While the village reform was being meticulously planned and strategies formulated, the Hidden Cloud Village nominated its Fourth Raikage. Unsurprisingly, it was the Third Raikage's son, Ai.
At this critical juncture of war, the Cloud Village could not afford to remain leaderless. They absolutely had to immediately select a successor to regroup the scattered morale and fighting spirit of their forces.
From the outside, it appeared that after Ai ascended to power, his first move would be to immediately attack the Sand Village in revenge. But no one expected that shortly after Ai's succession, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki would personally lead over ten thousand Stone Village soldiers to invade the Land of Lightning.
Ai reacted equally quickly, immediately organizing the Cloud Village army to rush to the front lines to resist.
From the battle reports, the situation bore a striking resemblance to the Sand Village's surprise attack on Konoha. The Hidden Cloud Village had been caught completely off guard.
After confirming the Cloud Village's precarious situation, Konoha also launched a large-scale offensive, deploying top-tier fighters including Minato Namikaze to the Land of Rice Fields. Joining forces with Orochimaru, they intended to deliver a devastating blow to the Hidden Cloud Village.
This was the most intense and spectacular battle since the outbreak of the Great Ninja War. Even the opening battle between the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Leaf Village had not reached this level of mutual destruction.
The Hidden Cloud Village seemed to have instantly become the victim of a coordinated mob attack.
Although the Hidden Sand Village had not directly participated in the assault on the Hidden Cloud Village, the mastermind behind the situation that had made it possible was undoubtedly the Fourth Kazekage.
Without him killing the Third Raikage, the Hidden Cloud Village would have continued to dominate its section of the battlefield, and the Stone Village's sudden offensive into the Land of Lightning would never have found such a favorable opening.
On the other side, because the Hidden Leaf Village had deployed Minato Namikaze to the Land of Rice Fields engagement, and because Rasa and his forces had already arrived at the Land of Rivers battlefield, the Hidden Sand Village, although still fighting the Leaf Village's army, faced significantly reduced pressure.
Minato's role in the fierce conflict between the two villages had been considerable and his absence was immediately felt.
Furthermore, upon receiving battle reports from the front lines, Yuji immediately analyzed something else. The conflict between Konoha's senior officials and the Uchiha clan appeared to be deepening.
Because their clan members had been captured by the Sand Village, the Uchiha clan felt compelled to demand a reasonable explanation regardless of broader circumstances, and they were refusing to easily leave the Land of Rivers front line.
But judging from the overall battlefield situation, Konoha's current cooperation with the Stone Village to attack the Cloud Village was undoubtedly the strategically wisest decision available to them.
To completely subdue or even effectively intimidate the Hidden Cloud Village, relying only on Minato's small group would make it extremely difficult to maintain a firm advantage. The Cloud Village's military strength was not to be underestimated.
Therefore, Konoha's senior officials must have considered sending a portion of the Uchiha clan to the Land of Rice Fields engagement as well. Even a portion of the Hyuga clan's forces had been moved to that battlefield alongside Minato. But not a single Uchiha clan member had left the Land of Rivers front.
This said everything.
Even if it meant defying the Hokage's direct wishes, the Uchiha clan was prioritizing revenge for their captured clansmen, attempting to force the Sand Village to either hand over prisoners or return bodies.
This kind of thinking, whether on the battlefield or within the village, was simply taboo. It placed the clan's collective will openly above the village's strategic interests. It was practically an open declaration of defiance against the leadership.
Konoha's senior officials were deeply dissatisfied.
Looking across the entire ninja world, only the Uchiha clan would dare to behave this way openly.
"Although the Great Ninja War is currently raging across all five villages, through some careful manipulation of the ninja world's situation, the village has successfully steered things into a kind of controlled chaos. Konoha, the Hidden Cloud, and the Hidden Stone will definitely be fighting each other to exhaustion next, and will not have the capacity to focus on us."
"Therefore, the only variable we genuinely need to be wary of is the Hidden Mist Village."
In his office, Yuji narrowed his eyes and thought it through carefully.
Drawing on his advantages as a transmigrator, he could use his memories and accumulated information to make indirect adjustments, quietly steering the ninja world's situation in the direction he needed. He could work to ensure the village's safety and continued development through subtle influence rather than direct confrontation.
But this was not absolute.
The Hidden Mist Village was a genuine variable.
Whether in the Second Great Ninja War or the Third, the Hidden Mist Village had always played the role of an unpredictable troublemaker. The only difference was that in the Third Great Ninja War as it had originally unfolded, they had stirred things up too aggressively and ultimately brought serious consequences down on themselves.
The extreme internal Blood Mist policy and its atmosphere had grown even more intense and suffocating. After the Third Mizukage's death, Yagura Karatachi had ascended and the village had reached its darkest point under his reign.
This had caused the Hidden Mist Village to suffer losses in external wars while simultaneously experiencing severe internal decay, ultimately falling into a period of significant weakness after the war ended.
However, in the current period, the Hidden Mist Village had not yet reached that darkest point. It remained one of the Five Great Ninja Villages with considerable military strength and posed a threat to the Hidden Sand Village that could not be dismissed.
Furthermore, compared to the Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Leaf Villages, whose trajectories and circumstances during the Great Ninja War were relatively well documented in his memory, the Hidden Mist Village's specific actions during the Third Great Ninja War appeared only infrequently in the original work.
This meant his memory advantage was considerably less clear when it came to them. Additionally, the Land of Water's status as an island nation gave the Hidden Mist a natural isolation from most land-based battlefields, which historically led them to act with less restraint and more recklessness during periods of wider conflict.
Regarding the Third Mizukage specifically, he knew very little. There was no reliable way to judge this person's character, temperament, or strategic thinking.
Therefore, from his perspective, the Hidden Mist Village's next actions and plans were filled with genuine uncertainty. No one could guarantee that this particular mad dog would not decide to set its sights on the Sand Village.
"If one were to rank the most internally unstable villages in the ninja world, the Hidden Mist Village stands unchallenged at the top. Even Konoha cannot compare in that regard. This village also produces the highest number of missing ninja of any great village."
"Currently, the Hidden Mist Village is also launching attacks on Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village, but the scale of their movements has not yet become truly large. This means a portion of their energy is already committed elsewhere.
In this situation, even if they wanted to cause serious trouble for the Sand Village, the level of pressure they could realistically apply should not be excessive."
"However, the Hidden Mist Village's situation seems to have quite a significant connection with certain forces operating from within the continent."
He thought this through carefully. Without support from parties operating on the mainland, the Hidden Mist Village would fundamentally be incapable of causing disruption everywhere simultaneously.
The major ninja villages all had allied smaller villages and countries connected to them. And the reason the Great Ninja War had spread as widely as it had was not simply a matter of the Five Great Ninja Villages clashing directly. The conflict involved countless power factions and relationships of extraordinary complexity.
"The Third Mizukage is dead. That is undoubtedly connected to Madara. That old man, in order to create a village he could exploit, would surely have moved to eliminate the Mizukage while he was still alive and then worked to destabilize the Hidden Mist Village's internal structure. To the point where he could easily take control of the village by manipulating Yagura Karatachi directly."
"This must also be part of his broader plan."
"By now, the Mizukage may already be under Madara's control."
"Madara."
Thinking of Uchiha Madara, the tension in his chest intensified.
He had captured Uchiha clan members and was in the process of spreading their bloodline throughout the Hidden Sand Village.
He found himself wondering whether Madara and Black Zetsu had noticed any of this yet. He could not afford to be careless with those two. Compared to every other concern he was managing, the sudden unease he felt about the Hidden Mist Village stemmed from the specific fear that Madara and Black Zetsu might be secretly involved in whatever they were planning next.
In short, looking at the current ninja world as a whole, the only element that was genuinely impossible to control or predict was the Hidden Mist Village. Because there was simply too little reliable intelligence available regarding their internal situation.
"If an opportunity presents itself, I want to try to get to Black Zetsu and..."
He let the thought develop.
"Bringing about Infinite Tsukuyomi early. Whatever your grand plan is, I have absolutely no interest in participating in your boring circus performance."
"Even if I cannot completely dismantle it, finding a way to expose you would be a worthwhile objective."
Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone rapped on the door.
"Come in."
Yuji snapped back to the present.
"Lord Kazekage. News has arrived from the Daimyo's Mansion. The Daimyo has suddenly fallen seriously ill and wishes to see you."
Yuji smiled and nodded.
"Understood."
...
Stones 💎💎