Investigation and Surveillance

"The situation is even worse than we imagined."

The Hidden Cloud Village's wolfish ambitions were already out in the open. All they lacked was an opportunity. Starting a ninja war required a legitimate reason, and Konoha could not let them find one.

They also needed to unite the other villages.

"What concerns me more right now is the Sand Village."

Holding a different opinion from the Third Hokage, Danzō had always looked down on those fence-sitters and rejected the Third's view.

"The Sand Village will stop at nothing to obtain support before war arrives. That has always been their way. What worries me is that when war breaks out, not only will they refuse to ally with us, they may instead help the other villages invade us."

Danzō's words were very realistic, and it was an unavoidable problem.

But no one could say such things right now. Nothing had happened yet; at the very least, the two villages were still maintaining appearances.

"We'll discuss it properly when they arrive. Don't be hasty for now."

After exchanging glances, everyone present carefully considered the issue. Danzō's ideas had always been the darkest, but his proposals often succeeded. What would they do if it really happened?

"Have Sakumo Hatake lead a unit to guard the border with the Sand Village. If anything unexpected happens, we'll be able to respond in time."

The village's upper-level arrangements were not passed down below. The war had not yet come, so there was no need to further escalate the situation.

Meanwhile, after a grueling journey, they finally arrived at Konoha Village by nightfall.

You observed the Sand ninja's expressions. The envy and greed in their eyes were unmistakable; they had come here to demand resources.

"What a bunch of insatiable bastards."

Once the Sand Village group arrived, their mission was complete. After a brief rest, Orochimaru left to attend to other matters instead of accompanying them.

Having gone through a life-or-death ordeal together, the three of them had clearly grown closer.

They found a barbecue restaurant and prepared to relax.

"We're both among the Five Great Ninja Villages, so why do they look like they've never seen the world?"

Hyuga Reiko looked down on the Sand Village from the bottom of her heart, especially their smug, petty appearance.

Moreover, she knew that quite a few people in the Sand Village coveted the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

Fortunately, she had covered her forehead with her forehead protector during the mission, making them think she was from the Hyuga branch family. That was why no unexpected trouble had arisen.

"The Land of Wind's geography is completely different from the Land of Fire's. It's a desert, and a village built in the middle of a desert naturally cannot compare to Konoha in terms of resources."

Understanding the reasons behind the Sand Village's founding, Uchiha Yū did not look down on them. He patiently explained to the two of them.

"Don't underestimate them. For them to grow into one of the Five Great Ninja Villages in such a harsh environment, their puppetry and poisons are extremely troublesome for ordinary ninja."

Fortunately, the Sand Village had been allies during this mission. Otherwise, with Ebizo appearing, Orochimaru alone would not have been able to protect all three of them.

Stuffing two pieces of grilled meat into his mouth, Nawaki listened to their discussion and chimed in at the right moment.

"Are they really that strong?"

"You'll know once you fight them. Like I said, never underestimate any ninja. We don't have room for mistakes."

Some matters were too heavy to discuss with the two of them, but Uchiha Yū told them that when it came to poisons, Tsunade was actually more capable than Chiyo. If they encountered the enemy's poisons on the battlefield, it would not become too serious a problem.

After arriving in Konoha, Ebizo did not immediately head to the meeting room. Instead, he went to the lodgings Konoha had arranged for them, surrounded by several ninja.

"You all saw what happened today. Konoha truly has many talented people. Compared to them, the Sand Village is far behind."

Those words weighed heavily on them. Many jonin lowered their heads, not daring to meet Ebizo's gaze.

"Also, we came to Konoha with a mission. Let's do what the Third Kazekage ordered us to do."

"Investigate information on Konoha's recent geniuses and prepare for the future."

The Third Kazekage was known as the strongest Kazekage. Whether in strength or political methods, he had shown signs of reviving the once-weak Sand Village. At his repeated insistence, they had temporarily chosen to form an alliance with Konoha, all for the sake of gaining more benefits.

"Yes, sir!"

Their first priority was to identify the geniuses born from the major clans. The three people they had encountered today were all talented, especially that last young man. He was definitely not an unknown nobody.

Ebizo had already sent people to watch him. They could not kill Konoha's ninja within the village, but that did not mean they could not investigate them.

The three of them, busy eating barbecue, still had no idea that the Sand ninja had made a move against them.

For several days, they had slept rough in the open while remaining wary of enemies appearing at any moment.

"You, can you share your method for getting stronger with me? Then I'll beg my sister to teach you some powerful secret techniques too!"

Nawaki leaned against Uchiha Yū, astonished that he could throw the Monstrous Strength Fist. But he believed his talent was no less than You's; You had to have mastered some unknown method.

"What method for getting stronger? I just train seriously every day."

You lied without even blushing. Was he supposed to say that basking in the sun could make him stronger? That would probably be the last straw.

"Really?"

Nawaki fell into brief confusion. He recalled the iron weights Uchiha Yū had removed before the battle, and the terrifying load was shocking to behold.

Could a normal person really do that?

"Of course it's true. When I studied medical ninjutsu under Lady Tsunade, I also trained my chakra control."

"At the Uchiha Clan compound, Jonin Fugaku taught me."

"Genius is ninety-nine percent sweat and one percent talent."

Seeing stars shining in their eyes, he knew they had fallen for it.

Without that one percent of talent, ninety-nine percent sweat was useless.

After being fooled by Uchiha Yū, Nawaki readily agreed to treat them to this meal.

However, an unexpected problem arose when it was time to pay. Nawaki stared blankly at the long list of charges, then looked at the two of them with a pained expression.

"Why did you two eat so much?"

One meal had nearly bankrupted him. Looking at his empty wallet, the money he had only just received was already bidding him farewell.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"How could we have done it on purpose? I wasn't the one eating."

Uchiha Yū had eaten very little. Most of it had gone into Reiko's stomach.

Under their gazes, Reiko, who was still eating, suddenly blushed. Lowering her head, she said, "Sorry, I was hungry."