Sakura Haruno is Usefull

"Now is not the time for sentimentality."

"The current plan must be to take the Land of Grass as quickly as possible."

"The Fire-Earth Alliance cannot afford any mistakes!"

Sakura smoothly pulled out a map of the ninja world from under the coffee table and swept aside the cups on top without hesitation.

One of the antique teacups fell to the ground and shattered due to her hasty movements.

However, both Sakura and Shikaku Nara paid no attention to such a trivial matter. It was only Sarutobi Hiruzen whose brow twitched slightly.

Another one of my antique teacups... gone.

Hiruzen stepped toward the young woman, his gaze falling on the map now spread across the coffee table.

"As I said, the Land of Grass is like a weed stuck in the throat of the Fire-Earth Alliance," he said.

"Though insignificant on its own, it sits on the lifeline between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth."

Sakura's slender finger pressed down on the mark representing the Land of Grass, and she continued:

"Such an obvious geographical position can be spotted at a glance by anyone with clear eyes!"

"Furthermore, it lies dangerously close to the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls."

"Among the smaller nations, these two powers are also not to be underestimated."

"To secure this territory quickly, we will ally with Iwagakure. Both sides will send 500 ninjas to garrison the Land of Grass, taking no further action and avoiding unnecessary provocation."

A thousand ninjas—not too many, but not too few either.

This arrangement would serve as a warning to the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls. While it wouldn't take much effort for either to seize the garrisoned territory, doing so would not be an easy task.

The Land of Rain, needless to say, was the base of the Akatsuki organization. Sakura had neither the interest nor the means to take action against them for now.

The Land of Waterfalls, on the other hand, was the most powerful minor nation besides the Land of Rain, home to the Seven-Tails, Chōmei.

Years ago, they had purchased the Seven-Tails from Konoha at a hefty price. In hindsight, the leader of Takigakure had remarkable foresight; thanks to the Seven-Tails, none of the three great ninja wars had ever spilled into their territory.

"The Sand Village will never sit idly by and watch us and the Land of Earth seize the Land of Grass," Shikaku Nara suddenly interjected.

"Exactly," Sakura agreed.

"Rasa has only two options to stop us."

Her finger shifted slightly, pointing toward the direction of the Land of Rain.

"First, he could ally with the Land of Rain and send reinforcements to the Land of Grass."

A smirk tugged at Sakura's lips as she continued:

"But to reinforce the Land of Grass, they would need to march their troops through the Land of Rain."

"Do you think anyone would agree to such a decision, old man?"

The Land of Rain

Amegakure

A steel fortress built under ever-present rainclouds.

This nation always seemed to be weeping, yet it harbored some of the most powerful ninjas in the world.

"Impossible. Don't bring this up again in the future."

High atop a steel tower, bright lights shone through the windows, illuminating the rain-soaked night.

Inside, the atmosphere was heavy as four figures cloaked in black robes with red clouds gathered around a table spread with a ninja world map.

At the head of the group was a man with orange hair, ripple-patterned purple eyes, and black piercings on his face. His cold demeanor exuded an otherworldly presence.

"Pain, if the Lands of Fire and Earth form an alliance, do you understand the magnitude of their combined power?"

The man in the spiral orange mask across from Pain spoke, his voice calm yet pressing.

"No matter how large the force, in the face of a god, it remains as insignificant as ants."

Pain's expression was tranquil as he dismissed the masked man's concerns.

"The Sand Village will not be allowed passage through the Land of Rain. That is non-negotiable."

A beautiful woman with blue hair, a paper flower in her hair, and piercings on her lower lip spoke coldly, her gaze fixed on the masked man.

The masked man fell silent, sensing the firm stance of the two before him.

"If the Lands of Fire and Earth unite and split their forces to attack the Land of Wind, Sunagakure will not be able to withstand it," he argued.

"And if the Land of Wind falls, the Land of Rain will find itself surrounded by an unprecedented behemoth."

"Enemies on all sides."

As his words fell, the last figure in the room raised their hand.

Calling this figure human seemed like a stretch—they were encased from the neck down in a massive venus flytrap, with even their face split into a black and white half.

"Latest news! Kumogakure has made a move against the Land of Fire~"

"And it looks like the Frost Country will be embroiled in conflict soon too~"

The white half of the venus flytrap spoke in a gleeful and teasing tone.

The masked man's crimson eye glimmered faintly behind his spiral mask, a sign of mild irritation at the venus flytrap's carefree attitude.

"If that's the case, Konoha will avoid creating too many enemies and definitely won't attack the Land of Rain," the blue-haired woman remarked softly, her tone laced with subtle derision.

After a long silence, the masked man finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Pain.

"Pain, you will regret this."

"Madara, I am the leader of Amegakure," Pain replied calmly.

Madara stared deeply at Pain before turning and leaving the room.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind him.

The blue-haired woman frowned slightly at his rudeness.

"Ahaha, I'll head out to gather more intel," the venus flytrap figure said with an awkward laugh before sinking into the ground and disappearing.

"Konan, I will not let the Land of Rain fall into the flames of war," Pain murmured as he stared out at the falling rain.

"Nagato, I believe in you," Konan replied softly, her gaze following his toward the storm outside.

This was the nation Yahiko had dreamed of changing, even at the cost of his life.

And they had been working tirelessly toward that goal.

"Konan, notify Kisame and Kakuzu to prepare to participate in the Fire-Earth Alliance's conflict with the Sand Village as mercenaries."

"We will not allow the Land of Wind to collapse so easily."

"At least not at the hands of the Fire-Earth Alliance."

Pain's ripple-patterned eyes reflected the rain-soaked night, cold and lifeless.

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