After sending off Tachibana, who had been sighing and lamenting how hard life was for a cat, Uchiha Takeyasu sensed the Flying Thunder God Kunai at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Whirlpools. He flashed over and saw Minako Uzumaki waiting quietly for him.
"Minako, let's go back to Konoha."
"Mm, Takeyasu-san."
Minako Uzumaki calmly held out her hand, a graceful, composed smile on her pretty face—a smile that was entirely formal.
(Minako, we still have plenty of time.)
Noticing that the beautiful young woman wanted to keep her distance, Uchiha Takeyasu made no further move and returned to the Hokage Building with her.
It was nearly noon. In the Land of Wind—the largest of the Five Great Nations, yet the most barren—Sunagakure, which had clung stubbornly to life in a desert oasis, was holding a meeting of its senior leadership.
The Second Kazekage of Sunagakure, Shamon, had a blue dragon tattoo coiled across his bald scalp and two brown braids hanging from the back of his head. Clad in the Kazekage's ceremonial robes over a black, close-fitting combat outfit, he watched the arguing elders without showing any reaction.
"Everyone, this is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. The Land of Lightning has already shown us the way. Why shouldn't we follow their example?"
An elder of the Martial Faction, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, slapped the table and rose to his feet. Glaring at the Conservative Faction across from him, he barked, "The Land of Lightning's shinobi dared to kill their daimyo. Are the shinobi of the Land of Wind any less bold?"
"If we kill the daimyo and use the Transformation Technique to take his place, Sunagakure can flourish and no longer be held back by a lack of supplies!"
"Kill the daimyo? Take his place? You