"Kusagakure has responded. They said that the matter of an alliance is too important and must be carefully considered.
They hope to hold a eting with us at the border between our two nations to discuss the alliance between Kusagakure and Agakure, and, Leader, you must attend. Of course, the leader of Kusagakure will also be present."
Saki Yuto bowed his head as he delivered Kusagakure’s response to the "God" of Agakure.
Not long ago, Pain had suddenly instructed them to send an envoy to Kusagakure, stating that Agakure wanted to form an alliance with them.
Saki Yuto didn’t quite understand Pain’s intentions. Alliances between minor shinobi villages were aningless, since small villages had no voice in the shinobi world.
War or peace, these decisions were controlled by the Five Great Nations. Small villages couldn’t resist even if they wanted to. They were forced to comply with whatever the Great Nations dictated.
Of course, Saki Yuto didn’t consider Agakure to be a typical minor shinobi village. After all, during the Second Great Ninja War, Agakure was one of the key players.
Although they ultimately lost and failed to shake the position of the Five Great Nations, they had accomplished what no other small village could: launching a direct challenge against the major powers and even inflicting damage on them.
"A eting at the border between the two countries to discuss an alliance..." A trace of contemplation flashed in Pain’s eyes.
"Agree to it," Pain said calmly, expressionless.
It was only Kusagakure. Even if the eting was in the heart of the Land of Grass, so what? Could the Land of Grass even do anything to him?
"I understand. I’ll respond to them imdiately," Saki Yuto nodded and withdrew.
Pain’s indifference didn’t bother him, after all, this was the man who had replaced Hanzo as "God."
Not a "demi-god" like Hanzo, but a true god.
Anyone who had seen Pain in action believed that the title of "God" was well-deserved. His terrifying powers defied explanation. Without even forming hand seals, he could simply extend his hand and his enemies would be scattered.
A cold personality was only natural for a god, unlike re mortals. That was what Saki Yuto believed.
In fact, he had rarely seen Pain. Truthfully, no one really interacted with him. Usually it was Konan, the "Angel," who communicated on the god’s behalf and delivered orders.
But recently, the situation had reversed. The "Angel" had disappeared, and the "God" had taken charge directly.
Fortunately, though Pain seldom showed himself, his authority in Agakure remained strong. Nothing went wrong. The village continued to function normally.
Saki Yuto quickly sent Kusagakure their reply, affirming that Agakure had agreed to the eting. The two sides would convene at the border, and both leaders would be present.
With that matter settled, Saki Yuto couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.
’Leader suddenly wants to ally with Kusagakure... Could it be he wants to unite the smaller villages to oppose the Great Nations?’
It was clear to Saki Yuto that their leader wasn’t soone content to stay quiet.
If he were, he wouldn’t have launched a rebellion, overthrown Hanzo’s rule, and taken command of Agakure and the Land of Rain himself.
And after successfully killing Hanzo and seizing power, Pain didn’t boast to the world about slaying the "Demi-God." Instead, he sealed the news, allowing the outside world to remain under the impression that Agakure was still under Hanzo’s control.
That alone showed the scope of Pain’s ambition. If he simply wanted fa, revealing his victory over Hanzo would’ve made his na echo across the shinobi world. But Pain didn’t do that.
Saki Yuto had taken part in the rebellion himself and contributed greatly. If not for that, he wouldn’t have earned his current standing in Agakure.
Even before the coup, he held a high position in the village.
"No matter what happens, as long as it makes Agakure better, I will follow him to the end." Saki Yuto looked out into the distance. Thunder rumbled in the heavy clouds ahead, it was going to rain again.
In his mory, the sky over Agakure was always so overcast. It rained year-round. The country got its na, the Land of Rain, from that endless downpour.
Thus, Agakure’s architecture was unique: spired towers, and dense networks of pipes running through the village.
Saki Yuto beca a shinobi just before the Second Great Ninja War, the most glorious ti in Agakure’s history.
Back then, everyone was full of confidence. They believed they could rival the Five Great Nations, or at least elevate Agakure to beco the sixth.
Saki Yuto was the sa then. He had great confidence in Agakure.
They had a powerful shinobi force, all of them skilled in assassination. They had a mighty leader, revered across the shinobi world as the Demi-God Hanzo.
With such strength, why shouldn’t they beco a Great Village? With a country like the Land of Rain backing them, why shouldn’t they beco a Great Nation, enjoying its privileges?
But sadly, the power of the Five Great Nations had been far beyond their imagination. Maybe in terms of high-level combat, Hanzo hadn’t lost to them, he even defeated Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, bestowing upon them the title of the Sannin.
But below the elite level, Agakure suffered total defeat. At every rank, their shinobi were weaker.
Their jōnin couldn’t beat Konoha’s jōnin. Their chūnin couldn’t beat Konoha’s chūnin. Even their genin lost to Konoha’s genin...
Agakure lost. And they paid a painful price for it.
After that, Hanzo seed like a different man. He was no longer brave. Though he still held demi-god-like strength, he required constant protection.
He beca increasingly paranoid of rising powers within the Land of Rain, and eventually, in fear of losing his position, he began to strike first and kill threats.
That Hanzo could no longer lead the Land of Rain forward. He was no longer the warrior who dared raise his blade against the strong, he was now the dragon trembling in fear of brave challengers.
That’s why Saki Yuto had decisively beco an Akatsuki insider in Agakure. He believed the reborn Akatsuki, led by Pain, was better suited to guide Agakure’s future.
The ti agreed upon arrived quickly, and both sides gathered at the designated eting point.
Three days before the eting, shinobi from Agakure and Kusagakure had begun patrolling the area and set up a simple eting room.
When the leader of Kusagakure saw Pain leading the Agakure delegation, he was montarily stunned. But being the leader of a shinobi village himself, he quickly composed himself and greeted Pain.
"So young and promising, truly impressive. Agakure really keeps things low-key. I imagine most other villages in the shinobi world still believe Hanzo is your leader," the Kusagakure leader said with a smile.
"Hanzo? Just a failure of the old era. Let’s get to the matter of the alliance," Pain replied blandly.
Hearing Pain’s words, the Kusagakure leader’s gaze changed.
He had assud Pain was a successor appointed by Hanzo. But from those words, it seed more likely this young man had removed Hanzo by force, and perhaps Hanzo was no longer even alive.
The Kusagakure leader knew he’d have to be cautious around this young man.
To have overthrown Hanzo the Demi-God, this young man’s power must be formidable.
The two leaders entered the eting room and sat at the short ends of a rectangular wooden table. The others remained standing behind their respective leaders.
"Since we’re talking about an alliance, I’d like to ask: in what areas will Kusagakure and Agakure cooperate?" the Kusagakure leader asked with a smile.
He was genuinely surprised by Agakure’s proposal. Out of the blue, they wanted an alliance?
But then he recalled the recent chain of events and thought of a possibility.
What kind of village was Agakure? The one that ignited the Second Great Ninja War. A small village, yes, but one with an extraordinary past. They had fought the Great Nations head-on.
At this timing, Agakure’s sudden approach made it hard not to be suspicious. Agakure had a history of stirring up trouble.
The Kusagakure leader suspected Agakure wanted to stir the pot again, possibly trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War like they had done before.
To be honest, he was a little tempted.
He was not soone who accepted diocrity. If he were, he wouldn’t have dared to send suicide squads to steal peace negotiation data between Iwagakure and Konoha in hopes of sparking a war.
He had no interest in the so-called peaceful shinobi world that was supposedly coming.
The Five Great Nations could start wars as they pleased, waging battle across the lands of small countries. And when they grew tired of fighting, they’d hold a eting, shout for peace, and everyone else would have to fall in line.
But chaos brought opportunity. Only during war could the Five Great Nations wear each other down, only then could a village like Kusagakure hope to rise and replace them. That had always been his thinking.
If Agakure was willing to raise the banner of war, Kusagakure would gladly follow.
Of course, this was just speculation. That’s why the Kusagakure leader insisted on eting Agakure’s leader personally to test his true intentions.
"As a village leader, you should know how deeply the Five Great Nations and Great Villages have oppressed smaller nations and minor shinobi villages," said Nagasawa bluntly, showing no interest in playing political gas.
Though he was a leader, Nagasawa hadn’t adopted the habits of a politician. He preferred being direct.
Hearing such candid words, the Kusagakure leader beca almost certain, this alliance wasn’t about simple cooperation.
"Of course I know. They co and go across our borders as they please, demand our cooperation, and hoard resources while lording over us..." the Kusagakure leader said with a deep tone.
These were words he wouldn’t say in most settings or to most people.
But this was Agakure, the village that had once raised its blade against the Great Nations and been crushed by them. Only to such a village could he speak this openly.
Hearing his words, Pain nodded expressionlessly. Though not a country themselves, in the shinobi world, no small nation could live with dignity before the Great Nations.
So smaller lands were lucky enough to be strategically aningless, so the Great Nations ignored them.
But the Land of Rain, bordering three major countries, wasn’t so fortunate.
If a Great Ninja War broke out, the Land of Rain could never remain neutral. It was wedged between three giants.
Sotis even Kumogakure would cross into the Land of Rain just to stir up trouble.
It was a strategic junction. From here, you could march north to fight Iwagakure, southwest to clash with Sunagakure, or southeast to hit Konohagakure.
The citizens of the Land of Rain always suffered, collateral damage in conflicts not of their own making.
Ninja might not go out of their way to slaughter civilians, but war was brutal. If a wounded ninja ran into civilians from an enemy country, what do you think he’d do to ensure his own safety?
"The Great Nations are always like that, starting wars for their own gain, then posing as righteous when it’s over and demanding peace. Small countries have no say at all..." Nagasawa began laying out his true intentions.
"You all, leave," the Kusagakure leader interrupted, dismissing his subordinates.
Nagasawa thought for a mont and dismissed his own followers from Agakure as well.
"Agakure wants to form an alliance with Kusagakure where we advance and retreat together. When we go to war with the Great Nations, I hope Kusagakure will support us," Pain said directly.
Seeing such bluntness, the Kusagakure leader couldn’t help but admire it. That’s youth for you.
He had once been that direct, but as his position grew, he learned to hide behind riddles.
Although he’d already suspected it, hearing Pain say outright that he wanted to challenge the Five Great Nations still shocked him.
He had long dread of overthrowing them, but he didn’t have the courage to say it aloud.
After all, they were the Five Great Nations. The Five Great Ninja Villages. A single squad of their elite shinobi could wipe out a small village.
"Kusagakure also resents what the Great Nations have done and is willing to ally with Agakure," the Kusagakure leader said after so thought. "But compared to your village, we lack strength. When the ti cos, we may not be able to support you imdiately on the battlefield."
He agreed, because this sudden peace was never in Kusagakure’s interest.
But risking themselves too early? He had no intention of that. Better to survive quietly than provoke the Great Nations’ wrath.
So the Kusagakure leader’s thinking was: if Agakure proves they can truly contend with the Five Great Nations, then he’ll join the war.
But if it ends up like the Second Great Ninja War again, he’d act like nothing ever happened. After all, if Agakure lost, they wouldn’t have the strength to take revenge on Kusagakure anyway.
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