Chapter 88: Hidden Agendas of the Sand and Stone Villages

Chiyo's face was twisted in a terrifying scowl, her eyes bloodshot with fury, as if she were staring down her most hated enemy.

The ANBU operative standing before her was paralyzed with fear.

Word had come from the battlefield in the Land of Rivers: Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, in an attempt to cut off Konoha's supply lines, had led a team deep into the Land of Fire.

They had then been active in the Land of Rivers' battlefront, only to be slain by Hatake Sakumo, known as the White Fang.

This news had nearly shattered Chiyo.

Her son and daughter-in-law were dead, killed in the Land of Fire by Hatake Sakumo, and their bodies hadn't even been recovered.

Chiyo now seethed with rage like a lioness robbed of her cubs, consumed by a thirst for revenge. Only by flaying Sakumo alive, devouring his flesh, and gnawing on his bones would she feel her hatred was satisfied.

But as the commander of the Sand Village forces in the Land of Rain, she couldn't just abandon her army to chase after vengeance.

All she could do was bottle up her hatred and lead the Sand shinobi in the ongoing conflict in the Land of Rain.

Her hatred for Sakumo extended to Konoha as a whole.

To make matters worse, the Third Kazekage had tasked her with delaying Konoha's advance, stirring up chaos in the Land of Rain so that Konoha couldn't easily extricate itself from the conflict.

And right now, she had a prime opportunity.

"Hanzō is losing his grip."

Chiyo quickly deduced the reason behind Amegakure's eagerness for a decisive battle with Konoha.

If Amegakure wanted a showdown, Konoha would have no choice but to respond.

Eyes burning with vengeance, Chiyo gritted her teeth and commanded, "Pass down my orders: Gather the troops. Once Konoha and Amegakure are locked in battle, we'll launch a surprise attack on Konoha's camp!"

Konoha's sending most of their forces to the frontlines, right?

Well, I'll just strike at their base.

"Yes, ma'am!"

The ANBU operative quickly left to relay Chiyo's orders, and soon the Sand shinobi were preparing for the operation.

They were ready to strike Konoha's camp as soon as the battle between Konoha and Amegakure erupted.

Chiyo's goal was to uproot Konoha's presence in the Land of Rain, causing as much death and chaos as possible.

But the movements of Konoha and Amegakure hadn't gone unnoticed by the Stone Village either.

News reached Ōnoki almost immediately.

After considering the intelligence, Ōnoki hesitated but ultimately decided to keep his forces on standby.

Damn that Cloud Village.

Under the leadership of the Third Raikage, they were lurking at the border, ready to invade the Land of Earth at any moment.

Given the situation, Ōnoki couldn't afford to concern himself with the outcome of the Konoha-Amegakure conflict.

Even though it was a prime opportunity to gain an advantage.

But what good was that if he didn't secure his own home first? It would be laughable to gain a little on the frontlines only to have the Cloud Village ransack the homeland.

Cloud Village and Stone Village had been at each other's throats since their founding, constantly clashing. The fact that Stone Village had meddled in the Land of Rain now had the Third Raikage eyeing an invasion of the Land of Earth.

Cloud Village's actions left Ōnoki with no choice but to remain cautious and avoid any reckless moves.

He could only watch as Konoha and Amegakure tore each other apart.

The conflict between Konoha and Amegakure had now escalated into a full-blown ninja world war.

Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, only Mist Village, still locked in its isolationist policies, had remained uninvolved. The other four were all entangled in the war.

Sand Village sought to carve out a piece of the Land of Fire.

Konoha aimed to send a clear message to Amegakure and Hanzō, establishing that Amegakure shouldn't challenge one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Stone Village hoped to seize the opportunity for gain, but instead found itself in the crosshairs of Cloud Village.

The entire ninja world was in turmoil.

But for Takuya's team, the chaos of the ninja world was distant.

After resting at camp for a day and replenishing their supplies, the team set out once again.

The three had now become bodyguards—glorified bodyguards, really.

As Konoha's ally, the Grass Village had come under harassment from Stone Village's shinobi, prompting them to send an emissary to Konoha for help.

Danzo couldn't ignore their plea, so he dispatched Takuya's team.

Their mission was to escort the emissary back to Grass Village and clear the area of any Stone Village shinobi.

"Why is Konoha getting involved in Grass Village's problems?" Nawaki grumbled, clearly annoyed.

Minato sighed, giving him a look.

Could you keep your voice down? The Grass Village shinobi are right up ahead. Imagine how awkward it'll be if they hear you.

"Because Grass Village is our ally," Takuya explained with a small smile. "If you think about it, this whole war started because of a conflict in Grass Village."

"It was when Amegakure showed signs of aggression towards the Land of Grass that we ended up going to war with them," Nawaki recalled, thinking back to the discussions he'd overheard between Orochimaru and the others.

It made Konoha seem like it had been dragged into the conflict without warning.

But in reality, the Second Shinobi World War was inevitable. Grass Village was merely the excuse; the war would have happened even without them.

Takuya remembered from the original story that after the war between Konoha and Amegakure ended, Amegakure negotiated with Konoha for aid while Sand Village was left out to dry, eventually leading to Chiyo's retreat.

She had no choice but to withdraw Sand Village's forces from the Land of Rain.

But for some inexplicable reason, Hanzō decided to march a long way to attack the neutral Land of Iron instead.

The Land of Rain was incredibly far from the Land of Iron.

To get there, you'd either have to pass through several small countries or cross through the Land of Fire.

Takuya could never understand Hanzō's reasoning behind this—attacking a neutral country seemed like madness.

And to take such a long detour to do it?

Was it because he thought a neutral country was an easy target?

Or maybe the Land of Rain was so desperate for resources that they needed the iron from the Land of Iron?

But how would they transport it back?

The whole plan was absurd.

There was no way anyone in their right mind would come up with such a strategy.

The Land of Grass bordered the Land of Rain, so it only took Takuya's team, along with the emissary, half a day to reach Grass Village.

Nawaki and Minato were both frustrated to find that, despite being reinforcements, not a single person was there to welcome them.

At least send someone to say a few polite words.

Poor!

That was Takuya's first impression of Grass Village.

Everywhere they looked, the buildings were in disrepair, and the people on the streets all had a haunted look, likely the result of prolonged hardship.

While it was understandable that life in a small nation caught between great powers would be tough, Grass Village seemed to be in a particularly dire state.

After all, the Land of Grass wasn't like the Land of Wind, which was mostly desert, or the Land of Earth, with its barren mountains, or the Land of Rain, with its endless downpours.

If they had properly utilized their land, the Land of Grass could have become another Land of Fields, a prosperous nation.

But instead, they were burdened with an incompetent daimyo and a ninja village with weak leadership. The chance of this country ever becoming wealthy was next to nothing.

"I don't think we're very welcome here," Minato observed as they walked through Grass Village. The villagers seemed less than thrilled by their arrival.

"And this place is dirt poor," Nawaki added with a groan.

"A selfish daimyo hoarding wealth, a village leader who's constantly swayed by others, and a country obsessed with pinching pennies—what do you expect?" Takuya remarked as he lounged on a rock under the shade of a tree, crossing his legs casually. He pulled a blade of grass and stuck it in his mouth.

"If they don't want us here, even better. Who's eager to go out of their way to fight Stone Village shinobi anyway?

Grass Village doesn't really want help—they just want to show that they have an alliance with Konoha."

***********

Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 150+ at patreon.com/Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters!