Not long after, Yoru returned to the left-wing camp.
He quickly noticed that not only did the Konoha shinobi look at him with even greater admiration, but Tsunade's gaze toward him had also changed slightly.
Whenever her beautiful eyes swept over him, Yoru would unconsciously straighten his chest, a hint of pride appearing on his face.
This slightly playful behavior didn't disappoint Tsunade—instead, it made Yoru seem more real to her.
After asking about the progress of the plan against Sunagakure and learning that the Sand shinobi had already launched an attack on the Rain Village, Yoru didn't relax. Instead, he sent a high-priority report to Senju Senra, requesting that the two thousand reserve troops be ready for immediate deployment.
Yoru had a feeling—
The final battle was near.
Under Hanzo's orders, the Rain Village immediately sent envoys to Sunagakure.
When the Sand shinobi saw the Rain envoy, Chiyo—who was acting as frontline commander—almost ordered him to be boiled alive and fed to dogs.
Fortunately, Ebizo strongly intervened, allowing the envoy a chance to speak.
That was way too close! The Rain envoy roared internally, drenched in cold sweat.
Even so, he was terrified.
After explaining that the Rain Village had never attacked Sunagakure and that everything was a scheme by Konoha, the envoy nervously looked at the commanders before him.
"Elder sister, if you think about it carefully, there are indeed many suspicious points in this matter," Ebizo said slowly after a moment of thought.
It was strange—after the attack, they hadn't found a single enemy corpse.
The Rain headbands and weapons marked with the Land of Rain's insignia seemed more like something deliberately planted for them to find.
After hearing Ebizo's analysis, Chiyo flew into a rage.
"Those cunning Konoha bastards!"
She gritted her teeth. She already had little goodwill toward Konoha, and this incident made her feel completely manipulated.
"I will recommend to the village that we launch an attack on Konoha to avenge our fallen shinobi!"
The Rain envoy's face lit up with joy.
"Elder sister… that may not be possible."
Ebizo sighed bitterly.
"We've just received urgent news. A super-grade sandstorm has struck the Land of Wind. We must return to the village immediately."
The Land of Wind was mostly desert—and what was the most terrifying thing in a desert?
A sandstorm.
Every time a massive sandstorm occurred, the damage was catastrophic.
Even shinobi were powerless before nature's fury. They had to expend massive amounts of chakra to mitigate the disaster, often suffering heavy losses.
But what troubled Sunagakure even more was that whenever a super-grade sandstorm appeared—
Their Tailed Beast, the One-Tail Shukaku, would become restless.
As a creature formed from sand infused with otherworldly power, Shukaku was highly sensitive to such disturbances.
And at such times, Sunagakure's defenses over it were at their weakest.
For a being that constantly sought freedom—
This was the perfect opportunity.
Chiyo's expression changed drastically.
Every super-grade sandstorm was a disaster for Sunagakure.
"Damn it!"
She was unwilling to accept it. After being played by Konoha like this, she couldn't even retaliate.
"Elder sister!"
Ebizo's voice grew firm.
"The village comes first!"
No matter how unwilling she was, Chiyo had no choice but to agree.
After briefly explaining the situation to the Rain envoy, she had him escorted out.
She had no goodwill toward the Rain Village either.
As for Iwagakure, they had initially planned to take advantage of the chaos between Konoha and Sunagakure to reap the benefits.
But they too encountered trouble—
Kumogakure had begun to stir.
If Konoha and Sunagakure were mortal enemies, then Iwagakure's greatest rival was undoubtedly Kumogakure.
Earth Release was naturally countered by Lightning Release.
And the shinobi of Kumogakure—those muscle-brained brutes—were instinctively at odds with Iwagakure.
Both villages prided themselves on strength and toughness.
Kumogakure sneered at Iwagakure.
"What kind of men are you?"
"Do you have bodies like ours? Muscles like ours?"
"Using that pathetic Earth Release—how is that manly compared to our Lightning Release?"
So whenever Iwagakure made a move—
Kumogakure would interfere.
Upon hearing that Kumogakure was becoming restless, Ōnoki's face turned dark, his red nose seeming even redder.
But there was nothing he could do.
While Kumogakure might not be the most strategic, their Lightning Release—
Was undeniably the strongest in the shinobi world.
In the end, Iwagakure had no choice but to withdraw the troops they had prepared to send into the Rain Country and instead fortify their borders to guard against a possible Kumogakure invasion.
And just like that—
The once chaotic battlefield of the Rain Country suddenly fell into an eerie calm.
Only Konoha and the Rain Village remained—
Preparing for the final showdown.
Rain Village.
Hanzo's face was grim.
He felt no joy at the "good news" that Sunagakure and Iwagakure had withdrawn.
On the surface, it seemed favorable.
But in reality—
It was a disaster.
The only reason Konoha had deployed just six thousand troops on the front lines was because they had to guard against Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Now that those two threats were gone—
Konoha could continuously send reinforcements into the Rain battlefield.
Even half of Konoha's full strength—
Was more than enough to crush a small village like the Rain.
Qiping Zhizi stood below, but even he had no solution.
Schemes and strategies only worked when both sides were evenly matched.
If the enemy could simply overwhelm you head-on—
All your plans would be nothing more than a joke.
Hanzo's expression darkened further.
He could already sense it—
The Rain Village was going to lose this war.
But there was no turning back.
The arrow was already on the string.
He had no choice but to go all out and fight Konoha in a decisive battle.
At the very least—
They needed to achieve some results.
Only then could they minimize their losses in the negotiations that would follow.
And if that still wasn't enough…
Hanzo's eyes flickered.
Then he would have to personally take action.
The so-called Demigod Hanzo—
Would show Konoha his true power.
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