Konoha is My Second Hometown

On the morning of the sixth day, Kui Lian and the other two sought out Nara Shikato and sold out Hidden Sand Village completely. They revealed everything they should and shouldn't have. They also said that Reto had taken the opportunity to make outrageous demands in the name of an alliance. Besides Konoha, Hidden Sand Village had also gone to Hidden Cloud Village to form an alliance. Hidden Sand Village intended to join forces with Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village to resist Konoha.

After living in Konoha for the past few days, they no longer wanted to return to Hidden Sand Village and eat sand.

Konoha's streets were clean and spacious, its delicacies too numerous to count. Even Konoha's air smelled sweet.

Konoha was their second hometown.

After hearing of the three men's deeds, Uchiha Yan immediately issued Kui Lian and the other two Konoha green cards, then arranged for them to return to Hidden Sand Village as spies. As long as they completed their mission successfully, Konoha would not treat them poorly.

And to ensure they could report back properly upon returning, the alliance between Konoha and Hidden Sand Village was successfully formed as well—except those harsh conditions had all been changed into an equal treaty.

"Remember, when you return, say that Konoha was extremely overbearing. After many rounds of negotiations and your vow to defend Hidden Sand Village to the death, Konoha finally agreed to ally with Hidden Sand Village under an equal treaty."

"Yes, Lord Yan. We will carry out your instructions exactly."

Kui Lian and the other two were filled with both joy and fear. They were happy that Konoha had accepted them, even issuing them Konoha green cards and recognizing them as Konoha personnel. Now, the three of them were Konoha people too. But they feared that they still had to return as undercover agents and endure difficult days. The blazing sun, wind and sand, and meager meals of the Land of Wind were unbearable just to think about. Fortunately, they would not have to stay there forever.

"Don't worry. In three years at most, you'll be able to return to Konoha openly. By then, you'll be Konoha's heroes, and Konoha will sing your praises."

"Yes, my lord." The three had already begun imagining themselves as Konoha heroes.

Uchiha Yan took out several banknotes and handed them to Kui Lian.

"Here are some banknotes for the three of you. After returning, lie low and see whether there are any people you can recruit."

"Unite every force that can be united. Bribe those who need bribing, spend money where money needs spending. Don't worry—your contact with Konoha will be one-way. Konoha will not contact you proactively, and only Konoha's upper ranks know your identities. You only need to send over whatever intelligence you learn. Someone from Konoha will sign contracts with your summoned beasts shortly. Use them to relay any information."

Uchiha Yan continued, "To protect your safety and prevent anyone from tracing you if your identities are exposed, Konoha has given you code names."

"Kui Lian, your code name is Yellow Cotton; Lie Ju, yours is Red Star; Fan Shuo, yours is Green Chapter. Once you achieve fame and success, this minister will personally request credit for you from Lord Hokage."

"Yes! Yellow Cotton, Red Star, and Green Chapter guarantee that we will complete the mission."

And so, Bikini Bottom's Three Admirals left Konoha with their mission and returned to Hidden Sand Village.

"Lord Yan, do you think those three will be useful? Won't they turn around and sell us out?"

To be honest, Sarutobi Sasuke looked down on the three men—traitors to their village who craved pleasure and comfort. Yet Lord Yan had actually given them money and arranged for such people to become spies. In his view, spies had to be people with unwavering resolve. Someone like Kui Lian could betray Hidden Sand Village today, so who was to say he would not betray Konoha tomorrow? If it were up to him, he would throw them into Konoha's Ministry of Punishment. There were plenty of ways to make them talk.

Uchiha Yan shook his head.

"The waters of Nanga are clear, while the waters of the river are muddy. The waters of Nanga irrigate the fields along both banks, and so do the muddy waters of the river. One should not favor one merely because it is clear, nor discard the other merely because it is muddy. Take someone like Kui Lian. He appears to possess no loyalty whatsoever, yet he is precisely the least likely to betray us. Because they are loyal only to themselves. They want a good life, so they will not betray themselves. They will certainly serve Konoha to the death."

"Ordinary people favor clear streams and disdain muddy ones. Only you see things so clearly, my lord. You truly are Konoha's Kirin."

Sarutobi Sasuke's skill at flattering had improved more and more. What had initially been stiff and obvious flattery had gradually become like a spring breeze and gentle rain, nourishing things soundlessly and leaving one thoroughly pleased.

"A gentleman fears virtue, not power. A petty man fears power, not virtue. Hidden Sand Village is that petty man," Uchiha Yan continued. "What I want is for Hidden Sand Village to take the initiative to tear up the alliance treaty. If they cannot be beaten, they cannot be negotiated with. Unless Hidden Sand Village is beaten into submission and crippled, they will never know pain. The ninja world has only just stabilized, so Konoha must have just cause to send troops. Our army must be one of benevolence and righteousness, and our cause must be upright and aboveboard."

The reason Uchiha Yan had gone to such lengths was to seize the dragon vein of the Loulan Ancient Kingdom. In the original story, a dragon vein lay beneath the Loulan Ancient Kingdom, which was now within the Land of Wind. Without a proper and suitable reason, Konoha could not simply send troops.

Hidden Sand Village.

Kui Lian and the other two traveled day and night to return to their first hometown. Just days ago, they had been eating and drinking lavishly in their second hometown.

"Why did you return so late? Did something happen?"

Kazekage Reto sat in the seat of honor, his gaze sweeping over the three men. Shamon stood to one side, his expression stern.

Kui Lian began his performance.

"Lord Kazekage, when we first arrived in Konoha, they were arrogant and discourteous, looking down on Hidden Sand Village with utter contempt. They left us waiting off to the side and did not meet with us until several days later."

Lord Yan had told them on the way back that if they truly could not bluff their way through it, they should pin the blame on Konoha's Chancellor, Senju Tobirama. Konoha would then issue a corresponding statement condemning Senju Tobirama.

"That's right, Lord Kazekage." Fan Shuo—no, he should now be called Green Chapter—said sorrowfully, "Konoha was arrogant and rude, looking down on a weak village like ours. During this trip to Konoha, it was all thanks to Lord Kui Lian's vow to defend Hidden Sand Village's dignity to the death."

"Then the alliance with Konoha must have failed," Shamon said. "Fortunately, Hidden Sand Village has already allied with Hidden Cloud Village. We had only intended to give Konoha a try anyway."

"No, Lord Shamon," Kui Lian said. "Konoha formed an alliance with us. However, it was not under the conditions we proposed, but under conditions drafted by Konoha. When I saw that Konoha was signing an equal treaty and Hidden Sand Village would not suffer any losses, I thought that Lord Kazekage was still waiting for good news from us. The mission of forming an alliance with Konoha had to be completed, so I agreed to Konoha's terms."

After Kui Lian finished speaking, he handed over Konoha's alliance document.

"What? You formed an alliance? How dare you make such a decision on your own under these terms?"

Shamon was about to fly into a rage when Reto waved his hand.

"Forget it."

Reto did not make things difficult for Kui Lian and the others. In the first place, they had approached an alliance with Konoha with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Besides, what was wrong with an alliance? They could just tear it up later. Forming an alliance with Konoha had no drawbacks—Hidden Stone Village had even paid a price to ally with Konoha. Now that Hidden Sand Village was allied with both sides, it could play them off against each other.