"There's no need to ask," the Third Raikage muttered. This was a matter far too embarrassing to talk about. Other than himself, only the Eight-Tails knew how he got this injury, and he wasn't about to let anyone else find out. After all, it wasn't exactly something to be proud of. If the story spread that he injured himself with his own attack, his rival, Ōnoki, would probably laugh himself to death.
"....."
Why couldn't they ask? Was there some hidden shame behind it?
Back in the Hidden Cloud Village, the largest espionage purge in the village's history was underway, throwing everything into chaos. Under intense scrutiny, one spy after another, planted by other villages, was discovered and apprehended.
In the world of shinobi, where not even corpses could hide secrets, as long as the investigation was thorough, even the most deeply embedded spies would eventually be flushed out.
The news of the Eight-Tails' rampage in the Hidden Cloud Village spread quickly like a gust of wind. Since they couldn't keep it under wraps, the Hidden Cloud stopped trying to hide it altogether. For them, the priority now was repairing the buildings destroyed by the Eight-Tails and compensating the foreign merchants caught in the chaos.
If they didn't handle this properly, it would have serious repercussions on the village's future commerce.
The news of the Eight-Tails' rampage spread across the Five Great Shinobi Nations through various channels. Meanwhile, Takuya and Orochimaru had only just left the Land of Lightning.
When the news reached the Hidden Stone Village, Ōnoki was frozen in shock for a moment before he burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! Serves them right! Ouch… my back…"
His laughter was so wild that he threw out his back, and he collapsed onto his desk, clutching his lower back in pain. His sudden collapse startled everyone in the Tsuchikage's office.
"Orochimaru didn't let me down," Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, muttered with a satisfied smile, tucking the intelligence scroll away. He glanced in the direction of the Land of Lightning with a look of schadenfreude on his face as if to say, Looks like the Hidden Cloud Village is getting what it deserves!
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rivers...
After putting away the intelligence scroll and handing it to Chiyo, the Third Kazekage furrowed his brow and asked, "So you're saying this was the work of the Hidden Stone?"
The Hidden Stone and the Hidden Cloud had been at odds for years, with Ōnoki and the Third Raikage constantly butting heads. If it weren't for the fear of mutual destruction, the two villages would have been at war long ago.
Given that, the Third Kazekage's first instinct was that Ōnoki must have orchestrated this.
"It's very likely," Ebizō confirmed. "The Hidden Cloud has been conducting a thorough purge of spies. Even the ones we had placed there were caught."
Ebizō's heart ached. Training capable spies was difficult enough, but getting them embedded in enemy villages was an even greater challenge. Now, thanks to the Eight-Tails incident, all their spies had been flushed out.
All their careful planning and investment had gone down the drain.
Chiyo calmly placed her teacup down after a moment of thought. "Aside from the Hidden Stone, no other village would dare provoke the Hidden Cloud right now. It's highly likely that the Hidden Stone is behind this. I suggest we keep a close eye on our jinchūriki."
Watching from the sidelines was all well and good, but the Eight-Tails incident had given Chiyo a warning. If they didn't keep a close watch on their jinchūriki, the same thing could happen to them, which would spell disaster.
Though the Third Kazekage could easily suppress Shukaku, the Hidden Sand couldn't afford the destruction the One-Tail could cause. The village was far too poor. If Shukaku went on a rampage, the damage would be catastrophic, further worsening the village's already dire financial situation.
"Chiyo has a point. I'll assign more people to guard Bunpuku," the Third Kazekage agreed.
With the frontlines still engaged in battle, there was no room for mishaps in the village. The thought of their home base being threatened made the Kazekage even more cautious.
Once the topic of the Eight-Tails incident was over, the Third Kazekage turned his attention to the map, his brow furrowing deeply.
The situation was growing increasingly unfavorable for the Hidden Sand. The Hidden Leaf was determined to drag out the conflict, and the Sand Village's finances and resources were nearly depleted. If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before the village would be forced to retreat from the Land of Rivers.
"Chiyo," the Kazekage muttered.
Chiyo shook her head slightly, signaling there was little hope for a solution.
The Third Kazekage clenched his fists. "Is there no other way? If this drags on any longer, we'll be forced to retreat to the Land of Wind. That's not the outcome we wanted when we started this war."
The Third Kazekage was unwilling to accept defeat. Chiyo felt the same, but what could she do? The village was poor, in debt, and lacked the resources to continue fighting.
War required a stockpile of resources—something the Hidden Leaf had in abundance, but the Hidden Sand did not.
Looking from his silent sister to the disappointed Third Kazekage, Ebizō fell silent for a moment. Then, finally, he raised his head and pointed to a circle on the map of the Land of Rivers.
Chiyo's eyes widened, and she shot to her feet, alarmed. "No! Doing that will bring severe repercussions for the village and hurt its future growth."
"If we lose this war, the village will have no future," the Kazekage countered.
Ebizō's suggestion was ruthless: if the Hidden Sand had no money and no food, they should simply take it from the Land of Rivers. Though the country was caught between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, it was in disarray, attracting rogue shinobi and bandits. Even so, the officials in the Land of Rivers were wealthy.
The Third Kazekage was clearly tempted by the idea. Chiyo, however, was growing anxious.
"Kazekage-sama, if we target these people, it will have significant long-term consequences," Chiyo warned.
Even though the Land of Rivers was in turmoil, it was still a recognized country. If the Hidden Sand attacked its officials, word would spread, and the village's reputation would be tarnished. Worse, it could lead to strained relations with the daimyō, who might have familial ties to the officials of the Land of Rivers.
The daimyō of various countries were often related to one another in convoluted ways. If they attacked the wrong person, they could very well find themselves in the crosshairs of the Wind or Fire Country daimyō.
If the Hidden Sand took such drastic action, they would undoubtedly face backlash. No one would want to do business with them, and potential clients would hesitate to commission them.
The Hidden Sand's economy was already fragile, and a move like this would make future development nearly impossible.
Chiyo shot her brother, Ebizō, a scathing look. What kind of terrible idea was this?!
Under the weight of her glare, Ebizō could only lower his head in bitter resignation. He knew this plan wasn't ideal and that it would make the Hidden Sand a pariah in the eyes of daimyō and officials everywhere.
But what choice did they have?
"Enough. I've made my decision," the Third Kazekage declared firmly. "Chiyo, if you're unwilling, you can return to the village and oversee the jinchūriki. I'll handle this matter myself."
Having finally glimpsed a glimmer of hope, the Third Kazekage was beyond caring about the consequences of his actions. He wanted to win the war. If they lost, the Hidden Sand would be forced into a corner, drowning in war reparations so large that not even a decade of mining could pay it off.
"I just hope you won't regret this, Kazekage-sama," Chiyo said coldly.
She gave one last icy glance at the war-obsessed Kazekage before turning on her heel and walking out. She was ready to retire and spend time with her orphaned grandson.
"Ebizō!" the Kazekage barked.
"Kazekage-sama…"
"If you carry out this mission successfully, I'll allow you to retire as well. But this job must be done right!" the Kazekage ordered.
Ebizō didn't want to tarnish the village's name by targeting government officials. But the Third Kazekage wasn't giving him a choice.
Though the Kazekage wouldn't dare touch Chiyo, Ebizō wasn't so lucky. As the head of the intelligence department, it wouldn't take much for the Kazekage to find an excuse to punish him.
"…Understood," Ebizō muttered reluctantly, his voice filled with resignation.
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