"Finally, we fought them."
"We managed to capture one of them. He was Sasori of the Red Sand, a Rogue Ninja from Sunagakure."
"Then we learned something from him."
Yahiko took a deep breath. His expression turned grave.
"What did you learn?"
Sasuke, standing nearby, asked curiously.
"They're planning to attack Konoha."
"Their target is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki," Yahiko said grimly.
"Naruto?!"
Sasuke froze.
"Attack Konoha?!"
Kimimaro's expression changed to one of surprise.
"Are they insane? They're just a small organization. How could they possibly attack Konoha?"
Xia Le remained silent, looking thoughtful.
Things had reached a point where even he could no longer guess what would happen next.
"What does Fugaku say?" he asked softly after a while.
"Lord Rain Shadow says we can't confirm the information yet."
"However you look at it, this organization doesn't seem capable of pulling off such a thing," Yahiko said.
Xia Le smiled faintly. He understood what Fugaku meant.
As things stood, Konoha's collapse or weakening would be good news for the Hidden Rain Village.
"Let's wait and see," Xia Le said calmly.
Yahiko paused, then gradually settled down.
In the Forest of Konoha.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Several figures appeared in rapid succession.
"Has he lost his mind? Summoning us out of nowhere for a mission this crazy?"
"I thought we'd wait a while longer."
The two figures looked grim as they spoke.
Then they turned toward the other two, who were running swiftly ahead.
"War doesn't wait until you're ready."
"Sasori was captured. Word will get out."
"I can't wait any longer," the man in the black-faced mask said coldly.
"But what are you planning to do?"
"That's Konoha!" Deidara said hesitantly.
"It's only Konoha."
"It's not the Hidden Rain Village!" the masked man said with a sneer.
That