Kamishiro was dumbfounded when he heard Minato Namikaze say that Sunagakure had declared war on Iwagakure.
There was no reason for Sunagakure to declare war on Iwagakure. Back then, the Third Kazekage sent him to Konoha as an undercover agent. He thought that if Iwagakure and Konoha ever went to war, he, as the undercover agent, could lead them to seize the valuable items in Konoha.
The Third Kazekage was a very prudent man who would avoid taking risks whenever possible.
So, it didn't seem like the Third Kazekage had given the order for Sunagakure to suddenly declare war on Iwagakure.
It was obvious that Sunagakure stood no chance against Iwagakure, especially when it was the one initiating the war.
That meant... the Third Kazekage might have had an accident!
This was the only explanation for Sunagakure to take such a radical action.
Kamishiro hurriedly asked Minato Namikaze for confirmation, "Lord Minato, who is the Kazekage of Sunagakure now? Is it already the Fourth Kazekage?"
Minato Namikaze looked at Kamishiro in surprise. He was also dumbfounded.
Logically, Kamishiro, who had been staying at the camp, shouldn't have known anything about Sunagakure.
How did Kamishiro know that the Kazekage of Sunagakure was now the Fourth Kazekage?
No, since Kamishiro was asking if it was the Fourth Kazekage, it meant that he was just guessing and wasn't certain.
But... what was Kamishiro's basis for this guess?
Sunagakure had chosen a new Kazekage in a hurry. He had just received this information from Jiraiya. There was no way Kamishiro should have known.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Minato Namikaze asked, "Kamishiro, how did you know that the Kazekage of Sunagakure is now the Fourth Kazekage?"
Kamishiro suddenly froze and then realized his mistake.
He shouldn't have known about Sunagakure's affairs. Oh no, he was about to be exposed!
After stammering for a while, Kamishiro finally thought of a way to deceive Minato Namikaze.
He told Minato Namikaze, "I have the [Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai], right? I'm a clan member of the Third Kazekage, so I know him quite well. That guy is very timid. Even an ordinary mouse would make him scream for a long time. So, there's no way he'd have the guts to declare war on another ninja village.
So, I guessed that the leader of Sunagakure now isn't the Third Kazekage. Maybe there's a new Kazekage in charge."
Minato Namikaze looked at Kamishiro with a strange expression. Had Kamishiro not mentioned that the Third Kazekage was so terrified of mice that he'd shriek for a long time, Minato Namikaze might have believed him. However, with that addition, he became doubtful.
Who knows if Kamishiro was just exaggerating or trying to pull one over on him.
However, although Minato Namikaze wasn't fully convinced, he still thought it was more likely that Kamishiro had used exaggerated rhetoric and guessed based on his understanding of the Third Kazekage.
Minato Namikaze really couldn't figure out how Kamishiro could have known about this.
Regarding the ninja hawk, Minato Namikaze didn't sense Kamishiro summoning one during this recent period.
Minato Namikaze nodded and said, "You guessed right, Kamishiro. The current leader of Sunagakure is indeed the Fourth Kazekage. His name is Rasa."
Kamishiro frowned.
Great, Rasa had taken office. The Third Kazekage must have been killed by Sasori.
Sigh, well, he'd have to start contacting a new superior.
Kakashi asked Minato Namikaze, "Teacher Minato, since Sunagakure has declared war on Iwagakure, what actions will we take next?"
Minato Namikaze replied, "No action for now. We've sent people from Konoha to check the situation. We'll stay here on guard. Our main opponent is still the Cloud Hidden Village."
Obito Uchiha picked up the sunglasses that had fallen on the ground and coolly said to Rin Nohara, "Rin, I was careless just now."
Rin Nohara twitched the corner of her mouth and said helplessly, "Obito, you'd better get the swelling on your cheek down quickly. If you don't, it'll get even worse later."
Obito Uchiha slapped his swollen face. Although his eyebrows were tightly knitted, he still tried to look cool and said, "It's nothing."
Rin Nohara rubbed her throbbing temples, pressed Obito Uchiha to the ground, and said, "Your gums were bleeding from Kamishiro's punch. Stop being stubborn and trying to look cool. Stay still. I'll reduce the swelling for you now."
Feeling Rin Nohara's small hand on his face, Obito Uchiha felt like his soul was about to float away.
After Minato Namikaze announced the dismissal, everyone went back to their tents.
Minato Namikaze still couldn't feel at ease, so he found Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, Kamishiro hasn't summoned a ninja hawk recently, right?"
Kakashi nodded and confirmed, "Yes, that's right. Since the last time we used Kamishiro's ninja hawk to send false information and Kamishiro summoned it once, I haven't sensed the appearance of Kamishiro's ninja hawk again."
Hearing what Kakashi said, Minato Namikaze felt relieved.
Kakashi asked curiously, "Teacher Minato, what's going on?"
Minato Namikaze replied to Kakashi, "You heard my conversation with Kamishiro just now. I was quite confused at that time. Since Kamishiro hadn't contacted Sunagakure via the ninja hawk, how did he know that the Fourth Kazekage had assumed office in Sunagakure?"
Since Kamishiro hasn't summoned the ninja hawk, we can confirm that Kamishiro guessed on his own that Sunagakure had a new Kazekage. It seems that Kamishiro really knows the Third Kazekage very well.
Kakashi then asked, "Teacher Minato, why did Sunagakure suddenly declare war on Iwagakure? Didn't Iwagakure want to cooperate with Sunagakure previously?"
Minato Namikaze sighed and said, "Because the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure is missing, Sunagakure thinks it was Iwagakure who did it. So, they've declared war. Get ready, Kakashi. Once Sunagakure officially launches its attack, the Third Shinobi World War will kick off. There won't be many easy days like this until the war is over."
...
In the small forest.
Kamishiro held a newly-written letter in his hand and furtively looked around to make sure there was no one nearby.
Kamishiro's letter was meant to be delivered to someone in Sunagakure who knew his undercover agent identity. This person was not the Third Kazekage.
Since his former superior was gone, he had to find a new one quickly to keep in touch.
Kamishiro performed the Summoning jutsu. A puff of smoke appeared, but the ninja hawk didn't show up.
"Huh? Failed? I've never messed this up before!"
Kamishiro tried again. Another puff of smoke appeared, but the ninja hawk still didn't show up.
Stubborn Kamishiro tried several more times, but that damned ninja hawk just wouldn't come out.
Kamishiro was totally confused again. What on earth is going on?
Had his ninja hawk... died?
Kamishiro's ninja hawk wasn't dead. Since a war was imminent and ninja beasts used for communication were very important, Rasa gathered all the village's ninja beasts for unified allocation and dispatch.
And since Kamishiro's ninja hawk was given to him by the Third Kazekage and belonged to the village, not to Kamishiro personally, Kamishiro no longer had a summoned beast.