After the two operations in the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain ended, Sunagakure Ninja Village immediately reorganized its defenses to guard against a counterattack from Konoha Ninja Village. They believed Konoha could not possibly swallow such an insult, and since their operations had failed to achieve their intended objectives, retaliation was likely.
In reality, however, the expected retaliation never came. Konoha Ninja Village instead maintained its defensive posture as before, leaving Chiyo and the other frontline ninja baffled. That they could swallow even this was simply unbelievable.
Chiyo believed there was more to it, but she did not act rashly. Konoha Ninja Village's uncharacteristic behavior had indeed unnerved the Sunagakure Ninja, and she ordered the Intelligence Ninja to gather more information on the reasons behind it.
A week later, Sunagakure Ninja Village's intelligence personnel finally uncovered some clues behind the tightly sealed battle lines. Apparently, Kagami Uchiha, the Konoha commander on the Western Front, had been betrayed by his subordinates. Although he had survived, he had lost an arm and suffered grievous injuries. Konoha Ninja Village had also launched an internal purge, arresting and executing everyone suspected of involvement.
"Who was the leader of the traitors?" Chiyo asked the Sunagakure Ninja delivering the report in the Command Tent.
"His name seems to have been Uchiha Setsuna," came the reply.
"Uchiha Setsuna? I remember him. He performed very well in both the Land of Rivers and the Land of Grass. A very formidable ninja." Chiyo raised her eyebrows slightly. "So he was the one who tried to assassinate his own clan head?"
"There's nothing particularly surprising about that. The Uchiha Clan has a history of such things," said someone from a family with deep roots in Sunagakure Ninja Village. He knew a little of that history. "People in