[Tsuchikage's Office]
Onoki was holding the intelligence he'd just organized in his hand, wanting to take a careful look.
He was both surprised and puzzled.
Hiruzen had actually been expelled from Konoha Village.
And he didn't leave alone, he had taken a large portion of Konoha's strength with him.
Even civilians were included, two to three thousand people in all.
The strange thing was, the Uchiha hadn't exterminated the Sarutobi clan; they had simply let those people go.
Now Konoha could be said to be unusually weakened.
And it was the weakest it had been in years.
In the last battle on Kikyo Mountain, Kirigakure and Sunagakure had already fought their way to Konoha's doorstep.
Now Konoha's strength had declined so much, surely Kirigakure wouldn't be able to sit still.
Onoki thought this to himself.
In truth, Onoki didn't have much heart for invading the Land of Fire.
The main reason was that the Land of Earth's territory was large and rich in resources; they didn't need the Land of Fire's land that badly.
Second, Iwagakure didn't have an heir.
If Onoki died, there would be no one to take the helm.
Although his son Kurotsuchi had decent strength, his temperament was like his mother's and unsuited to be a leader.
Opportunities like this were rare, but Onoki didn't plan to be the one to stick his neck out.
One must remember the high-end forces in the shinobi world had been appearing constantly, whether it was Akatsuki or the Uchiha's Mangekyo, their strength could not be underestimated.
Deidara managed to learn Dust Release in only a few months; his future was boundless.
Steady and solid was Iwagakure's action policy.
"Keep probing for intelligence; see how other villages react to this."
"Yes!"
As Iwagakure's highest leader, Onoki needed to give orders; his subordinates would find ways to carry them out.
Of course, he himself was also busy. Aside from matters regarding the Land of Fire, many other affairs awaited his decisions.
He quickly began to review reports.
Not long after, an ANBU came to report.
"Tsuchikage-sama, Deidara slipped out again just now."
"Should we capture him?"
Onoki looked up, sighed in some annoyance, "Always getting into trouble, huh. Fine, just follow him."
Ever since Deidara began learning Dust Release, Onoki had regarded him as a successor.
Naturally, ANBU were assigned accordingly.
Deidara not only had a tracking implant on him, this time the ANBU were even using flying summoning beasts.
But the main purpose wasn't to guarantee Deidara's safety, it was to prevent him from causing more trouble.
Fortunately Deidara had behaved for a few months to master Dust Release.
This time, wanting to slip out and have fun, Onoki would turn a blind eye.
———
Deidara, sneaking out, didn't realize his movements were being watched by Onoki.
He sat on his clay bird, feeling the free wind blowing in his face, somewhat refreshed.
"Even though I learned Dust Release, I have too little chakra," Deidara muttered to himself and drew out the clay at his waist to take a look.
"No, Dust Release consumes too much chakra, hmm!"
"Anyway, Dust Release's power is so great. If it used smaller, finer particles it should consume less."
"But dust that's too fine isn't artistic at all, hmm."
"Forget it, I'll first fly by the black market to see what's been happening lately."
Unable to think of anything else, Deidara changed direction and flew toward the black market.
———
[Sunagakure]
[Kazekage's Office]
Rasa tapped his fingers repeatedly on the desk as he read the report in his hand.
Compared to Iwa and Kumo, Suna was much more motivated.
After all, Suna was poor and had long coveted the fertile lands of the Land of Fire.
"How long has Hiruzen been gone from Konoha?", Rasa asked.
There was a lag between when information was gathered and when it arrived, how many days of delay depended on transmission speed.
Maki, who had fetched the intelligence, knew this clearly.
"When the intel was gathered, Hiruzen and his group had just left Konoha."
"It's now the eighth day. Their movement direction is toward the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire."
"Because so many civilians are mixed in, their pace is very slow."
"At their current speed, it will take another twelve days to reach the Daimyo's mansion."
Rasa thought for a moment and asked, "Is the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki still in Konoha?"
"Correct. This time Hiruzen exchanged the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki for his own clan members, but he did not take the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki with him."
"And their way of moving is a bit strange, almost like they're luring someone to attack," Maki pointed out the odd aspects of Hiruzen's action.
"Hmm…"
After Maki's reminder, Rasa reacted.
"Do they think the Uchiha will come after them, so they're acting like this?"
Maki nodded, "It's not impossible."
Rasa stood and walked to the huge map, looking at the vast land of the Land of Fire, a greedy light appearing in his eyes.
"Whether that's true or not, we should send people over to take a look."
"If Hiruzen reaches the Daimyo's mansion, it will be harder to act."
Maki was a bit puzzled, "Why target Hiruzen's group?"
Rasa snorted coldly, "Hiruzen's way of evacuating clearly means he wants to come back later."
"For us, whether it's Hiruzen's side or Konoha itself, both are forces of the Land of Fire."
"Konoha's strength has decreased, but with Suna alone we cannot break in."
"You have to pick the ripe persimmon to squeeze it. Let Iwa and Kumo see us move, and they won't be able to sit quietly."
Worry flashed in Maki's eyes, "Hiruzen's strength is considerable, and Jiraiya is in their group, who should we send?"
Rasa crossed his arms, "Send those who aren't afraid to die."
———
[Land of Demons]
Moryo and Obito came to the underground palace where they had once broken free.
Since the shrine maiden line was no longer in the Land of Demons, the place was unguarded.
The two went down together and reached the underground area.
Obito looked around the underground plaza; seeing the neatly arranged stone blocks, his eyes narrowed slightly.
It seemed Moryo's work was not small.
"Awake! My legion!"
Moryo stood in the center of the palace and roared.
Black energy rose from the ground and spread out.
Obito watched as the neatly arranged stone blocks cracked open, revealing stone humanoid puppets inside.
The stone puppets' eyes lit up one by one, and a ferocious aura radiated from them.
Moryo, pleased with himself, waved his hand, "Stand up!"
All the stone puppets made a "ka" sound and stood up.
"First! Flatten the Land of Demons!"
After issuing the order, all the stone puppets raised the weapons in their hands.
With a rumbling noise, they began to move toward the outside of the palace.
Obito looked closely at the stone puppets.
'Dark energy, huh?'
He reached out and touched his own chest, dark medical technique.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.