Land of Earth.
This nation lies northwest of the Land of Fire.
Despite its vast territory, much of the land consists of barren yellow soil and mountainous regions, making it largely uninhabitable.
Most of the population resides in the northern plains, separated from the Lands of Grass and Rain by a series of towering mountains.
While these rugged mountain ranges serve as a natural shield, they also present a major challenge—
Whenever Iwagakure launches military campaigns, its forces must first traverse the treacherous terrain.
This creates a logistical nightmare, severely burdening the village's supply lines.
As a result, Iwagakure's standard battle strategy involves sending elite troops into the Land of Grass first, using it as a staging ground before advancing into the Lands of Rain and Fire.
In the original timeline, Kannabi Bridge played a pivotal role in this war.
As a key route connecting the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth, its destruction by the legendary Yellow Flash crippled Iwagakure's supply lines.
Cut off from reinforcements, their frontline forces collapsed under relentless attacks.
Adding to their woes, the Yellow Flash rampaged through their ranks, slaughtering Iwa ninjas en masse—an utter disaster for the village.
In the aftermath, Iwagakure swiftly mobilized to rebuild Kannabi Bridge, aiming to maintain its strategic foothold and bide time for revenge against Konoha.
However, the crushing defeats suffered by Kirigakure and Sunagakure forced Ōnoki, the ever-cunning Third Tsuchikage, to abandon those plans.
At present, Konoha had grown too powerful—far more than Iwagakure could challenge alone.
Yet just as Ōnoki's ambition was beginning to fade, the arrival of one man reignited the flames of war.
---
"I never expected you to come here alone. Are you not afraid of death?"
Floating in midair to compensate for his short stature, Ōnoki narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized the towering and muscular figure before him—
His old rival, the Third Raikage, A
That's right—
The man known as the Strongest Spear and Strongest Shield had arrived alone at Iwagakure's doorstep.
A scene like this had never occurred in the history of the Five Great Nations—until today.
A gentle breeze from the Land of Earth stirred A's wild, untamed mane and thick beard, lending him an air of unrestrained ferocity.
At Ōnoki's words, A scoffed.
"If I dared to come here, do you think I fear being ambushed?"
"Even if Iwagakure truly has the power to kill me… you'd better be ready to leave ten thousand corpses behind first!"
A's words were unwavering and domineering.
Yet, no one—not even Ōnoki himself—thought he was exaggerating.
Because the man standing before them was fully capable of such devastation!
Ōnoki knew better than to pick a fight with a walking natural disaster like the Third Raikage—
Even if Iwagakure managed to claim victory, the village would be left in ruins.
"So, why exactly are you here?"
A dangerous glint flashed in Ōnoki's eyes.
"You'd better have a good reason. Iwagakure is not a place where you can come and go as you please."
Though he didn't want to start a fight, he also wouldn't allow the leader of another nation to roam around unchecked.
With his arms crossed, the Third Raikage spoke in his deep, commanding voice:
"Relax. Your land is nothing but barren yellow soil—if I didn't have important business, I wouldn't have bothered coming at all."
Then, his voice lowered.
"Ōnoki, what I'm about to say is important."
Ōnoki immediately understood and turned away, waving his hand.
"All of you, withdraw."
At his command, the surrounding Iwa-nin vanished in an instant.
Ōnoki then floated forward, leading the Raikage into a secluded meeting room.
The entire time, he kept a safe distance between them.
'Cautious old fox…'
Though he had no intention of attacking, the Raikage couldn't help but mock the Tsuchikage in his mind.
Just like Konoha's Danzo, both he and Ōnoki never left their enemies even the slightest opportunity.
---
"Now, speak."
Ōnoki turned, his gaze fixed on the towering Raikage.
This time, A didn't hold back.
"I propose an alliance between Kumogakure and Iwagakure—together, we will crush Konoha!"
Ōnoki's pupils contracted sharply for an instant.
But just as quickly, he regained his composure.
"An alliance between two nations isn't that simple."
He didn't agree immediately.
At his age, he had experienced too many betrayals.
If people could easily turn on each other, then what about nations?
As soon as interests clashed, backstabbing would happen in an instant.
Ōnoki wasn't called Tsuchikage for nothing—there was no way he would trust so easily.
But A had expected this.
"Ōnoki, drop the act. You can feel Konoha's pressure, can't you?"
His voice was stern.
"First, they defeated Kirigakure. Then, they crushed Sunagakure. Konoha has already taken massive profits from both nations."
"If we don't unite against them now, we will be the next to fall!"
"Think about Danzo, that old fox. Think about Konoha's younger generation."
"Do you really believe that after you're gone, Iwagakure's young ninjas will be able to stand against them?"
Ōnoki's expression subtly shifted.
As much as he hated to admit it, Konoha's new generation was indeed a serious threat.
"How do you propose we cooperate?"
Ōnoki finally softened his stance.
But whether or not he would truly form an alliance depended on Kumogakure's sincerity.
A, however, was direct and ruthless.
"Sunagakure and Kirigakure are too occupied to intervene.
Let's deploy our full forces, utterly destroy Konoha, and seize the entire northern region of the Land of Fire!"
---
The Lands of Earth and Lightning lay to the northwest and northeast of the Land of Fire, respectively.
"Therefore, if both nations march south simultaneously, they could indeed seize the entire northern region of the Land of Fire."
And this had always been the ambition of both nations.
"Deploy our full forces? Isn't that too risky?"
Ōnoki remained calm despite the tempting proposal.
But the Third Raikage was all in.
"I will send both the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails Jinchūriki onto the battlefield—to completely annihilate Konoha's fighting strength!"
His battle-hardened eyes burned with intensity.
"Don't worry. That old Sarutobi Hiruzen won't step onto the battlefield, and Konoha will never allow the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to fight."
"So while Konoha may seem powerful, our real opponents are only Danzo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, the Yellow Flash, and Uchiha Fugaku!"
Hearing that list of names, Ōnoki felt an immediate headache.
"Only" them…?
Seeing Ōnoki's twitching expression, the Raikage let out a cold sneer.
"If things weren't like this, do you think I would consider working with an old fossil like you?"
Normally, Ōnoki would have exploded in rage at such an insult.
But instead, he remained silent for a long time—deep in thought.
He was carefully evaluating the realistic feasibility of this alliance.
"Fine. But the details still need discussion."
An alliance between two nations was never simple.
Even if the leaders agreed, they still had to convince their internal factions to cooperate.
___
Meanwhile, in Konoha...
"Lord Ryoma, according to intelligence reports, Kumogakure has deployed its forces into the Land of Fields."
"Iwagakure has also made its move. They have been transporting large amounts of supplies into the Land of Grass and even advancing toward the border of the Land of Waterfall!"
The Land of Fields was north of Konoha.
Meanwhile, the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water, which had already been occupied by Kumogakure, were northeast of Konoha.
These territories acted as buffer zones between the great nations of Fire and Lightning.
But due to Kumogakure's aggressive military policies, these nations had almost no real sovereignty.
Now that Kumogakure had stationed troops in all three buffer nations, they were placing immense pressure on Konoha's northern defenses.
As for the Land of Waterfall, it bordered the Land of Grass, with only a single neutral nation—the Land of Iron—separating it from the Land of Fields.
Because Takigakure was home to a powerful Jinchūriki, Iwagakure didn't dare launch a full-scale invasion.
But by stationing forces along the border, their intentions were already crystal clear.
They were preparing to launch a massive northern assault on Konoha.
---
Having served under Danzo for years, Aburame Ryoma immediately recognized the looming danger.
"Send this information to Lord Danzo at once!"
"Additionally, activate all our agents within the Lands of Lightning and Earth—at any cost, we must gather intelligence on the enemy's forces!"
Ryoma's commands were swift and precise.
"I will personally head to the frontlines and lead this intelligence war myself!"
__
This Danzo Is Weird 380 advanced chapters: (5-10 ch updates everyday)
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