The Land of Wind was now divided into two factions: the war faction and the surrender faction.
The surrender faction consisted entirely of the nation's elderly elite Jōnin. Having grown old and frail, and seeing no hope for victory, they sought to surrender in order to prolong their lives. Because they held high-ranking positions in the Land of Wind, they believed that even if they surrendered to the Land of Fire, they would still be treated well in exchange for their cooperation.
On the other hand, the war faction was composed of young, spirited shinobi. Despite knowing the vast power gap between them and the Land of Fire, they refused to become subjugated. Among them, the strongest was Rasa. He had earned immense prestige among the younger generation of Wind Country shinobi, and when he declared his resolve to fight to the death rather than surrender, countless young shinobi immediately stood with him.
"I know you're not afraid to die. Do you think I fear death?" one of the elders scoffed. "If we fight the Land of Fire head-on, we don't stand a chance. We'll only throw our lives away. But if we surrender, we can at least recover and rebuild. Once we regain our strength, we may find an opportunity to free ourselves from their control."
"He's right," another elder added. "Even if we put our entire nation's strength into battle, our chances of victory are still zero. Surrendering and biding our time is a better strategy."
The surrender faction argued their case, watching the passionate young shinobi with growing concern. After all, they, too, didn't want to be enslaved. If they had even the slightest hope of victory, they wouldn't hesitate to fight. But the young shinobi's refusal to surrender meant they would gather more supporters, potentially foiling the elders' plans and dragging them all into destruction.
"Shut up! You cowards have ruled over this village for years, and now, when our country is on the brink of collapse, you don't even have the guts to fight? You just want to hand everything over without a battle? You're a disgrace!"
"Surrender? You say it so easily! Do you think the higher-ups in the Land of Fire will allow us to rebuild? They'll exterminate our strongest shinobi to ensure we never rise again. You really believe they'll spare you?"
"I guarantee that the other great nations won't just sit back and watch us fall to the Land of Fire. They will intervene. If we surrender now, even if they want to support us, they'll have no justification to do so!"
Rasa roared in fury, his killing intent barely restrained. He wanted nothing more than to eliminate these cowardly old men on the spot.
"Rasa, you're still young. You don't understand the full picture," an elder replied with a sigh. "Even if other nations want to help us, their support will be limited. Jiraiya can easily slay Kage-level warriors. What nation would dare send their own Kage to fight him?"
"If they don't send Kage-level shinobi, no amount of regular troops will make a difference," another elder added.
The council hall fell into silence.
They had a point. The Land of Wind no longer had a Kage-level shinobi capable of matching Jiraiya. He had already slain Hanzo of the Salamander, the Kazekage, and two jinchūriki. What nation would willingly send their Kage to face him, unless they had too many Kage to spare?
"The other nations will eventually act against Jiraiya," Rasa argued. "His existence has upset the balance of power among the great nations. The other three Kage won't just sit idly by. As long as we hold out, they'll step in to deal with him."
"You have a point," one of the younger shinobi agreed, eyes gleaming with newfound hope. "The Land of Fire won't stop with us. Once they conquer the Land of Wind, they'll set their sights on the other great nations. They won't tolerate that."
"If we can hold out until the other Kage unite against Jiraiya, we might be able to survive this," another added, looking encouraged.
"That's just wishful thinking," an elder retorted. "Even if they come to our aid, there's no guarantee we'll last that long."
"And even if the other three Kage kill Jiraiya, how can you be sure they won't turn on us next? We have no Kage-level fighters left to protect our land. Our vast territory doesn't just tempt the Land of Fire—the other nations will want a piece of it, too."
"The Land of Lightning and the Land of Water don't share borders with us," a war faction shinobi shot back. "Even if they covet our land, the greatest beneficiary would be the Land of Earth. The Land of Lightning and the Land of Water would never allow that to happen."
"You cowards! If you refuse to fight, then just die already!"
Rasa had had enough. Seeing that reasoning was useless, he unleashed his Gold Dust jutsu. A massive golden hand formed in the air and came crashing down upon the surrender faction elders.
Though these elders were once formidable, they had long since passed their prime. Caught off guard, several were instantly crushed to death, while many others were gravely injured.
"Rasa, how dare you attack us? Do you intend to commit treason?!" the leader of the surrender faction bellowed in fury. He unfurled a puppet scroll, summoning a swarm of deadly puppets to attack Rasa.
"You're the traitors!" Rasa roared, encasing himself in solidified gold dust to block the assault.
Seeing their leader make his move, the war faction shinobi wasted no time. They launched an all-out attack on the surrender faction.
Eliminating them would weaken the Land of Wind's overall strength, but keeping them alive would be even worse. If the Land of Fire attacked while they remained, the Land of Wind would collapse from within before the battle even began.
The war faction proved superior in combat. One by one, the surrender faction shinobi fell.
In mere moments, half of them had been slaughtered. The council hall was in ruins, the destruction evident.
The battle's commotion had alerted the rest of the village, and more Wind Country shinobi were rushing toward the scene…
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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