"Hokage-sama, this is a bounty order issued from within Hidden Grass Village."
An Anbu Ninja appeared in the office of the Hokage Building using the Instantaneous Body Jutsu, immediately placing the intelligence document in his hand on the desk before the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for review.
Hiruzen had already learned about the terrifying attack on Hidden Grass Village through the channels of Anbu, yet there were still many points of confusion, one of which was why Hidden Grass Village was attacked, as well as the identity of the assailant.
The first question had already resulted in Anbu being dispatched to investigate in secret, searching for the reason Hidden Grass Village was targeted.
As for the latter question regarding the attacker's identity, Hiruzen glanced at the file to see a girl dressed in a mysterious witch's attire, about sixteen years old, an unfamiliar face, neither a ninja from the Ninja Village system nor someone who had previously appeared in the Underground Black Market—a girl of completely unknown identity in bizarre clothing.
She was able to use powerful Wind Style Ninjutsu, with the ability to fly freely in the sky, similar to the Third Tsuchikage of Hidden Rock Village.
However, while the Third Tsuchikage used Earth Style, it was not difficult to see that the secret behind the flight of this witch-clad girl apparently lay in her mastery of Wind Style.
Aside from this strangely dressed witch girl, there was also a non-human, jet-black beast resembling a Summoning Beast.
It was very small, about the size of a house cat, capable of using long-range Lightning Style attacks, and would coordinate with the flying witch to deliver descending lightning strikes from the sky.
It was precisely this person and beast that left the many ninjas of Hidden Grass Village utterly helpless and humiliated.
Shortly after the attack on Hidden Grass Village, the Underground Black Market was flooded with bounty offers for this person and beast.
The girl in the witch's attire, due to her special flying ninjutsu as well as her ability to use wide-area, destructive Wind Style Ninjutsu, was marked as extremely dangerous, with a bounty set at fifty-five million ryo.
The entirely jet-black young Summoning Beast had a bounty of fifteen million ryo, for a combined total bounty of seventy million ryo.
Even without an investigation, it was easy to realize that at this moment, the Black Market bounty hunters had all sprung into action, hoping to claim the heads of this person and beast and secure the seventy million ryo bounty.
"Has the investigation into the reason for Hidden Grass Village's attack been completed?"
Hiruzen inquired of the Anbu Ninja.
Hidden Grass Village could not have been attacked for no reason; whether it was a powerful ninja technique drawing covetous eyes or some indirect offense, these were matters Hiruzen cared about.
"Apologies, Hokage-sama, the matter is still under investigation, but we are confident results will be available very soon."
"I see. Continue to pursue the investigation—be sure to uncover the cause behind Hidden Grass Village's assault."
Hiruzen felt there was more to this affair than met the eye; during a time of peace, for such a small-country Hidden Village to be attacked head-on was an unprecedented occurrence.
Even a small-country Hidden Village like Hidden Grass Village did not possess military strength that just anyone would dare provoke.
What concerned Hiruzen was the possibility of a hidden hand manipulating matters behind the scenes.
"Yes."
The Anbu Ninja withdrew respectfully.
After the Anbu Ninja left, Hiruzen sank into deep thought.
On the surface, this had nothing to do with Konoha, but the Land of Grass, where Hidden Grass Village was located, was extremely close to the Land of Fire. Out of an abundance of caution, it was also necessary to further investigate this incident involving Hidden Grass Village.
Through this matter, he saw the battered and riddled essence of ninja society, with dangerous undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
Since the last Ninja Realm war, although the situation between nations appeared stable, Hiruzen knew very well that each nation's Hidden Village only maintained the appearance of harmony, while secretly amassing power.
Of these, Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud were the most prominent.
No need to mention the Third Raikage, who inherited the martial philosophy of previous Raikage; under his leadership, Hidden Cloud Village had always emphasized military development.
Though Hidden Cloud did not appear in the last Ninja Realm war, Hiruzen had always stationed a Ninja Squad along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water precisely to prevent a surprise attack by Hidden Cloud Village. For that so-called strongest shield and spear, the Third Raikage, Hiruzen was undeniably apprehensive.
It was rumored that he could wrestle with Tailed Beasts using only his physical strength—such a feat was truly hair-raising.
Meanwhile, the Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand, though the youngest of the current Five Kage, was exceedingly ambitious, and in recent years, the military development of Hidden Sand Village rivaled even that of Hidden Cloud Village.
In contrast, Konoha had suffered the disappearance of a Main Family member of the Hyuga Clan, whose life and death were currently unknown, suspected to have been abducted by Hidden Mist Ninja and stripped of the Byakugan.
Ever since the White Fang incident, external deterrence had diminished.
The Uchiha and Danzo's Root were at daggers drawn; this was a crucial reason for the difficulty in negotiations between the upper echelons and the Uchiha Clan.
For Hiruzen, the prospect of having to abandon either the Uchiha Clan or Danzo was equally unacceptable.
Without Danzo's Root, relying solely on his Anbu would not suffice to counterbalance the formidable power of the Uchiha Clan.
He managed to maintain a stable equilibrium among these forces, but it was never certain when that balance might collapse.
The single point worthy of commendation was the significant progress made in medical education; Tsunade had cultivated one group of Medical Ninja after another within the Ninja School, with no effort spared in funding and welfare.
Now, the team system had been officially adopted, and in the past two years, the casualty rate for Jonin Squad missions had dropped dramatically.
Yet this incident involving the assault on Hidden Grass Village revealed the turbulent undercurrents of the Ninja Realm, tearing away the veil of superficial peace covering the ninja world.