Chapter 71.3- One Thousand Hands

“Iwa? Is Konoha not the enemy here? Was it not Konoha who killed the Second Raikage and stole his body, denying us a proper burial? Was it not Konoha who stole the eight tails from us? What is our business with Iwa when the true target sits there unmolested?” He instantly opposed the idea. Even if Killua had been somehow able to sway the Raikage to this foolish line of thinking, he was confident that logic would prevail. Most looked at the Raikage’s form and assumed him a brute with little more about him of note. It was something they had used to their. Advantage in negotiations with the Lightning Lord. However, there were few things farther from the truth Ay had a keen mind, even keener than his Father’s and a love for rationality and reason that went far beyond the pale.

“The enemy is whoever the Raikage says it is” Killua spoke, spitting the words back.

“I agree with Yatsuki-san. If the question becomes a matter of which target to go for, then it only makes sense to go for the weaker one first. Iwa will also not be expecting us to attack them, so we will have the benefit of surprise on our side” Sora spoke then, seeming for all the world like he was just adding his opinion to the fray, but Cee could see the way both men met eyes. He could see there was meaning there. Strategy.

“It’’s not like Konoha is going anywhere are they?” Kinkaku asked rhetorically, and that was when they overplayed their hands. The Gold and Silver brothers never supported anyone out of the blue. Cee would know this. He had courted their support on more than one occasion and he knew just how difficult it was to secure. They definitely would not just give it in the middle of an argument. Killua had gotten to them as well. Yui did not seem to be paying any attention to what was going on just like she usually did but the fact that she had been the one to ask the question of what they did next was beginning to gnaw at him. She usually zoned out for these things. The only reason she would be attentive enough to ask the question or even care was if she expected something to come of it— this meeting.

It could just be her curiosity being piqued on account of the meeting’s nature, but Cee doubted that. His instincts told him there was an arrangement and Yui was just as much a part of it as the others. He looked around him, taking note of everything he could even as he bowed out of the debate with an inclined head. There was no victory to be found here. Not when so many wrestlers arrayed against him and they had managed to get to Ay-sama first. Cee would just have to do what he always did. Refocus, restrategise, and try again later.

“It is settled then. Prepare the troops. We march for Iwa at dawn.” Ay-sama said.

“All of us?” Cee found himself asking.

The Raikage Neve even replied, and if there was any sign that things were getting out of hand, that was it.