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"That Menma-kun appeared in the Hidden Grass Village? And he was accompanied by Waterfall ninja, is that so?"
In the spacious Tsuchikage's office.
Listening to the information reported by the Jonin in charge of his own Intelligence Division.
On Ohnoki's usually steady-as-a-mountain face, a look of surprise appeared at this moment.
One must know that even the previous conflict between Hidden Leaf and Cloud ninja, as well as the issue of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, hadn't aroused much attention from this Third Tsuchikage. But the intelligence specifically obtained about Menma today clearly garnered Ohnoki's high attention.
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Menma's own existence was inherently special.
Moreover, when he left the Hidden Leaf, he was with Orochimaru. With the superimposed special relationship, no one in the ninja world failed to pay attention. Didn't you see that the Fourth Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village was still searching the world for traces of Menma and Orochimaru even now!?
And now that Menma, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was actually connected with the Hidden Grass Village and the Hidden Waterfall Village, how could Ohnoki not be surprised?
"Yes, Lord Third, this is information from two days ago. Moreover, the person who appeared in the Hidden Grass Village together with Menma Uzumaki was the person in charge of Hozuki Castle, the former Hidden Grass Village Jonin—Mui. In addition, there is precise intelligence saying that the current leader of the Hidden Grass Village—Hisashi Shigeru has died, and the person currently in power in the Hidden Grass Village is this Mui-kun. Here is the detailed intelligence scouted from the front line, please take a look, Lord Third!"
In front of him, the brown-haired man wearing the standard Hidden Stone uniform said while handing over a scroll with both hands, placing it on the desk in front of Ohnoki.
Ohnoki hurriedly took it and opened it, scanning the contents recorded in the scroll ten lines at a glance. It was indeed worthy of a great ninja village's intelligence system. Unless Menma really acted alone or on a small scale, and killed all non-friendly participants, otherwise, his actions were basically impossible to escape the sight of the reconnaissance personnel of these major countries.
Let alone acting with such great fanfare.
Perhaps the reactions of the Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Sand Village, and Hidden Mist Village would be slightly slower by a beat. But as the country's ninja village closest to the Hidden Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village, targeting these two ninja villages with decent strength, the Hidden Stone Village couldn't relax its reconnaissance vigilance.
Hidden Leaf won't be discussed.
Since the First Great Ninja War, this ninja village had always adhered to a general strategy of defense. All actions were only for self-protection. It couldn't be said there were never any, but proactive offensive strategic arrangements rarely appeared.
Therefore, on the issue of the Hidden Grass Village and Hidden Waterfall Village.
Hidden Leaf would also be half a beat slower.
Moreover, generally speaking, Hidden Leaf would only pay more attention to the other four great ninja villages.
The Hidden Stone Village received specific news here. As for Hidden Leaf, it was estimated that the time they received accurate intelligence information would be about the same as the other four great ninja villages.
And the content recorded in this scroll not only included Menma's performance in places where he appeared during this period, but also contained a certain degree of speculation.
For example, his status in the Hidden Waterfall Village, his current relationship with the Hidden Grass Village, etc.
"Hehe, is it actually like this? He really doesn't look like a boy of only 12 or 13 years old at all. Hidden Waterfall Village and Hidden Grass Village... it seems your confidence is getting stronger and stronger, Menma-kun."
The old man's experience was rich, and his eyes were sharp.
Just relying on this intelligence that couldn't be considered particularly detailed.
Ohnoki could almost judge the current situation of the Hidden Waterfall Village and Hidden Grass Village, as well as the part of Menma's general plan that had already been implemented.
Never underestimate Ohnoki.
In the original story, he seemed a bit stubborn and allowed the Akatsuki organization's short-sighted behavior.
But in the end, it was because of the fatal lack of intelligence.
In this era, who among humans would know "myths" like the Ten-Tails and the Rabbit Goddess from a thousand years ago!?
Purely from the perspective of a country's ninja village.
All of Ohnoki's actions perfectly aligned with the interests of his own ninja village.
What was wrong with that!?
Including the so-called alliance agreement reached with Menma in this timeline, it was all to maximize the use of every pawn to seek benefits for his own Hidden Stone Village. The difference was just looking at each other's means.
Looking at it now.
This pawn, Menma, had a tendency to soar into the sky.
"But it is still within a controllable range..."
Ohnoki narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of faint consideration appearing on his face.
"Menma Uzumaki? That brat a few years younger than me? Old man, aren't you thinking too highly of him? This should be that Orochimaru's method, right?"
To Ohnoki's right.
A heroic-looking girl with short black hair, upon hearing Ohnoki's words, strode over with her long and round legs to a close point. She picked up the scroll Ohnoki finished reading very naturally and casually, curled her lips slightly, and said with an expression seeming completely disapproving.
And this girl was Ohnoki's biological granddaughter, the future Fourth Tsuchikage jokingly called "Leg Shadow" in the original story—Kurotsuchi!
"No, Kurotsuchi, you haven't seen this Menma-kun with your own eyes. In my opinion, this little guy's excellence truly far exceeds everyone. Whether it's intellect, overall view, or means, I can be sure that everything happening in the Hidden Waterfall Village and Hidden Grass Village is definitely led by this Menma-kun. Holding the power of two ninja villages? Although it's unclear to what extent they can be integrated, they indeed have the qualifications to challenge the Hidden Leaf. It's really getting more and more interesting!"
Ohnoki shook his head gently, saying with a faint smile.
It must be said that Menma being able to obtain the assistance of two ninja villages with not weak strength in such a short time, finding a breaking point, completely exceeded this Third Tsuchikage's imagination.
While surprised, Ohnoki also felt a bit of regret.
How good it would be if this Menma-kun could join their Hidden Stone Village.
Ohnoki would even nurture Menma as the next Tsuchikage. So what if he was young? Anyway, his old bones could still hold on for a few more years. He could smoothly hand over when Menma turned twenty.
"What a pity..."
Ohnoki thought secretly in his heart.
Kurotsuchi on the side pursed her lips, looking very unconvinced. This girl, who was only 16 now, was also very proud.
She always felt she was the best among her peers and had long set her goal on the position of Tsuchikage, unless her father took over.
Otherwise, the Fourth Tsuchikage must be her.
Therefore, hearing her Tsuchikage grandfather praise a boy two or three years younger than her so much, how could Kurotsuchi feel convinced!?
She didn't say much verbally, but secretly decided in her heart that if she had a chance to meet Menma in the future, she must prove she was the most excellent one.
"Go call Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, Gari... oh right, call Han over together as well."
Completely unaware that his granddaughter had already aroused a confrontational mentality in her heart, Ohnoki pondered for a while, then ordered directly in a deep voice to the Rock ninja in front of him.
Menma had officially started to act, so next, there would definitely be different huge changes.
Ohnoki believed that other ninja village forces, especially the Hidden Leaf, would absolutely not sit by and ignore it the moment they learned of Menma's news.
The Hidden Cloud Village would likely also act actively.
Originally, Ohnoki scoffed at the news released by the Hidden Leaf before, thinking it was the Hidden Leaf shifting blame and diverting attention, but now judging from Menma's operations, it seemed not impossible!
Once all this intelligence was confirmed.
It would definitely trigger larger-scale conflicts.
The possibility of a new round of Great Ninja War breaking out couldn't be completely ruled out.
Therefore, Ohnoki felt his ninja village must prepare in advance, even if no other events occurred.
Just the matter of Menma integrating the Hidden Waterfall Village and Hidden Grass Village alone.
Ohnoki couldn't continue to sit firmly on the fishing platform. Looking at the map, these two ninja villages formed a pincer attack posture against their Hidden Stone Village. And the special Hozuki Castle had to be considered.
Ohnoki was an old hand.
He never fought a battle he wasn't sure of.
"Yes, Lord Third!"
After the Rock ninja below bowed his head sharply in response, he leaped and left directly to execute Ohnoki's order.
Orders transmitted down.
In just less than a few minutes.
Kitsuchi and the others who received the notification rushed to this Tsuchikage's exclusive office.
The people called by Ohnoki were all current high-level or quasi-high-level existences in the Hidden Stone Village, and their personal strength was also the top batch. Not to mention Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi—one was Ohnoki's son, the other was Ohnoki's disciple. Although the latter's strength couldn't compare to Kitsuchi, he also had quasi-Kage level power. Han was the Hidden Stone Village's Five-Tails Jinchuriki. Another relatively unfamiliar Hidden Stone Jonin, a middle-aged man named Gari, was the current patriarch of the Kamizuru clan—the strongest insect-controlling clan ranking alongside the Hidden Leaf's Aburame clan and the largest ninja clan in the Hidden Stone Village.
His personal strength also reached the ceiling of elite Jonin. In the Third Great Ninja War, there were scenes of him fighting with the deceased Fourth Kazekage Rasa. Although he was at a disadvantage, being able to retreat unscathed was enough to prove Gari's strength.
No matter how weak Rasa was, he was a solid Kage.
Most importantly, the Kamizuru clan was a ninja clan that chose to join the Hidden Stone Village at its inception. It also had a decisive status in the ninja village. Even though it had declined somewhat over the years, it was still a pillar existence in the Hidden Stone Village. Some small and medium-sized ninja clans closely followed around the Kamizuru clan.
As the current person in power of the Kamizuru clan, with strength and status bonuses, Gari naturally had considerable discourse power in the Hidden Stone Village.
As for the other Jinchuriki—Roshi, due to a conflict with Ohnoki in earlier years, he almost never stayed in the village.
Defecting from the village definitely didn't happen, but this rather stubborn Four-Tails Jinchuriki would only return when the ninja village needed him, and it must be a major event. Otherwise, Ohnoki's orders.
Roshi wouldn't even give a damn.
Therefore, the high-level meeting composed of these few people represented the highest power of the Hidden Stone Village currently.
Although with Ohnoki's seniority and prestige, he could completely decide all affairs of the ninja village, big or small, with one word, Ohnoki would still convene a high-level meeting every time he encountered important ninja world events. The old man would still admit his age, fearing he might miss something or not consider things thoroughly. At this time, it was necessary to call more people to consult together.
And after Kitsuchi and the others arrived.
Ohnoki concisely narrated the information just received, letting Kitsuchi and the others quickly read the contents recorded in the previous scroll, including the news released by the Hidden Leaf earlier, the different signals released by the Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village, and what Ohnoki himself speculated.
"Hidden Waterfall Village, Hidden Grass Village, and the Six-Tails? Lord Third, are you really sure all this is the action of that Menma-kun alone? Shouldn't it be that Orochimaru's handiwork?"
Kamizuru Gari on the far left, upon seeing the circulated scroll intelligence and hearing Ohnoki's speculative words, couldn't help but frown and spoke first. As a very traditional ninja, Gari's thinking basically followed normal rules. To put it more bluntly, he appeared very rigid.
The series of intelligence presented in the scroll.
Especially the content involving the Hidden Waterfall Village and Hidden Grass Village.
Gari was just like Kurotsuchi just now, completely not thinking this could be done by a boy.
Genius also had limits.
Moreover, things like overall view, consciousness, thinking, and means couldn't be described by the mere word 'genius'. Even if these behaviors seemed extremely risky in the eyes of the rigid Kamizuru Gari, not a judgment a qualified adult would make, it was even less likely to be something a boy of only twelve or thirteen could do.
This was too inconsistent with common sense.
Just like the alliance before.
Because Gari wasn't present personally.
Although he heard part of the explanation from Kitsuchi later, he subconsciously concluded that Menma was just a shield and bait pushed out by Orochimaru.
Honestly speaking, as a veteran ninja, Gari indeed valued Menma, but only because of his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the son of the Fourth Hokage.
"Hehe, that's because you don't understand this boy, Gari. He is the most outstanding young man I have ever seen. Whether it's intellect or other things, he doesn't look like a teenager at all. On this point, I am still very confident, so there's no need to discuss these. Calling you over now is to discuss what our ninja village needs to do next. We can receive the news here, and other ninja villages should be about the same. Not to mention much, the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Cloud will absolutely not endure it. Should we maintain a wait-and-see attitude like before, or strike first? But if we strike, where should we start?"
Ohnoki first smiled lightly and waved his hand, then leaned forward slightly. On that seemingly slightly comical face, an unprecedented solemn look appeared as he looked at Kitsuchi, Gari, and the others and said.
Hearing Ohnoki say this.
Gari no longer insisted on his view.
Gari knew very well what kind of character his Tsuchikage was. Once the old man decided on something, eight horses couldn't pull him back.
He just reasonably 'questioned' it.
Since Ohnoki had already confirmed this point himself.
Then he would directly consider along this line.