News of the event reached the Hokage in Konoha at the same time as the Tsuchikage in Iwagakure and the Kazekage in Hidden Sand Village.
They found it a bit difficult to wrap their minds around Yayoi's decision to go out.
The Third Kazekage was especially baffled. Dragon Vein Chakra was important, but surely it did not warrant the general himself making a personal trip?
The whole setup looked completely unlike it, either.
Could he really just be going out for a trip?
Following that, the Third Kazekage and Ōnoki, much like Hiruzen, quietly dispatched additional Anbu operatives to monitor the general direction of Yayoi's convoy.
However, they dared not let the Anbu approach too closely regarding precise movements; they only needed to confirm that the other party was not coming to cause trouble or upend the balance.
As for other matters, they could not manage so much.
After all, national status and prestige were earned through blade and gunfire, and based on the Land of Night's performance in the previous war, it possessed a military might entirely on par with the Great Powers.
They were in no position to address the Land of Night with the condescending posture of a superior.
Under the surveillance of Anbu from the three great shinobi villages, Yayoi acted as though they did not exist, simply passing through different regions each day and leisurely crossing the borders of the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.
It was only a month later that he formally arrived in the territory of the Land of Rivers.
Seeing this, Ōnoki recalled the Iwagakure Anbu back to the Land of Grass, leaving Konoha and Hidden Sand Village's Anbu to deal with the headache.
"This is the place."
The Spider Puppet crouched atop a precipice above the grand