Iwagakure – Village Hidden by Rocks.
"Old man, something big has happened!"
A young woman with a neat appearance and shoulder-length dark hair burst into the Tsuchikage's office.
Crack!
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, who had been handling political affairs all day and was stretching in his seat, heard a distinct sound from his lower back.
"M-my back…" Onoki clutched his waist, his face contorted in pain.
"Old man, are you losing your touch?" Seeing this, the young woman, far from being alarmed, looked delighted. "Quick! Write your resignation letter and will!"
"I told you ages ago to pass the Fourth Tsuchikage title to me, but you just wouldn't listen!"
"You've got to admit when you're getting old! Don't spend all day clinging to the power of the Tsuchikage. You need to learn to delegate; the future belongs to the young…"
Onoki formed his right hand into a fist and gently tapped his lower back, seemingly oblivious to his granddaughter's chatter.
After a long moment, he let out a light sigh, his tone considerably more relaxed.
"If you were as steady as Akatsuchi, what harm would there be in passing the Fourth Tsuchikage title to you?"
"Boring." Kurotsuchi couldn't help but pout. "Don't think I don't know. If I were really as dopey as Akatsuchi, you'd definitely tell me, 'If you were as sharp as so-and-so, I'd let you be Tsuchikage.'"
"Only a three-year-old would fall for that."
"You said something big happened just now. What is it?" Onoki coughed lightly and asked.
"Konoha and Suna are fighting!" Kurotsuchi slammed her hands on the desk, her upper body lunging towards Onoki. "Our Iwagakure's chance has come!"
"Chance? What chance?" Onoki scoffed. "Have you forgotten that Konoha and Suna signed an alliance treaty not long ago?"
"Old man, are you saying Suna and Konoha are playing dirty with each other? But didn't you say those alliance treaties aren't worth much more than toilet paper?" Kurotsuchi retorted, dissatisfied.
"I also said that whether it's toilet paper or not depends on whether the interests of both parties are in conflict," Onoki replied, even more dissatisfied.
Good thing this one's his granddaughter.
If it were anyone else he'd painstakingly taught, and they were still at this level, he'd have dragged them out for a public shaming long ago.
"Did you say that?" Kurotsuchi asked, surprised.
"I did." Onoki clasped his hands behind his back, slowly levitating from his chair, and grabbed her ear. "But someone seems to have been daydreaming and didn't hear a thing."
"Ow, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kurotsuchi quickly begged for mercy.
She didn't dare move recklessly. If she used a bit too much force and finished off this old geezer, she'd end up a homeless missing-nin like her brother Deidara.
She still wanted to be Tsuchikage!
"Grandpa, my dearest Grandpa, please let me off."
"Hmph!" Hearing this, Onoki's expression softened, and his fingers slowly released her ear.
"So, about this matter, should we just pretend we didn't see anything?" Kurotsuchi rubbed her reddened ear, exasperated.
This old geezer really didn't hold back.
"Pretend we didn't see? How could we!" Onoki shook his head.
"But you just said we don't have a chance!" As she spoke, Kurotsuchi stared intently at the small old man before her. "Old man, you're not playing fair!"
"If there's no opportunity, can't we create one?" Onoki sneered.
"Whether they're putting on an act or whatever, as long as the outcome is what we want, it's fine."
"Old man."
"Hm?"
"You've got a really shifty grin…"
Kumogakure – Village Hidden by Clouds.
A woman with dark skin, a curvaceous figure, and dressed in a smart secretary's uniform walked hastily into a spacious room.
"What did you say?! Bee's missing again?!"
Inside the room, a gruff voice echoed, so loud that Mabui felt her eardrums ache faintly.
She sighed helplessly. What rotten timing.
To be fair, it wasn't the first or second time Lord Killer Bee had willfully run off; everyone in Kumogakure was quite used to it.
Even if they didn't find Lord Killer Bee immediately, he would eventually return on his own.
But now was different from usual. Suna and Konoha were clashing at the border; it could very well become the spark for a Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Lord Raikage, something has happened," Mabui said softly, approaching the desk.
"?!" The Raikage's furious expression softened slightly. Mabui could usually handle minor issues herself.
Seeing him calm down, Mabui quickly explained the situation between Konoha and Suna.
"Slack-off!" After a moment of thought, the Fourth Raikage turned his head to look at the man at his side.
The man had dark skin and short white hair, his bangs obscuring his left eye. But what was most eye-catching were the 'Lightning' (雷) character tattoos on his left and right shoulders.
In Kumogakure, tattoos in this location were extremely special.
"Boss, I'm here." Darui instantly shed the lazy demeanor he'd shown when being chided just moments before, looking at his boss with a serious expression.
"Get a sensor team and check out the situation," the Fourth Raikage ordered.
"Understood!"
Darui nodded slightly and turned to leave the room.
"Find Bee as soon as possible." Watching him depart, the Fourth Raikage turned back to his secretary.
Mabui nodded slightly. Lord Bee's movements were relatively simple to track; this time, he had most likely run off after some Rapper.
Hokage Tower, Konoha.
Lady Tsunade massaged her temples wearily. "Jiraiya, what do you make of this?"
"Judging from Danzo's reaction, that chakra source was probably Naruto," Jiraiya said, leaning against the window with a helpless sigh.
They had deployed so many people to find him, yet their efficiency couldn't even match a single Root operative. It was truly laughable.
"Jiraiya, come back," Lady Tsunade said, her tone unreadable. "I want you to be the ANBU Commander."
This incident had made her realize it clearly: the best of ANBU had been carved up by those old coots long ago.
The ones she had on hand were merely the leftovers.
To search for a Jinchuriki and take this long without finding him…
One could only imagine how much dead wood there was.
"You know I'm not suited for it," Jiraiya said, shaking his head in refusal.
If he truly coveted such positions, he would have been sitting in the Fifth Hokage's seat long ago.
"Is that so…" Lady Tsunade's expression was a mixture of expectation and regret.
"Are you worried about that Nine-Tails brat?" she asked.
"I used to be quite worried."
"Used to be?" Tsunade was puzzled.
"If I'm not mistaken, Naruto should be able to use the Nine-Tails' power by now." Jiraiya shrugged with a smile.
"Oh?" Tsunade was surprised. "You have that much faith in that kid? You know, even Kushina couldn't fully control the Nine-Tails' power."
"Even Grandma Mito also had Grandpa Hashirama's help to use the Nine-Tails' power to that extent."
As she spoke, an image of Grandma Mito, looking like a goddess descended in her Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, couldn't help but surface in Tsunade's mind.
That was power capable of contending in a battle between the God of Shinobi and Uchiha Madara.
"No." Jiraiya shook his head slightly. Meeting Tsunade's questioning gaze, he explained, "I believe in Minato. Since he chose to seal the Nine-Tails into his own child's body, he definitely prepared corresponding measures."
"Is that so…" Tsunade fell silent.
"Tell me, if Minato were still alive, would things be much better?"
"…I don't know." Jiraiya turned his head to look out the window at the bustling streets below.
If Minato hadn't sacrificed himself during the Nine-Tails attack ten years ago, perhaps none of this would be happening now.
After all, that man was his most outstanding student.