"The assassination squad dispatched by the Sand Ninja sent back word: the natural environment of the Land of Water was even harsher than expected. Their attempts to survey ports, docks, and other possible coastal landing sites had all reached an impasse.
Therefore, Lord Horn Eye specifically petitioned the Alliance, hoping they would permit his team to focus on their primary objective of assassinating high-ranking Kirigakure combatants, while assigning others to carry out the mapping mission."
At the Yamada residence, Inoue Reina had dressed as she did every day—her hair neatly arranged, a respectable dark kimono draped around her. Maintaining the dignity of the current head of the Inoue Clan, she reported the situation to Soji.
Although all the matters above had already been settled in the relevant high-level meetings, and Director Yamada, who was recuperating at home, had not directly participated in the decisions... organizing and reporting the relevant information still helped Soji grasp the changes in the current situation, allowing him to make adjustments to his own arrangements from a more concealed angle.
"That was only to be expected.
Those assignments had initially been arranged merely to demonstrate Konoha's central position within the Alliance. Cough, cough... Even if the Sand Ninja squad had not sent back that information, I believe the Hokage would have sent Anbu intelligence specialists to conduct an on-site investigation personally."
"Just as you expected." Inoue Reina gave a slight bow. "In fact, the investigation team dispatched by Lord Sarutobi has already begun its work.
However, aside from the information voluntarily provided by the assassination squad, the special agents planted in the Land of Water beforehand have sent back additional intelligence—apparently, the other side does not intend to fully follow the intelligence we provided and intercept the Seven Ninja Swordsmen returning to their village after completing