(Two days prior from the incident)
The dim candle light flickered, casting restless shadows across the stone walls of the Hidden Tea Village's council chamber. A middle aged man sat at the head of the long table, fingers tapping against the wooden armrest of his chair, his eyes distant. The air was heavy with unease.
The man carried the presence of the ruler and the shinobi, clad in black with his face covered, kneeling before him in silence was the proof of it.
"We are losing." Chakage's voice was calm, but beneath the surface, there was a quiet rage.
"The forces of the Daimyo have swept through our allies like a storm. In just a matter of days, all the support we cultivated over the past year has been erased."
The kneeling shinobi did not respond, merely lowering his head in acknowledgment.
"We have only two options left." The Chakage leaned forward, his fingers tightening into a fist. "We surrender… or we fight to the last man."
His subordinate finally spoke, his voice level but carrying an edge of tension. "Surrender means death."
A cold chuckle escaped Chakage's lips. "No, surrender means worse than death. It means humiliation. It means watching everything we built be torn apart, our shinobi stripped of their status, forced to beg for scraps from the Daimyo's table." He exhaled sharply. "It means ceasing to exist."
The kneeling shinobi hesitated before asking, "Then… Do we fight?"
Silence hung in the air.
The Chakage closed his eyes for a moment, considering the weight of the choice before him. He was not delusional. The Daimyo's forces were stronger, better equipped, and had the backing of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
A direct fight was suicide.
But there was one last move he could make.
A slow, calculating smile crept onto his face as he opened his eyes. "No. We don't fight alone."
The shinobi tilted his head slightly. "My Lord?"
"There are those beyond our borders who would be very interested in this conflict," the Chakage mused.
"They may not be official allies, but they are desperate, ruthless, and powerful. And above all else…" He let the words hang before finishing, "They hate the Five Great Nations just as much as we do."
Realization dawned in the shinobi's eyes. "You mean the rogue forces?"
The Chakage nodded. "Those who operate in the shadows, cast out by their villages. Mercenaries, missing-nin, warlords… they linger at the borders, waiting for an opportunity." His voice dropped lower, carrying a dangerous edge. "And I am going to give them one."
The shinobi stiffened. "If we invite them in, they will not be easy to control. We risk losing more than we gain."
"We have already lost everything," Chakage replied. "At this point, we need chaos. We need to disrupt Daimyo's plans, force them onto the defensive. If we can do that… we would have a chance."
The shinobi hesitated before nodding. "I will deliver the message."
Chakage reached into his robe and pulled out a small, sealed scroll, placing it in the shinobi's hand. "Make sure this reaches them. There is no room for failure."
The shinobi tucked the scroll into his pouch and bowed. "Understood."
As he disappeared into the darkness, the Chakage leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly.
His gamble had begun.
~~~
Far from the Hidden Tea Village, in the lavish halls of the Land of Tea's Daimyo Palace, a different conversation was taking place.
Kanekuwa Yori, one of the Three Jewels of the Emperor, sat at a grand dining table, sipping tea from a porcelain cup. His sharp, calculating eyes scanned the document before him.
Across from him, another warrior, one of his trusted generals, waited in silence.
"So," Yori finally spoke, setting the paper down. "The Chakage is cornered."
The general nodded. "Yes. The forces you sent have eliminated most of their outside support meanwhile we have already cleaned up the palace. Now, the Hidden Tea Village stands alone now."
Yori smiled, taking another sip of tea. "Good. Then it won't be long before he surrenders."
A pause. The general shifted uncomfortably.
"There is… one concern," the man admitted.
Yori raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"We have received reports that the Chakage has sent a messenger beyond our borders."
Yori stilled for a second asked, "Where?"
"The rogue shinobi camps on the northside of the land of snow."
A deep chuckle rumbled in Yori's throat. He set his tea down gently, the sound of porcelain against wood echoing through the room.
"He is more desperate than I thought."
The general frowned. "Should we be concerned?"
Yori leaned forward, resting his chin on his clasped hands. "The rogue forces are fragmented. A gathering of outcasts, criminals, and failed revolutionaries. Even if they accept the Chakage's offer, they lack coordination. They won't be a true army, just a band of hired blades."
The general still looked uneasy. "Even so, if they act unpredictably—"
"They will," Yori interrupted, his smirk widening. "And that is exactly what we want."
The general blinked. "Sir?"
Yori exhaled, shaking his head. "It is inevitable that minor villages will resist their fate. The great nations grow stronger, and the weak grow resentful. This… 'resistance' is not new."
He picked up his tea once more. "Let them make their move. Let them fight." He took a slow sip, savoring the taste. "And when they have exhausted themselves… we will erase them completely."
The general hesitated before bowing his head. "Understood."
Yori's eyes gleamed in the candlelight.
He didn't care about the land of tea after all what he wanted was the biggest piece of the pie in front of him.
~~~
At the border of the Land of Tea, in a hidden camp deep within the forest, a group of rogue shinobi sat around a flickering campfire.
Their armor was mismatched, their faces scarred, but their eyes gleamed with the hunger of men who had nothing to lose. Still unexpectedly they were a group, under a leader unknown to the outside
A masked figure entered the camp, silent as the night.
One of the men, a burly shinobi with a jagged scar across his cheek, stood up. "Who the hell are you?"
The masked figure didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a sealed scroll, tossing it onto the ground.
The rogue shinobi stared at it suspiciously. "What is this?"
The masked figure's voice was quiet, yet firm. "An opportunity."
The rogue shinobi glanced at each other before slowly picking up the scroll, breaking the seal. Their eyes scanned the message inside- then widened.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then, a low chuckle.
Then, another.
And then, the whole forest sounded with ominous and hungry laughs.