Rasa, standing on top of the Kazekage Building, felt extremely heroic.
It was he, Rasa, who personally initiated this Shinobi World War.
And now, he was about to push this war into the next stage with his own hands.
Just for these two points, Rasa will surely leave a glorious mark in the history of Sunagakure!
Hearing Ebizo say it was time to direct the flames of war towards Konoha, Rasa opened his mouth and said, "Ah... Pfft~"
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew when Rasa opened his mouth, and he got a mouthful of sand.
That doesn't count. Let's start over.
Rasa coughed dryly and seriously announced, "Then... let's start the next stage and let the flames of war burn across the entire ninja world!"
After the announcement, Rasa coolly sighed, "The harsh environment with flying sand and dust will serve as the perfect nourishment for cultivating ninjas. This time, our Sunagakure will surely rise!"
Ebizo immediately started to take action.
Thanks to Ebizo having a large number of secret agents in various great nations, spreading the rumor went very smoothly.
The rumor stated that Konoha snatched the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninja that Sunagakure was meant to give to Iwagakure. This Magnet Release ninja was turned by Konoha. Using the identity of a clan member of the Third Kazekage, the ninja lured the Third Kazekage out of the village. Then, ninja from Konoha assassinated the Third Kazekage and framed Iwagakure.
Moreover, there were a lot of "evidences" indicating that it was Konoha that framed Iwagakure.
In just over a week, many people within the five great nations knew about this rumor.
Inside the Hokage Building.
Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, Genyan Mitokado, and Tanzō were all in the office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said seriously, "You should have already gotten the news, right?"
Koharu Utatane looked as if she had eaten something extremely disgusting and said, "Of course we know. It's already spread outside Konoha Village, saying that ninja from Konoha assassinated the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure and framed Iwagakure."
Genyan Mitokado adjusted his glasses and suggested, "Could it be that Iwagakure is under great pressure now and deliberately framing us? Maybe we should quickly communicate with the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure..."
Before Genyan Mitokado could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Tanzō.
Tanzō said in a sinister tone, "Iwagakure framing us? I don't think so. As soon as this rumor spread, I sent people to investigate. This rumor first appeared in the Land of Earth. Doesn't this say it all?"
Genyan Mitokado wondered, "What's the problem with the rumor starting in the Land of Earth? After all, doesn't Iwagakure want Sunagakure to point the blame at our Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered and said, "I think I understand what Tanzō means. If Iwagakure wants to redirect the blame and make Sunagakure attack our Konoha, then this rumor should have spread in the Land of Wind first, not in the Land of Earth."
So... Tanzō, what you're saying is that it isn't Iwagakure that wants to frame us, but someone else who wants to turn Sunagakure's spearhead towards our Konoha. Am I right?
Tanzō nodded. "You're right, Hiruzen Sarutobi. That's exactly what I mean."
Koharu Utatane frowned. "If it's not Iwagakure, then is it Cloud Hidden Village? Surely it couldn't be Kirigakure?"
Genyan Mitokado's hand on his glasses suddenly twitched, and a wise light had a Reflection off the lens. "Is it possible... that this rumor was spread by Sunagakure?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tanzō both looked at Genyan Mitokado at the same time.
Although Tanzō had investigated and analyzed that Iwagakure didn't spread the rumor, he hadn't found out who did, and he hadn't suspected Sunagakure either.
Koharu Utatane retorted, "How could the rumor be spread by Sunagakure? What's the point of them spreading it like this? Starting a war with our Konoha? What good would it do them?"
Genyan Mitokado curled his lips into a confident smile and explained to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two, "Before Sunagakure declared war against Iwagakure, wasn't there a period of great chaos and the Sunagakure ninjas were extremely irritable?"
"The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure might have gone missing a long time ago. The reason for their chaos and irritability was that they hadn't been able to find the Third Kazekage for a long time."
"That is to say, if Sunagakure didn't solve this problem quickly at that time, there might be big problems in Sunagakure."
"You should also know Ebizo from Sunagakure well. He's also one of our old adversaries. I have to say, Ebizo is a very smart and resourceful person."
"The newly - appointed Fourth Kazekage took office in a hurry. It should be the result of the recommendation by Ebizo and a group of high - level officials from Sunagakure. And the purpose of quickly recommending Rasa as the Kazekage must be to solve the hidden danger in Sunagakure."
"The hidden danger inside Sunagakure is much more serious than we outsiders can see. Therefore, it's very likely that the solution the high - level officials from Sunagakure came up with was to shift the focus and turn the internal conflict into an external one."
"How to turn it into an external conflict? War is a good way to do it."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Tanzō fell into silent thought, considering Genyan Mitokado's words.
It had to be said that Genyan Mitokado's analysis made a lot of sense.
However, Koharu Utatane raised a question, "Since Sunagakure wants to turn the internal conflict into an external one and start a war, haven't they already succeeded? Why do they still spread this kind of rumor and make an enemy of our Konoha?"
Genyan Mitokado played it mysterious and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Hiruzen Sarutobi, you must know ōnoki well."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had pretty much guessed the truth. He said seriously, "Well, Ōnoki is a profit - driven guy. When Sunagakure declares war on Iwagakure, Sunagakure definitely won't be a match for Iwagakure. However, Ōnoki won't fight Sunagakure to the bitter end either, because there's no profit to be gained from Sunagakure.
If we think along Genyan Mitokado's line of thought, when Sunagakure declared war on Iwagakure, they figured that Iwagakure wouldn't fight them to the bitter end. Moreover, the Shinobi World War has fully started, and the internal conflicts have been successfully redirected.
But Iwagakure is stronger than Sunagakure overall. If this drags on, Sunagakure won't be able to compete with Iwagakure. Even though they know Iwagakure won't fight them to the bitter end, for Sunagakure, which is extremely short of supplies, the consumption is unbearable.
Then, Sunagakure's second scheme emerged. They also know that Ōnoki is a profit - driven guy, and Cloud Hidden Village has sent a ninja forces into the Land of Earth. Now, Iwagakure is caught between a rock and a hard place.
So... if we assume that Iwagakure's attack on the Third Kazekage was a misunderstanding and it was actually Konoha that did it, then both Sunagakure and Iwagakure will become victims. Sunagakure can then propose cooperation to Ōnoki and start a war against Konoha. Based on what I know about Ōnoki, he'll most likely agree!"
After listening to Genyan Mitokado and Hiruzen Sarutobi's analysis, both Tanzō and Koharu Utatane looked extremely solemn.