Akaseki had wondered why Karatachi Xuancang, who usually seemed so idealistic that he had even imitated a certain village's naive First leader handing out Tailed Beasts by distributing Ninja Blades to heal the Mist Ninja's internal divisions... had actually brought in Sand Ninja as outside support to gain the upper hand over the Mizukage at this critical moment.
Now it seemed likely that the Sand Ninja had approached him themselves...
Or rather, the Mizukage had colluded with the Sand Ninja first!
The Mizukage's objective was already plain as day. As for Sunagakure's objective...
"The Sand Ninja have gone mad, assassinating Karatachi Xuancang and his son to frame the Third Mizukage... Would you consider changing the objective of our commission so we can capture them together?" Seeing the Third Mizukage about to attack, Akaseki made one last effort.
"You're quite a clever little brat from the Uchiha Clan. Unfortunately... Sunagakure and I are allies of one heart and mind!" The Third Mizukage remained unmoved by Akaseki's attempt to sow discord.
The Third Mizukage himself had no reason to antagonize Konoha, so Akaseki and the others must have been brought here at the Sand Ninja's request!
The two sides had given each other proof of their commitment. Sunagakure would help the Mizukage eliminate his greatest source of instability, and afterward, Kirigakure would cooperate with Sunagakure in declaring war on Konoha...
If both father and son died here, leaving no other witnesses who knew the truth, then even if some people harbored doubts, the Third Mizukage could at least use Konoha as an external enemy to temporarily unite Kirigakure's forces.
Seeing the Mizukage show no hesitation, Akaseki realized the Sand Ninja must also have safeguards in place to prevent him from easily betraying them.
"Go help Black Pineapple and the others," Akaseki quietly