Dodai Prepares to Challenge Hiruzen Sarutobi

Time passed just like that, and the next day arrived.

As it turns out, Yun Yan and Hyuga Hiashi's ominous premonition really came true.

Here's how things unfolded the next day.

The delegation from Kumogakure takes a headcount every day, and while doing so, they also plan out the day's tasks to improve efficiency.

However, during today's headcount, it was discovered that one person was missing from the delegation: Morui was missing.

Morui was not a member of the negotiation team; his role within the delegation was that of a bodyguard, specifically Anbu Ninja sent by the Fourth Raikage to protect the delegation.

Such an important person has simply disappeared without a trace; something is clearly wrong.

The person who was counting the number of people immediately reported this anomaly to the Dodai, who was, after all, the envoy of the Dodai and the highest-ranking official here, in charge of all matters within the mission.

Upon hearing that Morui had disappeared, Dodai already had a guess in his mind, and was not particularly surprised.

While the others in the group didn't know Morui's true mission, how could Dodai, the highest-ranking envoy in the delegation and the Fourth Raikage's right-hand man, not know?

From the very beginning, or rather, before their delegation even left Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage A, had already revealed the relevant plans and inside information to Dodai.

Dodai knew, of course, that Morui had come to Konoha with the Kumogakure delegation ostensibly to protect them, but in reality, he had a secret mission.

This secret mission is none other than to find a way to obtain the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan Konoha, and then to find a way to transport Byakugan back to Kumogakure.

The Morui hadn't made a move yet, remaining hidden and disguised, presumably gathering intelligence and formulating a plan.

He suddenly disappeared last night and vanished again today; there's a high chance he's gone on a real mission.

So the question is, did Morui succeed? Did he get what he wanted? Did he successfully obtain the Byakugan?

Dodai held a pessimistic view of this matter.

Because Morui is, in the end, just an elite Jonin of the Anbu. Even if Konoha is a starved camel, it is still bigger than a horse. It is difficult for him to gain the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan by himself!

Furthermore, Dodai and Morui had secretly agreed that if he succeeded and escaped Konoha's pursuit afterward, he would contact Dodai using a specific method to let Dodai know that it was a success.

It's already daylight. Morui has been missing for some time now, and a long time must have passed since he officially took action last night.

If Morui hasn't contacted me for so long, he's most likely done something wrong; this whole thing has most likely failed.

Although it was a bit of a disappointment, Dodai wasn't particularly disappointed, because not only Dodai, but also the Fourth Raikage A, didn't have high hopes for this matter or this plan.

They both knew from the beginning that Morui's chances of success were not particularly high.

But even if he fails, it won't matter too much, because Dodai has follow-up plans, as the Fourth Raikage A gave him plenty of instructions before he left.

To put it more bluntly, Morui was merely a pawn, a trigger, a fuse to ignite a powder keg, and a reason to attack Konoha —nothing more.

Now that Morui is suspected of being missing and possibly dead, his mission for Dodai and the entire Kumogakure is complete!

Thinking about this, Dodai felt a little tempted, but he knew it wasn't the right time yet. To attack Konoha on the very first day of Morui's disappearance would be too hasty. He should wait and let things develop.

So Dodai pretended to be quite naive. His reaction to Morui's disappearance was quite genuine. He simply instructed the people in the delegation to search for him secretly, without alerting Konoha, and to find him at all costs.

Ha, you'd be lucky to find it.

And so, another day passed.

Throughout the day, the Kumogakure delegation did indeed follow Dodai's instructions to secretly search for Morui, but unfortunately they found nothing; Morui had truly disappeared.

Furthermore, given that they were in Konoha, the natural distrust and wariness towards Konoha Ninja led many within the delegation to speculate that Morui might have already been killed, and that Konoha was very likely responsible!

The members of the Kumogakure delegation didn't really consider why Morui was killed by Konoha; they were only concerned about the fact that one of their own had been killed.

The delegation from the prestigious Kumogakure came to Konoha with goodwill to negotiate, which was already a great honor for Konoha. Who knew that Konoha would dare to secretly murder their own comrade! This is outrageous!

Immediately, some of the more hot-tempered members of the Kumogakure delegation started making a scene. One person even suggested that they directly cause a ruckus in Konoha and not stop until Konoha paid a sufficient price.

Fortunately, most people are relatively calm, well, relatively speaking.

Most of the other members of the Kumogakure delegation were also indignant and very angry, demanding that Konoha provide an explanation.

Dodai had been observing the reactions of everyone in his delegation with a cold eye, and seeing these reactions, he knew in his heart that things were going well.

So Dodai naturally promised everyone that he would personally question the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the next day, demanding that the Third Hokage give an explanation for this matter, and that he must find Morui no matter what, alive or dead!

This satisfied the members of the Kumogakure delegation, and they were ready to launch an attack on Konoha the next day.

All of these things were secretly plotted within the Kumogakure delegation, and the plotting took place in the residences arranged for them by Konoha. The plotting was extremely confidential.

Since the other party was an envoy, it was not convenient for either the Anbu or Root to monitor them throughout the entire process. Therefore, Konoha was truly unaware of their conspiracy and plans for tomorrow.

Without prior knowledge, Hiruzen Sarutobi lost the advantage of foresight, which led to him being caught off guard and even suffering repeated defeats.

Furthermore, this demonstrates just how corrupt the Konoha High Command are.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't send Anbu to monitor the Kumogakure delegation, which was understandable, as he considered himself a good-natured person and didn't want to target the Kumogakure delegation.

But Danzo? With so many members of the Kumogakure delegation staying in Konoha, isn't that a huge destabilizing factor and a major hidden danger?

Faced with such unstable factors, Danzo didn't even send Root to probe or monitor them. That's incredibly cowardly! He's all talk and no action to outsiders, but a ruthless fighter to his own people!

It's hopeless. These Konoha High Command are truly hopeless. As long as they're around, Konoha will never be good. They bear the vast majority of the responsibility for Konoha becoming what it is today!

Getting back to the main point, another day has passed.

That morning, Dodai, carrying the wishes of the many members of the Kumogakure delegation, and in his capacity as Kumogakure envoy, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, regarding the disappearance of their companion, Morui.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was caught completely off guard by the attack. While he wasn't entirely unable to defend himself, he managed to put up a very difficult fight.

The situation was as follows.

It was early morning, Hiruzen Sarutobi was leisurely processing documents in his Hokage office, pondering how to turn the tide of the negotiations.

Just as he was fretting, there was a knock on the door of his Hokage office. Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even say "Come in," the door was pushed open, and the person outside rudely barged in.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a terrible mood. He hadn't even given permission before the person outside barged in. Who was being so rude? Could it be that brat Yun Yan?

Sigh... Oh well, if it's that kid Yun Yan, there's nothing I can do. That's just his personality, and there's nothing I can do about it.

However, if it were any other ninja, I would punish him severely no matter what. Even if I couldn't punish him, I would make things difficult for him afterwards.

No... it's not about making things difficult for him, it's about transferring him to a more suitable place to work, that's all.

Just as he was pondering this, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up with a slightly cold expression... Hmm? It wasn't Yun Yan, nor Konoha Ninja; it was Dodai who had entered!

Oh, it's just Dodai. That's alright then.

After all, he wasn't even a Konoha ninja, but a ninja from Kumogakure, and the Fourth Raikage's deputy. He certainly couldn't order them around, nor did he need to expect his guest to be overly polite.

So... let's not dwell on the fact that they just pushed the door open and came in; at least they knocked before coming in, which was polite enough.