"Huh?"
Kiyokaze and Minato couldn't help but exchange a glance.
Then they heard Hiruzen Sarutobi continue, "According to the latest intelligence, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure, the three great Hidden Villages, may be joining forces! The usually docile Kirigakure may also be involved, and their target... is our Konoha!"
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Chapter 145 Ohnoki's Plan [20/20]
Sunagakure!
Iwagakure!
Kumogakure!
Alliance!
Possibly even including Kirigakure!
Kiyokaze and Minato Namikaze had no doubt about the truthfulness of what Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Since he said it, it was highly likely that this matter had already occurred, or was currently occurring.
Why has Konoha been able to exist so well despite facing the siege of the three great Hidden Villages, and still be able to fight back and forth with the various great Hidden Villages, even achieving considerable victories?
Why?
Of course, it's because there is discord and division among the great Hidden Villages.
Even if they simultaneously besiege Konoha, they still remain wary of each other, not daring to dispatch all of their forces to the front lines, for fear of other villages attacking from behind.
This kind of situation has happened before.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha simultaneously fought against Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure in Amegakure, ultimately leading to Amegakure actively admitting defeat and seeking peace, and Sunagakure and Iwagakure having no choice but to retreat.
Then why did Sunagakure and Iwagakure retreat?
Sunagakure was completely defeated by Konoha on the front lines. At that time, the "Konoha White Fang" Sakumo Hatake, single-handedly killed two Kage-level powerhouses, Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law.
Saying it this way might not create much of an image in your mind.
To give an example, Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law at that time were almost equivalent to the current Third Raikage's son and Killer B of Kumogakure, and their deaths at the hands of Sakumo Hatake were equivalent to Minato Namikaze directly confronting and killing the A-B combo.
The upheaval this caused to Sunagakure was considerable.
You must know that Chiyo's son was almost the entire Sunagakure's default choice for the next Kazekage at that time. His death directly led to a lack of successors to the highest combat power in Sunagakure, and also led to the fact that after the Third Kazekage was assassinated by Sasori of the Red Sand, Sunagakure did not have someone with sufficient prestige to smoothly take over the position of Kazekage.
This led to the outbreak of conflict between the sand manipulation faction and the puppet faction within Sunagakure, indirectly causing Sunagakure to target Konoha, which indirectly triggered the Third Shinobi World War.
In addition to this, the deaths of Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had a great impact, but there is another factor that cannot be ignored, and that is Tsunade's medical ninjutsu, which countered the group of Sunagakure puppet masters led by Chiyo who were good at using poison.
Combining these two points, Sunagakure had no chance of fighting Konoha at all, and had no choice but to choose to surrender and admit defeat, no matter how unwilling Chiyo was.
The decision was made by the Third Kazekage, so after the war ended, Chiyo and Ebizo chose to retire.
This is the reason why Sunagakure retreated during the Second Shinobi World War.
What about Iwagakure?
They were even more straightforward.
Because during the Second Shinobi World War, their home was directly stolen by Kumogakure.
Taking advantage of Iwagakure's empty rear defenses, the Cloud Shinobi went straight to the heartland, attacking the interior of the Land of Earth, causing heavy losses to the Land of Earth. Even now, some of the Land of Earth's territory is still occupied by Kumogakure.
It can be said that the feud between the Iwa Shinobi and the Kumo Shinobi is far greater than that between the Iwa Shinobi and Konoha.
The reason why Onoki is targeting Konoha is only because, in his eyes, Konoha is a greater threat.
Having experienced such an encounter with Iwagakure, it is even more impossible for the three great Hidden Villages to send all of their troops to the front lines, because they still have to guard against other villages.
This is also the reason why Konoha has been able to fight alone against the three great Hidden Villages and persist until now.
But now.
If the three great Hidden Villages really manage to join forces, let go of all defenses, and attack Konoha, then Konoha will really be in trouble.
Even if Konoha's overall strength is stronger, it will not be able to resist the complete alliance of the three great Hidden Villages, and possibly even including Kirigakure.
Hearing this news, Kiyokaze and Minato Namikaze both fell silent, their expressions solemn.
Inside the office.
There was a brief silence.
"Lord Hokage, is the news reliable?" Even though he knew that what Hiruzen Sarutobi said would not be false, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but ask.
It was really because once such a situation formed, Konoha would really be in trouble.
"It should be... quite reliable." Hiruzen Sarutobi crossed his hands and supported his chin.
He fell silent again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at Kiyokaze, "Nichikan, do you have anything to say?"
Kiyokaze touched his chin, "Although once this situation is confirmed, it will pose a great threat to our Konoha, I think... it's unlikely. Or rather, even if the three great Hidden Villages really cooperate, they won't be able to achieve a cooperation where they completely let down their guard."
"Oh?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up slightly, and he tapped his pipe, "Nichikan, continue."
"Let's not talk about the relationship between Sunagakure and Iwagakure for now. They failed to achieve true cooperation during the Second Shinobi World War."
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze both nodded at the same time, but did not interrupt him.
Kiyokaze continued, "But if Iwagakure and Kumogakure really want to let go of their grudges and cooperate completely, it's no different from a fantasy. The gaps between them are too big. The first step to truly cooperate is for the Cloud Shinobi to return all the territory they occupy in the Land of Earth to the Iwa Shinobi.
If I'm not mistaken, the proposal for this three-way cooperation should have been put forward by the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, right?"
"How do you say that?"
"Even if others have such an idea, their geographical location does not allow them to do so. Sunagakure has not even chosen a Kage yet. Although Chiyo is temporarily in power, she does not dare to make such a decision, or rather, she does not have the power to do so.
It is even more impossible for the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, because once they cooperate, they will have to actively return the territory. This is not a good choice for the already not wealthy Land of Lightning, and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning will not agree.
Then only Onoki of Iwagakure is left."
Kiyokaze's analysis was very clear, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze nodded frequently as they listened.
"Onoki has good calculations. If the cooperation is successful, the Cloud Shinobi will return the territory. Even if Iwagakure is defeated in this war, the Iwa Shinobi will not lose out, as they will have recovered the territory. He seized the time node when the Cloud Shinobi had just suffered a major defeat and proposed a cooperation proposal that the Cloud Shinobi could hardly refuse."
"Even if the cooperation fails, Iwagakure will not suffer any losses, at most maintaining the status quo."
