"Scorpion... you bastard..."
The Third Kazekage instantly felt weak all over, and even his Chakra manipulation became very difficult.
"You're about to die..."
Sasori immediately created distance and then summoned three puppets he had created to remotely pull the Third Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage, who was ambushed by Sasori, couldn't even use Ninjutsu and was brutally killed by Sasori.
The strongest Kazekage of all time, the Third Kazekage, ended his life in such an absurd and comical way.
"You will become my masterpiece..."
Sasori looked at the corpse of the Third Kazekage, placed it into a sealing scroll, and disappeared into the vast desert.
Three days later
"Grandma, Lord Kazekage has gone missing!"
While Chiyo was worrying about Sasori, a ninja ran over and gave her even worse news.
" The Kazekage has disappeared? How is that possible!"
Chiyo Chiyo's eyes widened.
She knew the Third Kazekage's strength very well; how could someone like that possibly disappear while searching for Sasori?
Keep in mind that the Third Kazekage never even left the Land of Wind, so how could he possibly be ganged up on by a rival village?
" The Third Kazekage might have been delayed by some other matter, keeping the news from him!"
Chiyo forced herself to remain calm and spoke to the ninja.
"Yes, Mother-in-law."
The ninja nodded and then disappeared from Chiyo's sight.
"I hope Lord Kazekage is well..."
Chiyo is now filled with dread.
If the Third Kazekage has truly disappeared, then Sunagakure will likely face a series of troubles once again.
This is undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the already weak Sunagakure.
Time passed slowly, and another week went by.
Iwagakure
"Agent Kazekage, Rasa?"
Didaze, upon seeing this news, knew that the Third Shinobi World War was about to begin.
"Yes, their Kazekage disappeared for some reason, so they temporarily selected a substitute Kazekage."
Ōnoki chuckled.
He knew that the Third Kazekage was most likely dead, but had claimed to be missing to prevent the complete collapse of Sunagakure.
"Old man, I plan to let the youngsters gain some experience in this war."
Didaze said to Ōnoki.
The kids are all fifteen years old now, and they're all quite capable.
Reigyō and Watanabe Kawa are close to Jonin level, and Nanako is almost at Kage Level.
Nanako's control is definitely stronger than that of Kage Level, but her slow speed is Nanako weakness, so Nanako cannot be considered Kage Level.
Because she couldn't defeat a normal Kage Level powerhouse one-on-one.
"Sending the three of them to the battlefield for experience? Sure!"
After a moment's thought, Ōnoki made his decision.
Fifteen years old is not young anymore; in the Shinobi World, he's already considered an adult.
" Kōdo, notify the ninja army to enter wartime status. Prepare for battle immediately upon the outbreak of war!"
"This time, we plan to split our forces into two groups, with one battlefield each in Kumogakure and Konoha!"
Ōnoki made a decision with a wave of his hand!
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
Kōdo nodded, then disappeared from the office.
"Old man, are you so sure the Kazekage will start a war?"
Didaze deliberately asked Ōnoki, wanting to see if the other person thought the same way he did.
"They are currently experiencing internal instability, so they definitely need to find a rival to distract them from their internal conflicts."
"But what good would it do them to attack us? To take our stones? Even putting aside the question of whether we could win, our own people probably wouldn't agree to it."
Ōnoki said with a smile.
"Old man, you think the same way I do!"
Didaze also said with a smile.
"When you go to the battlefield in Konoha, I'll give you Roshi. You'll be the supreme commander of the Konoha battlefield!"
Ōnoki spoke first.
He planned to send more people to Kumogakure, since the Third Raikage, that madman, might not stay at home and go straight to the battlefield.
If there aren't enough people, it would be terrible if this madman slaughtered them all.
Didaze alone is enough to fill a battlefield. If it weren't for the fact that Roshi really doesn't listen to him, Ōnoki probably wouldn't have sent a single person to Konoha.
Didaze could easily overrun Konoha with just a group of Jonin.
"But you'll have to talk to Roshi about it, you know..."
Ōnoki looked embarrassed.
"I understand."
Didaze gave an OK sign.
Didaze had previously helped Roshi have a proper talk with the Four-Tails, with the Six-Tails acting as a bridge.
In the end, the Four-Tails and Roshi reached an agreement, for which Roshi was very grateful to Didaze.
That's why Ōnoki had Roshi follow Didaze.
As for the battlefield in Kumogakure, it was Han, Kitsuchi, the Explosion Release Corps, Kōdo, and so on.
These people are enough to stop Kumogakure, and they could even push back against Kumogakure without the Third Raikage's appearance.
Even if the Third Raikage were to appear, with Kōdo's defensive capabilities and Han's explosive power, the Third Raikage wouldn't be able to stop Iwagakure's retreat.
The advantage of doing this is that we don't have to worry about the Kumogakure causing trouble. If Konoha has the advantage, Ōnoki can go to support them at any time without fear of a sneak attack from the Kumogakure.
"I'll be going now. I'm going to find Roshi and Nanako."
Didaze saw that Ōnoki had made the arrangements and had no objections. He prepared to inform Roshi and the little ones to participate in the war.
"You can go now, but remember to take good care of Nanako!"
Ōnoki waved his hand, but then seemed to remember something and quickly said...
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of the little ones."
Didaze rolled his eyes, then closed the door to the Tsuchikage's office.
"Let's go find Roshi first."
Didaze muttered to himself.
Mountain Top
Roshi's Home
Knock knock knock!
A knock sounded at the door, and Roshi, who was sitting and cultivating, got up to open it.
" Didaze? Please come in!"
Roshi, who had been wearing a deathly expression, immediately beamed with joy when he saw Didaze arrive, and then quickly opened the door to let Didaze in.
Roshi and Didaze chatted and laughed as they walked into the house.
" Roshi, I suspect a war might be about to begin, so I'd like to ask you to come with me to the Konoha battlefield."
Didaze didn't beat around the bush with Roshi; he got straight to the point.
" Didaze, you know what? I just don't like Ōnoki, that guy who always goes around in circles about everything."
Roshi took a sip of tea and said.
"Why can't you say it directly? Why do you have to beat around the bush?"
Roshi continued to criticize Ōnoki.
So what you mean?
Didaze asked cautiously.
"Of course I agreed! You personally invited me, wouldn't I be a jerk if I didn't go!"
Roshi smiled and patted Didaze on the shoulder.
"That's great! I'll have to rely on you on the battlefield then."
Didaze smiled and put his arm around Roshi's shoulder.
"Come on, I don't usually drink, but have a drink with me today!"
Roshi took out a case of liquor from below and handed a bottle to Didaze!
The two of them drank like that, taking turns drinking until nightfall.
Didaze... you... can drink that much...?
Roshi finally collapsed to the ground, his face flushed.
Didaze smiled faintly, then closed the door and left Roshi's house.