A Sage's Pursuit of Power

A week later, just as the ninja world assumed that Konoha's warnings were merely posturing and the incident had blown over, a new announcement shook the entire ninja world.

Konoha released a 60-page investigative report.

Most ordinary people wouldn't pay attention to such reports, but the surrounding ninja villages couldn't afford to ignore it. They immediately analyzed every word and eventually reached a conclusion:

The report implicated Kusagakure (the Hidden Grass Village) as being intricately linked to the recent terrorist attack.

...

At Kusagakure

A group of Grass ninjas gathered in confusion, their faces pale.

"What's going on? Why is Konoha suddenly targeting us? Did someone leak information?"

"What do you mean we leaked information? Our plan has been consistent, and none of us left the village before its execution. How could anything have been leaked?"

"Then why is Konoha focusing on us?"

"The situation is complicated. The terrorist attack they suffered was real, but based on our intelligence analysis, it likely stemmed from internal dissent cause by those dissatisfied with Tsunade."

"So, they're redirecting attention to us to shift the internal focus? That's impossible. That's not Konoha's style."

"No, it wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi's style. But Hiruzen is gone now. The current Hokage is Tsunade, and her personality makes this entirely plausible."

"Damn, that coward Hiruzen actually got killed by his own student. What a disgrace."

"Enough! Let's not mourn Hiruzen here. Regardless of our speculations, we have to face the situation: what if Konoha really did uncover something?"

The room fell silent.

At that moment, they started missing Hiruzen Sarutobi, much like how the Western powers once nostalgically recalled the days of imperial China or the Republic era.

But nostalgia wouldn't change the fact that Kusagakure was now facing Konoha.

"If that's the case, let's assume Konoha has discovered something. Their intelligence network far surpasses ours. We need to accelerate our plans."

"How much more time do we need?"

"At least a month to finish feeding it."

"Speed it up. We might not have a month."

...

From a strategic standpoint, targeting Kusagakure wasn't the best choice.

A glance at the ninja world map reveals a key detail: the five great nations don't directly border one another.

Between any two major nations, there are always smaller nations acting as buffer zones.

These small countries serve as shields for the larger nations. This is why Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan became so disillusioned—Amegakure (Hidden Rain) was caught between the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth. The wars between the great nations caused immense suffering for the Rain Village.

Even Hanzo, who once dominated the ninja world with his overwhelming strength, couldn't change the Rain's status as a perpetual buffer state.

This arrangement became an unwritten rule. If the great nations shared direct borders, any small conflict would escalate into a full-scale war, making it hard to control the situation.

Direct borders mean stepping across a line is an immediate violation. At that point, do you fight or not?

Fighting over a minor issue isn't worth the resources. But not fighting would be a blow to national pride.

Thus, the buffer nations exist, and most conflicts play out there, minimizing harm to the great nations themselves. Skirmishes across borders are common, but rarely spill into the major nations' territories.

This is the law of the "big five bullies," and the tragedy of the smaller nations.

...

After the report's release, no one was more terrified than the Daimyō of the Land of Grass.

He was well aware of the power disparity between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire. For years, the Land of Grass had acted as a vassal to Konoha.

Now that Konoha was angry, the Daimyō quickly scrambled to defuse the situation.

On one hand, he issued public statements condemning Kusagakure's reckless actions. On the other, he personally visited the Fire Daimyō to apologize and make amends.

....

Meanwhile, Konoha received a letter from the Fire Daimyō reprimanding them not to rashly provoke conflict.

Aoba, however, paid little attention to the Daimyō's letter. For now, most villagers hadn't yet adapted to the idea of living without the Daimyō's influence, so the letter still carried some weight.

In the Hokage's Office....

Tsunade placed the Daimyō's letter on the table in front of Aoba. Present were only Tsunade, Aoba, Kakashi, and Shikaku. While the group seemed small, considering Konoha was just a large village, it was understandable.

These four currently formed Konoha's highest decision-making body and were the key executors of Aoba's grand reform plans.

Though the Daimyō held little sway over them personally, the issue was one of timing, it was still too early to openly oppose him.

"According to the plan, we can't openly break with the Daimyō yet. So, we need to discuss our next steps," Tsunade said.

"Demand compensation," Shikaku suggested. "To maintain appearances, we need significant benefits to appease the villagers. By solidifying the narrative, we can pressure Kusagakure into paying reparations."

Shikaku's suggestion was practical and balanced. Given the situation, it was entirely possible to extract a substantial sum from Kusagakure in "compensation." But this wasn't quite what Aoba wanted.

The Sarutobi conservatives' coup attempt was a major incident. Failing to capitalize on it would dishonor the sacrifices of those who died.

Additionally, targeting Kusagakure wasn't just a matter of public policy, it was personal. Yumi and Karin's grudge against Kusagakure had also driven this plan. After so many years, it was time to settle the score.

"I think the plan shouldn't end here," Aoba said. "We can push it further."

"How? We've already accused Kusagakure of a terrorist attack. What more can we do?" Tsunade asked.

"Simple. If Kusagakure dared to target Konoha, they must have some secret weapon. We'll claim they've been secretly developing a weapon of mass destruction to attack Konoha."

"…" Tsunade was silent for a moment before responding, "Did you forget that the terrorist attack was our fabrication? And where would Kusagakure even get a weapon of mass destruction? If they had one, they'd already be the sixth great ninja village."

"Well… what if they do have one?"

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