Return to the Village

"What does it matter if they lose? They are already accustomed to losing to us. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind won't hold them accountable for such a thing; at most, he'll just hurl a few painless insults about them being incompetent trash.

To take it a step further, if one of the two—Rasa or Pakura of Sunagakure—were to die in battle against our Hidden Leaf, it might actually be a solution to their problems.

By then, the survivor would become the Fourth Kazekage, fully consolidating the factions within Sunagakure and forcing the fractured Sand Ninja to unite once more under a single, centralized authority.

As for the one who died, they would become a martyr. Their death would incite the remaining Sand Ninja, fueling their hatred for the Hidden Leaf and hardening their resolve to continue the war against us.

At that point, a Sunagakure with unified power and a unified ideology, even if they lack the strength to face us head-on, would absolutely have the capability to drag our Hidden Leaf into a quagmire of war in the Land of Rivers or along the borders of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

Furthermore, Asuma, just imagine for a moment: if you were the Kage of one of the other three great ninja villages, and you saw that the Hidden Leaf had been dragged into a quagmire of war by another village, wouldn't you take the opportunity to kick us while we're down?"

With that, Kawaki Aoba finished the persuasive argument he had racked his brain to construct.

And the effect? It seemed unexpectedly good. After listening to Kawaki Aoba's analysis, Yuhi Shinku had become completely serious, already planning to report the intelligence to the Hokage the moment they returned to the village.

Although the assertion that a single Sasori could trigger a ninja world war still felt somewhat surreal to him, Aoba's words were far too grounded in reality, and the consequences he analyzed were far too grave.

As for Sarutobi Asuma, at this moment, the guy had been scared into a cold sweat by Kawaki Aoba's "Talk no Jutsu."

Whether it was the cruelty of Sunagakure described by Kawaki Aoba or the dire consequence of the Hidden Leaf facing a siege by the other four great ninja villages, it was all too heavy for a young ninja of his age.

Moreover, he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the way Kawaki Aoba had been analyzing the intelligence so earnestly just now looked exactly like his old man when he was deep in thought.

As soon as this thought occurred, even Sarutobi Asuma was startled. How could his companion possibly resemble his father? It was too absurd—impossible, absolutely impossible.

It was at this moment that Yuhi Shinku suddenly spoke up: "Although I don't know if what Aoba said is likely to happen, this is no longer a matter for our squad to discuss. We should return to the village immediately and report to the Hokage. I believe that leaving this for the Hokage to decide is the right course of action."

The height of Teacher Shinku's ideological awareness was absolutely perfect.

After a brief rest, the four-man squad headed back to the Hidden Leaf.

Considering Kawaki Aoba's shocking remarks, the four of them traveled almost as if they were racing against time, without sleep or rest, and their pace was significantly faster than when they had arrived.

Along the way, Kawaki Aoba, Yuhi Kurenai, and Sarutobi Asuma each downed a Blue Potion to keep going.

As they neared the Hidden Leaf, the four of them encountered two other squads of ninjas leaving the village on missions; it was clear they were moving in a great hurry.

Ninja squads leaving the village for missions wasn't a big deal, but the fact that they were all in such a rush and lacked any clients accompanying them was highly irregular.

And the direction they were heading seemed to be the Land of Rivers.

Yuhi Shinku's heart felt heavy. He glanced at Kawaki Aoba, thinking to himself: Could it be that this brat actually guessed right?

Because they had taken very secluded routes both when traveling to the Land of Wind and on their return, Yuhi Shinku had no idea what the situation was like on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

Yuhi Shinku was clearly rattled by Kawaki Aoba's analysis, and his unease only grew after encountering those two ninja squads.

After returning to the Hidden Leaf and confirming their identities, Yuhi Shinku led his three disciples straight toward the Hokage Building; he didn't want to wait even a second longer.

Yuhi Shinku was filled with anxiety, and because his vigilance had dropped upon returning to the village, he failed to notice the attention they were drawing.

But Kawaki Aoba's Observation Haki was no joke. Long before they had noticed him, he had already been keeping a close watch on them with it.

And as for this so-called "they" that made Kawaki Aoba so vigilant, there was no one else besides the Hyuga.

Seeing him appear in the village, the members of the Hyuga clan immediately rushed back to report.

On the other hand, the Root of that old man Danzo was quite unexpected. Ever since their cooperation at the Hokage Building, where they had set up the Hyuga clan, Root ninjas had never appeared near him again.

Possessing a Kekkei Genkai, high talent, and being an orphan—that he hadn't been targeted by Danzo made him wonder if he should call himself lucky or if Danzo was just blind.

Uh, well, it seemed the blind one was actually himself.

Just as Kawaki Aoba was using his Observation Haki to track the Hyuga ninja who had seen him on the street and had now returned to their Hyuga Clan Compound, Yuhi Shinku brought them to the Hokage Building.

After being announced, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned them immediately.

"Back so soon? And only the four of you? Did some accident occur during the mission?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was unhurried; he looked as though he was willing to sit down and listen to their explanation calmly, even if he knew their mission had failed.

Faced with the Hokage's inquiry, Yuhi Shinku, as the squad leader, naturally stepped forward without hesitation.

"Lord Hokage, during this mission, we encountered Sasori of the Red Sand from Sunagakure. He has defected from his village and has turned the Third Kazekage into a Human Puppet."

There was a reason Yuhi Shinku was a Jonin valued by Sarutobi Hiruzen; he got straight to the point the moment he spoke.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand trembled, and he nearly dropped the pipe he was holding, which showed just how shocked he was.

"What? Shinku, can you confirm the accuracy of this intelligence?" The words were barely out of his mouth before Sarutobi Hiruzen realized he had lost his composure. He quickly steadied his emotions and put on a serious, steady expression:

"Shinku, report everything you encountered during this mission to me in detail."

This was exactly what Yuhi Shinku had been waiting for. A direct inquiry from the Hokage carried a completely different weight than a long-winded report of his own making.

With the Hokage's affirmation, he could now interject some of his own personal insights while the Hokage listened intently.