Listening to Tobirama's inquiry, Hibari chuckled slightly, then said, "This war is imminent. Those bastards from Kumogakure are almost at our doorstep, and we still have some lingering concerns here. So, how could I have so much time to wait for the Land of Water to drag its feet? That's why I gave them a little push..."
As Hibari's words fell, Tobirama's eyebrows shot up. "It was you, you bastard?!"
Hibari nodded, then said, "Yes, it was us. We initially intended an assassination, but the plan changed midway, and in the end, I used that kinjutsu..."
"A kinjutsu... Is that so? I see. You guys were too bold! This matter concerns the fate of three nations. If anything went wrong, do you know how many people would be implicated?" Tobirama couldn't help but lecture Hibari.
Hibari smiled, then said, "I believe that if such a situation truly arose, Hokage-sama, you would make the right decision. Therefore, as long as we don't contact you here, you remain in a state of knowing nothing, right? This was just our private action..."
After Hibari spoke, both Tobirama and Harano's expressions became a little emotional. Hibari was right. From beginning to end, these Anbu members never contacted the Land of Fire or Konohagakure. Why? On one hand, to prevent the intelligence from leaking out, and on the other hand, to dissociate the village from their actions.
If they had truly failed the mission and exposed their identities, then Tobirama, as the Hokage, would still have room to maneuver. The simplest and most direct method would be to frame them with a fabricated crime, branding all these Anbu members as 'missing-nin' and characterizing the incident as 'deliberately trying to provoke a war between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire in revenge against the Land of Fire and Konohagakure.'
It might seem ruthless, but this was something Tobirama, as the Hokage, had to harden his heart to do. This was his duty, and it was a phrase he often used:
"Precisely because one is Hokage, one must embody ruthlessness!"
After a brief silence, Tobirama spoke to Harano, "Harano, go and clear the archives. Erase the records of the mission I assigned to Hibari and his team last time. Leave nothing behind. For the past month, Hibari and his team were responsible for conducting an investigation mission in the Land of Hot Water, understood?"
Harano didn't ask any further questions. He just smiled and said, "Understood, Hokage-sama. I'll make sure no traces are left."
Although Tobirama didn't explicitly say it, this meant completely covering up Hibari's actions. Only Hibari and the directly involved individuals, along with a few trusted others, were to know.
No one else was to know. This matter had to be concealed within the river of history, becoming the 'glory of the Land of Earth' in the future.
Of course, specifically mentioning it to Harano and erasing all archives was to prevent these matters from being known by the Daimyō's office in the future, which would be very bad.
Why, you ask? Although there was no intimate connection between the Daimyō of the Land of Water and their Daimyō of the Land of Fire, they were ultimately both heads of state, belonging to the same social stratum.
As the saying goes, 'when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold.' It had been over a hundred years since a Daimyō had died in such a manner. Now, with another one suddenly dead, the Land of Fire's Daimyō was naturally apprehensive.
Even the Daimyō of the other four great nations were somewhat unnerved.
After all, these people who killed the Land of Water's Daimyō were truly insane. It was like a tiger that had killed a human must be killed, even if it was an endangered animal. Why? Because they had already tasted 'human flesh.'
If this group of people had the audacity to kill the Land of Water's Daimyō today, would they also have the audacity to kill the Land of Fire's Daimyō if they truly became missing-nin one day? The answer was definitely 'yes.'
Because they had already successfully done such a thing once, hadn't they? So, once the Daimyō's office learned of this matter, it would undoubtedly become a thorn in their side, and they might even try to secretly harm Hibari and the others.
As the Hokage of Konohagakure, Tobirama understood that such things were entirely possible. In this vast nation, how could there be no such darkness?
Then, Tobirama looked at Hibari, Kagami, and Hitenn, and continued, "This matter is sealed. The same goes for your subordinates. No one is allowed to mention it again, understood?"
Hibari, Hitenn, and Kagami all came from prominent clans, so they had some understanding of these dark matters. Furthermore, they had been in the Anbu for several years; they hadn't eaten pork, but they'd seen pigs run, right? Thus, they all nodded in understanding.
Hibari, however, said with some regret, "Sigh, it's really a shame. We pulled off such a huge feat, but not only can we not boast about it, we even have to guard against our own people..."
Tobirama shot a glance at Hibari, then said, "Boast? Boast about what? Boast that you killed a Daimyō? That's not something to boast about either. I won't lecture you too much on the reasoning; you understand it clearly yourself. This matter is settled as such. Not a single whisper can leak out, or the consequences will be endless!"
"Understood, understood. We won't say a word. Oh, by the way, does that mean we don't have to write a mission report this time? That's really relaxing... Hahahaha," Hibari said, laughing loudly.
"You really don't need to write a factual report, but you'll still need a false one. Go write a travelogue of your time in the Land of Hot Water and submit it to me for the archives..." Tobirama also chuckled.
They chatted a bit about these topics, listening to Hibari brag about how they displayed great power in the Land of Water, blowing up the Daimyō and such.
Then, as if remembering something, Hibari said, "Oh, right, Ojiisan... cough, cough, Hokage-sama, I also had some unexpected gains..."
"Unexpected gains?" Tobirama asked with some curiosity.
"From both missions, we had some gains. The first mission, we seized the Six Paths Sage Tool, the Bashōsen, and also an arm from that guy Kinkaku. I figured if you're interested, you could take this arm and research it, see what their so-called Six Paths bloodline is about, and why they can consume tailed beasts raw and use tailed beast chakra and so on..." Hibari said with a chuckle.
Tobirama nodded upon hearing this, then asked, "I don't have much time right now. If you're interested, you can look into it yourself. After the war ends, I'll consider it. As for the Bashōsen, it's battlefield spoils; you can arrange it yourselves. You don't need to submit it."
"Alright, then I understand," Hibari nodded, not objecting.
Then Tobirama asked, "You've talked about the first mission. What about the second?"
Hibari grinned, revealing a smile. Then he formed a hand seal, took out his large scroll, quickly found the great sword Samehada, and said, "How about it? This is a good treasure, not at all weaker than that Bashōsen. It's Kirigakure's Ninja Sword, named Samehada. It was seized from that bastard Reigetsu, and this thing has some special abilities..."
Hibari rambled on to Tobirama, introducing Samehada in detail, which greatly interested Tobirama.
However, there wasn't much more to say about that. He was more interested in how Hibari got this sword.
"You said this is Reigetsu's Ninja Sword? How did it get into your hands? Did you fight him in Kirigakure? And you didn't expose your identity, did you?" Tobirama asked, very confused.
Hibari feigned a somewhat embarrassed expression and said, "I did indeed fight him in the Land of Water, and I also exposed my identity..."
Hearing Hibari's words, Tobirama's expression changed, and he said very seriously, "That's quite a bit of trouble. Perhaps they haven't reacted yet, but once we start fighting Kumogakure, Kirigakure won't fail to figure out the matter regarding the Daimyō's assassination..."
No sooner had Tobirama finished speaking than he saw Hitenn's hesitant expression and Kagami trying to suppress his laughter. Then he looked at that bastard Hibari... where was any sign of worry?
Thinking of these things, Tobirama's face darkened, and he said, "You bastard! You're laughing? Explain yourself clearly!"
Hibari chuckled, "I haven't finished speaking yet, Ojiisan. You interrupted me yourself, so you can't blame me... My identity was indeed exposed to Reigetsu, but that guy was captured alive by me. Take a look at what's in this pot!"
As Hibari spoke, he kicked the large iron pot at Kagami's feet. Then, without waiting for Tobirama or the others to question further, he quickly opened the iron pot. Inside, electrical currents were still continuously being released, enough to paralyze a human body. Reigetsu was just a head, floating weakly on the water, seemingly on the verge of giving up after being electrocuted for so many days.
"Oh dear, this state isn't good at all. We need to get him into a special device and give him nutrients soon..." Hibari said with a chuckle, looking at Reigetsu's half-dead appearance.
Tobirama and the others also gathered around. Harano was even more astonished. "You brought him back?!"
"Hahahaha, that bastard and I have a grudge. Could I let him go after meeting him? I had to capture him and deal with him properly, didn't I?" Hibari said, laughing triumphantly.
"This is a very valuable person! Reigetsu is a high-ranking official of Kirigakure, and furthermore, he's the younger brother of Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage! He must have a vast amount of classified information in his head. Hibari, let our Intelligence Division handle this guy?" Harano said excitedly.
"Harano-san, this guy is also useful to me..." Hibari said with some difficulty.
"Hibari, first, turn him over to the Intelligence Division. Once Harano has extracted all the necessary intelligence, he'll return him to you," Tobirama said without hesitation.
Hibari was momentarily stunned, then scratched his head and said, "Alright, Hokage-sama, since you've given the order, how can I not comply? But Harano-san, please don't damage his mind regarding the Hydrification Jutsu. If you can conveniently extract that, please do me a favor... And finally, whatever you do, don't kill him!"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it personally. Don't you trust me?" Harano said happily.
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