The news that Mokgetsu is to succeed as Hokage not only spread rapidly in Konoha and the Land of Fire, but also soon reached surrounding nations both large and small.
The Five Great Ninja Villages all have some intelligence forces scattered across the Ninja World, so when the news broke, the other four ninja villages received information from intelligence ninjas one after another.
Land of Earth, The Hidden Rock Village.
"The Hokage election was completed so swiftly, no wonder Konoha hasn't made any moves; turns out this was their plan all along," Onoki remarked after reading the intelligence report.
The news that Sarutobi Hiruzen was defeated by Sosuke spread quickly throughout the Ninja World, with the Hidden Rock playing a significant role in disseminating it.
For the Hidden Rock now, Konoha is a big problem, while the Ninja Sect is a small problem. Ideally, these two problems would clash with each other.
Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped; Konoha remained utterly unresponsive, even though the news caused an uproar among its citizens.
"It may mitigate the impact to some extent, but the cost is too high. Did the battle leave Sarutobi Hiruzen with unhealable injuries?" Onoki pondered.
Having Mokgetsu, currently the most prominent figure, take over as Hokage is indeed a skillful move for Konoha as a whole.
However, for Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, this decision is quite a loss; not only did he lose the Hokage's power, but he also left a reputation for resigning in disgrace.
If Onoki were in his place, he would likely choose to feign death, do nothing, neither respond nor pass the position.
Onoki thought again and went over the intelligence collected by the ninjas to analyze any new information.
He was eager to know the details of the battle between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Sosuke, but due to the limited personnel involved, all of whom were elite forces and not spies, the information was scarce.
Even though the intelligence department made strenuous efforts to gather relevant information, they only obtained some fragmented intelligence from Six Paths City.
As for Konoha, as the defeated side, it likely issued a strict secrecy order, and the Hidden Rock failed to gather any related information from there.
"The intelligence is still too scant to make a judgment." Onoki shook his head and sighed lightly.
"Konoha probably doesn't intend to make a move against the Ninja Sect. Which power could be utilized now..."
Onoki thought and marked areas on the Ninja World's map at the Land of Grass and the Land of Wind.
The Land of Rain borders six countries, three large and three small.
The three large countries are the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth.
The three small countries are Bird Country, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rivers.
Among them, Bird Country and the Land of Rivers are small countries without ninja villages, and Bird Country has already appeared as a branch of the Ninja Sect, which Onoki has already presumed as under the Ninja Sect's sphere of influence.
Clearly, the Ninja Sect is an ambitious organization.
If the Hidden Rock Village hadn't been monitoring the Ninja Sect, they might have been unaware that the Ninja Sect had already integrated the ninja forces of the Land of Rain, elevating Rain ninjas to their historical peak strength.
To the uninformed, Rain Village and the Ninja Sect appear as two separate forces.
But Onoki knows that after Hanzo's demise, Rain Village belongs to Sosuke, even though the leader of Rain ninjas in name is not Sosuke.
Although they have completed the domestic force integration, they continue to appear as two separate forces, clearly with intentions.
Onoki estimates that it won't be long before the Ninja Sect targets the Land of Rivers.
The Land of Rivers resembles Bird Country; it lacks a ninja village but has some ninja clans, yet its ninja power is significantly stronger than Bird Country's.
Onoki does not wish to see the Ninja Sect continue to expand.
Previously, when the Ninja Sect was causing trouble in Bird Country, the Hidden Rock was engaged in crucial warfare, and Onoki had no time to intervene. Now, with the war over, he certainly won't sit and watch the Ninja Sect strengthen.
At this moment, the Land of Grass and the Land of Wind, which also border the Land of Rain, have become natural allies of the Land of Earth.
The Ninja Sect becoming the sixth major ninja force wouldn't just snatch the Hidden Rock's interests; the Hidden Sand would also be affected.
As for the Grass Village, it would be surrounded by another big brother, almost completely enclosed.
Here, Onoki wishes to leverage the Hidden Sand against the Ninja Sect, while on the other side, Rasa is contemplating similar matters.
"This Ninja Sect isn't easy to deal with; otherwise, why would Sarutobi Hiruzen play dead for so long and then directly pass the seat to Habu Mokgetsu?" Rasa thought as he set down the intelligence.
The swift spread of Sarutobi Hiruzen's defeat owes in part to the Hidden Sand Village's efforts.
Rasa himself was close to being killed by Mokgetsu, naturally harboring resentment towards Konoha. If he weren't outmatched, Rasa would love to send armies to Konoha's core immediately.
Hence, upon learning of this unfavorable news about Konoha, Rasa exerted all his efforts to help disseminate the news, anxiously promoting this shocking scandal about Konoha as far as possible.
"I should have refrained from having the intelligence ninjas spread the news; instead, I've aided Habu Mokgetsu," Rasa thought bitterly.
Normally, Mokgetsu shouldn't succeed as Hokage so swiftly.
Clearly, because Sarutobi Hiruzen encountered trouble, Mokgetsu gained the opportunity for an early succession.
This made Rasa uneasy, feeling his efforts yielded little troubles for Konoha, instead propelling his enemy up, directly reaching the apex of power in the Ninja World.
Back then, Rasa struggled significantly to become Kazekage, stabilizing internal affairs and repelling external threats to secure his position, while Mokgetsu was simply placed atop the Hokage seat.