The situation of the three Ninja World Wars has changed due to the addition of Chao Yanqian. Whether this result will be good or bad, Chao Yanqian's role is still unpredictable.
But if he can't reach the battlefield at Iwagakure right away, Chao Yanqian can definitely predict his own fate.
That is, to be abandoned by Orochimaru, and eventually, at some unknown time, be secretly killed by him.
Faced with a powerful man like Orochimaru, even staying in Konoha Village gives Chao Yanqian no sense of security. His only hope is to reach the Iwagakure battlefield, avoid Orochimaru temporarily, and at the same time, consult Minato Namikaze about the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After breakfast, at around nine o'clock, Chao Yanqian went alone to the Hokage's office.
"It's Chao Yanqian! What's the matter?" The Third Hokage remained as kind as always, showing a friendly attitude toward Chao Yanqian.
"Hokage-sama, it's like this. Based on some information I've gathered over the past few days, I've discovered something," said Chao Yanqian.
"Oh? What did you discover?" The Third Hokage looked at him with interest.
The Third Hokage highly values Chao Yanqian's talent. Because of that, he doesn't treat him like an ordinary eleven-year-old kid.
"It's about the serious injury of the Third Raikage," said Chao Yanqian.
"What are your thoughts on it?" the Third Hokage asked.
After thinking for a moment, Chao Yanqian said, "Well, because the news spread so quickly, we've always suspected it might be fake. That the Third Raikage wasn't seriously injured at all. That it was Yunyin Village spreading the rumor to paralyze the other hidden villages, preventing them from acting rashly since they couldn't verify the truth of the matter."
Seeing the Third Hokage listening carefully, Chao Yanqian continued: "But based on my judgment, the injury to the Third Raikage is real. I've researched his personality he's impatient and would never resort to such deception. So this misinformation must have been fabricated by the strategists of Yunyin Village, taking advantage of the Raikage's unconscious state."
In the original manga, the cunning Ōnoki likely deduced this, which is why he gave up the opportunity to besiege Konoha and Sunagakure and instead attacked Yunyin Village.
Although that battle resulted in the death of the Third Raikage, Iwagakure also suffered heavy losses. They had to agree to a truce with Konoha and simultaneously became hostile with Sunagakure. Later, another war broke out between Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
Ōnoki miscalculated. Perhaps the Third Raikage was truly injured, but given his incredible physique, he likely recovered quickly. Choosing to strike Yunyin Village at that moment only provoked the Raikage without gaining any real advantage.
Perhaps Ōnoki wanted to completely eliminate Yunyin Village during the Raikage's injury, forcing them to withdraw from the Ninja World battlefield. That would leave Konoha and Sunagakure to weaken each other, while sunagakure was already devastated lleaving Iwagakure as the sole dominant power.
It was a good plan, but unfortunately, things rarely go as people intend.
After finishing his thoughts, Chao Yanqian glanced at the Third Hokage and saw that he wasn't surprised. It was clear that the Hokage had already considered this possibility and perhaps had a countermeasure in place.
"Hmm, that makes sense. So, how do you think we should handle this?" the Third Hokage asked calmly.
Chao Yanqian responded, "Ignore Yunyin Village and focus on defeating Iwagakure. As long as we can gain an advantage on that battlefield, we won't have to worry about sneak attacks from other villages."
In fact, at this moment, Chao Yanqian regretted coming to the Third Hokage so hastily. But time was pressing, and he had to act quickly.
Perhaps he should have first coordinated with Shikaku Nara to ensure everything was airtight.
But it was too late for regrets now. Chao Yanqian pressed on.
"We must also stay alert to sunagakure," the Third Hokage sighed.
Yes a battle between Konoha and sunagakure is bound to occur.
In the original manga, sunagakure declared war on Konoha after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. That war was part of Madara Uchiha's plan to kill Rin Nohara and push Obito Uchiha into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, while making him completely despair over the world.
The premise for this was that Obito must awaken the Sharingan and then "die," or at least make everyone believe he had died.
Although Obito was not taken seriously within the Uchiha clan, he was a disciple of Minato Namikaze. For dangerous missions, Obito was often protected. It would have been difficult for him to encounter a life-threatening situation that could trigger the Sharingan's evolution.
Thus, Konoha had to be driven into desperation to suit Madara's plan.
As he thought of this, a sudden flash crossed Chao Yanqian's mind.
Now that Sunagakure has withdrawn from the battlefield, will sunqgakure declare war early, dragging Konoha's forces into full combat, forcing even young geniuses like Kakashi who was highly valued by Konoha to undertake dangerous missions?
If sunagakure does declare war, Orochimaru will likely be sent to that front, and Chao Yanqian will be forced to follow him.
From this angle, the Third Hokage's strategy of staying still for now seems correct.
But for Chao Yanqian, it would be a disaster.
Is there really no way to avoid Orochimaru?
"Sunagakure was just attacked by Iwagakure and Sunagakure. They should be trying to retaliate against Sunagakure instead!" Chao Yanqian didn't want to give up the chance to go to the Iwagakure front, so he offered another suggestion.
"But until sunagakure makes a move, we must remain vigilant," said the Third Hokage.
"I understand!" Seeing that the Hokage had already made up his mind not to act for now, Chao Yanqian gave up trying to persuade him.
Saying more might raise the Hokage's suspicion.
After all, with Chao Yanqian's current ability, he wasn't qualified to discuss such matters with the Hokage. It was only because of his status as Tsunade's disciple and the Third Hokage's interest in him that he could offer suggestions. But if he acted arrogantly, he might lose that trust.
But it was already too late to turn back.
"However, Jiraiya is a bit short-staffed at the moment. In a few days, I'll be sending medical ninja to support him at the front lines. You'll be among the candidates. Also, your promotion to Tokubetsu Jōnin has been approved. The official appointment will be announced in a few days." The Third Hokage, as if reading his thoughts, said this to Chao Yanqian.