Night of the Clan Massacre: Leading the Uchiha to Defect from Konoha!

Jiraiya tossed the letter onto the table and rubbed his forehead, deep in thought.

He wasn't sure if this was some conspiracy by the Hidden Cloud Village or if Kaede had done something to provoke them.

After all, Kaede had outright slaughtered the Cloud ninja stationed in the Land of Sound, and the disappearance of the Two-Tails' jinchūriki was still a secret known only to the Hidden Cloud.

But truth be told, Jiraiya found the proposal in the letter very tempting.

Tsunade was still in Kaede's hands!

Worried for the woman he cared about, if not for the grave crisis Konoha was facing, he would have already stormed the Hidden Waterfall Village himself to rescue her!

And then there was Naruto—his student Minato's son, and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.

Now, intimidated by Kaede, Naruto had been pressured into unleashing the Nine-Tails on Konoha, delivering a heavy blow. That was something Jiraiya absolutely could not ignore.

After much contemplation, Jiraiya finally made up his mind.

"No matter what, this is an opportunity!"

"If this is the Hidden Cloud's scheme, we'll play along and turn it to our advantage!"

If the Hidden Cloud truly wanted to deal with Kaede, then this was the perfect chance to eliminate Konoha's greatest current threat—and rescue Tsunade in the process.

With that thought, he immediately called in a ninja.

"Keep a close watch on the Hidden Cloud's movements. Report to me the moment anything unusual happens!"

Once the ninja left, Jiraiya took up a pen and began writing his reply.

"Joining forces to destroy the Uchiha is acceptable, but our armies must remain within two kilometers of each other at all times, and the Hidden Cloud's forces must not set foot into the Land of Fire!"

Before long, the reply was in the hands of the Fourth Raikage.

After reading it, the Raikage burst into laughter. "Hahaha! I knew Konoha would be just as eager to wipe out the Uchiha!"

Mabui glanced at the letter and smiled. "This Jiraiya is rather cautious."

The Raikage replied smugly, "He has to be cautious!

"Konoha today is nothing like it was during the Third War. Unless they produce another Fourth Hokage, it won't be long before they can't hold on any longer."

Then he waved his hand. "Prepare the army. We march on the Hidden Waterfall Village!"

As for Jiraiya's postscript suggesting that they withdraw from Konoha after defeating the Uchiha, the Raikage didn't even bother to read it.

Leave the fertile lands of the Land of Fire? What a joke!

With both sides reaching a temporary agreement, the two armies stopped just two kilometers apart and began constructing their defensive positions.

Meanwhile—

After days of preparation, Mitokado Homura finally put his plan into action.

Leaving Koharu alone in Konoha, he sped toward the Sand Village frontlines, protected by over a dozen jōnin.

Upon arrival, through a series of careful maneuvers, Homura successfully persuaded Rasa and Chiyo to work with him.

Both Rasa and Chiyo looked thoroughly displeased, as though they had been forced to swallow something bitter.

Danzo, on the other hand, sat with his eyes closed, perfectly calm. He had already been briefed on Homura's plan beforehand.

Though the plan was disgraceful and would tarnish the reputation of both Konoha and the Land of Fire, Danzo didn't care.

It would buy him time—and once his schemes were in place, restoring their honor would be trivial.

Rasa impatiently asked, "So? What exactly did you do to convince the Land of Wind?"

Homura chuckled. "You must have already received orders from your Daimyō, correct?"

Rasa and Chiyo's expressions twitched—that was exactly why they were so irritated!

That fool of a Daimyō had ordered them to retreat, cutting off their military funding entirely.

If they disobeyed, their funding for the next three years would be cut as well.

This was supposed to be the Land of Wind's best chance for expansion!

Homura's smile widened. "Perhaps you don't know the reason behind your Daimyō's decision?"

Rasa scowled. "Stop playing games. Out with it!"

Homura explained pleasantly, "The truth is, our Daimyō reached out to yours earlier.

"We offered to cede twenty kilometers of land to the Land of Wind in exchange for an alliance."

Rasa's anger at his Daimyō faltered. That short-sighted fool had agreed to retreat for such a paltry reward?

Rasa barked, "He may have agreed, but we haven't! The war isn't over. I'll take that land with my own hands!"

He started to rise, but Homura shook his head.

"You misunderstand, Lord Kazekage. Even if you take that land—or more—what then?

"You'll border the Land of Earth, and your village's fighting strength…"

Homura clicked his tongue. "I hate to say it, but right now, the Hidden Sand's strength is probably the weakest among the Five Great Villages."

"Do you really think the Hidden Stone will leave you alone if you gain more territory?"

Rasa froze.

Homura was right. With the Daimyō constantly slashing their funding, their military power was a shadow of its former self.

The Hidden Cloud was pushing back Hiruzen Sarutobi with overwhelming momentum.

And after taking some losses against Jiraiya, they were now able to suppress him as well.

Only the Sand Village—facing a noncommittal Danzo—was still struggling to make headway.

Their lack of strength was obvious.

Their top combatants were aging siblings Chiyo and Ebizō, their jinchūriki was still a child, and only Rasa was left to carry the burden.

By contrast, the Hidden Stone had Ōnoki, his son Kurotsuchi, and two prime-aged jinchūriki.

If they clashed with the Stone now, the Sand would be crushed.

Seeing their hesitation, Homura pressed on.

"That's why forming an alliance with us now is in your best interest.

"Help us hold off the Hidden Stone, and we'll help you secure your lands—even the River Country you lost before."

Rasa sat back down, torn. This was their best chance to destroy Konoha… but compared to the Cloud and Stone, their strength was far too low.

Just then—

"Elders!"

A Konoha jōnin rushed in, handed Homura and Danzo a letter, and left.

Homura opened it, his eyes lighting up.

"Hahaha! Lord Kazekage, take a look at this!"

He slid the decrypted letter over to Rasa and Chiyo.

The moment they read it, their expressions changed dramatically.

It briefly described Jiraiya and the Hidden Cloud combining forces to attack the Hidden Waterfall Village!

Rasa and Chiyo exchanged stunned looks.

Those muscle-brained brutes from the Cloud had made peace with Konoha?

Homura fixed them with a sharp gaze. "The Hidden Cloud has already halted hostilities. Are you going to keep dawdling?

"Or do you want us to crush the Uchiha rebels and drive you all the way back to the Land of Wind?"

The two Sand leaders fell silent.

It was an obvious lie, but they knew Homura wouldn't fabricate something like this.

After a long pause, Rasa closed his eyes in resignation.

"Let's discuss our alliance."

Homura smiled, his satisfaction plain.

This letter was his doing—he had simply removed Jiraiya's cautious conditions.

Chiyo shot him a long, hard look but stayed quiet.

As veterans of decades of political maneuvering, they knew this was only a temporary ploy by the Hidden Cloud.

Once the Uchiha were dealt with, the Cloud would inevitably turn on Konoha.

But for now, the Sand was too weak, and securing tangible benefits was reason enough to agree.

(End of Chapter)

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