The question of how Rasa, in such a foul mood, would react upon receiving Konoha's request for reinforcements needs little imagination.
Rasa tossed aside the letter from Konoha, a letter so rough it wasn't even fit to wipe with, and instead focused entirely on chasing down the audacious group that had dared to steal a tailed beast.
This was, in itself, a perfectly normal course of action. Yet in Ōnoki's eyes, it looked like Rasa's signal that Sunagakure was answering Konoha's call.
After all, Rasa could hardly go around announcing publicly that Sunagakure's tailed beast had been stolen, that his shinobi were out hunting the culprits, and that everyone else should just keep up the standoff and ignore him.
So it was perfectly reasonable that Ōnoki would assume Rasa truly intended to send troops.
"The brat's boldness isn't bad—no less than the Fourth Hokage's."
Sitting in his chair, Ōnoki couldn't help but feel wistful. Why was it that Konoha always seemed to produce someone who could turn the tide at crucial moments?
This time, the advantage could not be taken. The Shimura brat clearly had no fear of clashing blades with Iwagakure.
Thus, this grand confrontation that had drawn the attention of the entire shinobi world concluded with Iwagakure's withdrawal.
...
Witnessing the Iwa-nin retreat from Kusagakure with his own eyes, Uchiha Fugaku's expression showed clear disappointment.
He had thought he would finally have a real fight with the Iwa-nin, a chance to cut down on the village's rumors about Uchiha shinobi defecting.
But in the end, that coward Ōnoki actually pulled back his forces.
Casting a glance at the officials of the Land of Grass, who stood not far away looking somewhat fearful, Fugaku gave what he considered to be a kindly smile.
Iwagakure had withdrawn—but Konoha had no intention of doing the same.
A group of shinobi from the Internal Affairs Division had already slipped into some of the Land of Grass's busier towns and selected several nobles as targets.
By the next day, news of nobles being massacred spread across the entire country.
At just the right time, Fugaku stepped forward, declaring that the bandit rampage had been caused by the standoff between Konoha and Iwagakure.
Out of the spirit of a great nation, Konoha was willing to provide protection for the Land of Grass's security.
Then, regardless of whether the officials of the Land of Grass consented or not, Konoha directly established several outposts within their territory and stationed shinobi there.
When Ōnoki received the news, though he slammed the table in anger, he still held his aching hand and tacitly allowed Konoha's actions.
What else could he do? He could not even handle Konoha alone—let alone with Sunagakure backing them.
Ōnoki truly wanted to ask Rasa what benefits Konoha had given Sunagakure to make them so willing to stand behind them.
Rasa: "I—(Sunagakure profanity)—am innocent!"
...
Konoha's successful maneuver left the Daimyō's court deeply conflicted.
Though Konoha had driven Iwagakure back, restoring much prestige to the Daimyō's reputation, their unruly actions made it impossible to openly praise them.
Had it been during the Third Hokage's rule, the Daimyō would already have dispatched envoys to extend formal thanks and increased the budget.
But now...
Even if those nobles' deaths had nothing to do with Konoha, the officials of the Hyūga clan's Main Family would never allow the Daimyō to act in such a way.
In the end, the Daimyō's court sent only a perfunctory letter of praise, offering some hollow compliments to Konoha's shinobi—and nothing more.
Did Takeshi care?
Not at all.
What he cared about was the real, tangible profit he had secured from the Land of Grass.
The commercial value hidden within was far more substantial than any military funds from the Daimyō's court.
...
"Acting Hokage-sama, Tobitake Tonbo requests an audience."
A young man entered the Hokage building.
Takeshi, who had been directing Itachi through paperwork, suddenly snapped his head up at the familiar voice.
Since returning to the village and assuming the position of Acting Hokage, this was his first time meeting him face-to-face.
Tobitake Tonbo also felt a wave of emotion. Last time they met, they were still captain and squad member. Who would have thought that the next time they met, the other would already be the Hokage controlling all of Konoha?
Well—"acting" Hokage, to be precise.
They had entered the Academy at the same time. So why was he still just an ordinary chūnin, while the other had risen to lead the entire village?
"What, are you dissatisfied with the Internal Affairs Division's work?"
Seeing Tobitake Tonbo's slightly uneasy look, Takeshi teased him.
"Not at all, I'm very satisfied with the Internal Affairs Division's work. I came this time about the code we encountered last time."
Tobitake Tonbo quickly waved his hands, explaining his reason for coming.
Skipping over the long, self-congratulatory decoding process, the code ultimately revealed itself before Takeshi as the coordinates of a certain location within the Land of Fire.
"Coordinates?"
Takeshi frowned slightly. Why would the Uzumaki clan use a Sarutobi clan code to mark a location within the Land of Fire?
"Yes. I suspect there may be something buried there. Though I am unworthy, I would gladly lead the Internal Affairs Division's field squad to investigate."
Tobitake Tonbo volunteered eagerly, hoping to use this opportunity to make a name for himself—perhaps even earn a promotion to tokubetsu jōnin.
But Takeshi did not agree to his request.
Who knew what exactly might be hidden beneath coordinates dating back to the Warring States period? If it were related to the Uzumaki, one could easily suspect sealing arts.
Treasure would be fine—but what if it was some bizarre existence that even the Sarutobi couldn't handle?
"You've worked hard deciphering this. As for what exactly lies under those coordinates, we'll need to carefully plan and study before acting."
Takeshi, with an expression of solemn righteousness, smoothly ushered Tobitake Tonbo out the door. Then he reached toward his shinobi tool pouch beside the cabinet at his feet.
"Sensei..."
Itachi's face was full of silent resentment. With one glance, he saw straight through Takeshi's true intentions.
Careful planning? Careful schemes? This guy was clearly just sick of being cooped up in the Hokage building and wanted an excuse to get out.
"Ahem... Itachi, you must understand—this concerns the Warring States period. We can't afford to be careless. Only if a Hokage-level figure takes action will I feel at ease."
"Then why don't you ask the Third-sama? He's from the Sarutobi clan—surely he could find the answer much more quickly."
Itachi said irritably.
"If I did that, how could I—no, I mean, there's no need to trouble Sarutobi-sensei with something like this. I can handle it myself. Anyway, I'll leave the paperwork for the next few days to you. Bye-bye."
Speaking as he moved, Takeshi pushed open the window.
Just as he swung one leg out, a thought occurred to him. He pulled it back inside.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
With a puff of smoke, one of Takeshi's shadow clones remained in the office.
"See how good I am to you? I don't want you feeling lonely, so I left you a clone. Shisui and Yamato—you'll have to handle explaining things to them. Good luck~"
Having said all that, Takeshi leapt decisively out the window. Dodging patrols from the Internal Affairs Division and the shinobi guarding the gates, he set out to find the path toward the coordinates.