Chapter 152: A Poisonous Scheme

Over half an hour later, at Sunagakure's Shinobi Hospital.

Kazekage Rasa stood in the hallway, flanked by Baki and a group of Anbu operatives.

After a while, Yashamaru emerged from the adjacent medical room, dressed in a white coat, wearing a mask and gloves, his expression grave.

"Kazekage-sama, both victims died from poisoning. Moreover, the toxin used... is a specialized venom unique to Sunagakure's puppet techniques."

The moment these words were spoken, Baki broke out in a cold sweat, while the Anbu behind him trembled visibly.

"This is not possible, Kazekage-sama! Our Anbu had no involvement in the deaths of those Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobi!"

By now, Rasa had already begun piecing together the sinister plot hidden beneath this bizarre incident. His expression remained calm, but his eyes carried a sharp reprimand as he spoke.

"Baki, as the head of the Anbu, this level of panic is unbecoming of you."

Only then did Baki realize he had indeed overreacted. However, given the catastrophic consequences this incident could trigger, it was hard to remain composed.

"Repeat exactly what happened."

"Hai!"

In short, during the two-hour banquet welcoming the Priestess of the Land of Demons, two shinobi, Samoi from Kumogakure and Ganon from Iwagakure, suddenly clashed with the Anbu guards stationed at the entrance.

Rasa was aware of this; the two had been demanding alcohol. Though annoyed, the Anbu had obliged and provided them with drinks. Yet even after drinking, the two remained unsatisfied. Staggering drunkenly by the entrance, they hurled insults at Sunagakure while obstructing other shinobi from entering.

However, given the diplomatic sensitivity, especially during such a high-profile event, the Anbu had no choice but to endure their behavior. But shortly after the banquet concluded, a sudden scream erupted from the two shinobi's quarters.

The nearby Anbu rushed to investigate, only to find both dead, their mouths frothing with black blood, spilled liquor pooling around them.

Realizing something was terribly wrong, the Anbu immediately reported to Baki and brought the bodies to the hospital.

But it was already too late.

Upon receiving the news, Kumogakure's leader, Darui, and Iwagakure's leader, Tsuchi, stormed in, demanding an explanation, threatening war if Sunagakure failed to provide one.

After listening to Baki's account, even Yashamaru found the situation suspicious.

Rasa, however, had already grasped the gist of the scheme. He turned to Baki and asked,

"Baki, as the Anbu commander, what do you think really happened?"

Baki wiped the sweat from his brow. He knew that mishandling this could ignite a war, plunging the village into ruin.

"Kazekage-sama, there is no way this was the Anbu's doing."

Though he couldn't claim absolute control over every Anbu operative, human nature was unpredictable, and he had only been in his position for a year, he trusted the men present here implicitly.

"Then who do you believe is responsible?"

Baki bowed his head lower, but his mind raced. Now that he had calmed down, the answer became clear.

"It must be a frame-up. Someone is trying to incite conflict between Sunagakure and the other villages."

Rasa's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Go on."

Baki gulped and nodded.

"The poison used is indeed ours, but that only makes it more suspicious. If we truly wanted them dead, why use something so easily traced back to us?"

Baki then looked at Rasa and spoke with a sweat on his forehead.

"This reeks of a third party's interference, likely intending to pit the great villages against each other."

A heavy silence fell over the hallway.

Then, Rasa spoke, his voice low but decisive.

"Investigate every shinobi who had access to that toxin. And summon the elders, we have a war to prevent."

Baki panicked and wanted to calm his leader.

"Reporting to the Kazekage-sama... I... I believe this was done by Iwagakure and Kumogakure themselves, to frame Sunagakure and justify launching a war against us!"

"Do you have proof? Right now, all the evidence points against us. Do you think anyone would believe what you just said?"

"This..."

Baki's expression darkened. This was precisely why he was both furious and humiliated.

A scheme so ruthless, sacrificing their own shinobi to frame Sunagakure, was something the Anbu would never conceive of. Even if they had, there was no way to counter such an overt trap.

"Then how do you plan to handle this?"

Rasa glanced out the window. Below, at the entrance of Sunagakure's hospital, Kumogakure's Darui and Iwagakure's Tsuchi had already gathered, loudly venting their fury and demanding justice from Sunagakure.

The hospital was already crowded, and the presence of these foreign shinobi drew even more attention, not just from Sunagakure's civilians, but also from visitors from other nations.

With the festival in full swing and no curfew in place, the village remained lively even at this late hour.

Clearly, this too was part of Kumogakure and Iwagakure's plan.

'As expected... Never underestimate anyone in this world.'

Compared to Rasa's calm, Baki's mind raced desperately, yet under such an inescapable trap, he could think of no solution. Trembling, he wiped his sweat and stammered,

"Kazekage-sama... I... I..."

Seeing this, Rasa sighed but refrained from criticism. Even he hadn't anticipated such a move from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

Now, under their blatant scheme, Sunagakure stood at a severe disadvantage in the court of public opinion, with no way to prove its innocence.

'In that case... There's only one solution left.'

"Listen well, Baki. When the facts are entirely against us, there's only one way to escape this predicament: stir the waters until they're too muddy to see through."

With that, Rasa gave Baki a meaningful look before walking away.

Still sweating, Baki mulled over the Kazekage's words, then suddenly, his eyes lit up in realization.

---

Sunagakure Hospital Entrance

Darui and Tsuchi stood in separate corners, their presence drawing a growing crowd. Chatter spread like wildfire, with enthusiastic onlookers eagerly explaining the situation to newcomers.

'One tells ten, ten tells a hundred...'

Of course, these "onlookers" were spies planted long ago by Kumogakure and Iwagakure.

The two leaders exchanged a fleeting glance before looking away. Though brief, that glance conveyed their mutual understanding; now was the time to join forces. By sacrificing their own shinobi, they had seized absolute initiative in this scheme.

Just then, Baki emerged from the hospital with a squad of Anbu. Darui and Tsuchi immediately stepped forward, their expressions icy.

"Anbu Commander Baki, what of our shinobi?"

Ignoring their questions, Baki scanned the crowd and asked coldly,

"Darui-san, Tsuchi-san, could you tell me where the rest of your delegation is?"

The two froze.

Darui, sensing danger, frowned.

"Commander Baki, that seems irrelevant to the current matter."

"Hmph... Irrelevant?"

A triumphant smirk spread across Baki's face.

"Then allow me to inform you where your subordinates are. They're currently in our Anbu interrogation cells."