"If we want to carry out your plan, the people we send into the Land of Fire can't just be doing small-scale harassment.
Also, since almost all of Konoha's ninja have been compressed to the eastern front, their defenses will be even tighter. Ordinary elite squads won't have enough infiltration capability, and the danger will be much greater than last time.
If discovered, there must be a sufficiently powerful ninja to lead the breakout, and the main battlefield must put pressure on Konoha so their main forces don't act rashly. This isn't a mission ordinary jonin can handle."
Chiyo clasped her hands, pondering before she spoke.
She was considering whether there was a suitable candidate and weighing whether the risks matched the potential rewards.
The plan was feasible to a degree, but the risk was extremely high. Not to mention ordinary jonin squads—even if they sent elite jonin, they could still be killed if surrounded by enough of Konoha's top fighters.
After all, this time isn't like the previous mission Hardy and others carried out, when Konoha's main forces were tied up on the battlefield fighting Sunagakure, leaving their rear lines empty.
That squad also had two elite jonin, Ishito and Kurokawa, both strong and with relatively accurate intel, ensuring results.
After thinking for a while, Chiyo glanced around at everyone present, then shook her head.
"Among those here, the only ones capable of carrying out this mission with relative safety, besides myself, are Rasa and Karura. But with both Danzo and Jiraiya on the Land of Rain front, if either of those two are missing, Konoha will definitely gather all their main forces and try to retake lost ground. The results our Sunagakure ninja have worked so hard for might be lost."
At this point in time, Jiraiya hasn't reached his peak, but he's still formidable. Rasa and Karura together can barely suppress him.
Shimura Danzo isn't old yet, and his arm and eye are still intact—not like in the future, when he's half-crippled and relies on Hashirama cells and Sharingan to reach his peak power.
Right now, with his mastery of Wind Release and the Konoha-ryu swordsmanship inherited from the Second Hokage, he's a solid Kage-level fighter. Without that strength, he wouldn't dare dream of becoming Hokage.
Chiyo could gain the upper hand in a fight, but only she, or Rasa and Karura together, could match them.
Currently, Sunagakure's high-end combat power can suppress Konoha, but if any one of these three leaves, Konoha will gather all their main forces to retake lost ground, and the hard-won gains of Sunagakure might be lost.
So, after the meeting, Chiyo explained all the details to Hardy.
In her view, even if Hardy didn't become Kazekage in the future, he would lead the Puppet Corps and be a high-ranking figure in Sunagakure. Sooner or later, he would sit in her position, commanding wars. She had already begun to train him in this regard.
"Teacher Chiyo, you're right. But I'm wondering—why must we send our own people to do this?"
Hardy countered.
"You want Iwagakure to do it? But they can't spare anyone either. Hanzo is too strong, and just the Five-Tails jinchuriki isn't enough—they need White Earth's help, and Onoki definitely won't go himself."
Like Sunagakure, Iwagakure is also fighting on two fronts: one against Kirigakure on the coast, a war that's lasted years and even saw both sides' Second Kage die early on.
The other front is here in the Land of Rain.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, is still leading Iwa ninja against Kiri, so he won't cross half the ninja world to attack the Land of Fire.
"No, Teacher Chiyo. Have you ever heard of a bounty hunter named Kakuzu?"
Hardy asked.
"Kakuzu? The Takigakure rogue ninja known as the strongest bounty hunter?"
Chiyo mused.
Kakuzu's name is well-known in the underworld. Rumor has it he even escaped from the First Hokage. More importantly, though expensive, he's strong and reliable if paid enough. During the ninja wars, he occasionally took mercenary jobs.
"With the village's intelligence network and remaining funds, we should be able to hire Kakuzu, right? If not, Senior Rasa can always mine some extra gold to make up the difference. I think he—"
He should be more than happy to do it."
After all, Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, so of course it has its own channels in the underworld.
"There's no need for Rasa to dig for gold to subsidize us. We've gained quite a lot from this war, so we can afford this sum. What I want to know is, how do you plan to test Konoha?"
"Chiyo-sensei, don't forget about a certain someone who's developed hemophobia. With his status, he's worth at least tens of millions of ryo, right? If Kakuzu finds out that his target is just a hemophobic person, what do you think will happen...?"
"Hm…"
Chiyo picked up a cup of tea and nodded.
"Seeing how cunning you are, I feel a bit more at ease."
Hardy: ??
"I'll send someone to contact the underworld black market about Kakuzu. As for you, you'd better be careful these days. Your name has started appearing on the underground bounty lists—probably Konoha's doing. Danzo might even send someone to assassinate you himself."
Chiyo took a sip of tea and said to Hardy.
"Huh? There's a bounty on me?"
Hardy scratched his head.
"That's perfectly normal. The Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as well as some Jonin—including myself—have all been on the black market bounty list at some point, and some of us never got removed. As your strength, fame, and status rise, this kind of thing will only become more common."
"I can understand that."
After all, even someone like Sarutobi Asuma, an elite Jonin of Konoha and the son of the Third Hokage, ended up on the bounty list. Clearly, the black market isn't afraid of Konoha or any of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Anyone who isn't afraid of the five superpowers among the ninja villages must be another superpower themselves.
The underworld is a tangled web, and the five major powers of the ninja world are certainly involved.
"I just want to know—how much is my head worth?"
Chiyo pulled a bounty slip out of the drawer.
"Eleven million four hundred and fifty thousand ryo. Tsk, not bad. That's roughly in line with my value."
Sarutobi Asuma, as an elite Jonin and the son of the Third Hokage, is worth thirty-five million ryo. Being the Hokage's son definitely adds a premium.
A typical Jonin's bounty starts at ten million ryo, and those considered elite Jonin are usually worth over twenty million.