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Shikaku was a man of action. The tasks Kazuki assigned soon began to be executed.
'Is the village planning some major operation?'
Upon receiving notification, members of various clans realized the village might be gearing up for something big.
Requesting elite forces from each clan was enough to confirm their suspicions.
A little inter-clan communication would solidify that conclusion.
Some were more impatient than others.
Take Fugaku and Hiashi, for example.
Nowadays, the Uchiha and Hyūga clans were drawing closer. Whenever important matters arose, Fugaku and Hiashi would sit down together to discuss them, maybe over some tea.
Given that both were clan leaders and both enjoyed tea, it was hard for them not to spend hours together.
"How many will the Hyūga clan dispatch?"
"Probably... everyone?"
Hiashi paused briefly before continuing his tea.
Fugaku looked up in surprise.
Because the Uchiha were in much the same situation.
In today's Konoha, apart from the Sarutobi, who remained aloof and shamelessly clung to their "civilian clan" label, the Uchiha and Hyūga were the strongest.
The Hyūga clan sending almost all their elites—that's a significant move.
Before Hiashi could speak, Fugaku volunteered.
"The Uchiha are in a similar situation. Looks like our Lord Advisor is planning something big."
Hiashi slowly nodded.
Fugaku, long accustomed to interacting with Hiashi, continued.
"What's rare is that your Hyūga clan is even sending out all the Main House members."
In the past, no matter how big the incident, even if fire was licking at their eyebrows, Main House members rarely deployed.
This time, not just the Main House, but even those Main House elders—and the clan leader himself—weren't spared.
They were all included.
Though said in jest, the words had a slight sting. Hiashi replied flatly.
"The Uchiha aren't sending everyone out? If the Uchiha can do it, why can't the Hyūga? I don't believe the Advisor would send members of our two clans to die."
"True enough."
Dropping the topic, the two men focused on their tea ceremony. If Kazuki were sitting here, he'd surely be bored to sleep.
Having so many rules just for a cup of tea, going back and forth—he couldn't handle it. Too tedious.
Konoha began its mobilization.
Meanwhile, news that would shake the shinobi world spread.
Kumogakure officially issued a proclamation: In light of Iwagakure's violation of the Five Great Shinobi Villages' agreement, their shameless launch of war against the Land of Waterfalls, causing severe losses to Takigakure and turning the entire Land of Waterfalls into a battlefield...
And their wanton slaughter of Kumogakure ninja dispatched to the Land of Waterfalls battlefield to assist Takigakure... Kumogakure hereby formally declares war on Iwagakure.
They will fully intervene in the Land of Waterfalls conflict.
Kumogakure's declaration of war pushed the shinobi world conflict to a climax.
Compared to Kumogakure and Iwagakure, the sluggish war pace between Kirigakure and Sunagakure was insignificant.
At this point, everyone realized the shinobi world was about to descend into chaos.
If the war between Kirigakure and Sunagakure had some impact on the shinobi world, then Kumogakure's declaration of war on Iwagakure and full-scale intervention would drag the entire shinobi world into the fray.
Faced with Kumogakure's accusations, would Iwagakure retaliate?
And would Konoha take any action?
These were the focal points of everyone's attention.
Yet Konoha remained as before, acting like an outsider, giving the impression they weren't getting involved.
As for Iwagakure, they didn't bother refuting Kumogakure's accusations. Instead, they demonstrated their stance through action:
You want to fight? Then let's fight!!
By recklessly launching war against the Land of Waterfalls to shift their village's internal conflicts, Iwagakure was already on shaky ground. They were in the wrong.
At times like this, whatever they said, no one would believe them.
Since no one would believe them, why say anything?
Just fight. Did they really think Iwagakure was afraid?
With Kumogakure's declaration of war, large numbers of Kumogakure ninja poured into the Land of Waterfalls battlefield. Many teams also infiltrated via sea to cause havoc in Iwagakure's rear.
In terms of naval power among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kirigakure, with its sea-oriented development, could compare with Kumogakure. Kumogakure certainly wouldn't give up its advantages.
They'd fight on the main battlefield while also leveraging their naval strength.
Sending people to infiltrate the Land of Earth, causing trouble everywhere—making Iwagakure run around putting out fires, exhausting them.
The war machines of Iwagakure and Kumogakure had been set in motion.
Iwagakure was much quieter than before. The destruction caused by the Four-Tails incident hadn't even been fully repaired.
In the short term, Iwagakure didn't have much time to worry about that.
In the newly rebuilt Tsuchikage's administrative building, Ōnoki sat in his office, staring at a map, deep in thought.
Ōnoki had long prepared for Kumogakure's intervention in the war.
Frankly, if not for resource scarcity, Iwagakure truly wouldn't fear a real, no-holds-barred fight with Kumogakure.
Given Kumogakure's tendency to meddle everywhere and hold grudges, Iwagakure's attack on the Land of Waterfalls meant Kumogakure couldn't just sit idly by.
Especially since A wanted revenge.
Kumogakure's full-scale intervention actually relieved Ōnoki.
No more guessing whether the enemy would declare war or launch a full-scale attack. Just concentrate forces and fight.
The only thing making Ōnoki uneasy was Konoha.
Kumogakure had entered the fray—what about Konoha?
Although Konoha had no precedent of proactively declaring war on other major villages and attacking first.
But the current Konoha was a different beast from the old Konoha.
The old Konoha sought stable development and peace in the shinobi world. The current Konoha had merely sheathed its fangs.
Fangs sheathed could be bared easily—just open its mouth, ready to pounce and bite at any moment.
Kumogakure had a grudge against Iwagakure. Konoha also had a grudge against Iwagakure.
Dispatch a ninja force to guard against Konoha?
Ōnoki pondered this question.
Now that Iwagakure had committed significant forces to the Land of Waterfalls battlefield, they certainly needed to station a certain number of troops on the border to guard against possible Konoha attacks. Defenses couldn't be neglected.
The question was, how many were appropriate?
Too few wouldn't stop the enemy.
Too many would affect the situation on the Land of Waterfalls battlefield.
Iwagakure had never been a village known for individual strength. Their village relied on vast numbers of ninja and various combined Earth Release tactics.
Even cannon fodder, when united on the battlefield, could make the enemy suffer.
The trouble was, Kumogakure countered Iwagakure more than other villages.
Kumogakure had too many ninja skilled in Lightning Release.
"Deploy an additional five hundred ninja to the border to guard against possible surprise attacks from Konoha."
Ōnoki didn't want to be a gentleman; he preferred to be a cautious schemer.
He'd rather assume the worst and believe Konoha would launch an attack.
Couldn't afford to be careless.
Deploying an additional five hundred ninja to garrison the border camp was Ōnoki's final decision.
The Land of Waterfalls battlefield grew increasingly intense, the situation there far more urgent than in the Land of Wind. The reinforcements for the border camp arrived quickly.