"Danzo, don't sweat the small stuff."
"Uzumaki Kuming isn't an outsider. He's an Anbu squad leader, so there's no harm in letting him know."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped in to smooth things over, and his words dispelled Kuming's doubts. From what the Third Hokage had said, Uzumaki Kuming realized he really had been appointed an Anbu squad leader.
"An Anbu squad leader? Teacher Sarutobi, when did you appoint me?"
Uzumaki Kuming looked at the Third Hokage and asked, still unwilling to believe it.
"Yesterday, after you finished sparring with Orochimaru."
"Actually, it's good that you came by. I was just about to look for you. There's a mission I need you to carry out with Hatake Sakumo."
As he spoke, the Third Hokage lifted his chin slightly, signaling the Anbu who had just delivered the report to explain the information Konoha had received.
From the Anbu's explanation, Uzumaki Kuming learned what mission the Third Hokage planned to assign him.
"Teacher, you mean Sunagakure sent out a large force to search for something?"
"Is that information reliable?"
After hearing the Anbu's full report, Uzumaki Kuming's heart sank. He asked in a grave voice.
"It is. You don't need to question the source. The information we received is absolutely reliable."
"So, do you have some ideas, judging by what you said?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile.
"I have a few guesses, but they need to be confirmed."
"I have a question. Is Granny Chiyo's grandson, one of the elders of Sunagakure, still in the village?"
A spark of insight flashed through Uzumaki Kuming's mind. He remembered what he had once read about the start of the Third Shinobi World War: Granny Chiyo's grandson had assassinated the Third Kazekage. To shift the blame for the village's internal turmoil, Sunagakure pinned the Kazekage's disappearance