Investigation and Surveillance

"The situation was even worse than imagined."

Cloud Village's wolfish ambitions were already out in the open. Now they only lacked 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 worries me more now is Sand Village."

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

"Sand Village will stop at nothing to gain support before war arrives; that has always been their way. I'm worried that when war comes, they will not only refuse to ally with us, but may even help the other villages invade us."

Danzo's words were brutally realistic, and it was an unavoidable problem.

But no one could say that openly right now. Nothing had happened yet, and at the very least, the two villages were still maintaining appearances.

"Once they arrive, we'll discuss it with them properly. Don't rush for now."

They exchanged glances. Danzo's thinking had always been the darkest, but his proposals often succeeded. Thus, everyone present carefully considered what they would do if it happened.

"Have Sakumo Hatake lead a unit to guard the border with Sand Village. If anything unexpected happens, they can respond in time."

The village's higher-ups did not pass the arrangements down the ranks. The war had not come yet, so there was no need to escalate the situation further.

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

You watched the Sand ninja's reactions. 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 delegation arrived, their mission was complete. After a brief rest, Orochimaru had other matters to attend to and did not accompany them.

After surviving such a life-or-death ordeal together, the three of them had clearly grown closer.

They found a barbecue restaurant, intending to relax.

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

Hyuga Reiko looked down on Sand Village from the bottom of her heart, especially with how pleased with themselves they looked.

She also knew that quite a few people from Sand Village coveted the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.

Fortunately, she had covered her forehead with her headband while on missions, making them think she was from the Hyuga branch family. That was why no accidents had occurred.

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

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

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

Thankfully, Sand Village had been allied with them during this mission. Otherwise, with Ebizo's appearance, 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 the two of them talk before chiming in at the right moment.

"Are they really that strong?"

"You'll know once you fight them. As 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. Still, You told them that when it came to poisons, Tsunade was actually more capable than Chiyo. If they encountered the latter's poisons on the battlefield, it would not become too serious a problem.

Ebizo did not immediately head to the meeting room after arriving in Konoha. He was now at the lodgings Konoha had arranged for them, surrounded by several ninja.

"You all saw what happened today. Konoha truly has many talented people. By comparison, Sand Village lags far behind."

The 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 us now carry out what the Third Kazekage assigned to us."

"Investigate intelligence on Konoha's recent geniuses. Prepare for the future."

The Third Kazekage was known as the strongest Kazekage. Whether in strength or political maneuvering, he had brought signs of revival to the once-weak Sand Village. At his repeated insistence, they had chosen to temporarily form an alliance with Konoha in order to gain greater benefits.

"Yes, sir!"

First, they had to identify the geniuses born from the major clans. The three they had met today were all talented, especially the boy at the end. He was definitely no nobody.

Ebizo had sent people to monitor them in advance. They could not kill Konoha ninja inside the village, but that did not mean they could not investigate them.

The three people eating barbecue had no idea that the Sand ninja had already made a move against them.

For several days, they had slept rough outside and had to stay alert for enemies who might appear at any time.

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

Nawaki leaned against Uchiha You, astonished that he could throw the Monster Strength Fist. Still, he believed his talent was on par with You's. You must have mastered some unknown method.

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

You shamelessly told a lie. Was he supposed to say that he could grow stronger just by basking in the sun? That would probably be the last straw.

"Really?"

Nawaki fell into brief confusion. He remembered the iron blocks Uchiha You had removed before the battle, and the terrifying weights made his scalp tingle.

Could an ordinary person really do that?

"Of course it's true. When I was with Lady Tsunade, I studied Medical Ninjutsu while also training my chakra control."

"At the Uchiha Compound, Jonin Fugaku teaches me."

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

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

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

Under Uchiha You's persuasion, Nawaki readily agreed to treat them to this meal.

But an accident occurred when it was time to pay. Nawaki stared blankly at the long bill in front of him, 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 recently saved up had just said goodbye to him.

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

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

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

As the two of them stared at her, Reiko, who was still eating, suddenly blushed furiously. Lowering her head, she said, "Sorry, I was hungry."