Chapter 176 – Sunagakure, Konoha
At dawn the next day, as the first birds began to chirp, Taichi woke from a restful sleep.
Glancing around, he still couldn't find any sign of Yōhei and the others. He let out a quiet sigh. Right now, he actually hoped he could treat Yōhei's Mangekyō as soon as possible—not just to help his friend, but also to calm the restless excitement stirring within himself.
It was like a child who had just received a long-awaited toy—the urge to immediately find somewhere and fully enjoy it was impossible to suppress.
But Taichi was, after all, a qualified ninja. Not prying into others' missions was basic discipline. So unless something unusual happened, he could only wait patiently, continuing his daily routine—training himself and teaching others.
Time flowed on like a river, indifferent to human will. It followed its own unchanging course, never pausing, never slowing.
The shinobi world had already become like a turbulent ocean, with conflicts erupting everywhere, big and small—like waves rising and crashing one after another.
And yet, a massive undersea earthquake had already occurred. Its ripples were still brewing in the deep, unseen currents. But once those waves reached the shore, they would rise into a devastating tsunami—one capable of sweeping away everything in its path, leaving nothing behind.
That evening, after traveling day and night without rest, Chiyo's delegation finally arrived back at Sunagakure just before sunset.
The first thing she did upon returning was seek out her younger brother, Ebizō, to learn everything about the Kazekage's disappearance.
"What exactly happened? How could the Kazekage go missing?"
There were no pleasantries, no wasted words. This was the only answer she cared about.
But reality disappointed her once again.
"So far… we don't have any definitive answers."
Ebizō looked helpless. It had already been four days since the Kazekage disappeared, yet Sunagakure had found no trace of him—no body, no sign, nothing.
"Sister… there's something… you should prepare yourself for," Ebizō said hesitantly, struggling to choose his words.
"What is it? Stop stalling," Chiyo snapped impatiently.
"At the scene… we found human puppets. The one who fought the Kazekage… was a puppet master who uses human puppets."
The words struck like a bolt of lightning.
Even more than the Kazekage's disappearance, this revelation shook her.
"What…? Human puppets? Impossible… how could this…"
Her eyes lost focus as she muttered to herself, stunned.
Ebizō watched her, his heart heavy. When he had first heard the report, he had reacted the same way.
After a long silence, Chiyo finally regained her composure. Her voice, when she spoke again, was completely devoid of emotion.
"Tell me everything. In detail."
"The battlefield was covered in iron sand and damaged puppets. Among them, we found twelve human puppets. It's certain that the Kazekage fought that puppet master.
There were no other bodies at the scene. Neither the Kazekage nor his opponent were found.
After our people arrived, they detected traces of Earth Release movement underground. The trail extended toward the Land of Earth, though it could also be a deliberate misdirection.
Additionally, near the central oasis, we found an underground hideout created using Earth Release. Based on our investigation, someone was present there during the battle."
Ebizō relayed everything he knew without omission, then fell silent, waiting for her judgment.
"What is the village doing?" Chiyo asked.
"Although nothing has been confirmed, everyone already assumes the worst. Right now… they're arguing over who should become the Fourth Kazekage. The dispute hasn't stopped."
"A bunch of fools!" Chiyo's face turned ashen.
At a time like this—when Konoha or Iwagakure could attack at any moment—they were still fighting over power instead of stabilizing the village.
"Go. Inform everyone immediately. Convene an elders' council. Tonight, we settle the Kazekage matter."
Ebizō hesitated, glancing at the sky. "Isn't that too rushed?"
"Go! This is a matter of survival. Even if it were midnight, they would still come!"
This was Chiyo's decisiveness—only someone of her authority could make such a call.
Within half an hour, twelve Sunagakure elders gathered in the council chamber. The main seat remained empty, with Chiyo seated beside it, presiding over the meeting.
"Since everyone is here, I'll be direct," she said. "The Third Kazekage has been missing for four days. You all know what that likely means. With the current state of the shinobi world, war could break out at any moment. We must immediately select the next Kazekage to lead the village forward."
Her bluntness sent the room into an uproar.
"How can we abandon the Third Kazekage so easily?"
"Rasa should be chosen—he has mastered Magnet Release."
"Pakura is a better candidate—both her strength and reputation are top-tier."
"Isn't this too rushed?"
The room filled with competing voices.
Chiyo's expression darkened further with every passing second. Even now, they were still fighting over influence, ignoring the survival of the village.
"Enough!"
Her palm slammed against the table, and the room fell silent instantly. Several younger elders even shrank back under her glare.
"At a time like this, you're still arguing?
Do you realize what will happen next? By tomorrow, news of internal unrest in Sunagakure will reach other villages.
The day after, they will know the Third Kazekage is missing.
And by the next day… the Land of Wind will be crawling with enemy spies."
The other elders fell into silence. Some dismissed Chiyo's concerns as an overreaction; others agreed with her assessment, yet still harbored doubts about the choice of the Fourth Kazekage.
"Retsufū, Goemon, Baki—you're all senior figures of the village. At a time like this, shouldn't you be the first to state your positions?"
Seeing their hesitation, Chiyo no longer held back. She directly called them out, forcing the veterans to respond.
Retsufū let out a sigh and finally spoke. As the younger cousin of the First Kazekage, his status in Sunagakure was exceptionally high. "No matter what, the Third Kazekage's body hasn't been found yet. Rushing to appoint a Fourth Kazekage is indeed inappropriate."
But then he continued, "However, the external situation is extremely dangerous. The village urgently needs a leader. How about this—we appoint an acting Kazekage for now, someone to guide the village. Once the Third Kazekage's fate is confirmed, or once that person's prestige is sufficient, we can formally name them the Fourth Kazekage."
The others exchanged glances. Whether it was appropriate or not, Retsufū had conveniently covered both sides—leaving them little room to object.
Goemon and Baki soon voiced their agreement, supporting the idea of appointing an acting Fourth Kazekage. Chiyo and Ebizō followed immediately.
In the blink of an eye, five out of the twelve elders—also the most influential among them—had agreed. At that point, there was little left to debate. The remaining elders quickly nodded in approval.
Now, only one question remained—who would become the acting Fourth Kazekage?
In truth, there wasn't much suspense. If Rasa had not mastered Magnet Release: Gold Dust, the position might still have been contested. But fate favored him.
Magnet Release was no ordinary kekkei genkai—it was one of the rare abilities that could be learned and passed down. More importantly, it had a crucial function: it could suppress the One-Tail, Shukaku, to a certain extent.
At a time when top-tier combat power was desperately needed, that ability was simply too valuable.
As expected, when the votes were cast, nearly all twelve elders chose Rasa, with only a few exceptions.
Thus, Rasa became the acting Fourth Kazekage. From there, he would lead Sunagakure into the future—though the official announcement would come the next day.
Chiyo had effectively achieved her goal. By swiftly stabilizing internal tensions and uniting the village, Sunagakure could now better face the external crisis.
At nearly the same time Chiyo returned to Sunagakure, far away in Konoha, Jiraiya's urgent report arrived in the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen's first reaction upon seeing the report wasn't relief—it was suspicion. He wondered if Jiraiya, dissatisfied with the village's decision, had used this urgent message to question him. But the timing didn't quite align.
With unease, he opened the scroll.
The title alone froze him in place—
"The Death of the Third Kazekage."
The Kazekage… was dead?
Impossible.
Hiruzen's eyes widened as he quickly scanned the report. When he read that Taichi had personally witnessed the event—and had even brought back the Kazekage's body—he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
And when he saw that Taichi had seized the opportunity to kill Sasori after both sides were heavily injured, securing the final spoils, he could only sigh. The times truly make heroes. Such an absurd coincidence had somehow fallen into Taichi's hands.
Closing the report, his gaze shifted to the accompanying sealing scroll. Inside were likely the bodies of the Third Kazekage and Sasori.
A priceless… and dangerously troublesome gift.
"Summon the three advisors," Hiruzen said, smoke curling around him as he spoke.
"Yes." A shadow in the room acknowledged the order and vanished.
Half an hour later, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado hurried into the Hokage's office. Being called at this hour meant something urgent had happened—they hadn't wasted a second.
Ten minutes after that, Danzō Shimura entered. Compared to the others, he appeared far more composed. Seeing that the others had already arrived, he took his place without delay.
With everyone present, Hiruzen wasted no time. He spread Jiraiya's report across the table, facing them.
"This is an urgent report from the southern front. Read it."
The three stepped forward, confusion on their faces. But the moment they saw the bold title—
"The Death of the Third Kazekage"
—the room fell into absolute silence.
Even Danzō's usually half-closed eyes snapped open. Koharu sucked in a sharp breath, while Homura instinctively adjusted his glasses, as if doubting what he was seeing.
Hiruzen spoke in a low voice, summarizing the key points. "It was Matsushita Taichi. During an infiltration mission, he witnessed the entire incident firsthand. The Third Kazekage was assassinated by their rogue ninja, Sasori of the Red Sand. Taichi then seized the opportunity, killed Sasori, and brought both bodies back."
The shock of this revelation far exceeded that of the earlier battlefield victory. None of them had ever imagined hearing such news.
Koharu was the first to recover. Pointing at the report, her voice trembled, "The Kazekage… dead? And at the hands of his own rogue ninja? If this is confirmed—"
"Sunagakure's sky has collapsed," Danzō cut in coldly, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone. "Chiyo just traded for those prisoners with her so-called 'mutual alliance.' And now their Kage is dead… their internal order will descend into chaos."
His thoughts immediately turned to opportunity. "Where are the bodies?"
Hiruzen gestured toward the sealing scroll.
Danzō's gaze burned with intensity—more eager than anything he had shown in years.
"The Kazekage's corpse is an extraordinary bargaining chip. Used properly, it could deepen Sunagakure's internal turmoil and force concessions at the borders—or even in future conflicts. Hiruzen, we must make full use of this."
Homura frowned, thinking further ahead. "Danzō isn't wrong—Sunagakure's instability is an opportunity. But it won't last long. What we must worry about are the wolves surrounding us."
"Iwagakure is increasing troops in the Land of Grass. There's no doubt they're doing the same toward the Land of Birds. As for Kumogakure… who knows what those lunatics will do?"
He hesitated, then continued, "If they confirm the Kazekage's death, will they spare a weakened Land of Wind?"
Looking at Hiruzen, he added, "We just formed a mutual defense pact with Sunagakure. If they are attacked by Iwagakure… what do we do? Stand by, or honor the alliance and intervene?"
At this, everyone except Danzō darkened.
The alliance—originally meant to ease pressure—had now become a potential trigger dragging Konoha into war.
Not to mention the hundred-plus prisoners they had released for nothing.
A complete loss on all fronts.
That decision now felt like a thorn lodged in their throats, constantly reminding them of their mistake.
Hiruzen sighed heavily, unwilling to dwell further on it. His gaze returned to the sealing scroll, contemplating how to extract maximum value from it.
But no matter how he thought about it, given Konoha's current situation, there was little they could actually do—aside from gaining the advantage of knowing the truth ahead of time.
As for the bodies… their greatest value might lie in research. Magnet Release and Sunagakure's puppet techniques were secrets of immense worth.
"For now, the Kazekage's body must not be revealed to be in our possession—at least not yet," Hiruzen said slowly. "Sunagakure themselves may not even be certain of his fate. If we expose this prematurely and they conclude we killed him, we won't be able to defend ourselves."
The three nodded in agreement. Under such immense internal pressure, Sunagakure might very well redirect its anger toward Konoha.
"That's all for today," Hiruzen concluded. "Danzō, have Root intensify intelligence gathering within Sunagakure. We need to know their movements immediately. Also, notify our forces on the Kumogakure and Iwagakure fronts to remain on high alert. We cannot give them any openings."
As for Taichi's reward mentioned in Jiraiya's report—Hiruzen had no intention of discussing it here. Such matters were well within his authority to decide alone.