Genji's expression was particularly grim. The moment Kakashi left, he had more or less guessed what Konoha had in mind.
Everything had been done by those two "children," Naruto and Sasuke, not at Konoha's behest. But if it worked out, then matters like this were no child's play; since an agreement had already been reached, they might as well follow through on the mistake.
If anything went wrong, however, they would simply say the children hadn't thought things through and hadn't been acting on their orders, then laugh it off.
This maneuver had severe limitations. For instance, Kirigakure couldn't pull it on Konoha, much less on Kumogakure.
First, Kirigakure now had only a few cats, big and small, left to its name. Its talent pool had withered, and it lacked strength. Second, they simply couldn't produce any youngsters the other side wouldn't dare touch. This trick was impossible for them to play.
With Naruto and Sasuke's status, combined with Konoha's strength, what could Kirigakure possibly do?
Could they afford to offend the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, or the Uchiha Clan head's second son, with the entire clan backing him?
The might of those three giants that night several years ago had reverberated throughout the Shinobi World. With that sort of backing, they had better treat these two as privileged heirs.
Even setting their identities aside, they had to weigh the information Konoha had been releasing these past few years. Who could afford to offend an all-but-confirmed candidate for Seventh Hokage?
The Third Hokage had clearly been looking to make a big move before retirement these past few years. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't cross him. Weren't they afraid he might find an excuse to claim Naruto and Sasuke had gone missing?
Besides, even without their backgrounds, given the current disparity in