Sato Hideaka pondered for a moment. The death of the Third Kazekage was a grave matter; such things should be kept secret rather than publicized. If, as Sasori had suggested, the exposure of this matter were to occur, it would severely damage the reputation of Konoha's Anbu.
Shaking his head, Sato Hideaka, "It's nothing. I thought we'd run into a rogue ninja from Konoha, but it turns out he's not a village ninja, just a wandering ninja who looks similar. Alright, supplies complete, let's head back to Konoha now!"
After finishing, Sato Hideaka didn't say a word and led the way towards the outskirts of the city.
Giant Elephant was stunned for a moment. His years of experience in the Anbu had taught him that this matter was not ordinary and was far from the simple thing his captain, Qing, had described. However, since his captain did not intend to reveal this matter, he would not ask any more questions.
After all, to some extent, only captain-level missions are the backbone of the Anbu. In order to ensure the successful completion of many secret missions, most of them are deployed by the captain himself, and the rest are just carrying them out.
Seeing their captain walk forward, Giant Elephant and the other four Anbu Ninja followed closely behind. After walking together into the forest outside the city, the six of them instantly transformed back into their original Anbu forms with Six Paths wisps of smoke, turning into Six Paths black shadows and passing through the dense forest.
The six Anbu members sped swiftly towards Konoha in the southeast.
After halfway through their battle with Sasori, the six finally returned to Konoha, weary from their journey.
After entering the Hokage Building, Sato Hideaka led his team to the Hokage's office and knocked on the door. After an elderly voice inside said "Come in," he led his five-man team into the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage was still sitting in his office, reviewing documents. His brows were furrowed and tightly knit, as if he were struggling with the contents of the documents in his hands, or even having an internal struggle. The surrounding documents were taller than him.
The files were piled high on the desk, like several "mountains"!
Having been constantly pressured by political affairs for decades, the Third Hokage's strength is probably no longer as formidable as it once was. Sato Hideaka, watching the Third Hokage review documents, reported, "Third Hokage, based on our observations over the past month at the Land of Grass border, Iwagakure has indeed increased its manpower there. These Iwagakure Ninja have been relentlessly attacking our border outposts, causing significant losses... The Anbu 'Blue' Squad has also dealt with the invading Iwagakure forces, killing one elite Jonin, six Jonin, eight Special Jōnin, and fifty-eight elite Chunin..."
" Shinnosuke has already dispatched six units, stationed in the northeast, east, and southwest parts of the Land of Grass, with the central headquarters serving as the communication route. The personnel are now basically ready!"
The elite Jonin who was killed was certainly not the ninja named Matsuseki that Sato Hideaka had killed earlier. In his eyes, this level of strength was merely that of a Jonin. A true elite Jonin must at least have sufficient mastery of Chakra Nature Transformation...
The elite Iwagakure from Sato Hideaka acknowledged was named Aokui. A ninja skilled in Earth Release and proficient in the Earth Release nature transformation "Gravity Transformation," Sato Hideaka the Light-Weight Rock Technique to counter him.
Upon hearing Sato Hideaka's report, the Third Kazekage slowly raised his head from the towering pile of documents, rubbing his temples with his right hand to dispel some of his fatigue. He then said with some surprise:
" The Iwagakure faction has even mobilized elite Jonin. I never expected them to have invaded the border of the Land of Fire to this extent. It seems that choosing to send more troops to the borders of the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning was indeed the right choice."
"Alright, Qing. Your team has been deployed for a month now. It's time for a break. As usual, you'll take a two-day vacation. The next mission might be a real war, so be prepared!"
"Yes, Lord Third!"
The members of the Anbu, including Sato Hideaka, all shouted in unison.
After confirming that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sato Hideaka no further instructions, Hideaki Sato gestured to the five people behind him. The remaining five members of the Anbu "Blue" Squad slowly withdrew from the Third Hokage's office.
Sato Hideaka, however, remained alone in the Hokage's office and did not leave with them!
The Third Hokage habitually lowered his head to prepare for processing documents, but sensing that the breathing in the office hadn't faded away, he looked up and saw that Sato Hideaka was still in the office and hadn't left. He couldn't help but ask with some confusion, "Ao, what's wrong? Is there anything else?"
Sato Hideaka nodded and asked tentatively, "Third Hokage, on my way back from a mission, I encountered Sasori of the Red Sands Sunagakure, within the Land of Fire. During the capture, he told me that the Third Kazekage's disappearance was related to Konoha's Anbu. I wonder if this is true...?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, sighed, and said, " Sasori of the Red Sands promised not to tell the people of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind about this, but I didn't expect him to tell you. He probably had ill intentions... The killing of the Third Kazekage was indeed done by Konoha!"
"What? Why would you do that?... Wouldn't that be actively provoking a war between two countries?" Sato Hideaka's eyes widened in disbelief.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned deeply, sighed, and said helplessly, "When war is unavoidable, the timing of the war becomes the most important factor. Rather than passively waiting for war to come, we should proactively choose when to wage war. A month ago, the Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, led by the Third Kazekage, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to wage war against the Land of Fire to alleviate the pressure of internal military financial shortages!"
"Are you planning to address the pressure on the Western Front first?" Sato Hideaka asked after a moment's thought.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, looking at Sato Hideaka with some satisfaction, and said, "Yes, before Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure can react, we need to finish this battle against Sunagakure in the west and completely relieve the pressure on the Western Front. Only then can we focus all our efforts on countering the pressure on the northern front."
The northern front is divided into the northwest and northeast, which are the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning, respectively. The ninja villages in these two countries are exceptionally powerful, and in terms of military strength, they are not inferior to Konoha. They can be considered two major enemies. In comparison, Sunagakure is indeed the weakest ninja village.
Not only is Sunagakure the weakest of the five ninja villages in terms of military strength, but the poverty of the Land of Wind also makes it the weakest in terms of economy. Coupled with the natural drought of the past two years, Sunagakure simply cannot provide the logistical support to support a prolonged war. This is probably one of the reasons why Konoha took the initiative to attack Sunagakure!
The village's decision was to proactively kill the Third Kazekage to initiate the war, thereby relieving pressure on the Western Front and preventing the village's military forces from being dispersed due to simultaneous battles on Konoha fronts, which would lead to a protracted multi-front war.
Sato Hideaka couldn't help but shake his head secretly, saying, "Doing this carries some risks. If we get bogged down in a stalemate on the Western Front, we might face attacks from three sides: Cloud Village, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. In that case, it might be a losing proposition..."
"Yes, originally, my advisory group and I thought we should sponsor Sunagakure to sign an alliance and then unite with Sunagakure to fight against Iwagakure. But we didn't expect that Danzo and Orochimaru had already contacted Sasori of the Red Sands and assassinated the Third Kazekage... They also spread rumors in the Land of Wind that Konoha had killed the Third Kazekage, forcing this war to continue!" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag on his pipe while talking to Sato Hideaka.
"Was the assassination plot against the Third Kazekage orchestrated by Sasori of the Red Sands, contacted by Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō?" Sato Hideaka frowned slightly and asked with some doubt.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said, "Yes, those two don't agree with this passive approach. They always believe that the choice of who fights should be in Konoha's hands. And even if we provide financial assistance to Sunagakure... I'm afraid the higher-ups within Sunagakure won't easily accept our request to fight against Iwagakure together!"
Between nations, there are only interests, no friends, and no eternal alliances. So-called alliances are only implemented under certain conditions. No one can guarantee that Sunagakure, which is eyeing the Land of Fire, will wholeheartedly fight against Iwagakure after receiving material aid from Konoha, or use the aid to secretly advance its own interests...
Then, take the opportunity to recuperate and wait for Konoha to fall into a stalemate in war with the other two or even three countries, and use the resources funded by Konoha to turn against the Land of Fire and even Konoha!
"Indeed, Lord Orochimaru's plan is to take Konoha's fate into his own hands, rather than handing it over to Sunagakure. I understand now, Lord Third!" Sato Hideaka nodded, seemingly enlightened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand and said, "Okay, good that you understand. You two should relax a bit. I might send Konoha's new generation into the Sunagakure's battlefield to help them grow as quickly as possible. Of course, the same goes for you..."
"Yes, I understand. I'm mentally prepared."
Sato Hideaka nodded, bowed, and slowly backed away, preparing to leave the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to leave, Sato Hideaka hurriedly said, " Hideaka, there's one more thing you must remember: this matter must be kept absolutely secret. Don't tell anyone. After all, the claim that the Third Kazekage was killed by Konoha is just a rumor..."
Sato Hideaka quickly nodded in agreement, but inwardly he was somewhat amused and exasperated. This was merely a rumor that would prompt Land of Wind to initiate the war, and it was undoubtedly the reason they withdrew from the conflict. This Sunagakure guarded rumor was the key to the mission; it was what was meant by seemingly plausible but ultimately false...
Seeing Sato Hideaka slowly leave the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen repeatedly in response to Sato Hideaka's reaction.
For a child of only about eight years old to possess such thinking...
He absolutely deserves the title of the strongest talent of the new generation! (To be continued.)