Chapter 287: Omen of War
With the Third Tsuchikage formally issuing the expulsion order, Tsunade and her team's mission was a complete failure. Not only did they fail to establish good relations with Iwagakure, but the relationship between the two great ninja villages became even more tense.
Leaving the Land of Earth, they killed a pack of reckless wild wolves on the road.
As the three of them and the pig gathered around the fire eating roasted wolf legs, Tsunade wiped the grease from her mouth and said angrily, "Onoki, that old fool, is too stubborn. He can't even see through such a simple enemy plot. Alas! I estimate war is getting closer and closer to us!"
Shizune and Tonton looked worried, and Ino also feigned a flustered expression. In reality, she had a similar speculation to Tsunade's.
Iwagakure's military strength was extremely strong. The village reached its peak under the Third Tsuchikage. Should he then retire peacefully and hand over power to the young people? He wouldn't!
He had been suppressing Kitsuchi, whose strength and wisdom were both top-notch. Seeing that he himself was almost 80 years old, he still refused to step down. What was it for? Just fame and fortune. He didn't need fortune; what he cared about was fame. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, just wanted to push Iwagakure to a higher position during his tenure.
The title of ninja world hegemon sounded pretty good!
Iwagakure had fought with Kirigakure and Kumogakure during wartime, but at this stage, the three sides didn't actually share borders.
If they wanted to attack Kumogakure, unless they wanted to cross the North Sea, they would have to pass through a large area including the Land of Rain, Land of Grass, Land of Hot Water, Land of Fire, and Land of Frost. Without wiping out seven or eight countries, the two sides wouldn't even share a border.
It was the same for dealing with Kirigakure; one was in the far east, the other in the far west, separated by more than half the world.
Iwagakure's geographical location determined that they only had two enemies: Sunagakure in the southern desert, and Konohagakure in the southeastern plains.
Which side would yield the greatest profit? It was self-evident.
Iwagakure generally held animosity towards Konohagakure, for both historical and practical reasons.
In Iwagakure, Konoha ninjas had a very poor reputation, labeled repeatedly as "liars," "cunning," "sinister," and "unfathomable."
Konoha had rebellions every other day. As the saying goes, "Whether the ninja world is in chaos or not, Konoha has the final say." The Third Tsuchikage had always considered Konoha a threat to Iwagakure. Defeating Konoha was pretty much his lifelong ambition.
Regarding anything related to Konoha, whether reasonable or not, he would be unyielding to the end.
If there was no opportunity, he would create one. Now that there was an opportunity, he certainly wouldn't let it go.
Without Six Paths-level Naruto and Sasuke, without the First Hokage's kind of contemporary overwhelming power, as long as the Third Tsuchikage could persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Earth to provide military funds and supplies, a great war would soon break out.
Three days later, Tsunade's team returned to the village to report the mission. This mission to liaise with Iwagakure was considered a failure.
Victory and defeat are common in military affairs; failing a mission once was nothing.
Jiraiya didn't say much, instead offering a few words of comfort.
Naruto was shouting on the side, saying he wanted to avenge Ino. Jiraiya told him to go study geography first; figure out where the Land of Earth was before talking about revenge.
Ino wasn't particularly dejected. If she had resorted to any means necessary, she could have killed Kitsuchi. Even if they fell out with Iwagakure, the three of them and Tonton could have fought their way out.
The reason they were somewhat disgracefully expelled was for the sake of the relationship between the two villages.
Kitsuchi's attitude was generally friendly towards Konoha. Damaging Kitsuchi's prestige, apart from letting the Third Tsuchikage stay in the Kage position for a few more years, had no substantial benefits.
What was the big deal?
She didn't take it seriously, but her peers were being intensely pressured.
This battle was different from the one with Yugito Nii, which required secrecy. Many ninjas witnessed this battle, so it could be recounted.
All things considered, Ino didn't fall behind in the battle with Kitsuchi; it was a draw.
Who was Kitsuchi? He was the Third Tsuchikage's son. During the Great Ninja War, when the Third Tsuchikage was garrisoned in the village, he was Iwagakure's frontline commander, a figure who had long fought against Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze. If not for special circumstances, he would have been the Fourth Tsuchikage long ago.
It wasn't shameful for Ino to draw with such a figure. Instead, her fame skyrocketed. At the exchange office, her bounty directly rose to 35 million ryo, on par with Asuma.
The younger generation suffered from internal competition. When parents talked about it, it was always "Look at the Yamanaka family's child," and so on. Did they just know how to sleep and eat at home? All of them, go train!
They endured immense pressure because of this.
People outside the village were also affected. Several of Ino's former opponents were brought up. Chojuro and Gaara desperately needed fame. Now that her stock was rising, it also pulled up Chojuro's and Gaara's reputations.
There were rumors in Sunagakure that Gaara and Ino were evenly matched. Now that Ino had drawn with the veteran Kitsuchi, did that mean Gaara's result against Kitsuchi wouldn't be too different? Amazing, our Kazekage!
Ino's reputation was blatantly "piggybacked" on.
The next day, the Konoha Twelve gathered at Young Master Shikamaru's Life Curry House to eat curry rice.
Neji couldn't eat spicy food. After one bite, his face turned beet red from the spice, and his Byakugan showed signs of turning red. Tenten hurriedly poured him water.
Sasuke, Shino, Sakura, and others were also struggling with the spiciness, but hearing that Life Curry House's curry rice could slightly increase chakra, several of them were eating fiercely.
Hinata knelt in a rather ladylike posture while eating, her movements small but frequent, and particularly discreet.
To divert everyone's attention, little Hinata pulled Ino out to attract animosity: "Ino, did you really defeat that senior named Kitsuchi?"
This matter had spread throughout the "circle," especially with Sunagakure and Kirigakure using her fame to boost their own, which greatly displeased Ino.
At this moment, she said in a very humblebragging way: "How could I? Senior Kitsuchi and I probably fought for over three hundred rounds, right? From morning till night, I really couldn't take it anymore, I was too hungry. That Senior Kitsuchi is particularly tall and very strong. His Earth Release is a special counter to my Water Release."
First, she boasted a bit; what three hundred rounds, that was all nonsense.
When she spoke about the specific ninjutsu and taijutsu confrontation, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, and Sasuke began to listen attentively, not wanting to miss a single detail.
"Are Iwagakure ninjas all skilled in Earth Release?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.
Ino nodded: "Pretty much. Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi... Kurotsuchi doesn't count, she has the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. The rest of the ninjas pretty much all use Earth Release."
Sasuke seemed lost in thought. He had no grudge against Iwagakure, but now the relationship between the two sides had suddenly become particularly tense. Kakashi had told him about this.
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