The battle had begun and ended without warning, and the Konoha Ninja had suffered an undeserved calamity.
But in truth, by piecing together the clues, it was entirely possible to find the truth hidden in the fog.
As Gong Yi listened to Orochimaru's deductions, he quietly turned the matter over in his mind.
Among the people he had fought just now, two had been skilled in Lightning Release.
Among the villages of the Shinobi World, only Kumogakure could have produced so many Lightning Release Ninja.
Gong Yi would never believe that Kumogakure had played no part in this.
Raiga Kurosuki was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a man from Kirigakure in the Land of Water. At this point in time, he had not yet defected.
And with the few Water Release Ninja on the battlefield, Kirigakure's position was clear enough.
Then there was Iwagakure.
Gong Yi looked at the densely packed corpses down the slope. This desert was an excellent place for Earth Style Ninja to fight!
Add in what Orochimaru had said about Sunagakure secretly leaking information, and Gong Yi quickly figured out which forces had gotten involved.
It was obvious that none of the major Ninja villages wanted to see Konoha continue its peaceful development.
But they were wary of Konoha's strength and didn't dare to start a war outright, so they resorted to underhanded tricks.
For example, sabotaging the peace talks between Konoha and Sunagakure!
As for Sunagakure...
Gong Yi narrowed his eyes. The Kazekage's injuries had left them unwilling to oppose Konoha's pursuit of peace, but they were also unwilling to remain beneath Konoha's thumb.
If they joined forces with other Ninja villages and killed Orochimaru on his way back, it would deal Konoha a tremendous blow!
White Fang of Konoha was