The Squad's Internal Discussion

White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, was a ninja who abandoned a mission for the sake of his comrades and took his own life to atone for it.

Yet, hadn't their own squad just done something similar? In fact, what they had done was even worse.

Not only had they failed to complete the mission, but they had also abandoned the very comrade they were tasked with rescuing.

Was this not far more egregious than what Hatake Sakumo had done?

Both Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba knew exactly what Kurenai was worried about, and they also knew his concerns were largely unnecessary; such a thing could never happen to Yuhi Shinku.

Though he felt a twinge of shame, Yuhi Shinku had to admit that he lacked the qualifications to receive the same treatment as Lord Hatake Sakumo.

As a Jonin, and certainly not a fool, Yuhi Shinku could more or less guess the truth behind the White Fang incident back then—it was nothing more than the usual garbage power struggles among the higher-ups.

Moreover, the White Fang didn't have to die. He believed that no matter how despicable the village elders were, they would never have made a decision that forced the White Fang to end his life. Yet, who could have imagined that such a powerful ninja would be so "fragile"?

That was an accident no one wanted to see.

Shaking his head, Yuhi Shinku cast those distracting thoughts aside and looked back at Kawaki Aoba.

He was very satisfied with the boy's strength and potential; his performance was consistently good, and he was ruthless enough when the situation demanded it.

Still, Yuhi Shinku wanted to test him.

"Aoba, this is the first mission failure since our squad was formed. What is your take on this?"

Kawaki Aoba was taken aback. Without overthinking it, and assuming Teacher Shinku just wanted to put Yuhi Kurenai at ease, he answered directly: "Although I feel ashamed that our lack of strength led to the mission's failure and prevented us from saving that comrade from Konoha, if I were given another chance, I would still make the same choice. Because, ultimately, this was the most correct decision."

"You all saw the Third Kazekage Human Puppet in the hands of Sasori of the Red Sand. Compared to our mission, bringing that intelligence back to the village for the Hokage to see is clearly far more important."

At this point, Kawaki Aoba paused, deciding to slip in some personal insight. Although he had forgotten the exact date the Third Great Ninja War began, he knew that the disappearance of the Third Kazekage was the catalyst.

Since they had encountered Sasori of the Red Sand, who had defected with the Third Kazekage's puppet, it proved that the Third Great Ninja War could break out at any moment.

Therefore, Kawaki Aoba felt he should provide some hints to Konoha, which had yet to realize the gravity of the situation.

Why was Kawaki Aoba so certain that Konoha was oblivious? The answer was right beside him.

Kawaki Aoba glanced at Sarutobi Asuma. Yes, this guy. If Sarutobi Hiruzen had truly realized that the Third Great Ninja War was likely to erupt, he would never have allowed Sarutobi Asuma to come to the Land of Wind—such a dangerous place—to carry out a mission, let alone without even a squad of Anbu for protection.

But before he could continue, Sarutobi Asuma, who had been sitting there silently, spoke up first.

"Is the priority of intelligence higher than that of a mission and a comrade from the village? Aoba, your perspective is far too extreme." Sarutobi Asuma frowned at Kawaki Aoba.

With such words and such an expression, Kawaki Aoba didn't even need to think twice to know that this guy had painted himself into a corner.

However, the topic he had raised was exactly what he wanted.

"What are you thinking, Asuma? There is nothing absolute about such things. Both intelligence and missions have their own order of urgency, and as for comrades, there are differences in how close we are to them."

"For instance, if you were in danger, even at the risk of failing to deliver the intelligence back to the village, I would choose to save you first. But if it were a stranger in the village—and I apologize for how cruel this sounds—I truly cannot bring myself to sacrifice my life to save them."

"Just like the situation we just faced, in my view, the value of delivering that intelligence back to the village far outweighed the life of that spy."

Upon hearing the first half of his sentence, Sarutobi Asuma felt relieved, thinking his friend hadn't turned into such a cold, heartless person. But after hearing Kawaki Aoba say that intelligence was more important than life, he felt a tightness in his chest again.

"Asuma, you want to refute me, right?" Sensing the guy's emotions clearly with his Observation Haki, Kawaki Aoba simply smiled and voiced the words for him.

This left Sarutobi Asuma momentarily speechless.

All three members of the squad turned their gazes toward Kawaki Aoba. Under their collective stare, the smile on Kawaki Aoba's face gradually faded.

"Teacher Shinku, what do you think would happen to a village if it lost its Kage?" Kawaki Aoba asked.

Yuhi Shinku frowned. In truth, he had been pondering this question himself. Once the Third Kazekage was lost, what would Sunagakure actually do?

Recalling the specific instructions the Hokage had given him before he left Konoha, Yuhi Shinku tentatively replied: "They would likely provoke some conflicts along the borders of the two nations, giving the village a chance to vent its unstable emotions while simultaneously showing a strong front to the other villages."

Heaven be my witness, this was the absolute limit of what Yuhi Shinku could imagine based on the intelligence he had.

However, Kawaki Aoba clearly disagreed with this answer.

No, to be precise, he felt that Teacher Shinku was being far too conservative.

"It seems that even you, Teacher Shinku, have underestimated the importance of this intelligence. If I am not mistaken, the Third Great Ninja War is likely about to begin."

"Cough, cough, Aoba." Yuhi Shinku's mouth twitched, and he quickly interrupted: "I understand that you young people are eager to express your views, but this is too outrageous. The Third Kazekage was killed by their own genius, Sasori of the Red Sand, and turned into a human puppet. While such a thing is shocking, to say that this alone would trigger a Great Ninja War..."

Yuhi Shinku stopped there, but Kawaki Aoba understood the rest, whether it was spoken or not.

He felt helpless. Even though he knew the future, due to his age, it was difficult to convince even Teacher Shinku. This experience was truly frustrating.

But no matter how difficult, he was determined to try.

"Teacher Shinku, please don't refute me yet. And you two, don't make those faces. Listen to my analysis carefully."

"Sunagakure is different from our Konoha. Without the Third Kazekage as their supreme leader, it is difficult for them to speak with one voice. At this time, divisions will emerge, and they will split into at least two factions."

In fact, if one were to talk about internal unity, the situation within Konoha was actually far more chaotic than in Sunagakure, but Kawaki Aoba clearly couldn't say that.