Chapter 191: Realization
"Deidara?"
On the other side, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, who had temporarily returned from the front lines to the Hidden Stone Village, was immediately taken aback upon receiving the Sand Village’s reply.
They naturally knew this child. After all, Deidara had mouths on both of his hands, making him impossible to overlook. Onoki had already sensed that this particular child was something unusual.
If properly nurtured, Deidara would without question grow into someone extraordinary. But he had not expected the Fourth Kazekage, that young man, to already know about Deidara’s existence.
And yet here he was, agreeing to sign a deferred payment contract with the Hidden Stone Village, with Deidara as the prerequisite condition.
"Hmph. Does he have spies within the village? Or is it something else entirely?"
Onoki’s eyes flashed with cold calculation.
What a cunning young man. It was clear that despite the two villages having cooperated for an extended period, the Sand Village was still taking precautions against the possibility of the Hidden Stone Village eventually betraying the arrangement.
Even if there was no direct spy, it was entirely possible that someone from the Sand Village had visited the Hidden Stone Village at some point over the past year and quietly taken note of certain things. And now they wanted a specific child from within the Hidden Stone Village.
Their true intention was to remind him that they were watching.
Trade caravans, Onoki thought, something clicking into place.
During the war, most major ninja villages had implemented strict blockades, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to enter. But there was one category of people who moved relatively freely: the trading merchants who maintained commercial relationships with the Sand Village.
After the Hidden Stone Village had confirmed the strategic value of the Sand Village’s medicinal resources, beyond their direct trade with the Sand Village itself, they had also been enthusiastically contacting other parties who had established decent relations with the Sand Village, using various methods to obtain medicines through the smaller merchants connected to the Hidden Sand Village’s network.
It was entirely possible that one of these merchants had inadvertently overheard something and allowed information to leak. The village’s primary intelligence and defense measures were all focused on military matters. Everyday commercial affairs of this nature received very little attention.
In short, regardless of who had leaked the information, the Hidden Stone Village would need to implement more targeted defensive measures going forward.
"From the beginning, they claimed they wanted us to help them bear the pressure of the battlefield. But in reality, it was simply to prevent us from launching a war against the Sand Village and to redirect our military strength elsewhere.
This allowed them to concentrate their own forces on Konoha. Their cooperation arrangement with the Hidden Mist Village served the same purpose."
He continued.
"It was also about buying enough time for the Sand Village to develop throughout this Great Ninja War. They have been draining the blood of both us and the Hidden Mist Village and funneling it back into the Sand Village."
"The Sand Village possesses a powerful healing system and genuine combat strength. But even in fierce battles, they have been able to control their casualty rate to a remarkable degree. It can be said that right now, the Sand Village’s military strength is undoubtedly the most intact among all the major ninja villages in the entire ninja world."
Onoki said this in a low voice.
The Hidden Stone Village had been quietly watching the Sand Village throughout this period. Rather than sending direct infiltrators, they had gathered information through various indirect channels.
The Sand Village’s reconstruction had involved numerous outside forces and smaller nations, generating an enormous demand for outside talent and resources, which meant that even when the Sand Village acted discreetly, piecing together the actual situation was not particularly difficult.
The problem was that every other village’s attention was consumed entirely by the war itself. No one had been paying attention to what the Sand Village was quietly building in the background.
The Fourth Kazekage had used medicinal resources to mobilize the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages to charge forward and absorb the damage of the war, while the Sand Village stood behind and watched.
The Hidden Stone Village had fought fiercely against its enemies, and the Sand Village appeared to have participated meaningfully in the entire Great Ninja War. Yet not only had the Sand Village’s foundations remained completely unshaken, they had flourished even further.
By comparison, the resources of the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages had long since entered a state of serious depletion. The Hidden Mist Village’s situation was perhaps slightly less severe than the Hidden Stone Village’s, but still very limited.
"I had anticipated that little fox’s intentions from the beginning. I simply did not expect the Hidden Sand Village to be capable of executing it to this degree."
Onoki sighed.
"Lord Tsuchikage, what do we do? Regarding Deidara, do we agree or not?"
A subordinate hesitated before speaking.
"Give the child to them," Onoki said without any hesitation.
The Fourth Kazekage agreeing to sign the deferred payment agreement was essentially doing the Hidden Stone Village a significant favor under the current circumstances. This was clearly about more than just the immediate transaction.
But as the war continued to drag on, medicinal resources had become increasingly critical and urgently needed at ever greater volumes. Cutting off the Sand Village’s supply now would without question cause a dramatic increase in Hidden Stone Village casualties on every front.
A soft mouth could still bite. A short hand could still reach and grab.
For the Sand Village at this particular moment, money and resources were not necessarily the most important thing they were after.
The Sand Village’s development had already proven itself effective, and its need for money would not be as pressing going forward.
Agreeing to the Hidden Stone Village’s deferred payment request was partly to avoid provoking them into turning against the arrangement, and partly as a kind of investment guarantee.
After all, if the Hidden Stone Village were to clash with the Sand Village while still owing them money, that would carry a certain ethical awkwardness that made aggression less likely.
"This move also suggests that in the future, the Sand Village might sell its medicinal resources to Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village as well."
Onoki took a slow breath.
If the Fourth Kazekage truly did that, it would indirectly harm the interests of both the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Mist Village.
"Therefore, giving us medicine at reduced cost or on deferred terms is to prevent us from joining forces with other villages to counterattack the Sand Village."
The more Onoki thought it through, the more unsettled he became.
This move by the Fourth Kazekage was undeniably calculated. In fact, it was incredibly clever. It appeared on the surface as though the Hidden Stone Village was being allowed to benefit freely, but considering the broader ninja world picture, there were still parties with the financial and military resources to purchase medicines in large quantities.
Specifically, Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village remained. These two villages, economically, militarily, and in terms of population, were among the strongest of the Five Great Villages and possessed the richest overall resources.
As long as the Sand Village could eventually sell to Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village at high prices, even if the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages were receiving their supply at reduced rates, the Sand Village could still maintain production capacity.
Relying on high sales volume with lower margins from those two villages would continue generating war funds. It would also prevent the other four ninja villages from uniting to retaliate against the Hidden Sand Village later.
After all, even if the Sand Village began selling to Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages would be paying nothing and would still hold an overall advantage. They had every reason to allow the arrangement to continue rather than disrupting it.
Furthermore, considering the historical grievances between the villages, combined with the escalating intensity of the ongoing conflicts, every major village was already committed to fighting the others. Suddenly reversing course to negotiate a coordinated response against the Sand Village was nearly impossible under these conditions.
The Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Mist Village were not going to voluntarily surrender the battlefield advantages they had already secured.
In short, even if the other villages recognized what was happening and reacted, the situation had already progressed too far to meaningfully change.
Too cunning.
And even beyond all of this, the Sand Village’s sudden rise as a pharmaceutical power had been exploited to its absolute maximum across the entire span of this Great Ninja War.
"Using the Third Kazekage’s disappearance as the pretext to launch the opening campaign of this Great Ninja War and drag all the other villages into the conflict. Then the Third Raikage’s death became an unexpected bonus that further accelerated everything."
Onoki frowned deeply.
Looking at it from this perspective, the Fourth Kazekage’s truly terrifying power was not his individual combat strength. It was this kind of cunning and calculating nature that allowed him to manipulate the entire ninja world’s power structure while not even being present on the battlefield, operating from behind the scenes throughout.
"From now on, when dealing with him, I need to be considerably more careful. That young man is full of schemes."
Having considered the whole situation and thought it through completely, Onoki felt a deep and genuine frustration at being made to feel this way. It was the particular irritation of someone who prided himself on being the sharpest mind in any room, only to find himself thoroughly outmaneuvered.
If the Fourth Kazekage had been older, if he had accumulated decades of experience and wisdom before pulling something like this, it would have been understandable. Unpleasant, but understandable. But this person was so young. In Onoki’s eyes, still practically a child.
That was the most infuriating part of all.
It was also what made Onoki feel, in the quietest corner of his assessment, something uncomfortably close to the recognition of his own limitations.
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