"Lord Hokage, this is the bounty order issued from within the Hidden Grass Village."
An Anbu Ninja appeared in the office of the Hokage Building using the Instantaneous Body Jutsu, immediately placing the intelligence file in his hand on the desk in front of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for him to review.
Hiruzen was already partially informed about the terrorist attack on the Hidden Grass Village through Anbu channels, yet there were still many puzzling aspects, including why the Hidden Grass Village was attacked and the identity of the attackers.
The first issue had already been assigned to the Anbu for a covert investigation, to find out the reasons behind the Hidden Grass Village attack.
Regarding the identity of the attackers, Hiruzen looked at the file which depicted a girl in witch's attire, around sixteen, with an unfamiliar face, neither a ninja from any ninja village system, nor previously seen on the underground black market—a completely unknown girl in peculiar attire.
She was capable of using powerful Wind Style Ninjutsu, akin to the Third Tsuchikage of Hidden Rock Village, possessing the ability to fly freely in the sky.
However, the Third Tsuchikage used Earth Style; it wasn't hard to figure out that the secret to the flying ability of this girl in witch's attire lay in her Wind Style.
In addition to the strangely attired witch girl, there was also a non-human, beast-like, jet-black creature resembling a Summoning Beast.
Its body was very small, comparable in size to a pet cat at home, capable of using long-range Lightning Style attacks, coordinating with the flying witch to unleash lightning strikes from the skies.
This duo had rendered the numerous ninjas of the Hidden Grass Village helpless and disgraced.
Shortly after the attack on the Hidden Grass Village, bounty amounts for this person and beast duo surfaced on the underground black market.
The witch-clad girl, due to her special flying ninjutsu and ability to use large-scale destructive Wind Style Ninjutsu, was extremely dangerous, with a bounty amount of fifty-five million ryos.
The entirely jet-black juvenile summoning beast had a bounty of fifteen million ryos, combining to make a lofty seventy million ryos reward.
Even without investigation, it was clear that bounty hunters from the underground black market were already on the move, looking to claim the heads of this person and beast for the staggering bounty of seventy million ryos.
"Have the reasons for the attack on the Hidden Grass Village been clarified?"
Hiruzen asked the Anbu Ninja.
The Hidden Grass Village could not have been attacked without reason, whether it was their powerful ninjutsu being coveted or they inadvertently offended someone, all these were points of concern for Hiruzen.
"I'm sorry, Lord Hokage, the investigation is still ongoing, but we believe results should be forthcoming soon."
"Is that so? Continue the investigation, it is imperative to uncover the reasons for the Hidden Grass Village attack."
Hiruzen felt that the matter was no simple affair; during a time of peace, a direct assault on small nation ninja villages was unprecedented.
Even for a small nation ninja village like the Hidden Grass, its military strength was not to be underestimated.
Hiruzen was worried that someone was orchestrating things behind the scenes.
"Yes."
The Anbu Ninja respectfully withdrew.
After the Anbu Ninja withdrew, Hiruzen sank into deep thought.
On the surface, this incident seemed unrelated to Konoha, but the Land of Grass, where the Hidden Grass Village is located, was very close to the Land of Fire. To be safe, a deeper investigation into the attack on the Hidden Grass Village was necessary.
Through this event, he saw the true nature of ninjas, full of cracks and undercurrents.
Since the last Ninja Realm war, the states appeared stable on the surface, but Hiruzen was well aware that each country's ninja village was maintaining a facade of harmony, while secretly building up strength.
Especially the Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud.
The Third Raikage, needless to say, carried forward the martial ideology of the previous Raikages, leading the Hidden Cloud Village to prioritize military development.
Although the Hidden Cloud did not participate in the last Ninja Realm war, Hiruzen had always positioned a ninja squad at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water to prevent a surprise attack from the Hidden Cloud Village. He was particularly wary of the Third Raikage, known for his unrivaled shield and spear technique.
It was rumored that he could engage in hand-to-hand combat with a Tailed Beast using his physical body, a truly terrifying thought.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand, though the youngest among the current Five Kage, was ambitiously developing militarily, keeping pace with the Hidden Cloud Village.
In contrast, Konoha had been weakened; the main family members of the Hyuga Clan were missing, suspected to have been attacked by Hidden Mist Ninjas, who stole their Byakugan.
After the White Fang incident, their external deterrent force decreased.
The tension between the Uchiha and Danzo's Root was like fire and water, making it difficult for the high-ranking officials to negotiate with the Uchiha Race.
Abandoning either the Uchiha or Danzo was a scenario Hiruzen didn't want to see.
Without Danzo's Root, his Anbu alone wouldn't be enough to counter the strong force of the Uchiha Race.
He maintained stability among these forces, but it wouldn't be surprising for this balance to be disrupted at any time.
The only commendable aspect was the significant progress in medical education. Tsunade cultivated batches of Medical Ninja in the Ninja School, with unwavering support in funds and welfare.
These have now been officially integrated into the squad model, and over the past two years, the casualty rate of Jonin Squads on missions has substantially decreased.
This attack on the Hidden Grass Village was a revelation of the fact that there were undercurrents stirring in the Ninja Realm, tearing away the facade of peace.