As Yami looked toward the sea, everyone else did as well. At first, they didn't understand what Yami was indicating but soon they noticed it. The water in the sea was moving abnormally as if something big was circling near the enemy's HQ. Riko who was eager to prove Yami wrong was about to refute Yami's claim to say that it must be just a big fish or a swarm of small fishes but then he saw the tail with a stinger at the end come out from the water with something pierced at its end.
"W-What the hell?" Asami said as her jaws dropped to the ground. Everyone else had the same feeling and for a few seconds, they felt immense fear just by knowing that the animal was just 3-4 kilometers away from them.
"What is that on its tail?" Kakashi asked as he pointed toward the monster and looked at Yami. Others also looked at Yami as they were also curious.
Yami just shrugged and said "That must be one of the pieces of the bait I set for the monster. The 2 mist shinobis and the 3 cultist sailors that I killed, I made some scars on their bodies so that blood keeps seeping out of it and tied them at the shore where the water was turbulent."
"Why even try to attract that monster near the island? What if he wanted to just pass by the hidden mist and go somewhere else?" Riko asked. What he said did sound like he was accusing Yami of attracting danger to their homeland but from his tone, Yami and the others understood that Riko was actually curious.
"I didn't know where he could come from so it would be better for him to at least appear from the direction where I can be prepared beforehand. The Jashin cult has stayed in the shadows for god knows how long. Then why would they suddenly reveal themselves here in this conflict only for a mere ritual?" Yami asked and looked around.
The old man chuckled and said "Unless they never planned to let this news ever go out of the hidden mist and they planned to offer everyone here as food to that monster."
Yami smiled and said "Correct...There was no ritual but a deal and the deal was to offer every living being here to the monster. The wait was for the monster to come here without any of the neighboring areas finding out. This is why no matter how many times we won in small conflicts against them, Priest Ji was confident about his victory."
"This is too risky not just for Ji but also Jiro...No matter how crude the Tsuchikage Onoki is, he would never take help from the unknown monster and never let his people do that either. Seems like Jiro is planning to this victory as a powerplay and the monster as his ally to get a seat on the table." Yoshiro said.
The old man shook his head and said "No Yoshiro... I don't think you are completely right about this. Jiro sure is scheming but he knows that he would never be truly accepted when others know that he won with the help of a monster and human sacrificing cultists. I think Ji must have kept him in the dark. The greed of getting powerful shinobis was enough to convince Jiro to join hands with Ji.
"I don't understand how Moji agreed to all this?" Riko asked to which Asami looked at him with an ugly face and said "He didn't know all this or else without anyone on this island, whose Mizukage will he become?"
"I think we should now decide how are we going to respond to this. Should we prepare our defenses and wait for the monster to come to attack us?" Mei asked.
Asuma shook his head and said "No...the cultists were able to crack a deal with the monster so I wouldn't be naive enough to believe that Priest Ji doesn't have a way to communicate with it and then convince the monster to attack us with the Mizukage faction and stone shinobi army."
"Will the shinobis truly fight alongside a monster that kills and eats humans on a daily basis?" Kurenai asked.
"They don't have any option. They will lose to us if they try to fight face-to-face. Their only way to win is to fight side by side with the thing that eats their kind." Asuma said.
"I think we should start the war. We shouldn't let that Priest even hold talks with that monster. I hate to agree but maybe the kid...no the genjutsu demon is right. Anyways, I have given my opinion, what do you guys think?" Riko said as he looked at the others including Yami and Kakashi.
"Aww look at you...finally accepting that a 10-year-old is superior to you. I agree with the meat head though. We need to attack now with all we have got. I am not going to let the civilian villages behind us become the monster's snack bowl." Asami said.
"Heyyy...I didn't say he was superior...and who are you calling a meathead?" Riko protested in a low voice but everyone ignored it and looked at the remaining two clan leaders.
The two clan leaders looked at each other and said "We aren't fated to die of old age, are we?"
Yoshiro then looked at his daughter and said "Tell our men to get ready not for the fight for freedom but for existence."
This sounded heroic to everyone except one guy.
'What will he say when he hears about the final battle of the 4th great ninja war? Truly ignorance is bliss.' Yami thought and decided to say silent.
Kakashi looked at Hideki and who was standing beside him and said "Tell our men to also prepare for battle and have them write a letter back to their loved ones back at the village. Kurenai, Asuma I think you two should also go and write something."
Kurenai nodded and said "Don't you and Yami want to write to anyone if you can't escape from the animal?"
Kakashi looked at Yami to which Yami chuckled and said "Tell my brother I will come back with a bone of that monster." Kakashi also giggled as he heard Yami say that.
"I think it's time I keep my promise." The old man said and tossed a scroll case toward Yami.
Yami caught the scroll case and looked at it. It was solid metal and there was very elegant carving made on it. The carving was silver in color while the rest of the scroll was black.
"Don't open it here. I don't want that cursed thing to ever appear on this island." the old man said.
Yami nodded and said "You have gotten me more curious than I ever was for any jutsu. Guess I will have to wait for this to be over."
The old man nodded and looked at the shinobi guard near him and said "Sound the trumpets and get the entire force ready. We are starting the war this time on our terms and ending it on our terms as well."
"We had enough time to preparation old man now it's time." Riko smirked and created a small concentrated blast of air and water under his feet to propel himself forward landing him on his legs just a few meters away from the borders of the bloodline clan's HQ and straight facing toward the enemy HQ.
The other clan leaders also rushed to where Riko was. Elder wu looked at Enko and said "I am going with the clan leader to the front lines. Lady Mei will be with us as well. I want you and Santo to follow the orders of advisor AO and lead our squads to victory. Kana you go along with Nana and Toru to the medical camps and help however needed like the Konoha genin squads are doing."
Elder Wu didn't give anyone chance to say anything about his orders and just rushed behind the clan leaders.
Yami heard small whispers where Asuma tried to convince Kurenai to go and supervise the medical camps like she did after the initial conflicts but Kurenai was adamant this time.
In the end, Yami along with the 3 leaf jonins also joined the front lines as they all stood in a straight line in front of the entire HQ with the army amassing behind them. Asuma had instructed the leaf spies to spread out in the nearby wild forest and use guerilla warfare if the mist or stone shinobis try to stage an ambush from the side.
They could see that the enemy's HQ had also started moving their forces reacting to the bloodline clan leaders' actions.
Yoshiro spread both of his hands to the side releasing mist from it and shouted "WE WILL NO LONGER BE HUNTED...ATTACKKKK"
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