Living in the World of Naruto, Marrying Tsunade

According to the intelligence Shamon possessed, the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu had been created by the first leader of the Land of Waterfalls. The reason that man had been able to master all five elemental natures along with Ice Style was precisely because of that strange and unusual ninjutsu.

As for the Kakuzu mentioned by Chiyo, Shamon had heard of him as well.

He was a ninja who had been active since the Warring States era. More than ten years ago, his strength had already reached Kage-level; by now he was likely over forty years old.

During the war between the Land of Waterfalls and Konoha, it was said that Kakuzu and the nation's first leader had fought together to barely hold back Hashirama's advance. Having two Kage-level fighters was exactly why the Land of Waterfalls had risen above the many small nations of that era.

After all, in those times, possessing multiple Kage-level warriors was a privilege reserved for the Five Great Nations. Most small countries were lucky to have even one. Some nations were led merely by elite jōnin.

While elite jōnin could sometimes contend with Kage-level opponents, the gap in realm was absolute—their endurance and sustained combat ability were still far inferior.

Yet the Land of Waterfalls had once possessed two Kage-level fighters, making it the strongest among the small nations.

And one of them had even reached early Super-Kage level.

However, according to what Shamon knew, Kakuzu was not from the same clan as the country's ruler. Because of this, he had little influence in politics. Despite his strength, the position of second leader had passed him by.

Even the inheritance of the Earth Grudge Fear jutsu had gone to the first leader's son rather than to Kakuzu.

So his eventual rebellion was not surprising—it was almost inevitable.

The problem was simply that it had happened at such a critical moment, giving Shamon a headache.

Right now, the Land of Waterfalls was probably mobilizing the entire nation to hunt Kakuzu down. After all, Earth Grudge Fear was the foundation of their country. Without it, they might never again produce an exceptional leader.

Relying solely on ordinary training, whether they could even produce another Kage-level ninja was questionable—let alone restore the glory of their founding era.

They would undoubtedly throw all their forces into recapturing Kakuzu and recovering the technique.

But in Shamon's view, their chances of success were slim.

Kakuzu was a veteran ninja with vast combat experience. Counter-tracking and evasion would be second nature to him. The so-called elite forces of the Land of Waterfalls were unlikely to capture someone like that.

Yet this also gave Shamon an opportunity.

Since the Land of Waterfalls valued Earth Grudge Fear so highly, the alliance could offer to help hunt Kakuzu. With an army of nearly one hundred thousand ninja, it would only be a matter of time before he was discovered.

Such a condition would greatly increase the chances of persuading them to join.

After all, this was their greatest weakness. Even if they didn't want the alliance's help, they would still be forced to think carefully.

If Kakuzu fell into someone else's hands, their secret technique might end up belonging to another nation—and no one would return it out of kindness.

Thinking of this, Shamon said coldly:

"It's fine. Just send someone there. Tell them our alliance is willing to assist in gathering intelligence on Kakuzu."

Chiyo's eyes immediately lit up.

This strategy was truly vicious.

Once the envoy delivered that message, the Land of Waterfalls would already be trapped.

If they refused to join, they would offend numerous nations and risk losing Earth Grudge Fear forever—something they could never accept.

More importantly, Kakuzu had only just defected. Even if he fled, he couldn't have gone far yet.

And all the countries surrounding the Land of Waterfalls were potential alliance members.

That meant Kakuzu would likely flee into neighboring territories.

If the Land of Waterfalls did not join the alliance, their ninja would have no right to pursue him across borders. Entering another country without permission during wartime could easily lead to capture—or death.

This was not a peaceful era. The Second Great Ninja War had only recently erupted, and any foreign ninja entering another nation would be treated as an enemy immediately.

Capture would mean interrogation—or worse.

Whether through torture or genjutsu, the outcome was almost certainly death.

Because of this, the Land of Waterfalls would have no choice but to join the encirclement.

Chiyo nodded.

"In that case, I'll assign someone else to negotiate with them."

She was naturally pleased. The Land of Waterfalls was a nation whose overall strength rivaled that of the Land of Craftsmen and the Land of Iron. Its addition would place even greater pressure on Konoha.

Of course, all of this remained only a plan.

Whether it could truly be carried out was another matter entirely.

After all, man proposes, heaven disposes. Unexpected situations could arise at any moment. Until the encirclement was fully formed, Sunagakure could not relax.

Even if the alliance succeeded, they could not rush into war.

Their true goal was deterrence.

They wanted to prevent the Land of Fire from expanding recklessly by relying on Arata's existence.

As long as Konoha refrained from territorial expansion, the other nations could continue developing.

Because no matter how strong Arata was, he was still human.

One day, he would grow old and die.

When that day came, Konoha without Arata would be easy prey for the alliance.

After all, even the mighty Hashirama had eventually died. Whether from injuries sustained against Uchiha Madara or simply from age, the fact remained: even legends were not immune to time.

So although Arata had reached Super-Kage peak at a young age, Sunagakure had no need to clash with him directly.

They simply needed to stall.

In fact, the alliance's real purpose had never been to fight the Land of Fire to the death.

It was to buy time for all nations to breathe.

If they could simply wait for Arata to age and pass away, their chance to rise would come.

After all, no matter how strong Konoha was, it was still just one country.

If the alliance operated correctly, it could gradually reduce Konoha's population.

And once the population declined, producing another Super-Kage-level genius—let alone a Super-Kage peak one—would become nearly impossible.