"You're right, this is just speculation. We have no proof that Yagura is being controlled. We can't spread this around."
Tsunade's face was serious.
Sometimes, evidence was crucial. Other times, it didn't matter much at all.
In matters between villages, making baseless claims could cause unnecessary trouble.
Even if it was just a war of words, it wasn't worth it.
Tsunade had no interest in constantly bickering with Kirigakure Village.
"There's another important sign."
"What sign?"
"Kirigakure Village hasn't asked for help!!"
Yan raised a finger and shook it, reminding Tsunade:
"Back when the five great villages formed an alliance, Yagura had already made it clear—if Kirigakure Village was attacked, they would ask for help if needed.
At that point, the other villages would have to step in and fight the Akatsuki together."
"Now, Yagura is seriously injured, yet Kirigakure Village hasn't even mentioned it. Don't you think that's suspicious?"
Logically speaking, even if the Mizukage hadn't been nearly taken out, the sheer scale of the Akatsuki's attack should have been enough for Kirigakure Village to send out a call for help.
If the five great villages worked together, it would be much easier than Kirigakure Village facing the Akatsuki alone.
Using others to take down a common enemy was the smartest move.
With Kirigakure Village's strength alone, even if they could handle it, the cost would be too high. They'd take all the damage themselves.
But if they got the other villages involved, then everyone shared the losses. The risk would be spread out.
"This is insane."
After a brief silence, Tsunade suddenly slammed the desk and cursed through gritted teeth, "What the hell is the Akatsuki planning?"
Yan raised his hand to his chin and thought for a moment.
"Do you think they might be trying to weaken the Five Great Shinobi Villages first to make their plan go more smoothly?"
The stronger the Five Great Shinobi Villages are, the harder it will be to carry out the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
If Obito and Nagato have any sense, they wouldn't choose to go head-to-head with the Five Great Shinobi Villages directly.
If they can't fight them directly, then why not stir up internal conflict within the Five Great Shinobi Villages first?
Let them tear each other apart, and when they're exhausted, the Akatsuki can come in and clean up the mess.
By then, they'll be so caught up in their own battles that they won't even bother to help other villages when they get attacked.
"So you're saying that after controlling Yagura, the Akatsuki might have used Kirigakure to provoke a war, start a conflict, and weaken the Five Great Shinobi Villages?"
Tsunade's face darkened as she grumbled in frustration.
"Don't tell me the Akatsuki is planning to use Kirigakure to go after Konohagakure."
She had no interest in getting dragged into a fight with Kirigakure for no reason.
"Not very likely."
After thinking it through, Yan responded,
"Our neighbors are the more likely targets."
Compared to the original timeline, Konohagakure is much stronger now.
Even though the village has its flaws, its overall power is undeniable.
As long as Obito isn't completely out of his mind and Nagato hasn't lost all sense, they wouldn't pick a fight with Konohagakure.
Instead, they would go after the weaker side.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the easiest target—the one that's easiest to manipulate—is without a doubt Sunagakure.
Kirigakure has always stirred up trouble in Sunagakure's territory, making the people of Sunagakure grind their teeth in frustration while being powerless to fight back.
If anyone wanted to spark a conflict, Sunagakure would be the perfect target.
Because they're poor, because they're weak, because they're easy to bully.
On the other hand, Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure are like porcupines covered in spikes.
If you try to mess with them, you won't gain anything—if anything, you'll just end up hurting yourself.
"..."
Poor Sunagakure.
Tsunade and Shizune couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Rasa.
"For now, let's leave it at that. This is all just speculation, and we can't even give a direct warning.
Otherwise, it would look like we're trying to stir up trouble between them."
If Kirigakure really intends to make a move, they'll definitely start by provoking conflict. We just need to wait and see.
Wars don't just happen overnight—you need the right reasons and excuses.
Even if the Akatsuki has control over Yagura, they can't just start a war out of nowhere.
Because the Daimyo won't allow it, and the village's higher-ups won't allow it either.
So if they want to start a war, they have to convince them first.
They need a solid reason to persuade them.
Tsunade looked worried, but Yan didn't seem to care much.
To him, no matter what schemes the Akatsuki came up with, their ultimate goal was still the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. As long as he understood that, it was enough.
As for their conspiracies, as long as they didn't affect Konohagakure, it wasn't his problem.
Even if his guess turned out to be correct, the ones who would suffer would be Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
Yan figured that just handling his own affairs was already enough. As for the troubles of other villages, they'd have to deal with them on their own.
The Akatsuki had appeared.
Kirigakure's intelligence report wasn't just sent to Konohagakure—it was also shared with other villages.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure were the most concerned, with Oonoki and A even sending people to Kirigakure to check in.
Unfortunately, after attacking Kirigakure, the Akatsuki disappeared again, and the village wasn't able to gather much information on them.
This left Oonoki and A feeling frustrated.
"Konohagakure! Your most incredibly, amazingly, ridiculously handsome Toad Sage, Jiraiya-sama, has returned!!!"
After years away from the village, Jiraiya finally returned, standing at the entrance and dramatically announcing his arrival.
People passing by looked at him like he was crazy.
The ninja on guard duty was so embarrassed that he wished he could dig a hole in the ground big enough to hide in.
If it had been anyone else, they would've been stopped immediately for embarrassing the village like this.
But since it was Jiraiya, they couldn't do much even if they wanted to. They just stood there awkwardly, forcing out a few polite smiles while cursing him in their heads.
"Tell him to get his ass over here right now!!!"
The moment Anbu received word that Jiraiya had returned, they reported it to Tsunade.
Of course, they also included details of his grand entrance.
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