"If we go with your plan, the people we send into the Land of Fire won't just be causing minor disturbances.
At the same time, because Konoha's ninjas are almost all concentrated on the eastern front, their defenses will be much denser. An ordinary elite squad definitely won't have enough infiltration capability, and the danger level will be even higher than last time.
Once they're discovered, a sufficiently powerful ninja must lead the breakout, and the front lines need to put pressure on Konoha so their main forces don't dare to move recklessly. This isn't a mission that a regular Jonin can handle."
Chiyo clasped her hands together and spoke after a moment of thought.
She was considering whether there were suitable candidates and weighing whether the benefits and risks of the mission were proportional.
This plan had some feasibility, but it was too dangerous. Forget about ordinary Jonin squads; even sending elite Jonin could result in death if they were ambushed by a certain number of Konoha masters.
After all, this time wasn't like the mission Qingshui and the others carried out before, where Konoha's large-scale forces were tied up on the battlefield, fighting a major war with Sand Hidden, creating a vacuum in their rear.
Moreover, that squad at the time had Ishido and Kurokawa, two elite Jonin, whose strength was also considerable, and they had relatively accurate intelligence, which ensured their success.
After thinking for a while, Chiyo scanned the people in the room and finally shook her head.
"Among those present who could carry out this mission relatively safely, besides myself, there are only Rasa and Karura. However, Danzō and Jiraiya are currently on the battlefield in the Land of Rain. If either of them were missing when Konoha launched a counterattack, we would have to pay a much greater price to stop those two."
At this point in time, Jiraiya hadn't reached his peak yet, but he was still not to be underestimated. Even Rasa and Karura together could only barely gain an advantage over him.
Shimura Danzō also hadn't aged yet; his arm and eye hadn't been injured. He wasn't nearly half crippled as he would be in the future, needing Hashirama Cells and Sharingan to unleash his peak strength.
Currently, with his superb Wind Release Ninjutsu, coupled with Konoha Style Swordplay inherited from the Second Hokage, he was a genuine Kage-level master, though not as strong as Hiruzen Sarutobi. Without this strength, he wouldn't even dream of becoming Hokage.
While Chiyo could certainly gain the upper hand in a fight, only she, or Rasa and Karura combined, could truly match him.
Currently, Sand Hidden has the upper hand in terms of high-level combat power against Konoha. But if one of the three from Sand Hidden were to appear elsewhere, Konoha would definitely gather all its main forces and fight desperately to reclaim lost territory. At that point, all the hard-won gains by the Sand Village ninjas might well be lost.
Therefore, after the meeting, Chiyo meticulously explained the details to Qingshui.
In her view, even if Qingshui couldn't become Kazekage in the future, he would be a leading figure in the Puppet Force, one of the higher-ups in Sand Village. Sooner or later, he would take charge of a region and command wars, just like herself. She had begun to diligently train him in this regard.
"What Chiyo-sensei said is correct, but I was wondering, why must we send our own people to do this?"
Qingshui countered, addressing Chiyo.
"Are you suggesting we let Stone Hidden do it? But they can't spare anyone either. Hanzo is too strong; just one Five-Tails Jinchuriki isn't enough. They'd also need Hakuto's assistance, and that old geezer Onoki is even less likely."
Similar to Sand Hidden, Stone Hidden was also fighting on two fronts. On one side, they had been battling Mist Hidden on the coastline for several years, even losing their respective Second Kage in the early stages of the war.
The other front, of course, was the Land of Rain.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was still leading Stone Hidden's ninjas to fight Mist Hidden. There was no way he would be bored enough to cross half the Ninja World to go to the Land of Fire.
"No, Chiyo-sensei, have you ever heard of a bounty hunter named Kakuzu?"
Qingshui said to Chiyo.
"Kakuzu? That rogue ninja from Waterfall Hidden, known as the strongest bounty ninja?"
Chiyo mused.
Kakuzu's reputation was very strong in the underground world. It was said that he even had the ability to escape from the First Hokage. More importantly, while his fees were expensive, he was powerful, and reliable if paid enough. During the Ninja World War, he would occasionally take on war mercenary missions.
"With the village's intelligence network and remaining financial resources, we should be able to hire Kakuzu, right? If not, we can always ask Rasa-senpai to mine some gold to subsidize it. I think he'd be quite happy to."
Sand Village was, after all, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, so they certainly had connections in the underground world.
"No need for Rasa to mine gold to subsidize anything. We gained quite a bit from this war, so we can afford this amount. I'm just wondering how you plan to test Konoha."
"Chiyo-sensei, don't forget a certain someone who developed Hemophobia. Given that person's status, it would cost at least tens of millions of ryo, wouldn't it? If Kakuzu knew his target was just someone with Hemophobia, then what do you say…"
"Hmm…"
Chiyo picked up a cup of tea and nodded.
"Seeing how cunning you are, I'm a little more at ease."
Qingshui: ???
"Regarding Kakuzu, I'll send someone to contact the underground black market. As for you, you need to be careful lately. Your name has also appeared on the black market's bounty list. It must be Konoha's doing. Danzō might even send people to assassinate you personally."
Chiyo took a sip of tea and said to Qingshui.
"Huh? A bounty on me?"
Qingshui scratched his head.
"That's perfectly normal. The Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and some Jonin, including myself, have all been on the underground black market's bounty list, and some have never even been removed. As your strength, reputation, and status rise, such things become increasingly common."
"I can understand that."
After all, even elite Jonin like Sarutobi Asuma, the Third Hokage's own son, could appear on the underground black market's bounty list, which shows that these black markets aren't afraid of Konoha or the Five Great Shinobi Villages at all.
Those who aren't afraid of the five great super shinobi villages must be another super shinobi village.
The underground world is complex, and the five largest powers of the Ninja World must certainly be involved.
"I want to know, how much is my head... worth?"
Chiyo pulled a bounty poster from a drawer.
"Eleven million four hundred and fifty thousand ryo. Tsk, not bad. It roughly matches my value."
Sarutobi Asuma, as an elite Jonin of Konoha and the Third Hokage's son, was valued at thirty-five million ryo. His identity as the Hokage's son certainly accounted for a significant premium.
A normal Jonin's bounty starts at ten million ryo, and an elite Jonin's is estimated to exceed twenty million ryo.
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