Returning to the Village

"What did it matter if they lost? They were already used to losing to us, and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind wouldn't reprimand them over something like this. At most, he'd give them a few meaningless scoldings and call them useless good-for-nothings.

"If we let our thinking get more extreme, then if either Rasa or Pakura of Sunagakure died fighting Konoha, that might not even be a bad solution for them.

"One of them could become the Fourth Kazekage, completely unify the forces within Sunagakure, bring the Sand Shinobi—who were already showing signs of splitting apart—back together, and consolidate power.

"The other, having died, could become their hero. His death would also inspire the other Sand Shinobi, make them hate Konoha even more, and strengthen their resolve to keep fighting us.

"By then, a Sunagakure united in power and purpose might not be able to face Konoha head-on, but it would certainly have the strength to drag us into a quagmire of war in the Land of Rivers, or along the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

"And Asuma, think about it yourself. If you were the Kage of one of the other Three Great Shinobi Villages, and saw Konoha dragged into a quagmire of war by another village, would you take the opportunity to kick us while we were down?"

That was the end of the incendiary argument Kawaki Aoba had racked his brains to come up with.

And the effect? It seemed to be surprisingly good. After hearing Aoba's analysis, Yuhi Shinku had taken the matter completely seriously and planned to report the intelligence to the Hokage as soon as they returned to the village.

The idea that Sasori of the Red Sand alone could ignite a world war still seemed somewhat unreal to him. But Aoba's words had sounded all too plausible, and the consequences he'd laid out were far too serious.

As for Sarutobi Asuma, the kid had broken out in a cold sweat from Aoba's Talk no Jutsu.

The brutality of Sunagakure that Aoba had described, and the dire prospect of Konoha being besieged by the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, were both far too serious for a young shinobi like him.

And for some reason, Aoba, who had just earnestly analyzed the intelligence for them, had looked exactly like Asuma's old man when he was deep in thought.

The moment the thought occurred to him, even Asuma was startled. How could his friend look like his dad? That was ridiculous. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Just then, Yuhi Shinku spoke up. "I don't know whether what Aoba said could really happen, but this is beyond what our squad can discuss. We should hurry back to the village and report to Lord Hokage. It's definitely the right decision to leave it to him."

Teacher Shinku's grasp of the bigger picture was perfect.

After a brief rest, the four members of the squad headed back to Konoha.

And given Kawaki Aoba's shocking claims, they traveled almost as relentlessly as they had on the way there, without sleep, and even faster.

Along the way, Kawaki Aoba, Yuhi Kurenai, and Sarutobi Asuma each downed a Blue Potion. That was the only way they could keep going.

As they neared Konoha, they ran into two other squads of shinobi returning from missions, one after the other. They were clearly in a hurry.

It wasn't unusual for a shinobi squad to leave the village on a mission. But all of them were rushing, and none had a client with them. That was quite unusual.

And the direction they'd come from looked like it was the Land of Rivers.

Yuhi Shinku felt a weight settle in his heart. He glanced at Kawaki Aoba and thought, Could that brat actually have guessed right?

They'd taken a remote route both when heading to the Land of Wind and on their way back, so Yuhi Shinku had no idea what was happening along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.

Yuhi Shinku had clearly been rattled by Kawaki Aoba's claims, and seeing those two squads only made him more uneasy.

Once they were back in Konoha and their identities had been confirmed, Yuhi Shinku led his three students straight to the Hokage Building. He didn't want to wait another moment.

Yuhi Shinku was burdened with worries, and returning to the village had caused his guard to drop. As a result, he failed to notice that they were being watched.

But Kawaki Aoba's Observation Haki wasn't for show. He'd been keeping an eye on them with it before they even noticed him.

And the only people who could make Kawaki Aoba this wary were the Hyuga.

As soon as they saw him in the village, members of the Hyuga Clan hurried off to report back.

Danzo's Root, on the other hand, had surprised him. Ever since they'd worked together at the Hokage Building and set up the Hyuga Clan, Root's shinobi had never shown up around him.

He had a Kekkei Genkai, considerable talent, and was an orphan, yet Danzo hadn't set his sights on him. He couldn't tell whether he was lucky or Danzo was blind.

Well, actually, it seemed he was the one who'd been blind.

Just as Kawaki Aoba used Observation Haki to keep tabs on the Hyuga shinobi who had spotted him in the street and returned to the Hyuga Clan Compound, Yuhi Shinku led them to the Hokage Building.

After being announced, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned them at once.

"You're back so soon, and with only the four of you? Did something go wrong during the mission?" Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke calmly and unhurriedly. Judging by his manner, even if he knew their mission had failed, he was willing to sit down and hear them out.

In response to the Hokage's question, Yuhi Shinku, the squad leader, naturally stepped forward.

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

It was no wonder Yuhi Shinku had become a Jonin Sarutobi Hiruzen valued. He'd gone straight to the heart of the matter.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand trembled. He nearly dropped the pipe he was holding, a clear sign of how shocked he was.

"What? Shinku, can you confirm the intelligence is accurate?" The words had barely left his mouth when Sarutobi Hiruzen realized he'd lost his composure. He quickly steadied himself and adopted a grave, composed expression.

"Shinku, report everything that happened during your mission to me in detail."

That was exactly what Yuhi Shinku had been waiting for. Being questioned directly by the Hokage was entirely different from delivering a long report on his own.

With the Hokage's prompt, he could slip in some additional information while the Hokage listened attentively.