The Land of Grass wasn't large—about the same size as the Land of Birds—but it certainly had no shortage of ninja.
This kind of setup was anything but healthy.
No wonder they played both sides so effortlessly. As long as there were resources to be had, they would squeeze every last drop—
Especially from outsiders.
Kyoichi's eyes swept across the surroundings. The Land of Grass had many farmlands, and if war broke out, these fields would be the first to be trampled.
And yet…
Upon arriving at Kusagakure, what he saw was a village completely devoid of panic.
Everything continued as usual.
But…
"Sensei!"
"Hmm?"
"We're here to help defend their village, yet not a single one of them looks even remotely friendly to us." Shisui lowered his voice.
The Kusagakure ninja were anything but welcoming. The moment they spotted the Konoha forehead protectors, their gazes turned cold—far from the attitude one would expect from allies.
Kyoichi glanced around.
The Kusagakure ninja avoided them at all costs, unwilling to even make eye contact.
It was obvious.
Kyoichi was a jōnin.
And a Konoha jōnin was not to be trifled with.
"It's simple," Kyoichi said with a smile. "Because we're blocking their way."
With that, he gripped the hilt of his sword and began walking, step by step, toward the chūnin stationed at the village gates, responsible for handling visitor registration.
"May I ask who you are?"
The chūnin didn't dare show the slightest bit of negligence.
With the Konoha army stationed at the border, provoking them now would be a disaster—one far beyond what a mere chūnin could bear responsibility for.
"Kanda Kyoichi, Konoha jōnin. I've been sent to request an audience with your leader."
"These are my students."
Kyoichi handed over the official documents.
"Understood! Once your registration is complete, you may enter. However, our leader may not be present at the moment…"
"That's fine…"
Kyoichi smiled.
Not here?
Heh…
It didn't matter if the Kusagakure leader was "not here." If Kusagakure didn't want to negotiate, Kyoichi would simply leave a formal notice at their office. At that point, the choice wouldn't be up to them—it would be up to him.
A bunch of shortsighted fools.
Kyoichi led Shisui and the others into the village, while Shisui carefully observed Kusagakure.
This was his first time stepping into another ninja village.
And yet…
Something felt strange.
The Land of Grass was on the verge of catastrophe, yet its ninja seemed completely indifferent—worse, they even resented Konoha's intervention.
This…
Shisui simply couldn't understand.
Kyoichi, however, understood perfectly.
Konoha was blocking their path to surrendering to Iwagakure!
That said…
To be fair, the Land of Grass wasn't in an easy position.
Look at their neighbors—
The Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Waterfall.
The first two were powerhouses, no need to elaborate.
Even the latter two, despite being smaller villages, were formidable in their own right—not opponents the Land of Grass could afford to provoke.
But still!
Kyoichi was from Konoha, and their forces were already deployed to the front lines. Meanwhile, the Kusagakure ninja had merely "expressed their concern" without actually contributing anything substantial.
So he felt no sympathy for them.
As they walked further in, Kyoichi subtly observed his surroundings, using his chakra sensing technique to scan the area.
There were quite a lot of ninja.
But with so many different chakra signatures, pinpointing a member of the Uzumaki clan was like finding a needle in a haystack.
He continued wandering through the village. The Grass ninja kept their distance, avoiding him at every turn.
Asuma and Kurenai were puzzled.
They had no idea what was going on, and since Kyoichi wasn't explaining, they had to piece it together themselves.
After thinking about it for a while…
They still had no clue.
Forget it—better to wait for answers.
Kyoichi eventually reached the outskirts of the village, where the houses looked vastly different from those in the main area—dilapidated, with piles of trash scattered about.
Inside one of the houses, someone was watching them.
Of course…
If that were all, Kyoichi wouldn't have paid much attention.
But through the cracks in the broken walls, he caught a glimpse of something—
A striking shade of blood-red.
An Uzumaki?
His mind stirred.
Then, he noticed something else—many Kusagakure ninja were secretly observing them, their hostility even stronger now.
It seemed Kusagakure had already discovered her abilities and had even given her a separate house.
Kyoichi casually moved forward, making sure to visit a few more places to avoid drawing suspicion.
But then—
A figure landed in front of him.
"Kyoichi-sama, our leader has returned. He has sent me to escort you to him."
A Kusagakure ninja.
Kyoichi glanced ahead and said, "No rush. I'd like to look around a bit more."
"Kyoichi-sama…"
"Fine, fine. Since your leader is in such a hurry, I suppose I have no choice but to see him first. I was hoping to explore the customs and culture of your village a bit longer, though."
Kyoichi sighed in disappointment.
Shisui and the others followed behind him, their expressions unchanged. But knowing their teacher well, they could tell that the person in the house had caught his interest.
He had paused for a second or two.
Kyoichi left.
The Kusagakure ninja finally breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed. Kyoichi, on the other hand, was led by Kusagakure's ANBU toward the leader's office.
The Kusagakure leader had "returned."
He had no choice but to return.
Even if he didn't know Kyoichi's exact intentions, he had at least heard of him.
A newly promoted Konoha jōnin from last year.
Rumored to be quite strong.
If he left Kyoichi unattended, there was no telling how much intelligence Konoha might gather from Kusagakure.
"I heard you were away," Kyoichi said as he entered. "So I thought I'd take a look around before coming to see you. I didn't expect you to return so quickly. I hope my unexpected visit hasn't interrupted anything important?"
Kyoichi wore a sincere expression, his words polite and apologetic.
But…
To the Kusagakure leader, it didn't sound that way at all.
His smile stiffened. "Oh, not at all! With Iwagakure launching large-scale attacks on our land, we only managed to hold them off thanks to Konoha's help. No matter how urgent my matters were, they couldn't be more important than this meeting with you!"
"Good to hear."
Kyoichi gestured for him to sit.
For a brief moment, irritation flashed across the Kusagakure leader's face, but he still sat down.
"Yesterday, I took a squad to scout the Land of Earth," Kyoichi continued casually. "Along the way, we eliminated three or four elite Iwa squads… Sigh, I have to say, Iwagakure is quite formidable. Especially in defensive warfare—we simply aren't their match."
Then he added, "On top of that, we're fighting on three fronts, and our forces are stretched too thin."
"This… but I heard the eastern front had already been secured?"
The Kusagakure leader's expression was complicated.
Three or four elite squads?
If this guy wasn't bluffing, then his strength was terrifying—he alone could probably take on ten full squads from Kusagakure.
Good thing they hadn't provoked him…
Otherwise, they'd be in serious trouble!
"Who knows if Kirigakure will launch another attack? We can't place our hopes on their mercy, so we've still stationed forces in the east," Kyoichi said. "Right now, our manpower is critically low. I wonder if your village could send more troops so we can launch a counterattack?"
He didn't bother beating around the bush.
The Kusogakure leader hesitated before replying, "Our jōnin squads are already deployed in the defense effort. The only ones left in the village are chūnin and genin—they wouldn't be much help in an offensive operation, would they?"
"Chūnin are useful on the battlefield too. And medical ninja, supplies—those are also crucial. Konoha is stretched too thin across three battlefronts. If it really comes to it, we may have to abandon the Land of Grass entirely."
Kyoichi sighed.
"What?! No, that's out of the question!"
The Kusagakure leader panicked.
Some in Kusagakure wanted to defect to Iwagakure, but he hadn't made a decision yet. The situation was still uncertain—Konoha had won in the east, and the overall war was still up in the air.
Konoha might not lose.
Choosing a side too early was risky.
Kusagakure had survived all these years by playing both sides, but now Konoha was forcing them into a decision.
Kyoichi's words put the question squarely in front of him—
Who would they stand with?
Kyoichi remained silent, simply watching him.
The leader's mind was in chaos, but outwardly, he asked, "Is this the Hokage's decision?"
"The Hokage is on the front lines himself," Kyoichi answered.
"Uh…" On the front lines?
So this was Sarutobi Hiruzen's decision?!
No way.
The Hokage wasn't the type to force a village into choosing sides. He wanted to use vague words to stall for time.
But…
Kyoichi simply smiled and didn't respond.
"If necessary," Kyoichi continued, "why don't we relocate the Land of Grass's civilians to the Land of Fire for now? Once we defeat Iwagakure, they can return."
"What?! Absolutely not!"
The Kusagakure leader nearly exploded.
If their civilians settled in the Land of Fire, they'd never come back!
Even if he didn't fully understand the economic foundations of a ninja village, he knew Kusagakure couldn't survive without the Land of Grass and its people.
Yet he refused to give up anything.
"Our plan remains the same," Kyoichi said. "If you're willing to join the counterattack, send someone to discuss the details.
If not, we'll withdraw our forces in three days to avoid causing further trouble for your country."
Kyoichi bowed slightly, then turned and left, not waiting for a response.
A final ultimatum.
As he stepped out, he could hear the faint sound of something smashing inside.
But…
He didn't care.
Kyoichi had achieved both of his goals in Kusagakure. There was no need to linger. He walked straight toward the village gates.
The Kusagakure ninja didn't dare stop him.
Once they left the village, Shisui finally spoke. "Sensei, it seemed like you never expected Kusagakure to send troops in the first place, did you?"
"Mm."
Kyoichi nodded. "If you study Kusagakure's history, you'll see that it has always been caught between major powers. Their strategy has been to side with whoever looks strongest at the time."
"Right now, it looks like we're at a disadvantage, but we won in the east…"
Hearing that, Asuma instantly understood.
No wonder…
Most of the Kusagakure ninja believed Iwagakure would win. But their leader and a few others thought Konoha still had a chance—so they remained undecided.
They wanted to avoid losses while keeping the war going, waiting to see who would come out on top.
How convenient.
Asuma scoffed. "No wonder the Kusagakure ninja at the front lines all looked half-dead. They're faking it."
"I wonder what they'll choose," Shisui mused.
Kusagakure had finally been forced to make a decision.
This situation...
It felt oddly similar to the Uchiha.
"They definitely won't choose to go on the offensive."
If the Kusagakure Ninja were actually willing, he wouldn't mind leading them in a counterattack—anything to avoid getting bogged down in a war of attrition with the Iwa Ninja.
But was that possible?
Highly unlikely.
Kyoichi wasn't holding his breath. Instead, he was already considering when to come back and snatch people from Kusagakure.
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