How could Rasa be in a good mood with this?
"Konoha won't be provoked, so I can only try with the Hidden Rock. I must disrupt the collaboration between the Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect."
Rasa composed himself and no longer thought about Mokgetsu. He began to ponder how to hinder the development of the Ninja Sect. After all, he was the Kazekage and couldn't let personal emotions influence his work too heavily.
Retaliating against Mokgetsu was unrealistic. Curtailing the growth of the Ninja Sect was the urgent priority.
In theory, a Great Ninja Village like the Hidden Sand should easily be able to deal with a minor ninja force.
But since Konoha has shown this attitude, Rasa can't underestimate the Ninja Sect.
A single village won't suffice; at least the Hidden Rock Village should be involved.
Rasa was confident that he could make the Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect turn against each other.
There are no eternal friendships between Ninja Villages, only eternal interests.
Rasa doesn't believe the Hidden Rock would be willing to let part of its interests be taken by the emerging Ninja Sect.
Suddenly, Rasa recalled something and summoned his trusty subordinate to ask:
"Does Pakura have any connection with the Ninja Sect?"
"It seems she does. She went to Six Paths City twice with some ninjas to hear Sosuke's lecture, possibly even sought his advice on Ninjutsu," the Hidden Sand Jonin answered after thinking.
Rasa's eyes brightened immediately as he said, "Gather some related intelligence and closely monitor Pakura's movements."
Rasa was genuinely annoyed with Pakura.
Despite being the Kazekage, after a slight miscalculation, Pakura unreservedly reprimanded him publicly, giving him no face at all.
If he hadn't stepped in personally to replace Pakura, she would have surely perished on the battlefield.
He utilized Magnet Release to create dual-layer protection and almost got sent off by Mokgetsu's punch, as Pakura's Scorch Release didn't offer such defense.
While his intention to remove Pakura wasn't to save her, that's what happened, yet Pakura still turned around to criticize him.
It's convenient to deal with the Ninja Sect and handle Pakura simultaneously, as Pakura is a liability and cannot be used.
...
Land of Thunder, Hidden Cloud Village.
"How strong is this Sosuke, to force Sarutobi Hiruzen into such a situation," the Third Raikage showed great interest in Sosuke after reading the intelligence.
Initially, he didn't care much about the Ninja Sect, primarily because the Land of Rain, where the Ninja Sect is located, is far from the Land of Thunder, and the Ninja Sect was few in number, seen by the Third Raikage as mere trivial matters.
Thus, when the Ninja Sect held a youth Martial Arts Tournament in the Land of Rain, the Third Raikage didn't send any ninjas to participate.
Now the Third Raikage realized he might have underestimated the leader of the Ninja Sect, referred to as the Ninja Master.
Even speaking for the Third Raikage himself, one-on-one, he didn't have absolute confidence in defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen, let alone forcing Sarutobi to a point where he no longer wants to be Hokage.
"Hard to say, maybe Sosuke is the strongest in the Ninja World today," Dodai analyzed.
"Since Sosuke's appearance, he has never been defeated, no matter if the opponent is a renowned expert like Kakuzu or a legendary ninja like Hanzo; none have forced him into a tough battle. His true strength remains a mystery."
After news of Sosuke defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen spread throughout the Ninja World, his fame reached a new pinnacle.
Initially, most people questioned whether it was merely rumors, and even the intelligence ninjas from the major villages thought so.
However, when Konoha remained unresponsive, staying silent, their views shifted.
Sometimes, not responding is a response itself.
If it were truly rumors, how could Konoha remain indifferent, especially since this concerns the Hokage's reputation?
"Founding the Ninja Sect and inheriting the Six Paths, could he really be the legitimate heir of the Six Paths Sage's Ninja Sect?" The Third Raikage showed a pondering expression.
To many ninjas, the Six Paths Sage was just a legendary figure.
But the Third Raikage knew that the Six Paths Sage truly existed as the ancestor of ninjas, and was not just fictional myth because there were descendants of the Sage within the Hidden Cloud Village, holding the Six Paths Ninja Tools.
The Third Raikage knew how strong the Six Paths Ninja Tools were—in fact, the descendants of the Six Paths Sage used them to conduct a coup, even killing the Second Raikage.
If the Ninja Tools left by the Six Paths Sage have such power, what if Sosuke's inheritance of the Six Paths includes the Sage's Ninjutsu, how strong would that be? The Third Raikage couldn't imagine.
But there are too many doubts about all this.
If there is a legitimate heir of the Ninja Sect, why hasn't someone like Sosuke come forward to revive the Ninja Sect over its thousand-year demise?
The Ninja Sect has truly vanished for too long, some ninjas think the Ninja Sect is even Sosuke's newly created force, unaware of the Ninja Sect created by the Six Paths Sage in ancient times.
Even though the Six Paths Sage founded the Ninja Sect as an origin for ninjas, the Third Raikage thought it's quite normal. According to ancient records, ancient ninjas and modern ninjas were quite different.
Ancient ninjas didn't need to accept commissioned tasks; their duty was to maintain world peace and create a world without war, where everyone could coexist peacefully.
As for modern ninjas, war is almost one of their major sources of funding, with the commission fees for war being the highest.
...
Land of Water, Hidden Mist Village.
Mizukage Office.
"Yagura, what do you think we should do in the current situation?" The Third Mizukage sat in his office chair, put down the intelligence reports, and asked Karatachi Yagura with a smile.
"Do nothing?" Karatachi Yagura replied uncertainly.
"It seems you're gaining something from your last defeat." The Third Mizukage slightly nodded.
If it were the old Karatachi Yagura, he might have thought of taking advantage of this opportunity to join other Ninja Villages in stirring things up to weaken the strongest Konoha.
"During the Third Ninja World War, we offended the Hidden Rock, Hidden Sand, and Hidden Cloud seriously."
"They might need our strength, but that doesn't mean they will forgive our previous actions, so we can't immediately join them in dealing with Konoha. Even if we succeed, Hidden Mist won't get a favorable outcome."
"At the same time, we can't genuinely help Konoha in a strong manner, as Konoha's development momentum is great. Konoha can be strong but not too strong."
The Third Mizukage knew well that alliances between Ninja Villages were unreliable. Today, he could sell the Wind, Earth, and Thunder for benefits, and tomorrow Konoha could still turn against Hidden Mist for benefits.
If Konoha truly becomes strong enough to face the four villages, would they still need Hidden Mist as an ally?
Clearly not; they could swallow everything themselves, so why let anyone else share the spoils.
Karatachi Yagura nodded thoughtfully.
He had considered this point, though hadn't thought as deeply as the Third Mizukage.
"Of course, pretending to assist without really helping could be plausible. I've already contacted Konoha, and you can act as an envoy to observe at Konoha," the Third Mizukage said.
Konoha and Hidden Mist are still in the honeymoon period, so not showing anything would make the intentions too obvious.
"Alright." Karatachi Yagura agreed without inquiry.
Regarding his defeat to Mokgetsu, Karatachi Yagura had come to terms with it. After all, even the Fourth Kazekage almost got punched to death by Mokgetsu, and Mokgetsu used more than one punch against him, so by that calculation, he was stronger than the Fourth Kazekage.
"We're not taking action against the Ninja Sect either? Just Sosuke has significant value, doesn't he?" Karatachi Yagura asked curiously.
If the Ninja Sect could be leveraged successfully, it might even shift a Great Ninja Village.
"We'll wait and see; the Ninja Sect will soon face trouble and might become the center of a whirlpool," the Third Mizukage shook his head.
The news of Sarutobi Hiruzen's defeat put Sosuke and the Ninja Sect under the spotlight, whether this is a blessing or curse for the Ninja Sect isn't clear.
Though the Five Great Ninja Villages frequently attack each other, if a force really tries to challenge their position, they might prioritize suppressing that force.
Just like what happened to the Rain Village in the past.
Despite the fights between the Five Great Ninja Villages, the overall structure of the Ninja World remains dominated by these villages, unchanged since the era of Ninja Villages.
If it becomes six forces dominating the Ninja World, the loss wouldn't just be affecting one village.
The Third Mizukage believed no Great Ninja Village would want such a radical change in the structure of the Ninja World.