main force of the Hidden Cloud could not invade the territory of the Land of Earth.
Inside the Hidden Rock's camp.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat inside the largest tent, with a letter sent by the Hidden Cloud placed in front of him.
Onoki picked up this letter, pondered for a moment, and said to the Hidden Rock Jonin sitting around the conference table, "The Hidden Cloud wants to negotiate and hopes that we can return the body of the Third Raikage and the Six Paths Ninja Tools, after which they will immediately end their entanglement with us, Hidden Rock."
"However, putting aside the fact that we haven't fully uncovered the secrets of the Third Raikage's body, and when we initially obtained the Third Raikage's body, we didn't find this so-called Six Paths Ninja Tools at all."
A Jonin from Hidden Rock spoke up.
His words elicited agreement from the others, and another Jonin said, "Indeed. When we besieged the Third Raikage, we only obtained his body and did not see any Six Paths Ninja Tools. Moreover, just besieging the Third Raikage cost us an extremely heavy price, how can it be brushed over with a few light words?"
"Exactly, wanting to gain something for nothing isn't that easy. Others may fear the Hidden Cloud, but we, Hidden Rock, are not afraid of stirring things up. If they want to take back the body of the Third Raikage, they must follow our rules and offer compensation and an apology. After all, the root of this issue lies in their provocation."
If merely offering the concession of stopping the war is meant to retrieve the Third Raikage's body, then this kind of concession would undoubtedly add the label of 'cowardice and fear of trouble' to Hidden Rock in the eyes of outsiders.
Not only that, the substantial resources and ninjas lost by Hidden Rock in this war also require a reasonable explanation from the Hidden Cloud side.
If they cannot provide a satisfactory answer, the body of the Third Raikage will never be returned.
The losses suffered by Hidden Rock will be compensated by exploiting the body of the Third Raikage.
After all, it is the body of one of the Five Kage, the Raikage, from which many secrets can be deciphered, especially since the body of the Third Raikage remained intact when he died, making this body even more valuable.
"Although stopping the war with the Hidden Cloud is also my intention. However, covering up their own mistakes so lightly really shows they do not regard us, Hidden Rock, seriously."
Onoki snorted lightly.
Although ending the war with the Hidden Cloud now is a good thing, the Hidden Cloud's letter does not mention compensation at all, instead choosing to obscure the seriousness, covering up their despicable invasion actions, which filled Onoki's heart with rage.
The military power of the Hidden Cloud has always been among the foremost of the Five Great Nations, second only to the strongest Konoha Village. Yet, attempting to force Hidden Rock to make concessions sacrificing their own interests is still far from qualified.
"However, in this way, we are unable to participate in the battlefield on the side of the Land of Rain. I fear that the Hidden Sand will find it hard to manage on their own there."
A Jonin from Hidden Rock said.
Currently, Hidden Rock has formed an alliance with Hidden Sand, and if Hidden Sand could invade the Land of Fire this March, the situation on the battlefield of the Land of Grass would also undergo significant change.
The Konoha's Jiraiya squad would have to retreat back to the Land of Fire. If they don't retreat, they will face a two-front attack from Hidden Rock and Hidden Sand, leading to the complete annihilation of the Konoha Squad in the Land of Grass.
Retreating back to the Land of Fire would mean opening the gates of the Land of Fire to Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock, letting Hidden Sand and them achieve their ultimate strategic goal for launching this war.
However, the Hidden Cloud remains vigilant in the northern sea area of the Land of Earth, forcing Hidden Rock to divide their main forces into two parts, one part to fight against Konoha Ninja, and another to pin down the Hidden Cloud's forces. Otherwise, not only would the strategic goal of invading the Land of Fire be unattainable, but their own territory would also be trampled and ravaged by foreign ninjas, creating a severely disadvantageous situation for Hidden Rock.
"There's nothing we can do about it. We are currently being pinned down by the Hidden Cloud here. And that Hanzou seems to be planning to lead Hidden Rain to wage war against Hidden Sand. The situation on the battlefield is truly ever-changing."
"The other members of Hidden Rain are not worrisome; Hanzou is the real threat to the situation in the Land of Rain. What on earth is Chiyo of the Hidden Sand doing? Wasn't everything properly arranged? At this time, bringing Hanzou into the picture has completely disrupted the original plan from being smoothly carried out!"