The Beginning of a Conspiracy

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Several sharp sounds of air tearing suddenly rang out through the tranquil forest.

Four Anbu in masks and cloaks darted continuously between the trees, racing swiftly into the distance.

They were naturally the Anbu squad Kyosuke belonged to.

As he struggled to keep up with the team, scenes from several days ago resurfaced in his mind.

"Sama Danzo." In the very center of Root, four people including Kyosuke knelt on one knee, looking toward Danzo on the raised platform.

Danzo nodded, his gaze swiftly sweeping across the four people below.

His eyes paused briefly on Kyosuke before he finally said, "There is an urgent mission that requires you to complete."

Danzo then explained the mission in detail.

A group of ninjas suspected to be Sand Shinobi had secretly infiltrated the heartland of the Land of Fire.

Outside the Daimyo Estate, they had fought a fierce battle against the Twelve Guardian Ninja. After leaving behind several corpses, they successfully abducted the Daimyo's only son and daughter.

Enraged, the Daimyo ordered Konoha to send people after them and bring his children back at all costs.

However, Konoha's situation was rather dire at the moment. Not only were they constantly clashing with the Sand Shinobi at the border, but the Cloud Ninja of the Land of Lightning behind them were also stirring restlessly.

Though no battle had yet broken out, the ambitious Third Raikage had likely long set his sights on the Land of Fire, this enormous prize.

Therefore, Konoha had no choice but to remain on guard.

At present, Orochimaru was leading a group of powerful shinobi in defense at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain, monitoring the Sand Shinobi's movements.

Jiraiya was stationed at the Land of Rice Fields Border with Minato and the others, serving as a deterrent against the Cloud Ninja.

Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, was directly under the Hokage's command, secretly carrying out missions deep behind enemy lines.

For a time, Konoha had almost no powerful shinobi it could spare. Even if there were any, they could only remain in the village to hold the fort and could not leave freely.

Thus, the mission ultimately fell upon Root.

"I have already sent people to intercept them along the way and trapped them within the Land of Rivers. Your mission is to safely bring back the hostages. Do you understand?"

"Yes, understood!" ×4

"Snake, do you need to rest?" The captain, Ankoku, glanced at Kyosuke, who was already somewhat out of breath, and asked quietly.

"Yeah, you should rest for a bit. Otherwise, if you end up being brutally killed by the enemy because you run out of stamina, we'll feel guilty." Lin's voice sounded beside Kyosuke's ear as well.

Kyosuke's mouth twitched beneath his mask. He silently shook his head, indicating that he could still keep going.

Seeing this, the others could not say much more and could only continue onward toward the Land of Rivers.

As Kyosuke gritted his teeth and persevered, he recalled the earlier System Prompt, and the corner of his mouth rose slightly.

Mission successfully triggered: Rescue the Hostages.

Mission description: Defeat the enemies and recover the kidnapped Daimyo's children.

Mission difficulty: B.

Completion reward: 100 experience points.

In the Land of Wind, within the Kazekage Office Building of Sunagakure.

The Third Kazekage, still in his prime, sat in his chair with his head lowered as he read a confidential report.

Knock, knock, knock. A sudden series of knocks sounded at the door.

"Come in," he called.

The doors slowly opened, and two distinguished elderly people entered together.

These two elders were Sunagakure's advisers, Chiyo and her younger brother Ebizo.

The moment she entered, Chiyo hurriedly asked the Kazekage, "Has the intelligence been confirmed?"

The Kazekage nodded and handed the confidential report in his hand to Chiyo.

She merely glanced over it before tossing it to the floor, shouting furiously, "Damn Danzo!"

Ebizo soothed her, then picked up the report and carefully read it from beginning to end.

"Can it be confirmed that Root shinobi were responsible?" Ebizo suddenly asked, as if seeking confirmation.

The Third Kazekage nodded at this and said, "Although they were extremely careful, they still left traces behind. It can now be confirmed that Danzo was behind it."

Just then, someone knocked on the door again.

The three turned to look and saw a handsome man with dark red hair enter.

This man was Rasa, the future Fourth Hokage. At the same time, he was also the father of the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama, Elders." After entering, Rasa respectfully bowed to the three people in the room.

"Rasa, you should have already heard about the Daimyo's children being kidnapped." The Third Kazekage rubbed his head as he spoke without looking up.

"Yes, I have heard." As Rasa answered, he had already roughly guessed why he had been summoned. It was probably related to this matter.

Sure enough, the Third Kazekage then explained the entire sequence of events to Rasa.

Once he had finished, the Third Kazekage's expression turned solemn as he ordered, "Rasa, I now command you to lead a team to rescue the kidnapped Daimyo's children. You may choose your accompanying personnel as you wish. I have only one requirement."

"I want the hostages kept safe. Do you understand?" The Kazekage looked deeply at him, his tone grave.

Rasa nodded just as solemnly, then took his leave.

As long as I complete this mission, I can establish a good relationship with the Daimyo. After that... Rasa thought as he walked out of the Kazekage Office Building.

"This matter is of great importance. It seems I'll have to find some capable helpers."

Several more days passed before Kyosuke's squad finally arrived within the Land of Rivers.

There, following the remaining coded signals, they successfully found the Root member responsible for reconnaissance.

"How is the situation?" As the squad captain, Ankoku was responsible for routine communication.

Thus, Kyosuke and the others did not speak. They simply turned their eyes toward the Root member.

"They are currently hiding in a cave. From the looks of it, they are waiting for the Sand Shinobi to come meet them," he said.

"Have you found any trace of the Sand Shinobi's support force?" Ankoku asked again.

The Root member silently shook his head, indicating that he had not discovered any signs of enemy reinforcements arriving.

"Tch, luckily the enemy's support hasn't arrived. Otherwise, one careless move and we might all die here." Lin spoke in a serious tone.

None of them paid attention to her jinx. After asking about the cave's location, they prepared to carry out the rescue mission.

After they left, the Root member suddenly muttered something quietly.

Then, after receiving some sort of response, he excitedly swung his arm.

At the same time, the corner of his mouth curled upward, revealing an extremely strange smile.

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