Ōnoki vented his anger for a long time before turning to Mohiru.
"Contact the Exchange for me. I need to hire mercenaries to move out..."
Hearing this, Mohiru was startled.
After all, Ōnoki usually wouldn't use mercenaries. These mercenaries were expensive, and the costs weren't small.
Right now, with the economy already declining due to dealing with the Land of Earth's issues, this would only add to the strain.
"Tsuchikage-sama, there's no need at all. I can personally lead the team."
"Why bring in those guys who only care about money?"
Mohiru volunteered, eager to serve the village as a jōnin of Iwagakure.
But Ōnoki stopped him.
Ōnoki calmly analyzed the situation.
"If it were just Konoha, I'd let you handle it."
"But this time, Takigakure is involved. If I let you go and they find out, it won't look good for us."
"Takigakure doesn't take part in wars between the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
"So, it's better to let mercenaries handle it. Even if Takigakure gets dragged in, it won't be tied to us."
With this move, Ōnoki completely detached Iwagakure from any involvement while still striking at Konoha.
It would cost a lot of money, yes—but if it achieved the goal, it would be worth it.
"But would regular mercenaries even take this job?"
"We're talking about Konoha and Takigakure here."
Mohiru still looked doubtful. In his mind, even greedy mercenaries needed to stay alive to spend money.
Konoha wouldn't send anything less than a jōnin-led team to Takigakure. Would mercenaries really dare to take on that mission?
He wasn't the only one wondering. Everyone else in the room had the same doubts.
But Ōnoki's cold laugh broke through their uncertainty.
"I don't know about the others, but there are a few who definitely will."
"For example, the ones you've dealt with before..."
"Kakuzu..."
A sinister gleam flashed in Ōnoki's eyes.
The smirk on his face grew darker and darker.
"And I guarantee he'll love this job..."
Others might not know, but Ōnoki knew very well.
Kakuzu used to be a Takigakure shinobi before he defected for... various reasons.
Sending him back to face his old village? He'd be more than motivated.
...
Ten days later, within the Land of Waterfalls.
Staring at the waterfall ahead, Pakura's eyes lit up.
"What a beautiful waterfall."
"Hehe, right? The Land of Waterfalls doesn't have much, but it has plenty of waterfalls. Takigakure itself is hidden behind a giant one."
Gekko Chizan knew Takigakure well. He smiled as he introduced the place to Pakura.
Kakashi's team of three also paused their "training" since they had reached Takigakure.
For Gekko Chizan, carrying luggage wasn't an issue—a single sealing scroll could handle everything.
Don't ask where the scroll came from—Orochimaru's warehouse had plenty of blanks.
Orochimaru: ...I'm used to it by now...
Gekko Chizan: Well, if you hadn't craned your neck back then, I might've believed you more.
The group officially entered the Land of Waterfalls.
Their pace was slow since the Chūnin Exams weren't urgent—they had plenty of time.
Better to enjoy the scenery than rush.
After another day of travel, they finally reached the waterfall outside Takigakure.
Seeing the people waiting there, Gekko Chizan smiled.
Because it was Yahiko, Konan, and Akasoku leading the Takigakure team.
Of course, their identities couldn't be revealed right now.
When Yahiko saw that Konoha's representative was none other than his close friend Gekko Chizan, his eyes widened.
Konan quickly nudged him as a reminder.
"Welcome to Takigakure."
"I'm Yahiko, a jōnin of Takigakure."
Seeing Yahiko put on this formal act, Gekko Chizan nearly burst out laughing.
But thanks to his iron self-control, he held it in.
The two old friends shook hands as if meeting for the first time.
"Konoha jōnin Gekko Chizan."
"By order of the Hokage-sama, we've come to deliver an invitation to Takigakure."
After the formalities, Yahiko led everyone through the waterfall.
Pakura and Kakashi's team curiously looked around at the hidden village.
Konan's eyes, however, landed on Pakura.
She had noticed Gekko Chizan holding her hand earlier and couldn't help feeling curious.
Once both teams entered Takigakure—
A shadowy figure suddenly appeared where they had just been.
With green eyes and a face mask, the man radiated killing intent.
"Targets sighted."
"Taking them out is worth 40 million ryō..."
"A good deal. But why's there one extra person?"
"Add the price. One head, 10 million. Five people... 50 million..."
"And Takigakure too..."
The next second, he vanished.
...
Inside Takigakure, Gekko Chizan glanced at the familiar surroundings.
"Pakura, take Kakashi's team to rest first. I'm sure Takigakure has prepared accommodations for us."
He smiled at Konan, and she immediately understood.
"Everything's ready. Follow me."
Pakura also realized Gekko Chizan had other matters to handle, so she followed Konan away.
Yahiko then led Gekko Chizan to the office of Saibon.
For the first time, Gekko Chizan met Takigakure's village chief and handed him the invitation.
"One of Konoha's Twin Stars, the Ghost Gekko Chizan. Hehe, a young hero indeed."
Saibon chuckled softly. His words made Gekko Chizan pause slightly.
"Oh? Am I that famous?"
"Even the village chief-sama knows me?"
Gekko Chizan grew a bit cautious. After all, no one became a village chief by being easy to deal with.
Who knew if this old man might suddenly cause trouble?
But it was clear he was overthinking.
Saibon merely sighed and then got straight to business.
"For the Chūnin Exams, Takigakure will participate as scheduled."
"We hope Jōnin Gekko will look after us then."
"Yahiko."
Yahiko nodded and led Gekko Chizan out of the office.
The mission had gone smoothly—just as Gekko Chizan expected.
After all, this wasn't the first time Konoha had invited Takigakure to the Chūnin Exams.
The only difference this time was that it was happening during wartime.
But apparently, that wasn't going to be a problem.