Sunagakure, the Kazekage Building.
Inside the sealed chamber of the Elder Council, the air was so thick it felt like it could be wrung out.
Elder Chiyo gripped the intelligence scroll in her hands with a force that made it creak. Her aged face was twisted with fury. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes cut as deep as if they had been carved by a blade.
"Uchiha Chiya..."
She ground out the name through clenched teeth. Her voice was as hoarse as sand scraping against stone.
"He actually defeated two jinchuriki from Iwagakure by himself?!"
"This is impossible!"
One elder slammed his hands on the table and shot to his feet. The muscles in his face twitched with shock.
"Those were jinchuriki! Even the Third Kazekage in his day could not have fought two tailed beasts at the same time!"
"But that is what happened."
Rasa sat in the corner. Golden grains of sand flowed silently between his fingers. His voice was calm to the point of being almost cruel.
"Iwagakure's Roshi and Han have been driven back. The intelligence from the front lines would not be wrong."
"Damn it all!"
Another elder slammed a fist on the table. A teacup toppled over, and tea splattered across the surface.
"We were still planning to send Fukami onto the battlefield. Now..."
The words were not finished, but the entire room fell into dead silence.
Send their own jinchuriki to face Uchiha Chiya?
That would be nothing short of sending him to his death.
Elder Chiyo drew a deep breath. A trace of exhaustion passed through her clouded eyes.
"How is the situation on our front line?"
"The defensive line held by Tsunade's force is as solid as bedrock."
An ANBU ninja stepped forward and dropped to one knee. His voice was low.
"Our puppet units are being countered by the Aburame Clan's insect swarms. Our Wind Style jutsu are being suppressed by the combined jutsu of the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans.
What is even worse..."
He paused for a moment.
"Konoha's medical ninja system is too well developed. Their casualty rate is far lower than ours."
"A war of attrition..."
Chiyo murmured. Her fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the scroll.
"We cannot afford to sustain this."
Sunagakure was already short on resources, and now its main forces were pinned down on the border of the Land of Fire.
Every day the fighting dragged on, the village's reserves grew thinner.
"Bang!"
Suddenly the door was thrown open with force. A messenger ninja stumbled in, his face drained of all color.
"Urgent military report! Kumogakure...
Kumogakure has launched a surprise attack on our eastern border!"
"What?!"
The elders rose to their feet all at once. Their expressions changed sharply.
"Those Kumo bastards!"
One elder roared.
"We had a secret agreement with them! They haven't even broken through the Land of Fire yet, and at a moment like this they stab us in the back?!"
"That's right! Do the brutes of Kumogakure have no honor at all?"
The room erupted with voices denouncing Kumogakure's shameless conduct.
"An agreement?"
Rasa let out a cold laugh.
"When interests are at stake, an agreement is nothing more than a worthless piece of paper."
Elder Chiyo's expression darkened like stagnant water.
"What of the garrison troops on the eastern border?"
"They are holding, but..."
"They cannot hold at all!"
The messenger ninja's voice trembled.
"Kumogakure's Lightning Style units are cutting through everything. Three of our defensive lines have already collapsed!"
"At this rate, our Land of Wind is finished..."
One elder slumped into his chair. His face was the color of ash.
"Konoha has us tied down from the front, Kirigakure is harassing our borders, and now Kumogakure has joined in as well. Is Sunagakure going to fall?"
A heavy silence settled over the sealed chamber. Only the sound of labored breathing remained.
"Should we pull Lady Pakura out of the operation against Kirigakure to deal with Kumogakure's surprise attack instead?"
"No."
Rasa slowly rose to his feet. Golden grains of sand spiraled around his body. His voice was low and firm.
"The situation with Kirigakure cannot be abandoned right now!"
"As for Kumogakure's surprise attack, I will go."
The elders looked up sharply, their expressions complicated.
"Rasa, you..."
Elder Chiyo started to speak but stopped herself.
"I have the Magnet Style Kekkei Genkai, and I am the successor of our teacher."
By teacher, he naturally meant the Third Kazekage.
Rasa's gaze swept across every elder. His eyes were resolute.
"Right now, I am the only one who can stop Kumogakure's advance."
The elders' faces shifted between one expression and another.
They were wary of Rasa's standing and prestige, worried he might use this opportunity to seize control over Sunagakure's power.
But at this moment, Sunagakure had no other choice, and neither did they.
"...Very well."
Elder Chiyo gave a nod at last. Her voice was hoarse.
"But you may only take your own trusted troops. The main force must remain on the Land of Fire front. We cannot afford to let our guard down against Konoha."
The corner of Rasa's mouth curved into a cold smile.
"That is enough."
He turned and walked toward the door. Behind him, the golden sand condensed into a brilliant trail.
Everyone watched Rasa's retreating figure, and somehow found themselves thinking that he bore a striking resemblance to the Third Kazekage.
Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's office.
The Fence-Sitting Ōnoki floated in the air. The intelligence scroll in his hand slipped silently from his fingers.
His aged face froze for a single moment.
Then an indescribable emotion churned through his eyes.
Shock, fury, wariness...
And a trace of humiliation buried deep within.
"Uchiha... Chiya..."
He murmured to himself. His voice was so quiet it was barely audible.
For a moment, memories came flooding back like a tide.
"There is no such thing as an alliance. Before the power of Konoha, all you can do is submit!"
That man's voice seemed to echo in his ears once more. Arrogant, domineering, as though a god looking down upon all living things.
Uchiha Madara.
Ōnoki's fingers trembled slightly.
Back then, when he had stood beside the Second Tsuchikage and faced that man, he had witnessed with his own eyes what true despair looked like.
A single sweep of Susano'o had come close to shattering their resolve completely.
And now...
History seemed to be repeating itself.
"Lord Tsuchikage?"
A ninja nearby asked with careful hesitation.
"What should we do next..."
Ōnoki snapped back to attention. The sharpness returned to his eyes.
"Send word to the front lines. Halt the offensive. Hold all positions."
"But..."
"No buts!"
Ōnoki cut him off with a stern voice.
"If Uchiha Chiya can defeat Roshi and Han, he can defeat any other jinchuriki as well! Pressing the attack recklessly will only get people killed for nothing!"
His voice rang through the office. Every person in the room lowered their head and said nothing.
At that moment, an ANBU ninja appeared in a flash.
"Lord Tsuchikage, latest intelligence! Kumogakure has launched a surprise attack on the Suna-nin's elite eastern forces!"
Ōnoki was briefly caught off guard. Then a gleam of sharp light flickered through his eyes.
"Kumogakure... good. Very good!"
He slapped the table with force. The corner of his mouth pulled into a cold smile.
"Sunagakure is being attacked from both sides. Konoha's pressure will ease as a result...
On the Konoha front, we cannot clash head-on for now. But elsewhere!
That is just as much an opportunity for us!"
A look of confidence settled over Ōnoki's face. He called out in a raised voice.
"Have the demolition units assembled immediately! Await orders!"
His finger traced across several points on the map.
Every one of those points was on the borders of the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning.
"Keep a close watch on both Sunagakure and Kumogakure!
Our opportunity may be found between the two of them!"
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