Chapter 57: Forcing Peace Through War After the execution of the hanging, Shiba Kiyokawa did not publicize it. His move was more for the purpose of internal integration, strengthening control over surrounding areas, and truly uniting the Akatsuki organization into one. As for external promotion, now is not the time. The daimyo of the Rain Country has disappeared, but the daimyo of the surrounding countries are still there. He doesn't want to make himself the world's enemy for the time being. At the same time, he naturally did not forget to write a letter to drag Hanzo into the water. After that, they would strategically retreat, monitor the borders, and quietly wait for the revenge that was bound to come from Iwagakure. Two days later, Ōnoki, who was far away in Iwagakure Village, finally received the news. "What do you mean Shou didn't cooperate in the attack as promised? What about the others?" Ohnoki slammed the table angrily and asked, "What about me, an elite member of the blasting team?" (Oonoki)
The ANBU lowered his head and replied, "Lord Tsuchikage, we searched the hunting team's original attack route and found nothing along the way. At present, it seems that Master Shou may not have left the Rain Country at all." Ohnoki's brows were furrowed so deeply that the wrinkles were so deep that they seemed like they could pinch a fly to death. "You mean, Shushi was trapped in the Rain Country?" After a pause, he said irritably, "Why did something happen in the Rain Country again? Last year, I remember a group of us went there and disappeared. Is this small country so weird?" The Anbu under his command did not answer, but continued with the report just now: "Due to the absence of Lord Kari, we were unable to complete the annihilation of the Konoha team as planned. They delayed until Minato Namikaze arrived, and then we... suffered heavy losses." Ohnoki's thick eyebrows frowned even deeper. Compared to that evil little country, Minato Namikaze is his biggest concern at the moment. He plucked his beard fiercely, then sighed and said, "Pass on my order. If you encounter Minato Namikaze on the battlefield in the future, you are allowed to abandon the mission to save yourself, and the village will not hold you accountable afterwards." As these words came out, the yellow earth outside the door just happened to come in. Huang Tu is not only the son of Ōnoki, but also the current leader of the Jonin squad of Iwagakure. (loess) As soon as he entered the door, he said, "Dad, if your order is passed to the front line, Konoha will soon know about it. Isn't this a bit of a boost to their prestige?" This order is destined to raise Minato Namikaze's reputation to a whole new height! But what could Ohnoki do? He slammed the table angrily, "How dare you ask me such a thing? If it weren't for the fact that you young people were slow to step up, and no one could stand up to Konoha's Minato Namikaze, would I have given such an order?" Ohnoki was so angry and emotional that he took a step forward without paying attention. With a "crack", the waist was twisted. "Ouch, my waist! My waist!" Huang Tu didn't bother to argue with his father about the order at this time, and hurried forward to support him. Then the medical ninja who was on standby came in quickly and treated him, and finally calmed Ōnoki's body and mind.
After calming down, Ohnoki took Huang Tu's hand and spoke weakly. "Now that the attack on Konoha is not going well, we can't stay in the village any longer. Huang Tu, come with me to the front line. I'm going to talk to that old man Hanzo, and you, go and find out how Shou died!" Ohnoki is an ambitious elder. He is completely different from the conservative shadow like Sarutobi Hiruzen. He also wants to lead Iwagakure to a higher level through this Ninja World War. Even at the beginning of declaring war, his target was not just Konoha! The evidence is that hanging on the wall behind his office are not only maps of the Fire Country, but also maps of the Taki Country and the Frost Country. (Ninja World Map) And in a corner of the map, there is a photo nailed to the wall with a kunai - that is the Sandaime Raikage of Kumogakure, the man who is said to possess both the strongest spear and the strongest shield! Ohnoki's ambition is obvious. How could such a person allow a mere Rain Country, a small country that was almost destroyed in the last Ninja World War, to stand in the way of his great cause? That afternoon, he and Huangtu set out from the village with their luggage. On the same night, Shiba Kiyokawa of the Rain Country had already received the news. Surprisingly, the people who sent back the news this time were not even the Akatsuki ninjas in charge of intelligence work, but a group of enthusiastic merchants and people from the Rain Country. Shiba Kiyokawa's previous integration formally established the legitimacy of Akatsuki's rule in the local area, and clearly regulated the villagers' spontaneous acts of gratitude into obligations and loyalty! This greatly improves efficiency! Even Yahiko, who had paid the most attention and care about the villagers in the past, did not expect that these ordinary people with little fighting power could play such a big role after being truly mobilized! Their collective intelligence capabilities even surpassed those of the reconnaissance ninjas on the border who possessed professional perception ninjutsu. The enthusiastic masses are so terrifying! So that night, Shiba Kiyokawa immediately called together important members of the organization to hold a meeting to discuss countermeasures. At first he was a little worried that the members of the organization would be frightened by Iwagakure's large-scale deployment this time. Before the results began, with a silly compliment from Masuda Kazuki, "Brother Qinghe, your predictions are really accurate. Iwagakure really sent someone over." He was apologizing for his overly optimistic predictions. Iwagakure is really different from Konoha. This flattery seemed very stiff to Shiba Kiyokawa, but by accident, it boosted everyone's morale! Yes, Chief Qinghe has anticipated it all, so what else do we have to fear? Shiba Kiyokawa took in everyone's expressions, and for a moment he was unable to utter the words of encouragement he had intended. Why do you seem more confident than me? I don’t understand, but I’m shocked… So he simply skipped the foreplay and went straight to the point, "This challenge is different from the previous ones! We have no intention of going to war with Iwagakure, and the other side doesn't have such intentions either. The core of this battle is to force a peace through war! We need to make Iwagakure realize that we are not ants that can be bullied and manipulated at will, and we are qualified to have an equal dialogue with them! While helping the other party to establish this understanding, we will then send out appropriate signals, ultimately achieving the goal of forcing the other party to come to the table for negotiations.” He then handed a scroll to everyone for circulation. After watching it, everyone's face changed slightly, with an expression of shock. The naive Masuda Kazuki was the first to ask, "Captain Qinghe, is everything written here true?" Upon hearing this, Shiba Kiyokawa laughed and said, “When we all agree that it is true, even the false can become true! Remember, these are the information we intercepted from the root of Konoha. Once you leave this door, even if you die, you must engrave this knowledge in your mind! This will be our bargaining chip to force Iwagakure to the table!" (End of this chapter)
