Pakura's eyes narrowed with caution.
Even though she hated Konoha, she couldn't deny their strength.
Why had Sunagakure been so careful around the Hidden Mist before?
Besides the Mist army's crushing advantage on the battlefield, there was always Konoha lurking on the sidelines like a hungry tiger.
After Sunagakure grew stronger, they'd traded blows with Konoha a few tis.
Not many fights, but enough to learn.
Konoha was strong.
Otherwise they wouldn't have beaten Iwagakure.
And that was with two of the Sannin sitting the whole war out.
If Jiraiya ever ca back, Konoha would only get stronger.
The sudden arrival of Leaf ninja put Pakura on edge.
"Konoha… why are you here?"
The Grass Village leader froze when the news reached him.
For one wild second, hope flared in his chest.
Konoha and Sunagakure had been enemies. Sunagakure had been printing vicious stories about Konoha in the Ninja World Big Events Weekly. Maybe Konoha was here to settle the score—stop Sunagakure in the na of "protecting order in the ninja world."
Maybe Grass Village had gotten lucky.
But hope was just hope.
Minutes later, the Grass Village leader learned the real reason.
"Grass Village sent ninja into the Land of Fire disguised as mountain bandits. They killed dozens of Fire Country civilians, raided rchant caravans, and slaughtered over a dozen Leaf ninja. Their cris are unforgivable."
Yuuhi stepped to the front of the Leaf army.
His face was cold as stone as he stared down the Grass ninja.
"Lord Hokage has ordered —Yuuhi—to lead this force into the Land of Grass and punish Grass Village."
Every single Grass ninja's face went stiff.
They'd heard Leaf forces were coming and thought Konoha was here to save them—their saviors.
They never expected this.
Konoha wasn't here to help. They were here to invade.
Facing Sunagakure alone had already been desperate.
Now they had Konoha too.
What the hell were they supposed to do?
A wave of despair rolled through the Grass ranks.
"Damn it!"
"Konoha is so fucking shaless!"
"Sunagakure at least brought real evidence. Konoha has nothing—just makes up so bullshit story and invades us. Disgusting."
"They're just here to squeeze us dry for profit!"
"Shaless. Completely shaless!"
"Worse than Sunagakure!"
Yuuhi's expression didn't twitch.
He was a Leaf ninja. A proper one. His only job was to follow orders.
Orders were everything to a shinobi.
Uchiha Shisui glanced toward Grass Village, then at the massive Sand army on the other side.
Even now, he couldn't understand how Grass Village had the balls to provoke two great villages at the sa ti.
That kind of courage was insane.
Just like the Uchiha clan launching a rebellion they had zero chance of winning.
The Grass Village leader suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Is Grass Village… finished?"
"I shouldn't have done it…"
He regretted every single move he'd made against Sunagakure.
"If only I hadn't provoked them…"
"If there was no Sand army, Konoha wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be facing this disaster."
A Grass ninja stepped up beside him.
"Lord Leader, we should surrender right now. With our strength, we can't fight both Sunagakure and Konoha. We can barely hold them off."
"Now is the best ti. The longer we wait, the worse it gets."
"If Iwagakure shows up too, we're done."
"Trying to feed three great villages… Grass Village might not even exist anymore."
The leader's face twisted.
"You're right."
No matter how unwilling he was, he knew it was over.
Surrendering now was the only smart move.
If they dragged it out, Iwagakure would definitely co.
Maybe even Kumogakure.
"We surrender…"
He was halfway through the words when another army appeared on the horizon.
A broad, muscular figure stepped forward from the new force.
"Grass Village sent ninja into the Land of Earth disguised as horse bandits. They killed Earth Country civilians, raided caravans, and slaughtered Iwagakure ninja. Their cris are unforgivable."
"Lord Tsuchikage has ordered —Kitsuchi—to lead this force into the Land of Grass and punish Grass Village."
The Grass Village leader: "…"
The despair on his face deepened into sothing darker.
"Is the heavens trying to destroy Grass Village?"
"Heaven… how unfair!"
"Why does Grass Village deserve this fate?"
"It's all my fault…"
His arms dropped weakly to his sides.
"I surrender!"
"Grass Village surrenders!"
The mont the words left his mouth, every Grass ninja dropped their weapons, raised their hands, and stopped forming hand seals.
They accepted their fate as prisoners.
"Grass Village has surrendered!"
"Grass Village has surrendered!"
Cheers erupted from the Sand army, the Leaf army, and the Rock army.
Pakura's expression was ugly.
Sunagakure had done most of the work. Konoha had barely contributed, and now Iwagakure—who had done nothing—was showing up to carve up the spoils.
How the hell were they supposed to divide it?
Three villages. Three different camps.
Each sent a ssenger back to their village almost at the sa ti.
Sunagakure. Rasa.
Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Iwagakure. Ōnoki.
All three received the news at nearly the sa mont.
"Grass Village has surrendered."
"Konoha ca to punish Grass Village?"
"Not just Konoha—Iwagakure too."
Rasa's face turned complicated.
"Are they here to steal Sunagakure's victory?"
Sunagakure refused to give an inch.
Iwagakure made outrageous demands.
Konoha was just as greedy.
The three villages locked into a standoff.
The Grass Village leader let out a bitter, mocking laugh.
"They're all here to carve up Grass Village like vultures. They're all bandits. Fight! I hope they tear each other apart!"
"The bloodier the better."
"The more of them die, the better!"
The hatred in his eyes was almost solid.
But while the three villages argued, none of them wanted another full-scale war.
"Let's hold a Three Kage Summit."
"In the Land of Grass."
"We'll negotiate until we find a division all three villages can accept."
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