"..."
Today, Sunagakure was unusually quiet.
Sweat continued to drip down Baki's face as he dared not look up at his Kazekage's expression.
He had just finished scolding his subordinates, and now it was his turn to face the wrath of Lord Kazekage.
"...Was it that old man from Iwagakure who changed his mind?"
The deep voice of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa broke the silence.
"It shouldn't be..."
Baki wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied:
"From the evidence at the scene, many Iwagakure ninjas died as well. Though we haven't found all the bodies, their losses were definitely significant."
"...Which means information about our transaction was leaked long ago. A third-party ninja, then?"
"That seems most likely."
Fourth, Kazekage Rasa set down the report in his hand, his mind racing with thoughts. After a while, he spoke:
"Do you think Konoha was behind this?"
Baki considered the evidence before answering firmly:
"It was probably Konoha. The traces of Fire Style jutsu at the scene were very obvious. We even found evidence of Fire Style being used at several other locations."
The meaning was clear. In the entire shinobi world, Konohagakure had the most Fire Style users.
Of course, other villages had ninjas who could use Fire Style jutsu, but Konoha was the prime suspect in this case.
"Heh..."
"...We are supposed to be staunch allies!"
Rasa smiled bitterly, though he had never truly taken their alliance seriously.
Allies were meant to be betrayed.
Just like in this incident, trouble between the various hidden villages wasn't uncommon.
If Rasa had learned sensitive information about Konoha, he would have also sent ninjas to eliminate targets and steal supplies.
This kind of conflict always took place in the shadows, and no hidden village would openly condemn such actions.
I lost this time, next time it will be your turn to be unlucky.
The entire shinobi world had never truly known peace, with conflicts occurring constantly.
Even so, Rasa still felt a pang in his heart.
The gold used for the transaction had been painstakingly extracted from the ground by him, and now it was gone just like that...
Sunagakure, already struggling financially, was now in an even worse position.
"...Send someone to contact Orochimaru and remain alert!"
Rasa made his decision and gave Baki an order. "Remember! Be careful!"
Orochimaru was not someone to be underestimated. In truth, Rasa had never fully committed to cooperating with him, but now he had little choice.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"
Baki agreed immediately, though he harboured a suspicion he kept to himself—that Orochimaru might have orchestrated this incident to damage Sunagakure's economy and force the two parties into cooperation.
But this seemed a bit far-fetched, so Baki kept silent.
"Lord Kazekage, Orochimaru truly has no good intentions..."
"I know! You're dismissed!"
"Yes, sir!"
Rasa knew very well that cooperating with Orochimaru would be like inviting disaster, but Sunagakure's situation was dire.
The funding provided by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind decreased each year, leaving no resources to train more ninjas or accept a large number of missions.
The Land of Wind itself faced harsh conditions. With deserts dominating the landscape, there were few resources to support development, and they relied heavily on trade with other nations.
But they had little money to trade with!
Such a vicious cycle was difficult to break!
So even though he knew Orochimaru couldn't be trusted, Rasa had no choice but to cooperate with him.
And this incident was simply the last straw!
...
"Huh?"
"What's that?"
Shihouin Naraku returned to Konohagakure exhausted and looked up at Hokage Rock, squinting his eyes.
"Did I see wrong? Is there someone jumping around up there?"
Who would be so bold?
Who would dare to mess with the statues of the Hokage?
After thinking for a moment, Naraku realized only one person would dare—and could—do such a thing.
Uzumaki Naruto!
"Oh, I remember now. Isn't this the scene when Uzumaki Naruto first appears in the story!"
Naraku couldn't help but laugh when he recalled the scene.
And right on cue—
After a chaotic chase, Umino Iruka appeared!
"UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!"
The shout echoed throughout all of Konohagakure.
"Well!"
With a resigned sigh, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen turned away from the window and settled into his chair.
After thinking for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen pulled out two documents.
One had a picture of Shihouin Naraku, and the other showed Hatake Kakashi.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen drummed his fingers absently on the armrest of his chair.
"We still have some time before Naruto graduates."
"We need to consider carefully who Naruto's teacher will be..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was already thinking about who would become Uzumaki Naruto's instructor.
Even though Naruto's grades were currently at the bottom of his class, and he couldn't even perform a simple Clone Jutsu, he would definitely graduate!
Not graduate?
No! Sarutobi Hiruzen would not allow Naruto to fail!
Konohagakure could not allow Uzumaki Naruto to remain at the Academy!
That's why Sarutobi Hiruzen was already considering who would lead Uzumaki Naruto's future team.
Because of Naruto's status as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, being his instructor would mean that person was a potential Hokage candidate!
Whether for political reasons or emotional ones, the Hokage must be able to influence or control the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!
This was non-negotiable!
It was evident from the status of Tailed Beast Jinchūriki in other hidden villages that most Kage maintained close relationships with their Jinchūriki.
The Fourth Kazekage's son Gaara was the Jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku!
Kirigakure's Fourth Mizukage Yagura was himself the Three-Tails' Jinchūriki!
The Raikage of Kumogakure was the sworn brother of Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Gyūki's Jinchūriki!
As for Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, he would occasionally spend time with Uzumaki Naruto, presenting himself as a kind and friendly grandfather figure, guiding Naruto's character and thoughts.
Of course, there were exceptions, but all major hidden villages ensured that their Kage controlled their Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, and emotional bonds were the most convenient and effective way to accomplish this.
Now Sarutobi Hiruzen was contemplating who would become the instructor of Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, to develop a new bond!
Meanwhile, Naraku, having returned to Konohagakure, also met with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Hokage had already received detailed information about the mission from the Anbu who had returned earlier, so Naraku only added some general information about his role as rear guard.
They were originally going to return together, but the Chakra Metal they had captured was too important, so Naraku had ordered the Anbu members to bring the supplies back first.
Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, a smile replacing his frown:
"The Chakra Metal was a pleasant surprise!"
"The village can use these metals to create special ninja tools!"
"This mission was accomplished very well."
In truth, the most important objective of this mission was to disrupt the transaction between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Iwagakure was of less concern, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was well aware of Sunagakure's situation.
Sunagakure's loss was significant. If Konohagakure negotiated with them in the future, they could extract considerable concessions. After all, Sunagakure was desperately short of supplies. If they wanted something, they would have to pay more.
It might even weaken Sunagakure further.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want Sunagakure to collapse completely, but a slightly weaker ally would be preferable.
Only such an ally would allow Konohagakure to feel secure.
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