This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 211 Hidden Trap (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

"Konoha and Iwagakure have been actively mobilizing their forces for twenty days, attempting a decisive battle in the Kannabi Bridge area..." Rasa, the Kazekage's assistant, said to the round table meeting in front of the map, "But strangely, the two villages, which had already mobilized all their forces a week ago, stopped fighting at the last moment and reached a peace agreement."

"What's so strange about that?"

Questions were raised.

From the Warring States period to the present, the ninja world has experienced countless wars, and there are many similar examples...

Both sides prepared until the very end, but realized they had no chance of winning, so they chickened out and stopped fighting.

Or perhaps they feel that continuing the fight would only benefit a third party... There are countless reasons that could lead to this happening.

"Indeed, if it's just a matter of preparing for the last minute and then suddenly backing down, there's nothing wrong with that. But..." Luo Sha glanced at the people at the round table, and seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he continued, "The strange thing is that an agreement was reached suddenly without any warning."

War is a matter between two or even multiple forces; it cannot be stopped simply because one side does not want to fight.

Even if both Konoha and Iwagakure feel that continuing the fight will not result in a decisive victory and will only lead to mutual destruction, or if they are worried that someone might sit back and watch the fight from the sidelines to profit from it, then they would still need to send envoys to negotiate with the other side before a ceasefire can be reached.

Because no one knows whether the other side is willing to cease hostilities.

However, neither Konoha nor Iwagakure had this process.

They actively mobilized their forces, concentrating all their troops on the front line of Shenwukun Bridge in preparation for the final battle. However, on the day of the decisive battle, they suddenly announced that the two sides had reached a peace agreement, ending the seven-month war between the two villages.

Although everyone was young, they must have had something special to be promoted to Round Table Councilors by the Third Kazekage.

In the six months since becoming members of parliament, they have been studying and practicing intensively, accumulating a lot of work experience and gaining a thorough understanding of the situation.

Therefore, after hearing Luo Sha's explanation, they all understood the unusual nature of the matter and immediately began to discuss it.

Although the war took place on the border of the Land of Earth and had no direct connection with Sunagakure, the situation in the ninja world is interconnected. As one of the five great ninja villages, Sunagakure is sometimes involved in things even if it doesn't want to, so it must be careful and pay attention to any developments in the ninja world.

but.

Even though they sensed that the sudden ceasefire between Konoha and Iwagakure was suspicious, the information was too limited, and after a long discussion, they were unable to reach any useful conclusions.

"...Any movement from Kumogakure and Kirigakure?"

Suddenly, Long Er asked.

Everyone looked over in surprise, not understanding why the villages of Kumogakure and Kirigakure were being mentioned when discussing Iwagakure and Konoha.

But no one dared to be negligent.

Ryuji's record is too impressive. He has already proven his ability to the ninja world. In particular, the people in Sunagakure trust him and admire him greatly.

"Since its defeat half a year ago, Kumogakure has been resting and recuperating in the village. Even the ninjas on missions outside have kept a low profile, so the intelligence department hasn't paid much attention to the situation there. But Kirigakure..." Rasa said, "because we fought a war with them in Uzushiogakure a month ago, we haven't relaxed our intelligence gathering on them... After Kirigakure's defeat and return, under the leadership of Elder 'Genshi,' Yagura Karatachi became the Fourth Mizukage. A large number of ninjas from the village were dispatched to search for the resurrection locations of the Three-Tails and Six-Tails. It's also worth mentioning that two surviving Ninja Swordsmen, Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki, defected to Kirigakure, while the newcomers Mangetsu Hozuki and Kisame Hoshigaki became the new Ninja Swordsmen, wielding the twin swords Hiramekarei and the greatsword Samehada, respectively."

"No other information?"

"That's all."

Upon hearing this, Long Er lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

The Third Kazekage frowned and asked, "Ryuji, have you thought of something?"

Ryuji looked up and saw that everyone in the conference room was looking at him. He nodded and said, "I suspect that the four great ninja villages have secretly joined forces."

"What!?"

"That can't be!"

"I heard that the Fourth Raikage has a bad temper. It's already surprising that he didn't take the opportunity to retaliate against Iwagakure after his father was betrayed and killed. It's impossible that he would join forces with them."

"And then there's Kirigakure. They just wiped out the Uzumaki clan. Konoha can't possibly team up with them!"

"Konoha and Iwagakure are still at war, how could they possibly form an alliance and join forces in the blink of an eye?"

The meeting room erupted in a flurry of discussion.

The Third Kazekage, Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizo, and Karura all frowned.

Although they didn't believe that the four major ninja villages, which had been fighting to the death not long ago, would join forces, Ryuji's statement was certainly not unfounded.

After a short while, seeing that the discussion in the conference room had not subsided and had not reached a conclusion, the Third Kazekage gently tapped the table and called out, "Silence!"

The meeting room fell silent immediately.

The Third Kazekage nodded slightly, then turned to Ryuji: "Ryuji, just say what you think!"

Long Er looked up and glanced around, then shook his head slightly. "I don't have any evidence either, just guesses and intuition."

"It's okay, tell me your opinion."

"Hmm!" Ryuji nodded, then asked in return, "The sudden ceasefire between Konoha and Iwagakure seems illogical, but is it really illogical?"

Granny Chiyo frowned and asked, "Are you saying there's something we don't know?"

"That's right!"

Ryuji nodded and continued, "Things that defy common sense don't exist. If they do, there must be something we don't understand. Think about it, under what circumstances would a sudden ceasefire between Iwagakure and Konoha make sense?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

Only Ebizo, the strategist of Sunagakure, said without hesitation, "It's external pressure."

"That's right, it was external pressure." Ryuji snapped his fingers to draw everyone's attention back and continued, "If something happened that we didn't know about, but that forced the two villages to stop fighting, then everything would make sense."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

The Third Kazekage suddenly realized what was happening and eagerly asked, "You mean, because our Sunagakure is growing stronger, they no longer dare to continue fighting?"

"..."

Long Er was speechless.

If they were afraid of Sunagakure's strength and dared not continue the fight, then they should have stopped the war after the news of Kirigakure's defeat reached them.

However, after receiving news of Kirigakure's defeat, Konoha and Iwagakure not only did not cease hostilities, but actively mobilized their forces to prepare for a decisive battle. This shows that although they were aware of the threat posed by Sunagakure, they did not believe that Sunagakure could threaten them after the decisive battle.

On the contrary, they felt that the Sand Village was growing stronger and stronger, and if they continued to suffer losses in war, the gap would only widen. Therefore, they tacitly prepared for a decisive battle.

In other words, while Sunagakure did pose a threat to other ninja villages, it wasn't to the point of being unmanageable, let alone the combined might of the four great ninja villages.

"...Perhaps that factor is involved, but I don't think that factor alone is enough to make the two sides, who are preparing for a decisive battle, suddenly reach a peace agreement."

After a long silence, Ryuji said, "If there is any external pressure that could suddenly lead to a peace agreement between the two villages, it would only come from the other three of the Five Great Ninja Villages. But we in Sunagakure have done nothing, so we can rule that out. That leaves only Kumogakure and Kirigakure."

"But Kumogakure and Kirigakure haven't done anything, have they?" Rasa asked doubtfully. "Although they haven't been specifically gathering intelligence on Kumogakure, if they were making any big moves, the intelligence department would definitely know."

"Some things, once done, are no longer a threat, but a complete breakdown in relations."

Just like nuclear weapons in the previous life.

Several major powers possess nuclear weapons, which allows them to deter each other from using them.

But if one of them actually uses it, the result will be nuclear war, and the deterrent effect will be lost.

Although the ninja world does not have nuclear weapons, the existence of Jinchuriki is of equal status, and everyone can understand what Ryuji meant.

After a moment of contemplation, the Third Kazekage made a decision: "...Here's what we'll do. The intelligence department will strengthen its intelligence gathering on the four great ninja villages, and at the same time, we'll order all ninjas stationed in the villages and those on the move to be on high alert. The logistics department will prepare for war."

"The intelligence department should pay close attention to business intelligence in each village!"

Seeing everyone's astonished expressions, Ryuji explained, "If the theory that the four great ninja villages are secretly joining forces is true, what kind of threat could make them unite?"

"The only thing I can think of is the ever-growing Sunagakure."

"But if they are forming an alliance with Sunagakure as their target, then they must prepare methods to deal with the Siege of the Mighty Castle. Perhaps it is some kind of forbidden technique, or perhaps it is some kind of weapon. I am more inclined to believe the latter, because I really can't imagine what kind of forbidden technique could deal with the Siege of the Mighty Castle."

……

In fact, Ryuji's guess was correct.

Because Sunagakure defeated Kirigakure's main force by sending only its elite puppeteers and its castle, Iwagakure and Konoha once again felt threatened by Sunagakure.

They realized that if they did not grow stronger and instead wasted their strength in war, the final result would inevitably be their destruction by Sunagakure.

But after fighting for half a year, both sides suffered heavy losses. If the war ended like this, all the previous efforts would have been in vain.

Therefore, neither side was confident of victory and both sides tacitly agreed to rely on the overall strength of the villages to fight a protracted war, preparing for a final battle at the Kaminagawa Bridge.

However, the arrival of a visitor disrupted their plans.

This guy is amazing!

After persuading Raikage, Zetsu went to Kirigakure.

Having just been defeated by Sunagakure, with almost all of its high-ranking members and Jinchuriki killed in battle, the hatred Kirigakure harbors for Sunagakure is unimaginable.

Upon learning that they possessed weapons to counter the Mechanical Castle and the opportunity to destroy Sunagakure, they agreed to the alliance plan almost without hesitation.

After dealing with Kirigakure, Zetsu went to both Iwagakure and Konoha, who were about to have a decisive battle, hoping that both sides could stop the war and form an alliance with Kumogakure and Kirigakure to fight against Sunagakure.

Initially, both Iwagakure and Konoha rejected Zetsu's proposal.

But when Zetsu told Iwagakure and Konoha that Kirigakure and Kumogakure would also soon have a Sky City, they agreed.

What can I do if they don't agree?

The power of Sky Castle has been proven by Sunagakure in two wars.

Now other villages have it, but they don't, so in the end they can only be eliminated by the times and become stepping stones under the wheels of history.

Faced with external pressure to be eliminated and the prospect of greater benefits, the two villages had no choice but to cease hostilities and join the plan.

(End of this chapter)