A carpet search.
To be honest… just hearing the term didn't sound very reliable. Ōnoki almost wanted to scoff at it—until, in the next moment, his brows furrowed.
Because Kyoichi had just "disappeared" from before his eyes.
He was still there—physically—but Ōnoki's sensory perception couldn't detect him at all.
At first glance, it didn't seem all that useful. But for shinobi, sight-based observation and reconnaissance were often the least dependable means of detection—
After all, everyone had too many ways to disguise themselves.
Just looking with your eyes rarely revealed anything useful unless you had the Byakugan. Most relied on sensory abilities instead. Yet now, Kyoichi had all but vanished right in front of them.
But in that case… how were they supposed to conduct a carpet search?
Even Ebizō looked puzzled.
"Are you saying the enemy has mastered this kind of anti-reconnaissance technique? But then, how do we search for them? Even if we brushed right past them, we might not sense a thing—and they could just relocate elsewhere afterward."
"Achieving full anti-detection isn't that easy," Kyoichi replied calmly.
Black Zetsu could do it—but Madara definitely couldn't. His body was too unnatural and patchworked; even if he changed vessels, he couldn't completely erase his traces. His chakra was a chaotic mess.
In that kind of condition…
Only the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path or Black Zetsu could fully conceal him. But the former was already being summoned by Nagato, and if Black Zetsu were to stay glued to Madara, he wouldn't have the freedom to act elsewhere.
That was one of Kyoichi's reasons for insisting on a carpet search.
White Zetsu couldn't completely evade sensory detection. Plenty of shinobi in the Allied Forces had already sensed his kind—proof that their anti-recon ability wasn't as formidable as people thought.
At least, not compared to Kyoichi or Black Zetsu.
Ōnoki thought it over for a long time before finally saying,
"Iwagakure will cooperate with all its strength. When it comes to Earth Release, we've got no problem there. If we can eliminate Madara and his followers quickly, that'll be good for all of us—and for the entire shinobi world."
If Madara's goal had been only to get revenge on Konoha, Ōnoki would have stayed out of it—let Konoha deal with its own mess.
But this was different.
The Rinnegan and the Tailed Beasts affected every village. Even though Iwagakure's two Jinchūriki had gone rogue, deep down Ōnoki still regarded them as Iwagakure's people.
They might be defectors—but defectors were still Iwagakure's concern.
And the Tailed Beasts they carried were still Iwagakure's property.
Madara wanted to move on them?
No way.
Ōnoki was decisive as ever—never one to hesitate when it came to action.
Ebizō quickly reached his own conclusion too and said firmly,
"Sunagakure agrees—we should sit down and coordinate our efforts to take down Uchiha Madara. For someone like him, a scourge to the shinobi world, we can't just sit back and watch."
"I'll make you all a promise," Kyoichi said plainly. "If Madara shows up, I'll be the one to handle him. You can focus on his subordinates. Of course, if you want to lend a hand, I'll gladly accept."
Direct and unreserved—just like them.
With Ōnoki and Ebizō so decisive, there was no reason for Kyoichi to play coy.
Madara hadn't expected them to cooperate anyway.
A Madara with the Rinnegan was troublesome—but a Madara without it?
That was nothing to worry about.
If Madara dared to appear, Kyoichi dared to crush him. And now, it wasn't even a matter of whether Madara wanted to show up or not.
Once the entire shinobi world mobilized, unless he truly sealed himself away in the gap between the living world and the underworld, there would be nowhere for him to hide. And even that in-between space likely required the Gedo Statue to sustain it.
That, in fact, was why Kyoichi had decisively summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path earlier—
Because that statue was tied to a series of vital mechanisms.
If Madara were left to "develop" undisturbed, who knew what absurd thing he might come up with next.
After the meeting with Ōnoki and Ebizō, the latter requested a private audience with Kyoichi—
To talk about Sasori.
"Kyoichi," Ebizō said heavily, "Sasori is a missing-nin. By rights, since Konoha helped us recover the body of the Third Kazekage, we have no claim to ask for anything more. But please understand—Chiyo and I… Sasori was our only remaining kin. Could you allow us to reclaim his body?"
His request wasn't unreasonable. He didn't even ask for Sasori alive—just the corpse. That alone showed how humbled he was.
To be honest, Kyoichi wanted to grant the old man's wish.
Chiyo and Ebizō's circumstances were truly pitiful. Chiyo's child had died long ago at Sakumo's hands, and Ebizō had no descendants either. Sasori… had been their only hope—
Until he destroyed himself.
After some thought, Kyoichi took out a scroll.
"These are intelligence records we extracted from Sasori's memories."
He had brought them along for this very reason.
Ebizō accepted the scroll and studied it closely before raising his head.
"The contacts mentioned here—Kirigakure shinobi? Could Madara be in the Land of Water now?"
"Unclear," Kyoichi replied. "We'll just have to search everywhere. The more manpower, the better. But there's one thing—we need to guard against Madara using genjutsu on Earth Release users, or sending infiltrators disguised via Transformation Technique into our ranks. That means regular inspections and headcounts."
These were all tasks for later, but there was no harm in reminding them now—better than letting small details slip through.
Especially with that man still lurking out there.
Ebizō nodded earnestly, then asked humbly,
"To guard against infiltrators using the Transformation Technique… Do you have any specific methods, Kyoichi? I know Konoha has always led the shinobi world in such matters."
If you don't know, then learn.
There was no shame in that.
Sunagakure had already lost all sense of pride long ago—survival came first. With a Kazekage who spent his days using Magnet Release to mine for resources, they had no illusions left.
For them, so long as they could endure and grow stronger, face was a meaningless thing.
Pragmatism was etched into their bones.
Ōnoki, in contrast, lacked that kind of humility. The moment the meeting ended, he slipped away—only to crouch by a wall and eavesdrop like a nosy old man.
Kyoichi noticed him in the corner, smiled faintly, and wordlessly produced another scroll.
Ebizō took it.
After glancing through it, he said with emotion,
"Thank you for your guidance, Kyoichi. I understand now how Sunagakure should proceed. Even without White Zetsu, we can still prevent infiltration using your method."
His voice was full of gratitude—though what he held in his hands was, in fact, a completely blank scroll.
Just a little game at Ōnoki's expense.
And sure enough, the old man couldn't take it.
Watching someone else walk away with what seemed like a benefit made him more uncomfortable than suffering a loss himself. After some hesitation, he came forward and knocked on Kyoichi's door.
"Ahem, Ebizō, you're here too? What a coincidence!"
"Not a coincidence. Not at all," Ebizō replied with a pleasant smile.
Kyoichi deliberately held the scroll so a sliver of it peeked out. Ōnoki caught a glimpse—of blank paper—and his face turned green.
He flushed, coughed awkwardly, and muttered,
"Er… I was just passing by, passing by… Um, about that anti-infiltration plan you mentioned earlier—could you, ah, explain it in a bit more detail?"
Kyoichi only smiled.
Ōnoki gritted his teeth.
"Iwagakure's already poor as it is… Fine, fine! I'll pay for it, alright? Now talk—tell me, is there any special way to identify those… creatures? And, uh, anything else we should know…"
He'd dropped all pretense of dignity.
Face? Pride?
Who cared!
He had no intention of ending up like the Third Mizukage. Everyone could see the state Iwagakure was in.
No successors. No new blood.
Plenty of shinobi—but not a single worthy heir in sight. Ōnoki had even considered whether the Elder, Rōshi, could be trained as one…
But clearly, Rōshi wasn't up to it.