A dark cave.
Several figures 'whooshed' into existence, including Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Hm? Why summon us again? Has something big happened?"
"Hurry up, my prey is escaping."
A figure with sickly green eyes looked at the people around him and said impatiently.
"Hey, I said Kakuzu, don't be so anxious. Maybe they're letting us rest for a bit."
"That way I won't have to follow you around working odd jobs. My fragile body is truly exhausted because of you!"
The man with the big pompadour, whose hair was so slick even a fly couldn't land on it, said with a laugh.
He felt that Kakuzu was truly obsessed with money.
"Hidan, shut up, or I'll kill you," Kakuzu said fiercely.
"Got it, got it, you're such a Pain, Senior Kakuzu."
"Alright, that's enough. Itachi, tell us the situation."
Pain stopped their unrestrained chatter.
Kisame said, "We encountered Konoha's Satoru. If Mr. Itachi hadn't been there, I almost wouldn't have made it back!"
In that battle, if Itachi hadn't been there, they might have lost from the very beginning.
Even so, they nearly died.
"Satoru, huh? Tell us about his abilities. You and Itachi teamed up, and you still almost didn't make it back?"
Zetsu looked at Itachi in surprise.
Without a kekei genkai, he could actually make Itachi, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, find him so troublesome.
And this was even with prior intelligence.
Truly a terrifying enemy.
"He can use genjutsu on enemies through sight, hearing, and touch."
"And he has excellent taijutsu skills, as well as a superb secret puppet jutsu."
"According to observations from the scene and Kisame's experience, after a hundred of his puppets are destroyed, he can control the enemy's soul."
"In other words, this is a conditional jutsu. Once this jutsu is completed, the soul will be under his control..."
Itachi briefly recounted the battle, as well as Kisame's experience of his body being controlled.
Kisame nodded, "That's right, that guy is too terrifying. This was the most dangerous battle I've ever experienced. If you're not careful, you'll be overwhelmed by the enemy's endless Ninjutsu."
"We also owe it to Zetsu's prior intelligence, which gave us a better understanding of how to break genjutsu."
"Otherwise, we might have died there," Itachi said.
"Puppets? I didn't expect there to be an excellent puppet master outside of Hidden Sand Village."
"And a Konoha Ninja, too. That's incredible!" a short man said, with a hint of surprise in his tone.
Next to him, a blond man laughed upon hearing this, "Senior Sasori, I told you, only explosions are art! His puppet jutsu sounds like it has more art than yours."
"Shut up, Deidara," Sasori said in a hoarse voice.
"Alright, we're here to discuss how to deal with this kind of enemy, not to argue."
Pain shouted...
In the gloomy cave.
"Hehehe, what a capable fellow. Facing the combined efforts of Itachi and Kisame, he not only managed to retreat unscathed, but it seems he also made them pay a price."
Orochimaru looked at the intelligence report in his hand, a light chuckle escaping his lips.
It seemed that this Satoru was also a Ninja who had mastered many Ninjutsu, just like him!
In any case, Orochimaru didn't think Satoru's genjutsu could compare to the Sharingan, and Itachi had already begun to target Satoru's genjutsu, so it was impossible for him to have no preparation at all.
However, he would not belittle the enemy's strength; strong was strong.
"Lord Orochimaru, are you talking about Captain Satoru? He is indeed a terrifying enemy."
Kabuto, who was adjusting reagents beside him, responded when he heard Orochimaru's words.
The last Chunin Exams had truly shocked him.
"Kabuto, if you were to face him, how would you deal with it?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
Kabuto smiled, "Probably surrender."
"Heh, that's very much your style, Kabuto."
"But it's too boring," Orochimaru said.
"Lord Orochimaru once said that only by living can one find the meaning of one's existence."
"When encountering such an enemy, surrendering is a good method."
Kabuto said.
"Alright, it seems I won't get any interesting answers from you!"
Orochimaru licked his lips.
But Satoru, what a troublesome fellow.
If he were in Konoha, the plan would be truly difficult to execute.
Fortunately, Konoha had someone who coveted the Hokage position...
Konoha, Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the intelligence report in his hand, feeling a bit helpless.
"Hokage-sama, how should we respond to the Land of Hot spring?"
Beside him, a Ninja responsible for helping with administrative tasks asked him.
Just now, the Land of Hot spring had expressed dissatisfaction with the Land of Fire.
The reason was that Konoha's Ninja had used large-scale Ninjutsu in their country, resulting in losses to a forest farm in the Land of Hot spring.
Now they were facing accusations from the high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire.
The implication was to handle this matter properly.
If not handled well, such a matter could become a major diplomatic incident between the two countries.
"Respond to the Land of Hot spring. Don't take us for fools. At most, we'll compensate them for the damaged site."
"As for the forest farm and such, don't think Konoha is easy to bully."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, of course, couldn't accept everything.
It was just an undeveloped territory, and they were talking about a forest farm? What did they take Konoha for?
But he couldn't just say that. Instead, he had to give the Land of Hot spring a way to back down, otherwise, it would be difficult to resolve.
The main issue was that Konoha's Jonin had gone to another country.
Excuses like going on vacation were not easy to say.
Moreover, for secrecy, he had not even contacted the Land of Hot spring, and there were no customs documents.
He hoped Satoru could get the intelligence!
He sighed inwardly. One of the troublesome aspects of being Hokage was dealing with inter-country matters.
If any direction was not handled well, it could lead to war.
This was what he feared most.
To prevent falling into war again, he was waiting for someone who could take charge of the overall situation to appear.
"Perhaps Satoru is also a good candidate."
He thought silently in his heart.
Satoru's abilities, qualifications, and contributions to Konoha.
And a happy family; he seemed like someone who disliked war, which perfectly fit the role of Hokage.
Such a person would have many concerns and would handle the Hokage's responsibilities more carefully.
Then there were Tsunade and Jiraiya, One of the Sannin; these two children also possessed considerable abilities...
Capital of the Land of Fire.
"Your Highness, I believe Satoru is very suitable to handle that matter."
"His abilities couldn't be more fitting. The Princess of that Daimyo has grown up."
"The plan from more than ten years ago, it's time to execute it."
A retainer named Toyotomi, after clearly explaining Satoru's information to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, proposed a suggestion.
"Indeed, it's about time to initiate it."
"Next, you will communicate with Konoha. Remember to make the preparations first, then proceed with the plan, otherwise, it would be bad if something went wrong."
The Daimyo gently fanned his face, his words completely devoid of emotion.
"Understood, I will communicate well with Konoha."
Toyotomi replied.
After their conversation, he and the other ministers exited the council hall.
"I didn't expect Minister Toyotomi to be so proactive. This isn't like you, is it?"
A minister said with a smile.
Toyotomi heard this and laughed, "It's all for the development of the Land of Fire, so of course, I must do my best."
In reality, he was already extremely proud.
Lord Danzo's mission had been completed so easily.