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In the current state of the ninja world, a single spark could start a prairie fire.
Dodai certainly had faith in the Raikage and the Hidden Cloud's strength, but he knew that even the Hidden Leaf—powerful as it was in its prime—struggled when besieged by multiple villages. The Hidden Cloud was in an even more precarious position; they could handle a one-on-one fight without fear, but if they had to face two or more enemies at once, they couldn't afford to be reckless.
"It doesn't matter. Applying pressure is just another way to gather intel and gauge the situation. You know how the Leaf is, Dodai, don't you?"
The Raikage, A, clenched his fists tight, his expression radiating pure aggression.
"Ever since the Second Hokage kicked the bucket, that village lost its backbone. They have the strength but lack the guts to use it. Do you remember the Hyuga Incident years ago? We can use this exact moment to test the Leaf again, and test the other villages while we're at it. If it really wasn't the Leaf, those other cockroaches will surely jump out. And when they do, I will make those bastards understand what a living hell feels like!"
"Yes, I will follow your command, Lord Raikage!"
Dodai thought it over for a moment before nodding slowly in agreement.
It was a bit of a gamble, but since their target was the Leaf, it was worth a shot. It wasn't like they were trying to pressure that stubborn old mule, Ohnoki.
If they were dealing with the Hidden Stone, the Cloud would have just prepped for war immediately without bothering with these probing tactics.
But the Leaf was different; even if they weren't the culprits, the Cloud might still squeeze a hefty payout out of them!
The only variable was how the Leaf would decide to respond.
Princess Tsunade had only been the Fifth Hokage for a little over six months, and her specific leadership style was still something of a mystery.
So, this incident was indeed an opportunity to find out.
With the order given, the entire Hidden Cloud Village sprang into action.
As a village that loved to flex its muscles and solve problems with violence, every diplomatic move by the Cloud was inevitably accompanied by a military deployment. It was practically their standard operating procedure.
Unlike other villages that would at least start with polite diplomatic talks, the Cloud's stance was almost always: "Give me a good explanation, or I'll come take it myself."
While Dodai arranged for personnel to travel to the Leaf to apply pressure, he also followed the Raikage's orders to deploy Cloud troops to the border between the two countries.
The Cloud was incredibly practiced at this routine, especially in the dozen years since the Fourth Raikage took power. They pulled a stunt like this every so often, and the village had developed a very efficient system for it.
Almost all the Cloud ninja were used to their leader's aggressive style.
The Cloud moved fast.
They sent a message to the Hidden Leaf that was less of a notification and more of a threatening diplomatic declaration.
Almost simultaneously, the Leaf received the news.
"What!? That Raikage is accusing us of slaughtering an entire squad of Cloud ninja? He wants us to hand over the bodies and the killer!? Is he out of his mind!?"
In the Land of Fire, inside the Hidden Leaf Village.
In the Hokage's office.
After hearing Shikaku's report, Tsunade shot up from her chair.
She shouted the question, her face a mix of confusion and fury.
"If we don't hand them over, it means war!? That bastard is threatening us, isn't he!?"
The most important part was the language in that notice.
Anyone with a functioning brain could hear the naked threat dripping from those words.
Especially when paired with the intel about Cloud ninja movements just detected at the border.
The intention was as plain as day.
How could Tsunade not be angry? Did they think the Leaf was made of play-doh? That they could threaten and bully them however they pleased!?
Just a couple of days ago, she had been blocked at every turn by Danzo during a high-level meeting, and her anger from that hadn't even subsided yet. Now this!?
"That is the Fourth Raikage's style, Lady Fifth. And judging by the Cloud's posture, even if it's just a symbolic move, we can't ignore it. If talks collapse, there's a high probability of a direct clash on the northern border."
Shikaku sighed softly as he spoke.
Logically speaking, a village and a Kage should always act rationally. But with this Fourth Raikage, it was hard for Shikaku to make predictions because the man's track record was just too classic.
Never mind the current situation.
Even in a different scenario where Shikaku might be 99% sure the opponent wouldn't attack, that 1% chance—combined with a loose cannon like the Fourth Raikage—was enough to make Shikaku hesitate.
The guy acted like a total war hawk.
Even if there was a good chance it was an act, Shikaku, as a strategist, couldn't treat the safety of the village lightly when war was on the table. Everything depended on how the village leader chose to act.
In the past, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Now, it was Tsunade.
Bang!
"If he wants a clash, let him come! Does he think I'm scared of the Hidden Cloud!?"
Tsunade slammed her hand down on the desk hard, speaking with a ferocious tone.
As one of the few famous female ninja in the world, and currently the only female Kage among the Five Great Villages, Tsunade had a fiery temper.
Threats!?
That was the one thing Tsunade absolutely didn't tolerate.
While she could be by-the-book in some areas and generally wouldn't start a war lightly—enduring risks she could avoid—that didn't mean she would back down or tolerate everything.
At the very least, compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade had some fire in her.
Her decisiveness and guts were definitely stronger than Hiruzen's.
A clear proof of this was in the original timeline, where she was willing to trust Jiraiya to take Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, away from the village for a long time.
Everything is relative.
In this regard, Tsunade was stronger than Hiruzen.
The Fourth Raikage's threat had successfully enraged her 100%.
"Shikaku, issue the order immediately. Put the frontline troops on Level 1 Combat Readiness. Mobilize the reserve units to follow up and secure the border defenses first!"
Tsunade snorted coldly and issued the command directly.
"Of course, make sure to instruct them: absolutely do not strike first. Also, for the team leader... let 'Suzaku' take charge!"