Chapter 513: He Needed A Victory To Prove That He Was Not An Incompetent

If Shinichi Higashino truly turned out to be an idealist like the first Hokage, then naturally there would be no need to give back the meat once it had reached his mouth.

Even if, taking a step back, Shinichi Higashino was another Madara Uchiha at heart, then at worst he could simply return it when the time came.

Surely Shinichi Higashino would not actually destroy the Village Hidden in the Stones in the future because of it, right?

Back then, even someone as domineering and unrivaled as Madara Uchiha had never annihilated one of the great ninja villages, much less today's Shinichi Higashino.

According to the intelligence Onoki possessed, although Shinichi Higashino was exceedingly sharp and aggressive, he was still someone who could be reasoned with to some extent.

Besides, Konoha was now surrounded by enemies, fighting on both its eastern and western fronts. Even its war with Village Hidden in the Cloud had not officially ended, and its military strength was already stretched to the limit.

Under such circumstances, Konoha might not dare to open a third active frontline, or, nominally, a fourth frontline, over a village like Village Hidden by a Waterfall.

Even if, in the most extreme scenario, Konoha did dare to send troops, how many could it possibly spare?

The more he thought about it, the more feasible the matter seemed.

His thoughts became increasingly active. He began calculating not only the long-term strategic benefits of having Village Hidden in the Grass fully defect to the Village Hidden in the Stones, but also the direct gains that conquering Village Hidden by a Waterfall itself could bring.

Among them, the most important prize was naturally the tailed beast possessed by Village Hidden by a Waterfall, the Seven-Tails.

Once the Seven-Tails was secured, the Village Hidden in the Stones would possess three tailed beasts simultaneously, leaving no other village able to rival its number of tailed beasts.

However, Onoki had not been completely blinded by the immediate benefits before him and did not immediately agree to Village Hidden in the Grass's request, because one crucial question still remained unanswered in his mind.

Why was Village Hidden in the Grass so determined to attack Village Hidden by a Waterfall?

Although the two countries were neighbors and frequently clashed over mission contracts and resources, in Onoki's opinion, those grudges were nowhere near enough to make Village Hidden in the Grass pay such a tremendous price or willingly lower itself into becoming the Village Hidden in the Stones' vassal.

There had to be something hidden behind Village Hidden in the Grass's actions, some true motive they had deliberately kept secret.

Until he uncovered that reason, Onoki had no intention of acting rashly.

He picked up his pen and wrote several lines in the blank space of the document, instructing his subordinates to first draw more information out of Village Hidden in the Grass while simultaneously ordering the intelligence department to thoroughly investigate what had happened recently between Village Hidden in the Grass and Village Hidden by a Waterfall.

...

At the Village Hidden in the Sand, inside the Kazekage's office.

Compared to the high spirits he had possessed when he first took office a year ago, the fourth Kazekage, Rasa, now felt utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

He sat behind his desk with piles of documents awaiting approval stacked before him, yet not a single one could improve his mood in the slightest.

The war had dragged on for an entire year, yet they had still failed to achieve any meaningful victories.

Although no one openly spoke harsh words in front of him, the newly appointed Kazekage, the perceptive Rasa, had already sensed that complaints within the village were growing louder with each passing day.

Although preparations for the war had begun during the third Kazekage's era, and the resulting mess should not have been entirely his responsibility, who told him to become Kazekage? Who told him to be the one sitting in this chair?

Rasa realized that he had to win at least once.

Even if the victory was not against Konoha, he had to achieve one no matter what.

He decided that after spring arrived this year, he would launch another large-scale offensive against Konoha.

If they still failed to obtain any meaningful results, then he would decisively look for an opportunity to negotiate peace with Konoha, preserve the Village Hidden in the Sand's strength, and shift his attention to attacking another target instead.

In short, he needed a victory to prove that he, Rasa, was not an incompetent Kazekage.

As for the new target after making peace, Rasa already had two candidates in mind.

The first was the Village Hidden in the Rain.

During the previous Shinobi World War, the Village Hidden in the Rain and the Village Hidden in the Sand had already forged a bitter enmity. They had every justification for taking action, so finding a pretext to make a move would not be difficult.

Moreover, although the Village Hidden in the Rain was plagued year-round by endless rainfall, filled with muddy wastelands, barren farmland, and scarce resources, it occupied the very center of the continent and sat precisely at the junction of the three great nations of Wind, Fire, and Earth.

As poor as the land was, it possessed one advantage that nowhere else could match: it was the indispensable passage connecting the heartlands of all three countries, with an endless stream of merchants and caravans passing through.

If they could seize the Village Hidden in the Rain, even if only to control several major trade routes, the tolls collected from passing merchants alone would become a considerable source of income, enough to ease the Village Hidden in the Sand's chronically strained finances.

Of course, those were only secondary considerations.

The most crucial thing, in the end, was a single word: Victory.

Only by winning could he silence every voice of doubt.

Only by winning could he truly secure his position in the Kazekage's seat.

However, Hanzo, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Rain, was no ordinary opponent. Furthermore, precisely because the Village Hidden in the Rain lay at the crossroads of the three great nations, its strategic position was extraordinarily sensitive. If any one great nation captured it, it would be tantamount to placing a sharp blade at the throats of the other two.

By that point, the Village Hidden in the Stones and Konoha would never stand by and watch the Village Hidden in the Sand swallow up the Village Hidden in the Rain. They would certainly intervene.

A small-scale military campaign could very well escalate into another full-scale war among the great nations.

Thinking of this through, Rasa could not help but develop another headache.

He rubbed his temples, shifted his gaze away from the Village Hidden in the Rain, and turned his attention to the second target on the map, the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.

Located within the Land of Wind, Roran was a nation within a nation. It lay close to the Land of Rivers without actually bordering it, surrounded on all sides by endless desert, with only a vast oasis nestled like an emerald amid the yellow sands.

Whenever Rasa thought about the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, he always found it rather strange.

It was exactly the kind of land the Land of Wind desperately longed for, a place where water was more precious than gold amid endless deserts. It also occupied a vital commercial crossroads, with a constant flow of traveling merchants.

Whether viewed from a strategic or economic perspective, it was an exceptionally valuable piece of territory, and it even lay within the borders of the Land of Wind.