The Fourth Raikage's words greatly boosted the morale of the Kumo ninjas. The Hidden Cloud ninjas could accept dying in battle, but they could not accept compromising with their enemies. Even with heavy casualties, they must extract benefits from the enemy and make them pay an equal price.
With such thoughts and principles, Kumogakure had been able to expand wildly in recent decades, swallowing up the small countries surrounding it.
After confirming the plan to rescue the jinchuriki, the Fourth Raikage intended to continue his actions outside. However, Mabui stopped him and said seriously, "Lord Raikage, there are many matters that require your personal attention; you cannot leave everything to me, your assistant. You are the Raikage of the village."
The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened. He hated being cooped up in the office handling administrative affairs, and even when he was in the military camp, he disliked arranging tasks.
Taking a deep breath, the Fourth Raikage looked at Mabui and said, "Tell me everything important at once. I'll handle it all this time."
Mabui nodded and took out several scrolls,"This is the casualty report from the frontline ninjas. They encountered an attack from Uchiha ninjas. This is a list of logistical supplies. They were attacked by Hyuga ninjas. This is a letter from the feudal lord of the Land of Lightning, inquiring about how the battle is progressing. This is the casualty report from the troops stationed in the Land of Hot Water; they recently encountered an attack from two bounty hunters and suffered severe losses."
The Fourth Raikage said impatiently, "Don't bother with the first few; is there any problem in the Land of Hot Water? I remember it was heavily guarded. How could they be attacked by bounty hunters with such severe losses?"
"Ordinary bounty hunters are indeed difficult to deal with, but these two bounty hunters are not ordinary ninjas. They are the puppet master known as Akashi and the rogue ninja Kakuzu."
Akashi the Puppet Master? Rogue ninja Kakuzu?
The Fourth Raikage seemed to have heard these two names somewhere before. However, isn't the puppet master a profession from Sunagakure? Why would he start hunting Kumo ninjas?
As for the rogue ninja Kakuzu, he was a well-known bounty hunter, even having hunted the First Hokage.
After pondering for a moment, the Fourth Raikage said, "Since they are bounty hunters, is there any way to buy them over to our side? We could ask them to hunt Konoha ninjas and offer double the price."
"I'll take care of that right away," Mabui nodded.
After Mabui left, the Fourth Raikage finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he didn't have to deal with the tedious military affairs. This wasn't because he didn't care about the war.
It was just that focusing on these trivial matters was not good for a ninja.
A prolonged period of a comfortable life would make ninjas lose their sense of crisis, and their combat instincts and judgment would decline accordingly. They could still crush lower-level enemies with brute strength.
But losing judgment when fighting equally strong opponents was fatal.
This was also the reason he suddenly declared war on the Land of Fire since, after the loss of the brave Fourth Hokage on the front lines, Konoha was left with only the aging Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage hadn't gone to the frontlines at all during the entire Third Great Ninja War.
Even with the title of "Ninja Hero," how much strength could he still exert? He was probably long past his prime and didn't even have the courage to head to the frontlines anymore.
---
From Fugaku, Shisui hurriedly found Byakuya.
Byakuya's previous actions of capturing Shisui, Tekka, and others would surely infuriate his clansmen. If it weren't for his mediating presence, a violent conflict might have erupted.
However, upon finding Byakuya, Shisui rubbed his eyes, questioning whether he was seeing things correctly.
Contrary to Shisui's expectations, Byakuya did not have a conflict with his clansmen. Instead, he blended in seamlessly among the Uchiha, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
At that moment, Tekka and others noticed Shisui and said, "Shisui, you're finally back! What did the clan leader call you over for? Were you asked to properly host Byakuya?"
Shisui, feeling a bit bewildered, replied, "Something like that. He asked me questions related to Byakuya."
"That's good. I'll tell you, Byakuya is one of the few ninjas who can understand us Uchihas. Such ninjas are quite rare."
Shisui was still a bit confused. After signaling Byakuya to follow him, he whispered, "Lord Byakuya, what exactly did you talk about with them? They've always been cold to outsiders, let alone showing this kind of enthusiasm."
Byakuya revealed a sly smile and replied, "Nothing much, just demonstrated my overwhelming strength and casually talked bad about the Senju clan with them."
'I see...' Shisui slightly nodded. Criticizing the Senju clan was indeed a hot topic among the Uchiha.
However, Byakuya wasn't even Uchiha; why had he integrated into the clan so quickly, while he, the legitimate Uchiha, felt somewhat out of place?
But just talking bad about the Senju shouldn't lead to such enthusiasm.
Seemingly sensing Shisui's thoughts, Byakuya said lightly, "Of course, it's not just about talking bad. I also shared some experiences imparted by my predecessors and told them that some things need to be fought for on their own."
Shisui's expression darkened as he stared at Byakuya.
"Lord Byakuya, that probably isn't good advice. Do you intend to incite the Uchiha to initiate a coup?"
Byakuya also looked at Shisui, gradually retracting his smile. With a serious expression, he said, "Shisui, you're truly clever. I did share with them the fastest way to become Hokage, which is to stage a military coup. Only by staging a military coup can the Uchiha hope to become Hokage."
"You're right, Lord Byakuya, but if the coup fails, the Uchiha will be utterly doomed. Even if it succeeds, Konoha will be left in tatters."
As Shisui spoke, his expression became extremely grave, with malice surging in his eyes.
Sensing the malice emanating from Shisui, Byakuya chuckled and said, "Don't be so sensitive. I merely shared experiences. As for whether to incite the Uchiha to stage a coup is really up to you, the Uchiha with Mangekyo Sharingan. You should think about how our Akatsuki organization became the rulers of Amegakure."
Upon hearing this, Shisui frowned, puzzled, and asked, "Wasn't it because you and Yahiko were valued by Hanzo of the Salamander, which led to your selection as successors? Did you not receive orders from Hanzo this time?"
Byakuya smiled and said, "No one can command me. My coming here to support your Konoha was entirely my own idea. As for my relationship with Hanzo, that was merely a transaction of interests. Actually, our Akatsuki forced Hanzo of the Salamander to compromise with our strength. Now I wonder what your Uchiha plan to do?"