After obtaining the intelligence sent back by the spy, Ebizo found Chiyo and informed her of the latest intel.
"It can now be confirmed that Sasori is in Six Paths City. My people have seen Sasori and Nagato from the Ninja Sect moving around together in Six Paths City," Ebizo said.
"Moreover, based on Sasori's behavior, there is a significant chance that Sasori has already joined the Ninja Sect."
As the head of the intelligence department, Ebizo is very cautious with information. Without evidence from his informants firmly establishing Sasori as a member of the Ninja Sect, he would not use overly definitive words.
"Sigh."
Chiyo let out a deep sigh, showing an expression of extreme fatigue.
She understood how meticulous Ebizo was with intel. If even Ebizo said there was a significant chance, then it was almost certain.
"How did it come to this..." Chiyo's eyebrows furrowed tightly.
Sasori joining a ninja organization was one thing, but of all organizations, Sasori joined the Ninja Sect.
Unless the Ninja Sect is willing to halt its expansion and settle peacefully within its domain, there is bound to be a conflict between the Ninja Sect and The Hidden Sand Village.
If the Ninja Sect becomes stronger, it will impact The Hidden Sand's share, and The Hidden Sand cannot just sit and watch this happen. This is an irreconcilable conflict; otherwise, there wouldn't have been the Ninja World Wars.
Will the Ninja Sect halt its expansion? Chiyo believes it won't.
The Rain Village dared to draw swords against the Five Great Ninja Villages back then. Today, the Ninja Sect has surpassed the former Rain Village in all aspects. It's inconceivable that they would halt because of possible challenges.
Chiyo deeply loved her grandson. If one day Sasori needed her to sacrifice her life to save him, she would choose to let Sasori live, but she would not betray her village for Sasori.
Chiyo was born at the end of the Warring States period. When she was five, Senju Hashirama founded Konoha, ushering in the era of ninja villages.
The history of The Hidden Sand Village is essentially Chiyo's growth story. She witnessed the rise of The Hidden Sand Village from the barren desert, saw it become one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and continuously strive towards becoming the strongest. During this process, Chiyo transformed from a talented ninja into a legendary Puppet Master renowned in the Ninja World.
The Hidden Sand was built by countless sand ninjas together, but Chiyo was undeniably one of the more prominent ones among them.
How could she possibly betray the village she helped build from her childhood to the present? This is her home.
"It's not the worst yet. Let me have my people contact Sasori and persuade him to leave the Ninja Sect," Ebizo said.
If Sasori died at the hands of The Hidden Sand Ninja, Ebizo worried that Chiyo would be devastated.
Chiyo had lost her lover and her child, but at least those were done by rival ninjas.
If a ninja from her own village killed her grandson, that would be a different story.
"No need, just leave for the Ninja Sect soon," Chiyo shook her head.
She intended to personally speak with Sasori, even if it might be dangerous.
"It's too risky. Keep in mind that Sarutobi Hiruzen was no match for that guy," Ebizo cautioned sternly.
Chiyo was formidable, but claiming she was stronger than Sarutobi Hiruzen was nonsense.
Given the power Sosuke had demonstrated so far, Chiyo's safe return depended entirely on Sosuke's intentions.
If Sosuke took action, Chiyo would surely die.
"The conflict between The Hidden Sand and the Ninja Sect hasn't erupted yet. Now is the best time," Chiyo was determined to go.
Although The Hidden Sand had started secretly contacting The Hidden Rock Village to jointly suppress the Ninja Sect, on the surface, The Hidden Sand and the Ninja Sect still hadn't crossed paths and had not yet clashed.
"Then go find the Fourth. Have him contact the Ninja Sect in the official capacity of The Hidden Sand Village, whether for cooperation discussions or whatever else, do it as a representative of The Hidden Sand," Ebizo, seeing he couldn't stop Chiyo, offered a strategy.
With the identity of The Hidden Sand representative, Sosuke might be more hesitant.
After all, The Hidden Sand is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, while the Ninja Sect is just a minor power seeking development.
The Ninja Sect is the challenger.
...
Land of Fire, Konoha.
In the Uchiha Clan Land, many Uchiha ninjas were heading in groups towards the Nankai Shrine.
Today marked the thirtieth day since the Uchiha ninjas were dispatched externally for mission commissions. To expand achievements and better reform the Police Squad, Shisui had specially arranged for Uchiha Fugaku to hold a clan meeting where the dispatched Uchiha would showcase their results and share their insights.
"Yakumi, are you not accustomed to leaving the Police Squad?" a curious Uchiha ninja asked his friend, Uchiha Yakumi.
Because Uchiha Yakumi was either familiarizing himself with team members or undertaking missions, the ninja hadn't seen much of Uchiha Yakumi in the past month.
"It was a bit unfamiliar at first, but it got better later. Though it's a bit exhausting, it's more challenging, and you can earn more money," Uchiha Yakumi replied with a smile.
"How much did you earn this month?" the curious Uchiha ninja asked.
"Not that much. I only earned 400,000 ryo, as I spent a lot of time getting to know the team members. The real mission time might have been less than two-thirds," Uchiha Yakumi replied.
"So you earned 400,000 ryo in less than twenty days?" The Uchiha ninja was somewhat startled.
His monthly salary was only 200,000 ryo, which meant Uchiha Yakumi could earn his three-month salary in just one month.
"Pretty much," Uchiha Yakumi said with a slightly proud expression.
When he left the Police Squad, his salary was only 170,000 ryo.
Although he was an Uchiha Jonin with Double Tomoe Sharingan, he was relatively young and not very experienced, so his salary was much less than that of the veteran Uchiha Jonin.
Similar conversations occurred among many Uchiha ninjas.
The Uchiha in the Police Squad were curious about how their clansmen who left were faring.
And naturally, those Uchiha who left wouldn't miss the chance to boast, each competing either in displaying their income or in comparing the number and level of completed commissions.
Those Uchiha who remained in the Police Squad felt somewhat uneasy.
The Police Squad offered less money, had more rules, was less free, and the work was bland with their skills going to waste.
The Police Squad had overlapping duties with Anbu, but the Anbu was of a higher rank. So, while the Police Squad appeared to manage more, most tasks were trivial, and truly important ones were handled by Anbu.
"Clan Leader, when will the selection for the second batch of personnel to be transferred start?" An eager Uchiha Jonin asked as the clan meeting began.
Seeing his friends earning big money and getting Hokage's recognition, he wanted to join in.
"Yeah, Clan Leader, why not hold a martial arts tournament and decide the slots based on strength?" Another Uchiha suggested.
A good number of them weren't content with the first batch of names, believing their strength wasn't inferior.
Seeing the Uchiha's enthusiasm at the start of the clan meeting, Shisui nodded internally.
All that's needed now is to spend time and proceed step by step, and the problems of the Police Squad could be resolved.
So many Uchiha had gone to the Police Squad previously mainly because it could only be staffed by Uchiha ninjas, and the Uchiha had to dispatch enough ninjas to serve there, creating a prideful trend around it.
Now the Police Squad is no longer exclusive to the Uchiha, the trend has shifted, and there's no reason for future Uchiha to flock to the Police Squad.
"Everyone, don't rush. The selection of personnel considers overall quality, not just strength," Uchiha Fugaku replied.
Konoha needed skilled ninjas to carry out commissions, but Mokgetsu needed Shisui to complete his life mission even more.
After explaining the clansmen's questions, Uchiha Fugaku announced the official start of the clan meeting.
One by one, Uchiha Jonin reported their achievements for the past month.
"In thirty days, I've led my team to complete two A-Class missions, five B-Class missions, earning a commission of..."
"I completed three A-Class missions leading my team..."
"I followed the team doing six B-Class missions and one A-Class mission."
The Uchiha ninjas who completed more missions and earned more money held their heads high with confident smiles.
Those who completed less did not show dismay, secretly vowing to work harder, knowing conditions in all aspects were better than when they were in the Police Squad.
"I think the clan should pay attention to the rumors about Uchiha in Konoha, which makes initiating work when first joining teams harder for us."
Uchiha Inabi voiced his concerns.
"These outsiders are truly despicable, smearing our Uchiha," a disgruntled Uchiha ninja exclaimed.
"Why do we Uchiha need to explain ourselves to them? Let those fools misunderstand us," some Uchiha shrugged indifferently.
Seeing some Uchiha ninjas speak this way, Shisui realized there was still a long way to go to completely resolve the disputes.
Some rumors about Uchiha were indeed self-inflicted.
"This won't solve the problem. Communication is necessary for good team relations to complete tasks better," Uchiha Inabi disagreed.
If he kept aloof, doing nothing, things would deteriorate, and his replacement was possible.
If team members were dissatisfied with the captain, they had the right to request a change, and given Inabi's situation back then, he would surely be replaced as rookie captain.
Moreover, Uchiha Inabi didn't think his team members were wrong. If anything, it was those spreading the rumors who were at fault.
"Inabi is right. This is also a form of capability; coordinating well demonstrates excellent leadership ability," Shisui spoke up for Uchiha Inabi.
Loving the clan is fine, but one shouldn't disregard outsiders.
Ninjas like Uchiha Yakumi, who shared similar experiences, also voiced their support.
The elders similarly supported Shisui's remarks.
While those supporting Shisui might not completely share his views, the momentum was adequate.
After the clan meeting, Shisui distributed new questionnaires.
He wanted to know how many Uchiha changed their opinions due to his actions, plus the results would influence the choice of the second group of transfers.
[Disciple Uchiha Shisui strength enhanced, driving Police Squad reform, taking a step forward on the path to resolving Uchiha and Konoha conflict, reward progress - Chakra +3000, Random Skill Extraction Scroll Fragment·S+ (Master Level) ×2, Enhanced Yin Attribute Chakra Understanding]
While Shisui worked hard, Mokgetsu's system soon completed sixty percent progress and delivered rewards.
"Four fragments, and after synthesizing once, there'll be one fragment left," Mokgetsu looked at the rewards.
Random Skill Extraction Scroll Fragment and Selective Extraction Scroll, both could be synthesized into a complete extraction scroll with three fragments.
PS:
Second update.
The ultimate spooky, so spooky it's almost bright.
It was supposed to be done around five, but diarrhea wasted a lot of time.