[Land of Earth, Iwagakure]
[Tsuchikage's Office]
Onoki was deep in thought inside the office.
Just like Dodai had guessed, Iwagakure had just finished a meeting.
Although Iwagakure also had other elders, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki had held power for a very long time.
Under his governance these years, Iwagakure had developed very well.
Onoki held absolute authority in Iwagakure.
The other elders basically existed just like staff advisors.
Two heads are better than one.
Not to mention, even if Onoki was an old fox, there were also smart people among the elders.
Although Danzo had not cooperated with Iwagakure before, he still used other means to deliver quite detailed intel to Iwagakure.
During this meeting, some people deduced that Uchiha and the Third Hokage were clearly engaged in a political power struggle.
The Uchiha currently held the upper hand.
And the Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, might be colluding with the Uchiha.
After all, while other nations only sent spies, Kirigakure directly sent their Mizukage.
It was like when others didn't even know what cards you had, you straight up sent your joker card.
Either Yagura was insane, or he was absolutely confident in being able to retreat unscathed.
And the massive detonation talisman explosion in Konoha was most likely also the Uchiha's doing.
It might even involve collusion with the Hyuga clan.
But there was one very strange thing: Uchiha Itachi had made a high-profile entrance into the Land of Earth.
Yet he did not come to Iwagakure, instead directly vanished from sight.
With Itachi's strength, if he wanted to hide his tracks, ordinary people really wouldn't be able to find him.
Among Iwagakure's elders, the more supported view was that the Uchiha were also observing the situation.
After all, working with other hidden villages was like asking a tiger for its skin.
Too little support would mean failing to achieve goals; too many would result in a loss of control in the end.
It made sense that the Uchiha were being cautious.
However, Onoki still planned to send some people to probe Konoha and the Uchiha's reaction.
Just as Onoki was deep in thought, an eight-year-old girl arrived by his side.
She tugged on Onoki's arm and began shaking it, "Grandpa, why are you still here? You promised to bring back Big Brother Deidara!"
Onoki snapped out of his thoughts, looking somewhat helplessly at his granddaughter.
His granddaughter was also quite talented; she could already use Lava Release.
But she followed behind Deidara all day, acting like a little tag-along.
"Alright, alright. Grandpa has important things to deal with."
Kurotsuchi pouted unhappily, "Grandpa, you never keep your word."
Onoki snorted, "Only you would feel sorry for that brat. Have you not seen how many buildings he blew up?"
"Uncle Hogan's entire family is still lying in the hospital."
"Letting that stinking brat go out and suffer a little is a good thing."
Upon hearing this, Kurotsuchi stuck out her tongue, feeling a little embarrassed.
Ever since Deidara became obsessed with the art of explosion, he took her out every day to cause destruction.
If it wasn't blowing up someone's house, it was blasting apart a cliffside.
Deidara was handsome and wild, making Kurotsuchi totally infatuated with him.
So she followed behind him every day.
After all, one was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, and the other was his beloved student. So even if they caused destruction, someone would always clean up after them.
But if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your feet wet.
This time, Deidara made a mess. He buried an entire family in the village.
Two were seriously injured, and one lightly injured.
Even Onoki couldn't cover for him anymore and expelled him from the village.
He planned to bring Deidara back after dealing with current matters.
But with the situation in Konoha clearly more urgent, Onoki didn't have the energy to care about Deidara right now, "Don't worry, he's currently near Yellow Rock City."
"We'll bring him back later."
Kurotsuchi's eyes lit up, and she hugged Onoki, "Grandpa is the best!"
Then she ran out, "I'm going to tell Akatsuchi this good news!"
Onoki stroked his beard, and a smile appeared on his serious face.
———
[Sunagakure]
"Kazekage-sama, the Daimyo has cut the funding again this year," Maki, who had just returned from the Daimyo's mansion, brought back this bad news.
Rasa was already dark-skinned, but now his expression was even darker, "What's the reason this time?"
Maki opened his mouth, then gloomily said, "Still Gaara."
Rasa's brows furrowed into the shape of the kanji for 'river', "Such a failed product. How many times did he go berserk this month?"
Maki paused a moment, "Seven times."
Visible irritation appeared on Rasa's face. He picked up the intel documents on the table and began pondering.
Although he had earned great merit during the Third Shinobi World War, allowing him to become the Fourth Kazekage. There was still another political force in Sunagakure, the elder faction led by Chiyo.
Originally, Chiyo was about to retire. But now with the incidents in Konoha...
Rasa's original intention was not to get involved and to wait and see after Kumogakure and Iwagakure tested the waters.
However, Chiyo was very concerned and expressed that they also needed to send someone to investigate. Rasa had suppressed all of it.
Rasa picked up a piece of intel beside him. It was also about Konoha, but even more detailed than their own investigations.
Yet it was filled with a strange air.
As if it was deliberately baiting Sunagakure to send people to investigate.
Konoha's sealing techniques were poor, and the Uchiha didn't specialize in sealing. They could only use their eye techniques to control the Jinchuriki.
After thinking for a while, Rasa formed a plan in his mind.
He suddenly asked, "Was Pakura ambushed last time?"
Maki's face turned awkward. So-called ambush, it was basically sending Pakura to die.
But something unexpected happened: the Kirigakure forces all withdrew, letting Pakura survive.
Pakura probably noticed something, and now had fully sided with Chiyo.
"If Chiyo wants us to get involved, let them send Pakura."
Maki curiously asked, "Then who are we sending?"
Chiyo was a sly fox. If they sent only their own people, she wouldn't agree.
Rasa's eyes grew deeper, "Gaara."
"Prepare the teacup and draw out Shukaku's chakra to craft a remote unsealing technique."
Maki instantly understood Rasa's intent, "Yes, understood, Kazekage-sama."
———
[Land of Earth Border]
After arriving, Itachi quickly concealed his tracks.
Rengoku sent him to the Land of Earth for two reasons: to hide his trail, and to see if he could convince that explosive brat to join the Uchiha clan.
After all, the ninja world was vast, but geniuses were limited.
When it came to shearing sheep, the more the better.
And judging by age, Deidara was only around 9 to 10 now, easier to persuade than later.
But the Land of Earth was vast, and finding Deidara right away wouldn't be easy.
Rengoku didn't give a death order, it was more like "beat the grass and scare out the rabbit." If successful, great; if not, no big deal.
———
At the same time, Kabuto, who was currently undercover in the Land of Earth.
Having waited a long time for his Konoha contact with no result, he left the wilderness and entered a town to gather information.
Only then did he learn that so many things had happened in Konoha in such a short time.
He didn't care about most things. But the dissolution of Root concerned the orphanage's funding.
He had to return immediately.
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