Chapter 37
Sunagakure
Ryoma, Jonin
He had been expecting a few days off, but instead he had been woken up and escorted to another secret meeting in the early hours of the morning. He had to go much slower than normal, accounting for the damages he still sustained, but soon enough he was walking through the doors leading into one of the many sealed chambers below the Kazekage's office.
The white-veiled gentleman who escorted him stayed at the door, along with Tsubame, while gesturing for him to go inside. Ryoma nodded tiredly at the pair before pushing the doors open and stepping through.
Inside the room was a large circular sandstone table unencumbered by chairs, the walls were equally blank slabs of polished sandstone, with an image-projector mounted in the center of the table and pointed at the far wall. Very much the classic image of a conference or presentation room, with how few people-comforts were present.
"Ryoma!" The calm boom of Captain Gentai rang out, drawing his gaze. The massive man was standing on the left of the room, right next to the Vice-Captain Nichibotsu, with one hand raised in greeting. Ryoma raised his own hand as he gingerly walked over, arm in a sling and head and ribs thoroughly wrapped.
Glancing around the room, he could see that nearly every Corps Captain and Vice-Captain was present at whatever this secret meeting was, along with the Kazekage at the far wall, the ANBU Captain, and the Logistics Division Captain. Captain Arada was over there, Captain Aoi a few spaces over, Vice-Captain Pakura a little ways away…
Lots of pretty important people in this room, Ryoma felt a bit out of his depth here. "Captain, Vice-Captain."
"Looking a little banged-up there, eheh." Nichibotsu laughed and leaned forwards with a nod. "Someone get through your armor last mission or somethin'?"
"Something like that." Ryoma shook his head. "I'd be worse off if I wasn't wearing it- every hit broke something on me."
"Hah- what have I been telling you, huh? You need a good shield, kid! Nothing gets past a puppet-shield!" Nichibotsu wiggled his fingers at him, and Ryoma gave a rueful sigh and shake of his head.
"Jonin Ryoma. Thank you for providing the strategic and technical outline of the Bolters to Toyoko- She tells me that the Genin are most thankful for your generous distribution of such information." Gentai rumbled as quietly as he could, which was still a bit louder than most people talked.
"I'm surprised it took this long for anyone to ask." Ryoma replied, reaching up to scratch the side of his head. "Nothing about them is secret or difficult- I expected to see copycats years ago, really."
"It would be terribly rude of them to mimic your signature Puppets without explicit permission, Jonin Ryoma." Gentai nodded genially, face locked into his signature glare and scowl. He chopped a hand down at him in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Well, if any of them ask in the future, tell them they're free to do so." Ryoma waved it off. Calling the Bolters his 'signature style' felt mildly insulting, but not really inaccurate. He elected to just accept it and move along. "They're the perfect puppet for a beginner- there's nothing complex or expensive about them, and they help with many basic-"
"I see that everyone is present." The Kazekage called out from the far end of the room, drawing the various smaller conversations to a close nigh-instantly. The rust-haired man looked around for a few seconds, before nodding in satisfaction. "Yura, raise the Barrier."
A man with a goatee near one of the corners of the room nodded, performing a handful of seals and slapping the wall. Immediately a pale-purple sheen came over the walls, ceiling, and floor, glowing brightly before fading gently again.
"What is discussed in the meeting to follow will never be declassified." The Kazekage began with a sharp and stare, black rings forming around his eyes as he spoke. The image-projector on the table whirred to life at command of an unseen hand. "Dissemination of the contents of this meeting to any unauthorized subject in an unauthorized location will be punished in accordance to the severity of the leak, up to and including execution."
Ryoma already knew exactly what this meeting was going to contain. It was pretty obvious to him.
"Having said that- if you are present in this meeting, then your loyalty to Sunagakure and reliability is already considered exceptional. You shouldn't have anything to worry about." The Kazekage shook his head slightly as an image was projected onto the immense sandstone wall behind him.
'So long as you continue to be loyal' was left unsaid. It was honestly pretty polite as far as ninja go.
The Kazekage glanced back at it, eyes narrowing as the image slightly adjusted itself to be more even against the wall, then turning back to address the… twenty or so ninja in the room. "The contents of this meeting will not be distributed to the wider Sunagakure Ninja Force. If pressed to answer, such as through torture or blackmail, you are to answer that this meeting was held to discuss an ultimately-discarded plot to assassinate and replace the Wind Daimyo."
Oh good, they already had a pre-planned excuse for the planning meeting. There were a few sharp inhales at that, younger ninja reacting to the implication that a plot to kill their patron-lord was somehow less damning than whatever was about to be discussed.
Or maybe they just really liked the Wind Daimyo, that was possible too.
"As you all know, the Wind Daimyo has stopped delivering high-profile missions to Sunagakure in the wake of the Third Ninja War. This reduced our overall funding by a noticeable but not insurmountable degree." The Kazekage spoke as the white box flashed and was replaced by a basic timeline of financial events and records. Ryoma had to squint to see everything on the list, a lot of it was boring recordkeeping showing a steady but very slight decline in the treasury over the last few years. "While the loss of these high-profile missions was troublesome, it was not catastrophic."
The Kazekage paused for a moment, letting the financial timeline flip to the next slide. A continuation of the previous timeline, now projected forwards several years with predictions about how the new budget cuts were going to affect them. "Two weeks prior, the Financial Office of the Wind Daimyo forwarded an official declaration of decreased spending."
The image spoke for itself.
"...And we're not assassinating the Wind Daimyo?" The harsh, sarcastic drawl of the Vice Captain of the Weapons Corps rolled over the room.
"The Wind Daimyo is currently being guarded by a delegation of six elite Konoha Jonin, in the capacity that Sunagakure ninja once performed, along with a full Kumi of Samurai guards." The Kazekage began simply. "While it is highly feasible that an alpha-strike of our Warfans would be able to demolish his palaces- such a strike sends a clear message to all other Daimyo that Sunagakure is willing to perform hostile action against the high nobility. We will be unlikely to receive any more regular high-level missions with such an attack, even if the attack proves successful."
His head tilted forwards slightly. "Should the Wind Daimyo suffer any manner of unusual or unexpected death anytime soon, Sunagakure will be the first and primary suspect. Assassination of the Wind Daimyo is an attractive but poisoned solution to our looming financial crisis, and has been dismissed on such grounds."
"So, what will we be doing, Lord Kazekage?" The Captain of the Genjutsu Corps asked with a tone that indicated she knew something that the rest of the people in the room didn't.
The Kazekage nodded, then turned back to the screen, flipping through several slides with a thought and arriving at a generalized map of the surrounding countries. "Several plans were proposed, outlined, and debated in abstract over the last few years- ordered in a cost and risk to benefit ratio list. Then, with the advice of Elder Ebizo, I selected a winner amongst the candidate-plans. We have been preparing for it specifically over the last two weeks."
The next slide flipped. On top of the image, detailed in bold red lettering, was a title.
Operation : Catching Swan
Not the name he would've chosen. The image detailed the Land of Rivers as it currently stood- a series of petty states divided by rivers and mountain ranges in a state of constant low-level warfare. On the map were two 'green' provinces, Tanigakure and the Sunagakure property purchased from the first Hokage so many years ago. All other provinces were colored in yellow, orange, or red, and bore little stylized banners of their local factions.
"The Land of Rivers is the primary source of foodstuffs into Sunagakure, and any unified power in the region would bear an outsized leverage over our village. As a result, with aid from the local ninja of Tanigakure, the Land has been kept in a relatively balanced and divided state. The low level conflict that this divided state incentivizes keeps our allies in Tanigakure consistently employed while ensuring no one faction has the power to threaten Sunagakure directly."
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"Operation Catching Swan will require the destruction of several key stabilizing figures in the region, including Tanigakure, destabilizing the region and provoking another open war among provinces in the region."
The room got very loud for a few moments, as gathered ninja spoke up or out against the idea. Ryoma stayed quiet, simply staring at the screen with a little frown and a heavy furrow to his brow.
"Lord Kazekage- To provoke a war is one thing, but to betray our allies in Tani as well-"
"Lord Kazekage- Sure we don't have to do that- they'll support us in this if we ask!"
"Can't we simply- draft them into Sunagakure's ranks?! That's how good ol' Reto did it!"
Rasa raised one hand.
The room went silent, aside from a single figure with arms crossed. Ninjutsu Vice-Captain Pakura remained standing, glaring at the Kazekage.
"Why the hell do we need to attack them?" The lack of direct respect showed off how angry the fellow S-ranker was at the moment.
"If a war is provoked in the Land of Rivers, Tanigakure will naturally be the primary beneficiary of jobs produced by the conflict." Rasa explained patiently, a hard, black-ringed stare focused down on his only nominal peer in strength in all of Suna. "For this plan to ensure Suna's financial stability, Suna must be the primary beneficiary. Otherwise the effort is wasted, and the long-term component of the plan will not benefit us. We will have started a war for no long-term gain."
Pakura kept staring at him for a few seconds, tilting her head forwards and to the side. She ignored how the Ninjutsu Captain was currently glaring at her, a silent indication that she should shut up. "And why we aren't pulling a Reto here?"
"We are, indeed, 'Pulling a Reto'." That made her stop short. The Kazekage's face was passive as he continued to speak. "On several occasions, when confronted with clans too mighty and too well-entrenched for him to easily absorb, Lord First would employ his greatest weapon- the One Tailed Sand Demon."
Rasa's head tilted back disdainfully. "After their home was devastated by the rampage of the Sand Demon, Reto would arrive and beat the demon back with his Heavenly Iron Spheres. Once suppressed, he would press the survivors into service under his banners, and in this way all ninja clans that called the Land of Wind home were unified as Sunagakure."
"Of course, unleashing the Sand Demon upon Tanigakure would be entirely too obvious. As a substitute, Jonin Momochin has spent the last few weeks locating and securing a Summoning Contract with the Snake Clan of Ryuchi Cave."
A Jonin in the back raised his hand for everyone to see, a bland looking fellow with a gaunt face and black semicircles painted under his eyes.
"He will be responsible for the summoning of a gargantuan serpent while under disguise- the same kind famously utilized by Orochimaru of the Sannin from Konoha. Once Tanigakure is sufficiently destroyed, a nearby Sunagakure team will arrive on the scene to engage it in battle and drive it away. Freshly weakened, the survivors will be unable to resist incorporation into Sunagakure."
This was not his plan, Ryoma realized belatedly. His plan called for an alpha strike on Tanigakure followed by quiet eliminations of any potential survivors thereafter, for years to come. In many ways this plan was more risky and more kind than his plan had been.
Then again, they had precedent of this working in their history. Ryoma supposed he was thankful for it- as much as he knew the incorporation of even more low level ninja into their ranks would destabilize them further.
Pakura let out a low breath. "...I see. Apologies for the disruption, Lord Kazekage."
Rasa nodded shallowly. "Once these stabilizing figures are destroyed and Sunagakure establishes their presence in the Land of Rivers, we will use our newfound dominance of the market to support pro-Suna figures in the region, both openly and subtly depending on the situation. The ultimate goal of which will be the unification of the region under the banner of a Suna ally- no matter what faction actually ends up achieving long term victory. While the war will bolster our economy in the short and mid term, the newly unified, pro-Suna River Country will secure our long term economic stability."
"...We're making our own Daimyo." The Captain of the Barrier Corps stated plainly, arms crossed and lips pulled down into a frown.
"In essence." The Kazekage flipped to the next slide. "With Konohagakure our nominal allies, they will be more hesitant than normal to interfere with our operations in the Land of Rivers, meaning that only Iwa remains a problematic border. To prepare for this operation- a pre-emptive warning strike was launched into their nearest sources of resupply in Claw Country, which was only partially successful on account of unexpected interference from Jiraiya of the Sannin."
"What? Isn't that a direct strike against our alliance?! Why?" The Captain of the Ninjutsu Corps hissed, leaning forwards slightly and slapping a hand on the table.
"The mission called for the destruction of Naito Village. Jiraiya declared that he was intervening for the sake of the Civilians who lived there." Rasa explained flatly.
"Damn soft Konoha Ninja!"
"High and Mighty Pricks- Declaring an alliance and turning against it the moment it's convenient!"
"Shifty bastards…"
Ryoma elected against pointing out that Sunagakure was currently in the process of betraying their long term allies, and they really didn't have a moral high ground to judge other villages with at the moment.
"With the destruction of the secondary targets but not the primary target- Iwa will have the logistical capacity to launch at least one short-term retaliatory campaign against Sunagakure should they so choose. This campaign, if performed, will be unlikely to escalate into full-blown warfare again, as Iwagakure cannot afford such." Rasa let a grim note come to his voice. "However, in the unlikely event that Iwa does decide to launch a full scale invasion of Suna while a significant number of our forces are preoccupied in the Land of Rivers, the most likely outcome is the destruction of our home and the end of Sunagakure as a major power."
There was a dreadful quiet at that statement.
Eventually, the Kazekage continued. "For this reason, we will be unable to fully deploy in the Land of Rivers- a strong garrison will need to remain behind in Sunagakure to defend against this worst-case scenario." He nodded at Pakura. "Myself and Vice-Captain Pakura will have to remain in Suna should the worst occur. It will be up to the individual excellence of all ninja deployed in the Land of Rivers to fulfill their objectives there."
"We do not have the capacity to absorb too many losses or incomplete missions, lest it undermines the image of strength Suna must project at the moment. A great and public failure will spell long-term doom for Sunagakure."
What a perfectly ominous way to motivate everyone into working harder.
"What team will be asked to face the Summoned Snake in Tanigakure, Lord Kazekage?"
Rasa glanced in his direction. Ryoma had a distinct feeling…
"Jonin Ryoma will take on a mission near the region and respond to the attack on Tanigakure. He will deploy the Kyojutsu to confront the Summon, revealing it in a dramatic and destructive show of force. It will be deployed frequently throughout Operation Catching Swan, in the most publicly-visible high-profile missions." Rasa shook his head. "The Kyojutsu's benefits as a war-machine are still questionable, but it will almost certainly impress many less-than-wise clients if deployed strategically. If nothing else- it will advertise Sunagakure's ability to produce very large and very expensive war-puppets."
Ryoma exhaled slowly as eyes in the room turned towards him. Captains, Vice-Captains, and a handful of elite Jonin that he wasn't too familiar with. "How soon do I get ready, Lord Kazekage?" If the Claw Mission had been fully successful, they'd have much more of a buffer-period to relax with. As it stood, however…
"You will begin to prepare yourself as soon as this meeting is concluded. Your current injuries are unlikely to seriously impair your ability to operate the Kyojutsu- take care to not strain them further despite that."
Yeah that sounded about right.
Ryoma wanted to respond, to say that he really didn't feel qualified for this- but that was blatantly false in this particular situation. The Great Dragoon was his specialty as a puppet. There was no one more qualified for this than himself.
He was an 'Open Warfare' specialist, after all. This kind of work was what he was good at.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage. Will I be assigned a team?"
"You will."
Well that was good, at least.