"Konoha got hit at home?"
"What Akatsuki organization?"
Ōnoki looked surprised. He had not expected any organization to be bold enough to take on a major ninja village single-handedly!
Akatsuki had only been founded not long ago and was practically unknown, so naturally Ōnoki had never heard of it.
"It is said to be an organization from the Land of Rain, with quite a few S-rank rogue ninjas among them."
"They seem to be a group of people who bear a grudge against Konoha."
The Iwagakure ninja under his command reported.
"It seems Konoha's prominence makes it inevitable that they make enemies everywhere."
Ōnoki wore a mocking expression.
"Since this so-called organization failed, there is no need to concern ourselves with it."
"If there is any news, you may inform me."
"We of Iwagakure can wait for the highest bidder."
By the time Ōnoki received the news, he already knew of Akatsuki's crushing defeat and that Konoha had suffered relatively minor losses.
Thus, Ōnoki did not attach much importance to this information. He merely saw it as some overconfident wild organization challenging the dignity of a major ninja village.
However, if Ōnoki encountered members of Akatsuki, he would have to weigh things carefully—whether it would be better to hand those rogue ninjas over or support them in opposing Konoha.
"Besides that..."
"How is the intelligence gathering on the Mist Ninja side progressing?"
Ōnoki asked.
Recently, the Intelligence Department had discovered an anomaly. Information regarding the Mist Ninja seemed to have been completely sealed off, with no news whatsoever—especially after the Mist Ninja's war with Konoha.
Ōnoki's long-lived little brain kicked into gear. His intuition told him that something strange was definitely going on, and it might even be connected to Konoha.
"All the spies we sent over have disappeared."
The