Chapter 350: The Reaction of the Four Great Shinobi Villages
A few days later, news of the chaos in Kirigakure gradually spread across the entire shinobi world.
Despite Genji and the high-ranking officials of Kirigakure doing their best to suppress information about the internal turmoil, a battle of such scale could not escape the eyes of spies from other villages. Intelligence quickly made its way to the information agencies of each village, landing on the desks of the remaining Four Kage.
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Iwagakure Frontlines
The Third Tsuchikage was already overwhelmed with the war against Konohagakure.
When he officially initiated the war, Ōnoki had assumed that Konohagakure would be greatly weakened after the loss of the Uchiha clan and that they would be forced to cede some benefits and land to Iwagakure.
He had even hoped that some of the surrounding minor nations might fall into Iwagakure's grasp along with the spoils of war.
However, to his surprise, as the war continued, Konohagakure miraculously held on. The long-absent Tsunade had returned to the frontlines, stabilizing Konohagakure's morale.
Moreover, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the head of Konohagakure's Anbu, had sacrificed his life to destroy Iwagakure's supply base.
After a series of these setbacks, Iwagakure had already lost its initial advantage. At this point, even holding onto the land they had already taken was difficult, advancing further was out of the question.
Internally, Iwagakure faced another issue: both Rōshi, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, repeatedly disobeyed Ōnoki's orders and refused to push deeper into the Land of Fire, preventing Iwagakure from fully utilizing its Tailed Beast advantage.
This left Ōnoki feeling exhausted, as if fate itself was preventing Iwagakure from rising.
The only bit of relief was that Deidara had not caused any problems lately. He had been following orders and using his explosive art along the Land of Fire's border, alleviating Iwagakure's firepower shortage to some extent.
At that moment, the frontline captain, Kitsuchi, entered the office and handed a scroll of intelligence to Ōnoki.
Opening it, Ōnoki found information regarding Kirigakure. According to Iwagakure's spies, Kirigakure had recently experienced a serious internal conflict.
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, had been discovered to be under someone else's control, leading to a battle within Kirigakure.
After a fierce struggle and the aid of external reinforcements, Kirigakure barely managed to defeat the Fourth Mizukage, though the mastermind behind it all had ultimately escaped.
Ōnoki had never placed much importance on Kirigakure's affairs.
Although Iwagakure and Kirigakure were geographically separated by the sea, the two villages had little direct conflict of interest. Both of their priorities were centered on the Land of Fire, the heart of the shinobi world.
Besides, ever since the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage perished together in battle, Kirigakure had lost the strength to threaten Iwagakure. The so-called Five Great Shinobi Villages were not as evenly matched as they appeared.
In a one-on-one battle, Sunagakure and Kirigakure simply could not compete with Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or Konohagakure. However, what caught Ōnoki's attention was the identity of the reinforcement that aided Kirigakure.
It was none other than Byakuya, someone he had long regarded as possessing the potential of a demigod.
Why had Byakuya gone to Kirigakure? Why had he helped Kirigakure defeat the Fourth Mizukage? Who was the shinobi that had controlled the Fourth Mizukage?
These questions swirled in Ōnoki's mind, giving him a strong sense of foreboding. He vaguely sensed that beneath the seemingly calm surface of the shinobi world, a massive conspiracy was brewing.
In just a few short years, Konohagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure had all undergone major upheavals.
Perhaps the next village to be thrown into chaos would be Iwagakure. Worse yet, Ōnoki had no idea what was coming, nor did he have the manpower to launch an investigation.
For now, he could only focus on quickly resolving the current battlefield situation, securing more resources for Iwagakure, and ensuring the village could enter a period of recovery.
As for taking advantage of Kirigakure's internal strife to launch an attack, Ōnoki didn't even dare to entertain the thought.
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Kumogakure
Compared to the stressed-out Third Tsuchikage, the Fourth Raikage was much more at ease.
It had been five years since the war between Kumogakure and Konohagakure ended. While five years was not enough time to cultivate a new generation of shinobi, it was sufficient for Kumogakure to recover its strength.
Furthermore, the Land of Lightning, located in the mountainous northeastern part of the shinobi world, was naturally easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Kumogakure had always been the aggressor in wars, never the one being attacked.
As for why the Third Raikage had died surrounded by Iwagakure's forces, that was thanks to two cunning old foxes: Ōnoki and Danzō. Iwagakure had been the one to tear up the peace agreement.
After spending a few hours training with his men, the Fourth Raikage wiped his sweat with a towel and entered his office. With the help of his assistant, he began reviewing official documents at a leisurely pace.
At that moment, he seemed to recall something and turned to Mabui, asking:
"Still no news of the Two-Tails or Yugito? After all these years, even if Yugito is dead, the Two-Tails should have revived by now."
Mabui shook her head.
"There is still no news of the Two-Tails' revival. However, I have received intelligence regarding a major disturbance in Kirigakure."
"A disturbance? Let's hear it," the Fourth Raikage said with interest.
After carefully choosing her words, Mabui recounted what had happened in Kirigakure, including the revelation that the Fourth Mizukage had been controlled, as well as the battle between Byakuya and the masked man.
Hearing Byakuya's name, the Fourth Raikage furrowed his brows.
He remembered Byakuya well. This was a shinobi who could rival him in taijutsu. At the time, he had even considered recruiting Byakuya into Kumogakure.
He hadn't expected that in just a few short years, Byakuya would grow into a ninja capable of defeating the Fourth Mizukage. However, why did the intelligence report mention that Byakuya possessed Wood Release? Wasn't Wood Release an ability unique to the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama?
As if reading the Raikage's thoughts, Mabui quickly explained, "Byakuya is a member of the Uzumaki clan, and the Uzumaki and Senju clans intermarried for generations. It's possible that Byakuya inherited Senju blood, which allowed him to awaken Wood Release."
The Fourth Raikage was momentarily stunned before letting out a laugh.
"The strongest Wood Release user in the shinobi world isn't even from Konohagakure? That's hilarious!"
Yet, his laughter was short-lived as his expression quickly turned serious.
A shinobi as powerful as Byakuya was not good news for Kumogakure.
Mabui pulled out a prepared intelligence report and spoke as she handed it over.
"Fourth Raikage, in addition to temporarily losing the Fourth Mizukage as a combat force, there are also rumors that Kirigakure's Six-Tails Jinchūriki has gone missing."
"The Six-Tails Jinchūriki is missing? Wasn't he already a runaway?"
Mabui shook her head and explained, "This time, it's not just a case of running away. Some within Kirigakure speculate that the Six-Tails Jinchūriki was taken by the masked man. His real goal in infiltrating Kirigakure may have been the Tailed Beasts."
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage started to connect the dots. Clenching his fist, he asked, "Are you saying Yugito isn't actually dead, but was captured, just like the Six-Tails Jinchūriki?"
Mabui nodded. "That seems to be the only possibility. If Yugito had truly died, then after all these years, the Two-Tails should have already revived. But no traces of the Two-Tails' chakra have appeared anywhere."
The Fourth Raikage's face darkened, and he turned to Mabui.
"Mabui, who do you think is behind Yugito's abduction?"
Mabui fell into deep thought before responding, "It could be the masked man… but it could also be Konohagakure or Amegakure. However, what matters most right now is protecting Lord Killer Bee. Jinchūriki that have been taken are nearly impossible to recover. If anything happens to Lord Killer Bee..."
Before she could finish, the Fourth Raikage slammed his fist onto his desk, shattering it in an explosion of splinters. Furious, he roared,
"I will protect Killer Bee! Pass down my orders, Killer Bee is forbidden from leaving the village without permission! He can only stay within Kumogakure or Thunder Gorge, nowhere else!"
To the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee was irreplaceable.
Not only was he the village's perfect Jinchūriki, but he was also the most important family member A had left.
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Sunagakure
The Fifth Kazekage, Sasori of the Red Sand, also received intelligence from Kirigakure. Unlike the other villages, the one delivering the report was neither a secretary nor an Anbu operative, it was his grandmother, Chiyo.
As Chiyo pushed the door open, Sasori briefly glanced at her before setting down the mechanical components he had been working on. His voice was calm, indifferent.
"Another document that needs my signature and seal, Chiyo? Just leave it here. If it's urgent, you can always issue orders under your own authority as an elder."
Chiyo sighed internally as she looked at her reclusive grandson.
This boy had either disappeared from the village for over a decade or locked himself inside the Kazekage office for months, burying himself in research on chakra puppet technology. He dumped all of his Kazekage responsibilities onto an old woman like her.
That said, to give credit where it was due, Sasori was performing fairly well as Kazekage. He had no interest in handling government affairs, but he had made significant progress in both the economy and diplomacy.
Economically, Sasori had discovered oil deposits beneath the Land of Wind and used puppets to automate production, rapidly improving Sunagakure's financial situation.
The desert bandits, who once lived by robbing and pillaging, had transformed into wealthy landowners, living off the country's newfound natural resources.
Diplomatically, Sasori had taken direct control of the Land of Wind's feudal lord, freeing Sunagakure from political subjugation.
The only issue was that Sasori had no intention of marrying or having children. More than that, his body was gradually transforming, advancing toward full puppetization, there was hardly anything left of his original human form.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Chiyo addressed the Fifth Kazekage.
"I can't keep signing everything for you. You are the true Kazekage of Sunagakure. More importantly, this intelligence is too crucial, you have to read it yourself."
Sasori showed an expression of mild annoyance as he accepted the report. He skimmed it briefly and then remarked,
"I thought it was something important. Isn't it just Byakuya defeating the controlled Fourth Mizukage and saving Kirigakure? I already knew about this."
"You already knew…?" Chiyo was momentarily at a loss for words. Then she pressed on.
"That's not the point! The real issue is that Byakuya used Wood Release. That's the legendary Bloodline Limit of the First Hokage! Do you understand what this means?"
Sasori nodded nonchalantly and replied, "I've known about his Wood Release for a while now. Wood Release, Magnet Release, there's not much difference. If anything, Wood Release is just more environmentally friendly. Maybe we should invite Byakuya to Sunagakure sometime and have him plant some trees in the desert. The masked man, on the other hand, is a more pressing issue. That's something worth paying attention to."
As a member of the Akatsuki, Sasori had received intelligence on Byakuya several days ago. He also knew that the entire conflict was staged by Akatsuki itself.
Because of this, he wasn't concerned in the slightest. With Gaara now firmly established as his younger brother, Akatsuki had no reason to target Sunagakure anymore.
Seeing Sasori's indifferent attitude, Chiyo was left speechless. Then again, Kirigakure's turmoil really had nothing to do with Sunagakure.
For now, Sunagakure just needed to keep quietly amassing wealth.
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Konohagakure
In the Hokage office, the Third Hokage also received a report from his intelligence agents.
Before this, he had been overwhelmed with managing both internal and external battles. With Tsunade and Jiraiya both returning to the battlefield, Konohagakure had barely managed to hold off Iwagakure's invasion.
During the most recent jōnin meeting, he had made numerous concessions to the major clans in exchange for their continued support. Step by step, things were finally starting to move in a positive direction.
However, during this time, something happened that left him devastated. His son and daughter-in-law had both died in the war against Iwagakure. More than half of Konohagakure's Anbu forces had also perished on the battlefield.
The Hokage's faction was now at its weakest point in history. If the Uchiha clan had not already been wiped out in their attempted coup, the position of Hokage might have already changed hands.
What's more, with the death of Shinnosuke Sarutobi, his dream of grooming his son to be the Fifth Hokage had been completely shattered.
Now, aside from his estranged son, Asuma, and his young grandson, Konohamaru, the Third Hokage had no remaining family.
Heart heavy with grief, he opened the scroll detailing Kirigakure's situation.