After Hibari finished speaking with such righteous indignation, the others were all stunned, not even having a chance to question him...
Then Hibari looked at Hitenn and said, "Hitenn, you're the one among us who knows all those miscellaneous rules best. Tell me, which rule states that we shinobi can't kill a Daimyo? Or which rule of our Konohagakure says we can't kill the Daimyo of the Land of Water? If there is one, then we are rule-abiding people and must obey the law. We'll find another way; I think killing the Daimyo's wife would also work."
Hearing Hibari's words, Kagami almost burst out laughing. He truly was a 'rule-abiding person.' If there was also a rule that said they couldn't kill the Daimyo's wife, then should they also kill the Daimyo's elderly mother? This logical thinking was truly flawless! Extremely clear!
Hitenn, after listening to Hibari's remarks, didn't find it funny at all. Instead, he began to ponder seriously, trying to find out from various rules and regulations if there was any rule that prohibited Konohagakure's shinobi from killing the Daimyo of the Land of Water.
After thinking for a while, Hitenn looked up at Hibari very seriously and said, "Deputy Commander, it's just as you said, in my memory, there is no rule that prohibits shinobi from our Land of Fire's Konohagakure from killing the Daimyo of the Land of Water..."
Hearing this, a smile once again appeared on Hibari's lips, and he then said, "Isn't that it? We're just acting according to the rules and regulations, not doing anything messy. Since there's no rule that says we can't kill the Daimyo, then we'll go and kill the Daimyo of the Land of Water, and then frame the Land of Earth. When the Daimyo dies, do you think they can still hold back from fighting?"
Killing a Daimyo was not unprecedented in the past, but currently, it hadn't happened for nearly a hundred years. If Hibari remembered correctly, the next time this would occur would be more than ten or twenty years later, and the one who died then was also the unfortunate Daimyo of the Land of Water. However, the one suspected of the act was Kisame Hoshigaki, and because of this incident, Kisame Hoshigaki became a missing-nin hunted by Kirigakure.
In short, it seemed that the Daimyo of the Land of Water was destined to face such a calamity. Hibari acting early would also send him to his liberation sooner, lest he be killed by a ninja from his own country in the future, how embarrassing would that be? Thinking about it carefully, it almost seemed like he was doing a good deed?
After Hibari said this, the others were still somewhat shocked, but soon, Kagami spoke up, "Isn't it just killing a Daimyo? What's the big deal? Since we need to, even though we have no personal grudge against him, for the Land of Fire and the village... if he needs to be killed, then he'll be killed!"
Hitenn also remained silent for a moment, then said, "Indeed, it doesn't violate any regulations, and the Deputy Commander's proposal is the best choice from all other angles. Since that's the case, I also agree to the assassination of the Daimyo of the Land of Water!"
Sakumo smiled at this, spread his hands, and said, "You guys are the bosses, you call the shots. I'm just a hitman. Once the order comes, my blade won't show mercy when it chops off the Daimyo's head."
As Sakumo said, the leaders of these three squads were Hibari, Kagami, and Hitenn, with Hibari being the highest in rank. Now that the other two had no objections, the remaining Anbu members would just follow orders; having opinions would be useless.
Seeing this, Hibari clapped his hands and said, "Alright, since everyone thinks my proposal is the most efficient and has agreed, then let's proceed with this. Let's start planning how to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Water as the central point, frame the Land of Earth for it, and then instigate a war between the two countries?"
The others listened to Hibari's words and began to think. After a short while, Sakumo spoke up, "I have a suggestion..."
"If you have a suggestion, speak it. You know our rules," Hibari said very casually.
Sakumo smiled upon hearing this, then said, "It's like this: the Land of Water and the Land of Earth have long-standing grievances. In recent years, there have been many casualties on the so-called 'border line' between them. Therefore, my idea is for us to disguise ourselves as shinobi from Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, then enter the Land of Water's territory, still cause some trouble, and let the people of the Land of Water and Kirigakure know that Iwagakure shinobi have infiltrated..."
At this point, Sakumo paused, cleared his throat, and continued, "According to my idea, we'll pretend to expose ourselves to some Kirigakure shinobi, then kill them, and then 'accidentally' leave some survivors. After that, we'll quickly go to the capital of the Land of Water, find an opportunity to assassinate their Daimyo. After completing that, we'll steal some confidential documents from the Daimyo's residence, and finally, quickly withdraw and go into hiding to observe the situation. How does that sound?"
Kagami thought for a moment, then said, "You mean, we should be clean with our actions at the Daimyo's residence, leaving no traces?"
"Exactly. We want them to be completely unable to figure out who did it. If we deliberately leave some traces, it would feel a bit like 'burying one's head in the sand,' wouldn't it?" Sakumo said softly.
Hitenn stroked his chin and interjected, "In that case, the entire Land of Water won't be able to pinpoint who assassinated their Daimyo and stole some confidential documents. And then, when they recall the Iwagakure shinobi who recently 'accidentally' exposed their identities and infiltrated the Land of Water..."
Sakumo nodded, smiling, "That's right. At that time, the Land of Water will inevitably focus their suspicions on the Land of Earth. After all, the two countries have long-standing grievances. Even without any signs, the Land of Earth would be the most suspicious, let alone with some signs?"
A sinister glint also flashed in Kagami's eyes, and he then added, "When the Daimyo of the Land of Water dies, and the country loses its head of state, there will inevitably be some chaos. At that time, to cover up this internal chaos, shift this internal conflict, and even for the Daimyo's sons to contend for the right of succession, they will inevitably quickly launch a war against the Land of Earth under the pretext of 'avenging their father.' Once the upper echelons have this intention, even if Kirigakure has doubts about this matter, they will have no choice but to act according to the wishes of their superiors and initiate war against Iwagakure!"
Hitenn and Sakumo looked at Kagami, then both showed expressions of agreement, saying simultaneously, "That's right, this plan is very feasible!"
At this moment, Hibari was a bit bewildered. Although he had proposed the assassination of the Daimyo, he hadn't actually figured out how to arrange the plan and itinerary. He also hadn't figured out how to cleverly execute this matter.
Originally, he thought that such a complex and difficult task would require everyone to brainstorm, hold several seminars, and only then could a specific plan be formulated.
But what happened? In less than three to five minutes, Kagami, Hitenn, and Sakumo, who all looked like honest, upright men, quickly came up with a plan that sounded highly feasible and also incredibly sinister.
Should he say that people truly cannot be judged by their appearance?
"You three truly impress me. You're talented, very good. You must continue to maintain this in the future, and strive for an opportunity in the future where we can get together and kill all the Daimyo of the other three countries..." Hibari said with a chuckle, teasing them.
"Hibari, there's something wrong with your thinking... it's too extreme, isn't it?" Kagami said, looking at Hibari with a smile.
"Something wrong with my thinking? I think there's something wrong with your thinking. I seriously suspect you've all had the idea of assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Water for a long time. In less than three to five minutes, you've already come up with the plan. And you still say you don't know martial arts... No, you still say you're law-abiding citizens?" Hibari retorted, raising an eyebrow at Kagami.
The few of them chatted idly for a while, then returned to the main topic. Hitenn, ever the 'Mr. Serious,' thought for a moment and said, "This matter of assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Water is truly too weighty. Should we report it to the Hokage before acting?"
As his words fell, Kagami and Sakumo also looked at Hibari, seemingly waiting for him to make a decision. Indeed, killing the Daimyo of another country without a word was a rather significant matter. Reporting it would be reasonable.
However, after thinking for a moment, Hibari shook his head and said, "No need. Firstly, transmitting intelligence back and forth is not without risks. What we need to do requires extreme secrecy. If anything goes wrong, it won't be the Land of Water and the Land of Earth that erupt into war, but our Land of Fire that gets dragged in. Therefore, until this matter is settled, only we, the ones executing the mission, can know about it. I will personally explain it to the Hokage afterward."
After a slight pause, Hibari continued, "Secondly, don't forget what the Hokage's mission for us is. Although we all understand the underlying meaning, on the surface, we are here to gather intelligence. What do you think would happen if we suddenly sent a letter to the Hokage, telling him we're going to kill the Daimyo of the Land of Water, and asking for his approval? How could he respond? Even if he secretly agrees wholeheartedly, on the surface, he could only question our actions and reject our idea, couldn't he? What would we do then? Would we still kill him or not?"
After Hibari finished his analysis, the other three also nodded thoughtfully. Hitenn thought for a moment and then said, "That's truly the case. I overthought it. This matter cannot be reported."
"Exactly, Mr. Serious, don't complicate things. Since the plan has been finalized, let's not worry about these minor details. We'll just go in, chop off the Daimyo of the Land of Water's head, act first and report later, instigate the war, and achieve our objective. That's enough," Hibari said in a very simple and direct manner.
"Well said!" Kagami was also a ruthless individual and agreed without hesitation.
"Alright, alright, we still have several days of travel ahead. The general strategy has been decided, so there's no rush. We'll slowly refine the plan along the way. It's rare to be out at sea, so let's relax first. Sakumo, did you bring the fishing rod I asked you to buy?" Hibari said, clapping his hands, temporarily ending the topic of assassinating the Daimyo.
Sakumo smiled and said, "Yes, I bought it. It's a fine fishing rod, cost over three hundred thousand ryo..."
"Go get it for me. I'll show you some fishing techniques. Oh, and Kagami, record this expense in the budget. We'll get reimbursed when the mission is complete..." Hibari said without hesitation.
Kagami also had no doubts whatsoever. This guy had long since joined forces with Hibari. After all, they had both bought houses in Kumogakure earlier... Compared to that real estate, what was a fishing rod?
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