July 20th, Konoha Year 43.
Just having been promoted to Chunin, Sarutobi Asuma and his two teammates were summoned by an Anbu ninja and came to the Hokage's office.
Hatake Sakumo was also here.
"Third Hokage-sama!"
"Teacher Sakumo!"
Sarutobi Asuma and his two teammates greeted them in unison.
Hatake Sakumo smiled and nodded, while Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was kind as he said, "Your performance yesterday was outstanding. Furthermore, after Sakumo's assessment, he believes you are now sufficiently capable and experienced to complete missions independently."
Sarutobi Asuma and his teammates were all surprised to hear this.
Immediately after, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "From now on, the three of you will form your own team, with Asuma as the captain."
Sarutobi Asuma exchanged glances with Kurenai and Shizune, then they said in unison, "Yes, Third Hokage-sama!"
"Asuma, Kurenai, Shizune, congratulations. You can now take on responsibilities independently!" Hatake Sakumo said with a smile.
Sarutobi Asuma quickly bowed and replied, "Thank you for your teachings, Teacher Sakumo. We learned so much during our time with you!"
Kurenai and Shizune also bowed to Hatake Sakumo in gratitude.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched them quietly, feeling very pleased. He then said, "I called you here today not only to announce this, but also to assign you a mission."
"Recently, ninjas from Sunagakure have been on the move, and there's been a lot of activity. According to intelligence, the Third Kazekage has gone missing."
"Asuma's team, you need to enter the Land of Rain to confirm this news."
Sarutobi Asuma immediately accepted the order, "Understood!"
"Good!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Then go and prepare!"
After signaling to Hatake Sakumo, Sarutobi Asuma and his two teammates immediately left the Hokage's office.
After they departed, Hatake Sakumo spoke up, "Third Hokage, Root has been active in the Land of Rain, and the situation there is exceptionally chaotic. Isn't it too dangerous to send Asuma and the others there now?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze fell upon the documents on the desk in front of him. "Based on intelligence from multiple sources, it has been confirmed that the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure is missing."
"We still cannot determine why the Third Kazekage has disappeared. However, if the Third Kazekage is not found and the Fourth Kazekage takes the throne, a war may erupt."
"Therefore, we need to make preparations in advance."
"Sakumo, you go and make preparations at the border!"
"As for the Land of Rain, at a time like this, he won't act recklessly!"
Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo no longer hesitated and bowed his head slightly to accept the order, "Understood!"
...
Half an hour later, at the main gate of Konoha Village, Sarutobi Asuma met up with Kurenai and Shizune, and then they departed the village.
"Asuma, your attire today is different from usual!" Shizune commented after they left the village.
Previously, when Sarutobi Asuma went on missions, he basically wore the same black tight-fitting outfit, followed by armor in the style of the Warring States period.
Now, his armor had been replaced with a Chunin green vest, and he was also wearing a white robe with flame patterns over the vest. He looked much more handsome than before, but it seemed to lack a certain battle-hardened aura, which made her feel a bit unaccustomed to it.
Kurenai was also curious. She knew that Sarutobi Asuma placed great importance on defense. That's why he wore armor and arm guards on missions. Now, both of those were gone, only retaining the fingerless gloves with iron plates on the back of his hands.
Could it be because he has mastered Wind Release Chakra Mode? Yūhi Kurenai secretly guessed. After all, too much weight on his body would be detrimental to flight. However, that didn't seem right either, as Sarutobi Asuma usually carried weights on him.
"It's naturally because my status is different now. As the captain, I naturally have to look the part of a captain." Sarutobi Asuma chuckled, absolutely refusing to admit it was for the sake of looking cool.
Kurenai and Shizune listened to him and couldn't help but scrutinize Sarutobi Asuma. Did he look more like a captain this way? It seemed... yes?
Nodding, Kurenai asked, "Asuma, the disappearance of the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure, do you think it's true?"
"That's a Kage, just like the Hokage. How could they go missing!" Shizune added immediately, "The Kazekage should be the strongest person in Sunagakure. How could someone like that disappear?"
"Could it be that Sunagakure is deliberately diverting attention, creating a false impression of chaos within the village, and then seizing the opportunity to start a war?"
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage is certain.
But no one knows yet if Sasori of the Red Sand was the one who killed him.
Unfortunately, Sarutobi Asuma couldn't say such a thing.
He thought for a moment and said, "We've received news of the Third Kazekage's disappearance, which indicates that Sunagakure should be searching for the Kazekage's whereabouts."
"I personally believe this is highly likely to be true."
What?
Kurenai and Shizune exclaimed in unison.
Sarutobi Asuma said, "If the Kazekage truly cannot be found, a war will likely break out."
Shizune quickly asked, "Why is that?"
"Wouldn't Sunagakure, having lost the Third Kazekage, be more inclined to be cautious and prevent enemies from attacking their weakened selves?" Yūhi Kurenai pondered, "Based on the current situation, the Third Kazekage's disappearance must have been an extremely sudden event."
"If that's the case, the selection of the Fourth Kazekage will definitely cause internal chaos within Sunagakure."
"Especially if the information about the Third Kazekage's disappearance is known to the major ninja villages, the Fourth Kazekage will ascend to power in an extremely unstable situation."
"And the recent clashes and conflicts between the major ninja villages have already been escalating, with the shadow of war looming."
Shizune had already figured it out and interjected, "Therefore, to quickly stabilize the situation, the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage will launch an external war to divert internal conflicts!"
Sarutobi Asuma smiled upon hearing this, "I strongly agree with your analysis."
"Moreover, I believe war is already at the brink of breaking out."
"Sunagakure is thoroughly searching for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts, and this intelligence has been obtained by the major ninja villages. Thus, they must select the Fourth Kazekage within a very short period, otherwise, Iwagakure and Kirigakure might attack them first!"
Kurenai and Shizune nodded in unison, and the latter asked again, "Asuma, how should we complete this mission?"
"To confirm the intelligence, shouldn't we capture a Sunagakure ninja, and then Kurenai uses Genjutsu for interrogation?"
Sarutobi Asuma nodded, "That's the most direct method."
"However, I personally believe the village has already confirmed the intelligence of the Third Kazekage's disappearance."
Huh?
Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune were taken aback.
After thinking for a moment, Yūhi Kurenai frowned, "Does this mean the Third Hokage actually wants us to search for the Third Kazekage's whereabouts?"
Sarutobi Asuma shook his head, "It should be for us to investigate whether Sunagakure will use the Third Kazekage's disappearance as an excuse to declare war on us."
"If Sunagakure intends to go to war, their first target will undoubtedly be our Land of Fire!"
Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune's expressions immediately turned serious, "In that case, we must at least capture a Jonin from Sunagakure for interrogation to obtain such intelligence!"
Sarutobi Asuma nodded, "That would naturally be the best outcome!"
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