
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In Middle-Earth, nine cities form a 3 by 3 grid. The top left city is the capital of Gondor and the bottom right city is the capital of Mordor. How many ways can the remaining cities be divided among the two nations such that all cities in a country can be reached from its capital via the grid-lines without passing through a city of the other country?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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