Land of Rain, Six Paths City.
A group of ninjas with Hidden Sand Village headbands wrapped around their heads walked into Six Paths City.
The arrival of the Hidden Sand squad did not attract the attention of the Ninjas of the Ninja Sect or the residents of Six Paths City.
Since the news of Sosuke defeating Sarutobi Hiruzen spread, Six Paths City quickly became more bustling than ever.
Many people came to buy houses, betting that the Ninja Sect could withstand the pressure from Konoha.
By then, not only would Six Paths City be the safest place in the Land of Rain, but it could possibly be one of the safest places in the Ninja World, and property prices would absolutely soar.
There were also many, even more people selling houses, thinking that a small ninja organization like the Ninja Sect would find it hard to withstand the wrath of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Even if the leader is strong enough, in a prolonged war, the final winner will only be Konoha.
The people of the Land of Rain are too familiar with this process, after all, they have experienced it once before.
Besides those looking to make a profit from the opportunity, there were also many ninjas curious about Sosuke, who was able to defeat the Third Hokage, coming to watch the spectacle.
Of course, intelligence ninjas from various ninja villages or ninja forces were also present in abundance.
"This Six Paths City is really bustling, how long has it been since this town was established? Is it three years? It's incredible," exclaimed a Hidden Sand Ninja.
He felt that Six Paths City was even more bustling than the Hidden Sand Village, even though it was just a town established by a newly-emerged small power.
"Bustling? This kind of bustle is not a good thing." Yashamaru shook his head slightly.
With the Five Great Ninja Villages at peace, Six Paths City, which has erupted in a great conflict with Konoha, stands as the vortex center of the Ninja World.
Due to the potential shown by the Ninja Sect, not only Konoha, but likely all the surrounding ninja forces of the Ninja Sect do not want to see it prosper.
"Let's begin our mission, let's not waste time; we don't have much time," Yashamaru said.
They didn't come to Six Paths City to speculate on real estate; they were here to drive a wedge between the Ninja Sect and the Hidden Rock, to win the Hidden Rock to their side.
The Hidden Sand members nodded and began looking for the Hidden Rock Ninjas.
In fact, it wasn't just this squad from Hidden Sand that came; there was another squad that did not wear the Hidden Sand attire, instead disguised themselves to enter Six Paths City.
The two squads had different tasks to perform.
The task of Yashamaru's squad was to contact the Hidden Rock representatives in Six Paths City, then talk to them about the threat posed by the Ninja Sect, and initially express their intent to cooperate.
However, this was only the first step.
Despite profit being the priority and other matters secondary, since the Hidden Rock has cooperated with the Ninja Sect for quite some time, Rasa did not expect Yashamaru to directly convince the Hidden Rock with mere words.
The main focus was on the Hidden Sand squad that came in disguise.
They would frame the Ninja Sect, thus driving a wedge between the Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect.
When the cooperation between the Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect begins to show cracks, Hidden Sand would exert even more effort, making it very difficult to sustain the cooperation between the Ninja Sect and the Hidden Rock.
However, to avoid exposure and ensure the action was not discovered by the Hidden Rock and Ninja Sect, timing was crucial.
If Hidden Sand is just rejected by the Hidden Rock, and the Ninja Sect encounters issues the next day, the Hidden Rock will easily suspect Hidden Sand.
The separation and Yashamaru's contact with the Hidden Rock must proceed simultaneously.
This, coupled with Hidden Sand's covert operations, greatly reduces the possibility of exposure.
When the Hidden Rock investigates, they can only find out that only one team from Hidden Sand entered Six Paths City, and came to find them.
To minimize the possibility of exposure, the two Hidden Sand squads did not even communicate, acting strictly by the agreed time.
Only if the task couldn't be completed in the agreed time would they communicate, notifying the other side that the task was temporarily on hold.
That's why Yashamaru mentioned that their time was limited.
Of course, openly looking for people wasn't too troublesome; otherwise, the task would be too difficult to complete.
"Hmm? There are actually ninjas skilled in puppetry techniques in Six Paths City?" A Puppetry Master Jonin paused after seeing the arm of a Ninja Sect ninja.
Even though that arm looked very much like a real arm, a prosthetic limb is ultimately a prosthetic limb, and for someone like him who dealt with puppets daily, he could still tell with a closer look.
The Hidden Sand Puppet Master was quite surprised; modifying human bodies is not a simple technology.
The Ninja Sect ninja saw the Hidden Sand ninja staring at his arm and originally wanted to promote his own surgery.
Now, due to limited production, in addition to the fact that the surgery could only be performed by Sasori, it costs an extremely high price for those outside the Ninja Sect.
After seeing the headband, the Ninja Sect ninja abandoned the idea of promotion.
The Hidden Sand Village is a holy land of puppetry, the most advanced ninja force in puppetry in the entire Ninja World.
And obviously, their prosthetic limb from the Ninja Sect is also a kind of puppet technology; it wouldn't be good if it were stolen as a commercial secret by the Hidden Sand Village.
Though curious, the Hidden Sand Puppet Master, having a mission at hand, had to suppress his curiosity and continue the task.
With the swift actions of Yashamaru and others, they quickly found the Hidden Rock.
Next, Yashamaru revealed his identity as the Fourth Kazekage's brother-in-law at the right time and easily met with the Hidden Rock's representative in Six Paths City—the Hidden Rock Jonin, Firelight.
"After the Ninja Sect took control of the Land of Rain, it quickly moved on the Bird Country, with big ambitions..." Yashamaru began to articulate the sinister ambitions of the Ninja Sect according to the plan.
Unexpectedly for Yashamaru, Firelight did not show any anger or accuse him of damaging the friendship between the Ninja Sect and Hidden Rock—rather, he showed a smile with a hint of surprise?
Yashamaru paused slightly, making sure he hadn't misspoken before continuing to speak.
Firelight politely waited for Yashamaru to finish before speaking, "You're absolutely right. I feel the same way. I didn't expect that other forces had also noticed the ambition of the Ninja Sect."
Yashamaru: ?
Is there really a need to sow discord between the Ninja Sect and The Hidden Rock Village? It's purely superficial collaboration.
These two forces have never really been united, so how could they be separated?
Yashamaru was a bit dumbfounded. Just as the plan of sowing discord was about to take its first step, it seemed to be ending.
"Lord Yashamaru." Just as Yashamaru was about to discuss cooperation between the two villages with Firelight, a Hidden Sand Ninja waiting outside appeared urgently.
"Sorry, please excuse me for a moment," Yashamaru said apologetically, then walked over to the Hidden Sand Ninja.
"Something has gone wrong. Another team has been captured by Ninja Sect ninjas, and the plan failed," the Hidden Sand Ninja whispered.
Yashamaru: ...
This plan is both going smoothly and not smoothly.
"Don't be nervous, it seems The Hidden Rock also doesn't want the Ninja Sect to grow stronger," Yashamaru reassured.
If they get caught, so be it. If he can reach an agreement with The Hidden Rock, the mission can still be considered complete.
Yashamaru then talked a lot with Firelight.
The two criticized the ambition of the Ninja Sect together, worrying about the negative impact it could have on the newly peaceful Ninja World.
However, whenever Yashamaru mentioned cooperation, Firelight became vague and did not state a position until the end, only saying he would consult the Tsuchikage.
Yashamaru was not angry about this; after all, he was the one seeking cooperation and had been prepared for this.
In fact, the current situation is already quite good, nearly completing the mission with just their team.
Firelight quickly convened The Hidden Rock for a meeting after sending off Yashamaru, then sent information about The Hidden Sand to The Hidden Rock Village.
"Firelight has done a good job this time," Onoki smiled after reading the intelligence.
The Hidden Rock also had thoughts of joining forces with The Hidden Sand, but in matters of cooperation, the party being sought out definitely has more advantage.
So Firelight's approach was excellent, showing The Hidden Rock's displeasure with the Ninja Sect while appearing indecisive.
"In this case, there shouldn't be any issues with The Hidden Sand. It's just the Grass Village, this small Ninja Village, that presents a challenge," Onoki pondered.
During the Third Ninja World War, The Hidden Rock secretly reached a cooperation with the Leader of the Grass Village, with the Grass Village secretly assisting The Hidden Rock.
Later on, Konoha intervened, disrupting the cooperation between the two sides. The former Leader of the Grass Village turned into a monster and was killed, leading to a falling out with The Hidden Rock, and the Grass Village aiding Konoha against The Hidden Rock.
With The Hidden Rock's strength, handling the Grass Village would be easy; not every small country has powerful individuals like Sosuke.
But you have to consider the master when beating the dog. Now the Grass Village barely counts as a subordinate of Konoha, so they can't be rough.
In fact, for The Hidden Rock Village, the inclusion of the Grass Village is not particularly important, as it would only save a few mid-and low-level Genin as cannon fodder without affecting the bigger picture.
Onoki is actually more concerned with Konoha's attitude, or rather what information about the Ninja Sect is hidden under Konoha's attitude.
If the Grass Village steadfastly refuses to act against the Ninja Sect, is it possibly due to the will of Konoha?
In that battle, how exactly did Sarutobi Hiruzen lose, and why did Mokgetsu directly succeed as Hokage?
"Since we will stand against the Ninja Sect in the future, why not take advantage of the current friendship to gather intelligence?" A flash of insight struck Onoki's mind.
He realized he was stuck in a mental block, always thinking about getting battle information from the Ninja Sect and Konoha.
In reality, as an ally of the Ninja Sect, he did not need to do so. He could send someone or go himself to the Ninja Sect, saying he wanted to witness the strength of the Ninja Master and engage in a friendly spar.
Given the current relationship between The Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect, could Sosuke refuse?
The relationship between The Hidden Rock and the Ninja Sect is not like that between the Ninja Sect and Konoha. Even if The Hidden Rock's strong individuals lose, they can still request the Ninja Sect to keep it confidential.
In this way, they not only obtain intelligence but also avoid losing face, unlike Sarutobi Hiruzen who caused an uproar.
As for whether the Ninja Sect will reveal the news after the war starts, it doesn't matter.
Once at war, who cares about some negative news?
"I better go myself," Onoki considered repeatedly, deciding it might be more reliable to go personally.
Sarutobi Hiruzen lost to Sosuke; if others went to fight, they might not be able to test Sosuke's true skills.
Onoki is confident that his strength is not inferior to Sarutobi Hiruzen's. The information Sarutobi Hiruzen could obtain from the battle, he surely can as well.
With this in mind, Onoki quickly convened a high-level meeting to discuss this matter.
After a round of discussions, Onoki's proposal received approval from most of the high-level members.
Even though The Hidden Rock is ready to turn against the Ninja Sect, they haven't yet, and a friendly spar with an ally poses no danger, at most just bring more guards.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had a grudge against the Ninja Sect, successfully returned to Konoha, so the Third Tsuchikage certainly wouldn't be detained by the Ninja Sect.
PS: The two chapters combined are just over 8k more, seeking monthly votes
Additionally, there is quite a bit I wanted to say today, so I'll post it in the writer's remarks (there's a bit of an extra charge for more than 200 words here due to more starting point coins).