Sunagakure.
"Have you heard the news, Sasori? About Konoha?"
Some "important figures" always felt the need to hold weighty discussions while looking down from a high place — it just felt more dramatic that way. Otherwise, they'd feel uneasy. But this didn't apply in Sunagakure, where harsh weather and blowing sand were common. The higher you stood, the more sand would end up in your mouth when speaking.
So naturally, this conversation had to take place indoors. Outside raged a sandstorm with near-zero visibility, while inside stood two generations of a family by the window.
The Fourth Kazekage, Sasori of the Red Sand, was at the peak of his physical strength. Chiyo, a foundational figure among Sunagakure's female ninja, showed visible signs of age.
Of course, as both a puppet master and a rare expert in poisons, Chiyo still maintained considerable combat ability… as long as she wasn't attacked directly by fast-moving ninja.
"Grandmother, are you referring to Konoha's earlier internal conflict? Or is it about the rumored return of the Fourth Hokage?"
Granny Chiyo and Sasori of the Red Sand represented Sunagakure's absolute center of power. The so-called strongest Third Kazekage had already passed away, and the Fourth Kazekage's rule had become firmly established.
The transition between these two Kage generations had been a difficult one for Sunagakure to navigate smoothly. The Third Kazekage personally selected the Fourth Kazekage as his successor. Although later ambushed by rogue ninja, the Third Kazekage died much later of natural causes, allowing him to properly arrange all his affairs before passing on.
"Of course I'm talking about the Fourth Hokage — that man known as Haseo Yu.
Konoha's internal conflicts happen periodically. Though each time their unrest seems extremely severe, Konoha has never truly fallen into decline because of such crises… Given time, they always recover — that's the depth of their strength.
Therefore, although Konoha's internal instability deserves attention, it isn't actually as serious as imagined. Rather than treating it as an isolated sudden incident, we should view it as part of historical cycles — we shouldn't invest excessive energy monitoring these recurring patterns.
However, the Fourth Hokage presents a different situation. Haseo possesses immeasurable destructive potential. And having remained silent for so long, no one can say for certain what his true intentions are, or what dangerous schemes he may already have in motion."
Hearing Granny Chiyo's analysis, Sasori of the Red Sand nodded in agreement. Although he had never met Haseo nor faced him directly on the battlefield, during the period when he began establishing himself as a formidable ninja, Haseo was at the height of his fame — dominating all opposition with unmatched strength. Thus, Haseo ranked among those whose names inspired awe just through hearing them.
"Right now, all of this remains mere rumor. The truth remains unknown — we haven't received any clear intelligence confirming this matter yet, let alone verifying whether the Fourth Hokage himself is truly back in Konoha."
Still, Sasori of the Red Sand wasn't buying the rumors about Haseo's return. After all, No pic, no proof.
To stabilize the village's internal affairs and prevent its external environment from worsening, Konoha may have intentionally spread a false rumor about the Fourth Hokage's return. This possibility certainly exists.
"No, I'm at least ninety percent certain this is real.
After the turmoil in Konoha, Uzumaki Shikou passed away soon after. Uzumaki Shikou had long been a loyal subordinate of the Fourth Hokage, and their relationship was ambiguous. So it's highly likely he would return to Konoha at a time like this."
"This reasoning...Grandma, I think that makes it even less convincing."
Sasori chuckled bitterly. For a former Hokage to come out of retirement over a woman's death seemed far too childish.
Therefore, Sasori of the Red Sand was still too inexperienced. What's so shocking about that? There are people who would bring the entire world crashing down over the death of a woman.
"Sasori, your way of thinking is just projecting your own views onto others," Chiyo turned around, gazing seriously at Sasori of the Red Sand. "It's precisely for reasons like this that the Hokage has returned...he's exactly that kind of person."
The Fourth Kazekage was completely baffled by his grandmother's attitude; their perspectives were worlds apart.
However, if his grandmother was so certain, then the Kazekage had no choice but to believe—what Sasori knew of Haseo came only from scattered intelligence reports, while Chiyo truly understood him as a person.
"Grandma, in that case, should we take any action regarding this matter? You yourself said the Fourth Hokage is a major threat.
And besides...
There's also Grandfather's matter...Even now, Grandma, you still can't let go?"
Chiyo merely shook her head. She turned her gaze back toward the window, pausing briefly before continuing, "Exactly the opposite. During this period, we must remain calm and not be swayed by outside matters. We shouldn't hastily adopt an adversarial stance toward Konoha either, but instead improve our relations moderately based on our previous position.
At the very least, we first need to figure out why the Fourth Hokage remains in Konoha.
As for what you're talking about...It's perfectly normal for a ninja to fall in battle. I'm already seventy years old; what else could I possibly not accept?
Right now, Konoha and Sunagakure are allies; the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies. Although treaties between ninja villages aren't always trustworthy, suddenly breaking them without warning isn't typical of Konoha. Therefore, for now, we should just watch and wait."
Chiyo remained quite rational. She treated Haseo as if he were a steaming pile of dog crap—naturally, such a thing should never be provoked directly. As long as they kept their distance, there'd be no chance of accidentally getting dragged into the mess.
Sasori nodded, showing approval for Chiyo's plan.
Leaving aside the factor of Haseo, even without him, he currently harbored no intentions toward Konoha—the recovery from war scars still remained Sunagakure's top priority.
With Sunagakure's stance toward Konoha and Haseo settled, the conversation began to wind down. However, just as Chiyo was about to step away, she suddenly paused.
"By the way, there's one more thing—you must keep a close eye on Temari. Don't let her run around freely during this period. If she accidentally appears in front of that Hokage... I think you understand what consequences would follow."
"I know, Granny.
Starting today, every ninja village will be on edge over something like this," said Sasori of the Red Sand.
It wasn't just about being on high alert anymore—someone had already fallen victim.
...
Everyone thought Haseo was the threat—but that was more than a little misguided… He was just a regular old man who'd retired and occasionally came out for some fun. It wasn't like he meant any harm—after all, weren't the jinchuriki and Five-Tails ultimately returned safely to Iwagakure?
The true crisis facing the ninja world didn't lie with Haseo.
On the calm ocean surface at the eastern edge of the continent, a single figure walked unhurriedly across the water, heading directly toward the distant Land of Water.
"So we gotta do this in order? Fine, I get that. But what about the vessel? Didn't we destroy it completely before?"
"I've already figured that out. Once we finish preparing in this aspect, we can start taking action… Our first target should naturally be the One-Tail holder in Sunagakure.
Creating an eternally peaceful world was the great wish of Madara Uchiha. Although Madara died midway, I still exist as the continuation of his will.
I shall still be able to fight side by side with Hashirama."
There was only one person on the sea surface.
All these voices later came entirely from within one sleeve of this traveler…
A certain "Grand Plan" was just about to commence.
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