Takeshi and Pakura both knew that Sunagakure could not confront Iwagakure head-on.
In order to prevent Sunagakure from being quickly overrun, outside support was especially important at this moment.
By leveraging the good relationship recently established with the feudal lord, Pakura successfully secured a sum of military funds, which she directly deposited into an account within the Land of Fire.
Thus appeared the scene of Kakuzu leading his subordinates across the border.
Of course, they would never openly admit that they had hired the Integration Movement, the very organization that made nobles across the entire shinobi world tremble.
Twisting the necks of two Iwa shinobi, Kakuzu walked over with a dark expression toward the subordinate who had just thrown an explosive tag, and kicked him hard.
"Foolish idiot. Against opponents of this level, you actually need to use explosive tags?"
Only after kicking did Kakuzu feel a little better. He then turned around to loot the corpses of the Iwa shinobi.
"Captain..."
Sakuraen, who had been kicked flying earlier, struggled to get up, but with multiple fractures all over her body, it was impossible for her to move smoothly.
"Finish her off."
Kakuzu shot a cold glance at the subordinate who was also struggling to stand. The latter instinctively pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag, but then heard Kakuzu's icy voice.
"Use a cheaper method."
"Yes..."
The subordinate didn't dare to argue and hurriedly separated the explosive tag from the kunai.
With the Integration Movement's intervention, what should have been Iwagakure's overwhelming victory turned into an evenly matched battle between both sides.
"Those damned bastards, they actually hired outside reinforcements!"
Receiving the battle report, Ōnoki slammed it onto the desk furiously.
Yet, despite saying that, Ōnoki knew very well in his heart: in an era of military budget cuts, employing armed organizations to fight proxy wars was the most cost-effective strategy.
"It seems the newly appointed Kazekage isn't as reckless as the rumors claim. First, she deliberately endured, lulling us into carelessness, then launched a surprise attack to catch us off guard."
Ōnoki crossed his arms, analyzing Pakura's psychology to himself.
"So what should we do next?"
Kitsuchi, who had just finished leading the search for Rōshi, stood with a blank expression, his thoughts unreadable.
"Of course, we show Sunagakure with an overwhelming victory that in front of Iwagakure, they are nothing."
Ōnoki slammed his hand against the desk. Glancing at Akatsuchi, who was playing with Kurotsuchi behind Kitsuchi, a yellow figure flashed through his mind.
"Go call that brat out. Tell him he has a mission."
...
On a bright, sunny day, Sunagakure's leadership convened for a scheduled high-level meeting.
The small-scale clashes with Iwagakure had already lasted for a month. The elders, who originally held dissatisfaction toward Pakura and Chiyo, felt their resentment easing somewhat after seeing the results from the frontlines.
They were extremely curious as to where Pakura had hired such mysterious powerhouses. Judging from the battle records, among them was clearly someone no weaker than a Kage.
But rationality told them this was a question best left unasked.
Unlike the whispering elders, Pakura rested her chin in one hand, bored as she watched them discuss various matters, her thoughts drifting back to the time she had worked with Kakuzu.
Back then, all she had to do was cross names off the list Takeshi had given her — kill the targets. Unlike now, where every kill required careful thought about the consequences.
If not for Takeshi's plan, she would have already sent these treacherous elders one by one to the Pure Land.
Especially Chiyo. That old hag still dared to raise her voice at her. Once the plan was complete, Pakura swore she'd make her suffer.
"In that case, our negotiations with Konoha aren't that important anymore."
Chiyo, who had dealt with Ōnoki for countless years, knew his style very well.
In her view, once Ōnoki realized he could not gain any advantage from this conflict, he would soon withdraw Iwa's forces from the border.
After all, during the Third Shinobi World War, Iwagakure had bled endlessly in order to bring down the Third Raikage.
Across the shinobi world, no village dared to start a full-scale war again.
Except for the anomaly known as Konoha.
Chiyo suddenly recalled the era of the Fourth Hokage, when Konoha fought Kumogakure head-on.
"That's right. We can protect Sunagakure ourselves. Why would we need Konoha's shelter?"
Another elder spoke up in agreement. Konoha's attitude had been far too harsh — harsh enough to be intolerable.
Moreover, the treaty they proposed was too severe. If signed, Sunagakure would no longer be the Sunagakure of the Suna shinobi.
"But that doesn't mean we can afford to antagonize them either. We may be able to deal with Iwagakure, but not necessarily Konoha. At the end of the day—"
Ebizō had just started speaking when a series of explosions drowned out his voice.
"What's happening?"
Everyone present jolted in shock, quickly rising to look out the window.
Through the glass, the elders clearly saw parts of the village reduced to rubble, flames flickering among the ruins.
"Kazekage-sama! Something terrible has happened — unidentified individuals have invaded our skies and are dropping explosive materials from above!"
A Sunagakure shinobi rushed in, voice hoarse, reporting the situation.
Prompted by his words, the elders lifted their gaze higher, soon spotting a massive white dragon circling in the sky.
"What is that thing?"
Chiyo had never seen such an attack method before. She cast a questioning look toward her brother, Ebizō.
In the sky, Deidara stood atop the head of his C2 Dragon. Looking down at the Sunagakure shinobi who wanted to strike him but couldn't reach, his sense of triumph soared.
At this altitude, aside from that hateful old man, no shinobi could possibly touch him.
"The shinobi world these days really lacks beauty. Hm."
Gazing at the crude architecture of Sunagakure, Deidara's tone brimmed with disdain. He was about to show these Suna shinobi what true art really was.
In truth, he had wanted to test his art in Iwagakure itself. But before he could conduct enough experiments, Ōnoki had forcibly caught him and thrown him into a temple outside the village.
Reaching into his pouch, the mouths on Deidara's hands chomped eagerly at the white clay inside.
"Preparation complete. Hm."
With a grin spreading across his face, Deidara pulled his hand out and began tossing down a steady stream of small white spheres from the sky.
"What's that?"
The Sunagakure shinobi didn't know what Deidara was throwing, but after witnessing the earlier explosions, they instinctively hurled their own weapons toward the falling objects.
"Heh. That level won't stop me. Hm."
Deidara raised the dragon a few meters higher. Feeling it was about right, he began weaving hand seals.
"Now taste my art! Ha!"
With Deidara's low roar, the previously scattered spheres erupted in a chain of explosions.