Is that so?
So before the delegation set out, there was already an advance force. Even the delegation's composition was suspicious—there was only one high-ranking figure with diplomatic talent, while the rest were supposedly rookies.
It seemed Iwa intended to use the Peace Alliance as a pretext to retrieve their spies, or coordinate from within and without to throw Konoha's headquarters into chaos.
As for that advance force, it was probably a decoy.
Sure enough, this was the Third Tsuchikage's old fox routine. Though the advance force would expose the Land of Earth's ill intentions, it could draw Konoha's attention and make them overlook the delegation's suspicious composition.
The Third Tsuchikage must have guessed that Konoha would thoroughly investigate the delegation, which was why he had set up this smokescreen.
Though this deception was somewhat crude, without Sunagakure's detailed intelligence, we might truly have been misled in the heat of the moment.
Looking at the letter in his hand, Chiba's brows furrowed slightly, but everything had already become clear to him.
Though there were not many words on the letter, nearly every word held intelligence value. It concisely listed the recent circumstances of the Land of Earth's delegation and their situation from a month ago, as well as the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's route and the security conditions along it for this journey.
Apparently, Sunagakure had actually intended to seek peace a month ago. They had prepared until now before officially setting out for Konoha, and the Kazekage had even attended the preliminary negotiations for the Peace Alliance.
Clearly, Sunagakure wanted to quickly end the state of war, recuperate under its alliance with Konoha, and restore its utterly depleted strength. They had completely admitted defeat.
Otherwise, this letter should not have been shown to him in full. Some of the contents,