The Village's Decision

The next day, the Konoha cipher team received urgent letters from the Land of Waves and the Land of Rivers. After decoding them, they wasted no time and immediately handed them over to the Hokage.

Given the gravity of the situation, the Third Hokage couldn't make a unilateral decision. He summoned the three advisors—Shimura Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Mitokado Homura—along with Nara Shikaku, the Hokage's strategist, to discuss the matter together.

Since the letters mentioned the issue of the missing gold that Asuma had previously reported, the Third Hokage didn't show the letters to the four of them. Instead, he recounted the events verbally: "This is what happened. Kakashi's Team 7 encountered the rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi from Kirigakure in the Land of Waves, while Asuma's Team 10 ran into Raiga Kurosuki from Kirigakure in the Land of Rivers. One in the Land of Waves, the other in the Land of Rivers."

The Third Hokage couldn't help but feel a hint of pride when mentioning his son's achievements, and his tone lightened slightly: "Raiga Kurosuki was captured by Team 10. As for Zabuza Momochi… Kakashi believes he faked his death and was likely rescued by his companions. Currently, Team 7 is searching for Zabuza's traces in the Land of Waves."

The Third Hokage coughed lightly: "The reason I've called you here is to discuss how we should handle these two rogue ninjas from Kirigakure—Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi."

Danzo was the first to raise a question: "Asuma, with three freshly graduated Genin, managed to capture Raiga Kurosuki from Kirigakure? Hiruzen, this intelligence seems too far-fetched."

The Third Hokage smiled faintly and tossed the Thunderswords, which had been brought back with the letters, in front of Danzo: "Still think it's fake?"

Danzo, having been proven wrong too many times, was already used to it. He inspected the Thunderswords and confirmed they were genuine—indeed, a weapon from Kirigakure.

He quickly changed his tune: "Both Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi are members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They must know many secrets. Have Asuma and Kakashi bring the captives back to the village and hand them over to Root. I'll extract every piece of information from these two rogue ninjas."

To be fair, Danzo's approach was very ninja-like. In wartime, it would have been perfectly reasonable to use such methods against captured elite Jonin from an enemy village. But the problem was, this wasn't wartime. Kirigakure and Konoha weren't allies, but they weren't enemies either.

Handling even one rogue ninja of this caliber was difficult, let alone two. The Third Hokage was deeply concerned about the potential chain reaction this could trigger.

Shikaku, being the Third Hokage's confidant, naturally understood his concerns and spoke up on his behalf.

"Hokage-sama, esteemed advisors, I believe that since these rogue ninjas from Kirigakure have been captured by us, it would be more appropriate to hand them over to their village as a gesture of goodwill between our two ninja villages."

Koharu Utatane smirked faintly: "Goodwill? Have we ever had goodwill with Kirigakure? Shikaku, if I recall correctly, didn't Raiga Kurosuki kill one of your relatives during the Third Great Ninja War?"

Shikaku nodded: "Yes, he did."

"Don't you want revenge?"

"Advisor, the war is over."

The elderly woman fell silent, while Mitokado Homura brought up another issue: "Now that Raiga Kurosuki is in our hands, even if we return him, wouldn't Kirigakure suspect that we've already extracted some information from him?"

The Third Hokage and Shikaku both fell silent. They were also worried about this. If we say that after this prisoner fell into our hands, we didn't secretly check the intelligence or tamper with anything, who would believe it?

Everyone's moral bottom line is actually very low, and the level of trust between them is almost zero. Konoha's proactive goodwill could easily backfire. Shikaku pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, Raiga Kurosuki and Zabuza Momochi aren't that important. Even if they return to Kirigakure, they won't gain enough trust. They'll likely be monitored, or even imprisoned for life."

He then looked at the four elders and continued, "The future of the village is what truly matters. For Kirigakure, which is currently in a state of transition, the two children Kakashi and Asuma mentioned—Haku and Ranmaru—are of the highest value. Genji, with his foresight, is determined to keep Kirigakure away from the Great Ninja War. Even if the radicals in Kirigakure have objections, Genji's prestige and the support of the conservatives can suppress any opposition. We might as well take this opportunity to improve relations with Kirigakure."

The "Genji" he referred to was the current de facto ruler of Kirigakure.

Genji had once been a subordinate of the First Mizukage and had since remained an elder of the village.

The old man was already 90 years old! Apart from Kakuzu of the Akatsuki, there was no ninja in the Shinobi World older than Genji.

The Third Hokage was 69 years old, which made him an old man by Shinobi World standards, but compared to Genji, he was still a generation younger.

The older one gets, the more importance they place on seniority.

Shikaku's words aligned with his thoughts, so the Third Hokage spoke up to support his trusted subordinate: "If we hand those two children over to Kirigakure, Genji should have enough wisdom to judge our goodwill. Kirigakure has also abandoned its previous cruel rule. In the long run, we can try to cooperate with Kirigakure."

At the end, he even expressed his hopes: "If we can form an alliance with Kirigakure, and add Sunagakure to the mix, the three great ninja villages joining forces would ensure that even if Kumogakure and Iwagakure cause trouble in the future, we would remain invincible."

Danzo snorted. He had never agreed with the Third Hokage's alliance strategy from the very beginning.

Konoha was so strong—was there really a need to ally with a weakling like Sunagakure?

He said, "Hiruzen, I still believe that extracting the intelligence from the heads of those two rogue ninjas would be more beneficial to the village. Your alliance is just wishful thinking and will never come to fruition. Even if Kirigakure allies with us, they will betray us the moment they see greater benefits."

This time, Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura did not stand on the same side as Danzo. If Konoha allied with Sunagakure and Kirigakure, perhaps there would be no more Great Ninja Wars in the future. When war breaks out, it's truly brutal. As village advisors, they wouldn't have to go to the battlefield, but their clans would. If a war really started, the younger generations of their families would have to fight, and no one could be exempt.

If it's possible to avoid war, it's best to avoid it.

The current political structure of Kirigakure was quite interesting. The Fourth Mizukage had passed away, and the Fifth Mizukage had actually been chosen, but they hadn't gained real power. At most, they were a figurehead. All the power in the village was in the hands of Genji, the 90-year-old man.

In the future, it was only on the eve of the Five Kage Summit that Genji handed over the hat symbolizing the authority of the Mizukage to Mei Terumi, officially retiring. At that time, the real power in Kirigakure was held by the elder, Genji.

Mitokado Homura thought for a moment and said, "We can try to express goodwill to Genji."

He glanced at the Third Hokage, Koharu Utatane, and Shimura Danzo: "I've dealt with Genji twice in the past. If none of you object, I'll represent the village and take the Thunderswords to Kirigakure."