Iwagakure, Tsuchikage floor.
"Bang!"
The heavy wooden table fell apart under the huge force, and the pieces scattered all over the floor.
Ōnoki was suspended in mid-air, veins popped out on his old face, and his eyes were full of rage. "Konoha! Konoha actually started planning it many years ago!"
He held the piece of information urgently reported back from the front line in his hand, and the paper trembled slightly at his fingertips.
"Jiraiya's disciples can control Land of Rain. This cannot be achieved in a day or two!" Ōnoki's voice became louder and louder, "That brat named Yahiko, and that Konan, I'm afraid they have been trained by Konoha as secret disciples since the time of Second Shinobi World War!"
Kitsuchi, who was standing aside, said in a deep voice, "Father, there is another thing that deserves more vigilance."
"Say!"
"The timing of Hanzo of the Salamander's death was such a coincidence." Kitsuchi opened another file, "After Hanzō died, Land of Rain was quickly controlled by Akatsuki, and now we know that the core members of Akatsuki are disciples of Jiraiya. Among them..."
Ōnoki's pupils suddenly shrank.
He thought of a terrible possibility.
"You mean, Konoha designed the death of Hanzō?"
"It's just suspicion." Kitsuchi said, "But if it is true, it means that Konoha has been planning "Demigod" for this game for more than ten years, and the calculation was successful."
There was a deathly silence in the office.
After a long time, Ōnoki spoke with difficulty, "Immediately activate all intelligence networks and thoroughly investigate Konoha's layout in other small countries. Especially Land of Grass and Land of Waterfalls, places that are bordering us, can no longer allow Konoha to secretly infiltrate!"
"Yes!"
"Also." A hint of gloom flashed in Ōnoki's eyes, "The planned action against Land of Rain's caravan next month has been cancelled."
Kitsuchi was stunned. "Father, that batch of supplies..."
"Cancel!" Ōnoki interrupted him, "Now is not the time to stir up trouble. Since Konoha dares to expose Land of Rain's layout at this time, he must have a backup plan. We must restrain ourselves, wait and see, and wait until the situation becomes clear."
Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office.
Rasa put down the information in his hand and let out a long sigh.
Outside the window is the endless desert, and the setting sun dyes the yellow sand into dark red, which looks like solidified blood.
"Sure enough." He said to himself, "Konoha has never relied on luck to get where he is today."
Baki stood aside and said in a deep voice, "Lord Kazekage, do we need to re-evaluate our alliance with Konoha?"
Rasa shook his head. "No, on the contrary. Now it is even more important to stabilize the relationship with Konoha."
He stood up, walked to the sand table, and pointed to the position of Land of Rain: "Land of Rain is here, just stuck at the junction of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha. Now that this position is actually controlled by Konoha, what does it mean?"
Baki's pupils shrank. "It means that Konoha strategically formed a double-team on Iwagakure, and against us..."
"It is a signal to us." Rasa took over, "Konoha is telling us that they have the ability and patience to run a small country. This is a reminder to us not to act rashly."
"Konoha dares to be exposed now, which proves that they have prepared a complete back-up plan. Believe it or not, Shinobi World, whoever dares to take the lead now will immediately receive a thunderous counterattack from Konoha."
He turned around with a deep look in his eyes. "Notify us to strengthen trade with Konoha. In addition, withdraw the funds that were originally intended to secretly support Land of Rain's rebellion."
"Yes."
Rasa sat back down and tapped his fingers on the table.
The name mentioned in the intelligence came to his mind - Jiraiya.
One of Sannin, seemingly bohemian and seemingly uninterested in politics. But now his disciple can control Land of Rain. Is this really just a coincidence?
Or is this the instruction from Konoha High Command?
If it was the latter, then Konoha was far more terrifying than he imagined.
Kumogakure, Raikage building.
"Hahahaha!"
Raikage A stood in front of the window and suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter made the glass vibrate.
Darui on the side was a little puzzled. "Lord Raikage, what's so funny about this...?"
"Of course it's funny!" Ai turned around with a high-spirited smile on his face, "Konoha played hard enough this time and was forbearing enough! After many years of planning, it exploded in one day. This handwriting is interesting!"
He walked to the map and pointed his thick finger at the location of Land of Rain: "Land of Rain is too far away from us, and I never paid attention to it before. Now it seems that Konoha has been laid out for many years."
"The geographical location is special, and Jiraiya's disciples are here." Darui said thoughtfully, "If Konoha is willing, Land of Rain can become a springboard for their external expansion at any time."
"More than that." Ai's eyes flashed, "Think about it, who is the other disciple of Jiraiya?"
Darui was stunned, and then took a breath of cold air. "Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!"
"Yes." Ai grinned, "One disciple became Hokage, and the other disciple controlled the small country. Who would believe that there is no connection?"
He turned around and his voice deepened. "Notify Intelligence Division to immediately investigate Konoha's movements in Land of Hot Water and Land of Frost. In addition, move the secret base we originally planned to set up in Land of Rain to another location."
"Understood."
Ai looked out the window again, and saw lightning flashing in the clouds.
"Konoha, Konoha, you are declaring to the entire Shinobi World this time that you are still the strongest." He whispered to himself, "Before it was a border threat, now it is Land of Rain, how many trump cards do you have."
By the time the banquet ended, it was already late at night.
The rain is still falling.
The diplomatic missions from various countries left the main hall one after another, with different expressions on their faces - Iwagakure's face was dark, Sunagakure's was thoughtful, Kumogakure's brows were furrowed, and only Kirigakure's Mei Terumi and Rin Nohara were still whispering and laughing from time to time.
Senju Chen was walking on the way back to the east courtyard holding an umbrella, Anko was following him, and Yamato was walking at the end.
"Chen, why did you say Lord Jiraiya went in such a hurry and disappeared as soon as the banquet was over?" Anko asked while tugging on Senju Chen's sleeve.
"I'm guessing that I've gone somewhere to collect news again. You also know Lord Jiraiya's temperament. Shenlong always sees the beginning but never the end."
"Don't worry about Lord Jiraiya. Have a good rest at night. I'll take you around Land of Rain tomorrow."
"Okay!" When Anko heard that he could go shopping tomorrow, he happily hugged Senju Chen's arm and walked quickly to the east courtyard where they lived.
Senju Chen, who was being dragged away, smiled helplessly. In fact, he had already guessed what Jiraiya was doing.
After all, when Rinnegan suddenly appeared on "Yahiko"'s face, anyone would think too much about it. In addition, Jiraiya is still their teacher, so he would definitely be more anxious to know the reason.
This old man couldn't hide something on his mind. He disappeared as soon as the dinner was over without saying anything. He must have gone to find Nagato and the others.