When Iwagakure's jonin arrived, he found only two genin lying on the ground. All the cargo was gone. It had included more than building materials; there had been other goods as well, some local specialties from the Land of Earth and some from other countries. Although Iwagakure could easily afford the losses, the problem was that too many transport teams had been attacked this time. If the village failed to recover the goods, its reputation would suffer enormously. The merchants might lose their trust in Iwagakure, and that would be a devastating blow.
The jonin hurried over to check the two men. Finding that they had merely been knocked unconscious and nothing worse had happened, he sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. They're just unconscious. Hmm, who exactly has it in for Iwagakure?"
Clearly, this was no simple robbery of a merchant caravan. Someone was targeting Iwagakure. More than a dozen caravans had been attacked simultaneously, and the attackers had been incredibly fast, ending each battle almost as soon as they encountered their targets. Even using the Body Flicker Technique at full speed, he had arrived too late. The fighting was already over.
The jonin placed the two genin beneath a tree, preparing to revive them and ask some questions. Just then, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, arrived with Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi. Seeing the jonin, Kurotsuchi called out cheerfully, "Hey, Tayū! Are you all right?"
The jonin, Miiwa Tayū, looked up and saw the Third Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, and Kitsuchi. He smiled at once. "I'm fine. Thank you, Kurotsuchi. Lord Third, what brings you here?"
The Third Tsuchikage approached Miiwa Tayū and said, "I've already been informed of everything. Tell me, what exactly happened? Do you know who the attackers were, Miiwa Tayū?"
Miiwa Tayū said apologetically, "I'm terribly sorry. I still don't