Ōnoki's first thought was the Akatsuki Organization.
Iwagakure and the Akatsuki Organization had a long-standing relationship, going back almost ten years now.
It was during the late Third Shinobi World War, when Minato Namikaze's name became known throughout the Ninja World, specifically during the battle where he instantly killed dozens of Jonin.
It was also the Kannabi Bridge mission, Kakashi's famous battle, which not only destroyed the bridge but also countless supplies.
Iwagakure completely lost its route for a large-scale invasion of the Land of Fire, and after a few brief skirmishes, it ended with Iwagakure's surrender.
The Land of Earth and Iwagakure suffered heavy losses, and ultimately, due to Hiruzen Sarutobi's eagerness to end the war, there was no compensation for their defeat.
However, it still severely weakened the Land of Earth; while it was true that the Land of Earth was rich in mineral resources, minerals were not food and had to be converted into money to buy food.
During the long period of war, all external trade in the entire Ninja World was halted, and all countries were living off their reserves.
Iwagakure's unity was not just talk; besides the Village being extremely harmonious, its relationship with the Daimyo was also quite good.
After the war, Ōnoki did not want to put too much economic pressure on the Land of Earth Daimyo, so to reduce expenditures...
...Ōnoki at that time found the Akatsuki Organization, which had already gained some renown, and outsourced some of the Land of Earth's military tasks.
Iwagakure, which was so poor it only had minerals left, hired the Akatsuki Organization with various mineral resources for a period of two years.
Two years later, Ōnoki, having tasted the benefits, continued his cooperation with the Akatsuki Organization, outsourcing tedious and complex tasks, paying only with worthless minerals.
The funds provided by the Daimyo could be better invested in the training and cultivation of the Village's Ninja, which was a win-win situation.
As the cooperation deepened, the scope of operations expanded, and trust grew.
The level of members involved in negotiations also increased accordingly, and Ōnoki gradually learned the fact that the core members of the Akatsuki Organization were S-rank rogue Ninja from various Villages.
He also had meetings with two core members of the Akatsuki Organization, and after interacting with them, the Akatsuki Organization gave Ōnoki the impression that...
...as long as you pay, even the Six Paths Sage could be arranged for your Iwagakure!
Ōnoki decided to appear in person, but he was not sure what his face as the Third Tsuchikage was worth in front of Yuuki, who was now hailed as the strongest Ninja in the Ninja World.
To be precise, whether his face was worth more than Deidara's.
Without confidence, Ōnoki had to prepare for the worst-case scenario; if diplomatic means failed, he would have no choice but to use force.
Iwagakure taking action themselves?
The shrewd Ōnoki would never do such a thing.
Leaving aside whether they could win or not, even if they won, what good would it do? What was lost could not be brought back, and Deidara had been in Konoha for so long that whatever needed to be leaked should have already been leaked.
The only thing worth celebrating was that Deidara truly wasn't interested in what he told him back then, only focused on playing with clay.
The Akatsuki Organization was the best choice now.
Ōnoki did not hesitate, immediately taking out a communication method that was only activated once every few years, and contacted a core member of the Akatsuki Organization he had met once before.
After learning the other party's location, Ōnoki made some arrangements for the Village's affairs, then flew into the sky alone and left Iwagakure.
Time reached the next day.
The Chunin Exams were still in full swing.
The team-leading Ninja from each Village, after taking turns resting, had their energy renewed, and intense confrontations were unfolding.
Kitsuchi's mood had improved significantly by then, as he had learned of his old man's countermeasures during their contact last night.
The matter had been handed over, and with Ōnoki taking on the responsibility, Kitsuchi worrying further would be useless.
Given that, it was more important to care for his daughter; Kitsuchi's biggest concerns were two things.
The Village and his daughter; Kitsuchi wasn't sure which was more important, as no one was forcing Kitsuchi to choose between the two.
Now that the Tsuchikage was worrying about the Village's affairs, he, as the Tsuchikage's son, focused his attention on his daughter.
Konan was also in the monitoring room; she didn't really care much about the Ninja from Amegakure.
What truly captured Konan's attention was the entire monitoring system.
Cameras were not a rare item in the Ninja World, and Ninja were all aware of them.
However, most of the monitoring systems outside Konoha Village were used by ordinary people, and they were also to guard against ordinary people.
Once Ninja saw the effect, they could easily evade camera surveillance.
After all, such a large metal object was far too conspicuous.
However, Konoha's monitoring system caught Konan's attention, because even between two opposing lenses, even if she inferred the lens's position based on the line of sight...
...Konan still couldn't see any flaws on the screen.
Perhaps some clues could be seen on site, but this level of concealment was already sufficient for use within a Ninja Village.
Konan used the screens to change the scene of the Death Forest to Amegakure, exploring the practicality of this monitoring system in Amegakure.
If possible, she absolutely had to find a way to get Konoha's monitoring equipment!
Konan made a decision in her heart, for no other reason than to reduce Nagato's burden.
Amegakure, as the Akatsuki Organization's base, had remained impregnable for so long, ensuring that all intelligence personnel who entered never returned.
This was all achieved by Nagato's constant maintenance of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Now that something that could lighten Nagato's burden was right before her eyes, Konan couldn't help but form an idea.
It was at this moment that the ring Konan had already removed from her chest vibrated.
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