Chapter 262
"Did Oonoki agree to our request?"
At the border of the Land of Fire, Raikage Ai looked at the dusty earthen platform and asked loudly in a voice like muffled thunder.
"He rejected our war proposal." Tutai sighed and shook his head. When he was sent to the Land of Earth, he was mentally prepared for the possibility of mission failure.
There was no real winner in the Third Ninja World War. Even Konoha, which finally survived, was severely damaged in the Ninja World War.
The Rock Ninja suffered heavy losses, with only 3,000 ninjas left from the original 10,000. In the end, even the two tailed beast Jinchuriki were captured.
Now the Iwagakure Village is still licking its wounds and working hard to cultivate a new generation. How could it possibly participate in a war of such an unpredictable scale again?
"That old thing." Raikage Ai punched the wooden table in front of him so hard that pieces flew everywhere. He was very dissatisfied with Ohnoki who was used to changing his attitude according to the situation.
If it weren't for the Gray Stone Mine, the Raikage Ai would have changed his target and gone after the Rock Ninja. It's hard to chew the hard bone of Konoha, but can't I bite off a piece of meat from you, the Rock Ninja?
At the very least, it could bring back some of the Cloud Ninja's reputation in the Ninja World and attract some businessmen to hire them.
Although the Daimyo of Lightning Country did not cut military spending like the Daimyo of Wind Country did after the defeat of the Cloud Village, but instead increased investment at the request of the Raikage Ai, a ninja village still needs a large number of merchants and tasks to stay active.
It is not just about rewarding the ninjas, but also about training and growing the ninjas during the missions.
All ninja villages want to defeat Konoha, not only because Konoha occupies the Land of Fire, which has the richest resources and the best geographical environment, but also because defeating it can bring huge benefits.
It is also because of Konoha's reputation in the ninja world that it naturally attracted a large number of businessmen.
After all, the founders of Konoha were all the famous and powerful ninja clans! From the Senju to the Uchiha, and then to the subsequent Ninja World Wars, even if Konoha was shaky, it was still the winner in the end.
This kind of strength, coupled with the resources and environment of the Land of Fire, naturally attracted people who needed to hire ninjas. As long as there was a choice, when hiring ninjas, the first thing people thought of was Konoha.
The Fire Nation borders many large and small countries, and its geographical environment is also very advantageous.
If there is a ninja village that can break the idea that Konoha is the strongest in the ninja world, then there is no doubt that in addition to the benefits reaped from Konoha, there will also be a steady stream of long-term benefits brought by reputation in the future.
"Where is the alliance?" Raikage Ai asked in a deep voice.
"Rejected too." Tutai shook his head again.
"He doesn't need to send troops. He just needs to pretend to exert some pressure and contain Konoha. Isn't he willing to do that?" Raikage Ai was a little annoyed.
This condition was already a backup plan that he and Dodai had discussed, but Ohnoki still refused?
"I think Ohnoki has seen through our purpose. He doesn't want to be dragged into this by us." Dodai has his own understanding and recognition of Ohnoki's caution.
Although as long as he agreed to form an alliance with the Cloud Ninja and only had to pretend to take some risks, he could gain some benefits from the Cloud Ninja, but Ōnoki obviously did not trust them.
There will be unexpected events in war, and any unexpected event may drag Iwagakure back into the quagmire of war.
Now the Iwagakure Village can no longer withstand the turmoil of war.
The Gray Stone Mine is a good thing, but the way to get it is not just war and robbery. At least the intelligence department of the Rock Ninja has found out that Konoha has not completely taken the Gray Stone Mine for itself, but has cooperated with the Sand Ninja and shared it to a certain extent.
Even some customized puppet toys circulated in the Sand Village may have their energy cores made from the polished and cut Gray Stone.
Since the Sand Village was able to obtain the Gray Stone from Konoha, the Rock Village naturally had a chance to do the same. When it was time to place a bet, Ohnoki would not lack the determination to go all out, but when it was time to leave the table, Ohnoki would not hesitate at all.
What the Iwagakure Village needs now is to restore its vitality and cultivate a new generation, rather than to start a dispute again.
Ohnoki, who had experienced three Ninja World Wars, knew very well that once the war started, all brakes would fail.
"We can only wait for news from the Hidden Mist Village." Raikage Ai was a little unwilling.
Konoha and the Sand Ninja are now allied. Although the Cloud Ninja recovers the fastest, it is still a one against two situation, and the Raikage Ai is not crazy enough to do that.
The defeat at the hands of River Country and the shock that Nagato brought to him were enough to dispel the arrogance that had built up in him after his sudden surge in strength.
He is indeed powerful as he has mastered the power of Hollows, but the Raikage Eco has never forgotten the source of the power of Hollows.
Although Raikage Ai firmly believes that the Cloud Ninja's understanding and mastery of the power of Hollows is unique in the ninja world, who can be sure that Konoha does not have similar development and mastery of the power of Hollows?
If the news from the Hidden Mist Village is also bad, then the Raikage Ai can only give it a try, and after confirming that Konoha and the Sand Ninja have joined forces, he will hastily withdraw his troops and send out an envoy to try another method.
If you can't get it in bulk, you can only spend money to buy it.
It's like going to other countries and ninja villages to buy resources and weapons.
The delegation that went to the Hidden Mist Village brought back good news a few days later. The Hidden Mist Village did not reject the Raikage's proposal. Although they did not express their willingness to participate in the war, they promised to send troops to the front line to put pressure on Konoha and tie up some of the opponent's energy and strength.
After hearing this news, Raikage Ai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the plan had encountered unexpected events, it was not a complete failure after all.
This was actually still a battle between Konoha and the Cloud Ninja, with the Sand Ninja and the Mist Ninja being more of a support. At least the Raikage Ai didn't believe that the Sand Ninja was willing to provide military support for Konoha regardless of the consequences.
Intelligence showed that the Sand Village couldn't spare many people to fight the war. Even the number of external mercenary missions that the Sand Village accepted had been greatly reduced.
Even many tasks within the Wind Country were transferred to the ninjas of Konoha.
The Raikage didn't believe that the Sand Ninja would have no complaints about such a thing.
……
Konoha.
"A delegation from Ōnoki?"
Orochimaru was somewhat surprised and doubtful about the letter sent by Ōnoki. Orochimaru felt that he knew his old rival from the Third Ninja World War very well.
"Is it because of the Grayl Stone Vein?"
After reading the words on the letter, Orochimaru came to his senses. It turned out that he wanted to take advantage of the intervention of the Kumo Ninja to get a 10% share of the profits from the Gray Stone.
However, the other party did not take extreme and predatory measures like the Cloud Ninja, but instead wanted to achieve cooperation between the two major ninja villages through transactions.
(End of this chapter)