The matter in Iwagakure temporarily came to an end. This sudden incident had come quickly and gone just as fast. But for the Iwa shinobi, it was anything but a pleasant memory.
The spies the Four Great Villages had planted in Iwagakure more or less relayed news of the incident back to their respective villages.
However, it had happened too suddenly and lasted too briefly. Amid that chaos, there was actually very little intelligence of real value.
Perhaps the only information worth noting for the major villages was that the Second Mizukage had personally infiltrated Iwagakure, while the Second Tsuchikage had led his disciple Ōnoki and the Shadow Kill Unit in pursuit. The next day, no one returned except Ōnoki.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was among the first to receive the intelligence. He knew some of the inside details of the incident, and since his three disciples had also taken part in the mission, he was deeply concerned about the news from Iwagakure.
When he saw the intelligence sent back by Konoha's agent within Iwagakure, his heart kept sinking. A major reason he had sent Tsunade and the other two on this mission was because he had judged that it posed no true danger.
Infiltrating Iwagakure was certainly dangerous, but in truth, with the enemy off guard, secretly rescuing someone or doing something else was not all that difficult. Kirigakure's operation this time had not targeted Iwagakure's upper ranks either.
His original intention had been to let the three gain mission experience and broaden their horizons. He had never expected things to turn out this way.
If there was anything to be thankful for, it was probably only that the three were currently missing and had not fallen into Iwagakure's hands.
No news was the best news right now. Hiruzen Sarutobi could