Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze had received the order to evacuate the Land of Hot Water and head to the Country of Grass.
At the same time, they were aware of the rumors, which left Jiraiya and Minato completely dumbfounded.
Jiraiya frowned and inquired, "Are the people in Sunagakure as shameless as that kid Kamishiro?"
"Uh... Kamishiro should be much better than them," Minato Namikaze thought for a moment and then spoke up in defense of Kamishiro.
After all, Kamishiro would be their comrade in the future. How could he speak ill of his own comrade?
Jiraiya asked, "So, does Kamishiro know about the disappearance of the Third Kazekage?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head. "Kamishiro guessed on his own that Sunagakure had a new Kazekage. I haven't informed him about the disappearance of the Third Kazekage yet."
Jiraiya's expression was a bit subtle. He suggested, "Sunagakure claims to have found some so - called evidence, and Kamishiro has been portrayed as an unforgivable sinner who abandoned his family and country.
I think you should go tell that kid now. Give him some time to process this news. Once we reach the Country of Grass, we'll likely go into battle. If he finds out then, given his personality, he'll definitely cause a stir."
Minato Namikaze thought Jiraiya's concerns were very reasonable.
Absolutely, once Kamishiro learned about this, he would definitely cause a huge ruckus.
Minato Namikaze sighed. "I'll go find him now and tell him about this."
Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, I'll go find Tsunade, then gather all the ninjas. After packing up everything in the camp, we'll set off right away. Just come to the assembly point before you leave, Minato."
Minato Namikaze left the combat command room and headed towards Kamishiro's tent.
Unaware that a 'big surprise' was waiting for him, Kamishiro was tinkering with the circuits inside Kanna's body.
As soon as Minato Namikaze entered the tent, he saw the nude - looking Kanna. Although it was a Puppet, it looked so real that the innocent Minato blushed a little.
"Cough. Kamishiro, put away your Puppet. I have something very important to tell you."
"Oh my god!"
Kamishiro was so engrossed that he didn't even notice Minato Namikaze sneaking into the tent.
Minato Namikaze's sudden voice almost scared the wits out of Kamishiro.
Seeing it was Minato Namikaze, Kamishiro complained, "Lord Minato, why are you just like Obito Uchiha? At least Obito makes some noise. How come you're so quiet? You're gonna give me a heart - attack!"
Minato Namikaze forced a smile. "Sorry, this matter is really urgent, and we're about to leave here, so I just came in directly."
Kamishiro exclaimed in surprise, "Leaving here? Does that mean we're going back to Konoha?"
Minato Namikaze looked at Kamishiro with a bit of pity in his eyes and shook his head. "No, we're going to the Country of Grass. Without any surprises, Sunagakure and Iwagakure will soon declare war on Konoha. So, we have to head to the Country of Grass immediately and get ready for battle."
"Huh?"
Kamishiro was stunned. Weren't Sunagakure and Iwagakure already fighting each other? Why are they suddenly teaming up against Konoha?
Could it be that he didn't sleep well last night and he's mishearing things?
Minato Namikaze grabbed Kamishiro's arm and forced him to sit down on the chair. He said to Kamishiro seriously, "Kamishiro, what I'm about to tell you might be hard for you to accept, but it's the truth. So... Brace Yourself!"
Seeing Minato Namikaze so serious, Kamishiro nervously swallowed his saliva.
What on earth was the truth that made Minato Namikaze, who always had a gentle look, so serious?
Suddenly, he didn't want to know... Knowing it would definitely be a hassle.
"The Third Kazekage is missing..."
"Hmm?"
Kamishiro tilted his head, his eyes turning into tiny dots as he looked at Minato Namikaze.
Was that the important thing?
He already knew this. He found out when Rasa took office as the Fourth Kazekage.
He even knew who had killed the Third Kazekage.
Kamishiro let out a sigh of relief. He thought it was something serious. What's so hard to accept about this?
Minato Namikaze looked at Kamishiro with a strange expression. Kamishiro sighed in relief after hearing that the Third Kazekage was missing?
It seemed like... the relationship between the Third Kazekage and Kamishiro wasn't very good.
Kamishiro also noticed Minato Namikaze's strange look. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly explained, "The Third Kazekage is just missing. If he was dead, it'd be quite a problem."
Minato Namikaze's expression became even stranger.
Just a 'problem' if he was dead?
From Kamishiro's words, it sounded like the disappearance of the Third Kazekage wasn't a big deal at all.
Kamishiro felt increasingly uneasy and didn't know what to say.
Then it occurred to Kamishiro. That's right! In the eyes of Minato Namikaze and the others, his relationship with the Third Kazekage was already bad. Didn't the Third Kazekage sell him to Iwagakure?
So why was he feeling so guilty!
Minato Namikaze shook his head. He was almost distracted by Kamishiro. He still hadn't gotten to the main point.
Minato Namikaze continued, "The Third Kazekage is missing. Initially, Sunagakure's investigation results showed that they found the Forehead Protector of an Iwagakure ninja. Sunagakure declared war on Iwagakure, claiming that the Iwagakure ninjas attacked the Third Kazekage. Now, Sunagakure has reinvestigated and found some so - called evidence.
First, there's a Scroll. The Scroll reads, 'Uncle Kuitou, I have very important Konoha intelligence that I must report to you in person. Please, Uncle Kuitou, come outside Sunagakure to meet me right away.'"
Then, they found a large amount of Iron Sand at one location, along with fragments from Puppet battles and pieces of clothing worn by ninjas from Konoha.
Based on this, Sunagakure concluded... that you, whom we intercepted, were turned by Konoha. Taking advantage of your status as a member of the Third Kazekage's clan, Konoha lured the Third Kazekage out of the village through you. Then, ninjas from Konoha attacked and killed the Third Kazekage, and finally made it seem like it was the doing of Iwagakure.
The people in Sunagakure seem not to know who you are, but they've issued an order to kill any ninja using Magnet Release among the ninjas from Konoha at all costs.
That means, Kamishiro, you're now wanted by Sunagakure. And according to Lord Hokage's judgment, Sunagakure will soon cooperate with Iwagakure and declare war on our Konoha.
So we have to head to the Country of Grass right away, intercept the Iwagakure ninjas there, and fight them."
Kamishiro listened with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.
Minato Namikaze waited for Kamishiro to come to his senses, but after a while, Kamishiro showed no reaction.
Minato Namikaze called out to Kamishiro a few times.
Kamishiro snapped out of it and asked in a dry voice, "Lord Minato, you're not joking with me, are you?"
Minato Namikaze said with a solemn expression, "I'm not joking. This is the truth, Kamishiro."
Right now, Kamishiro felt as if his mind had crashed and he couldn't think any longer.
"Kamishiro..."
"Lord Minato, can you let me be alone for a while?"
Minato Namikaze nodded. "Sure, I'll come find you when it's time to leave."
Just as Minato Namikaze left the tent, he heard Kamishiro's wild laughter from inside.
"Hahaha... Hahahaha..."
Minato Namikaze was a bit worried about Kamishiro's mental state. Was he going crazy?