The words Li Fan spoke were actually thoughts that the Jonin present had more or less considered themselves.
But thinking about it was one thing; their emotions would not allow them to admit this reality.
The burly man who had spoken first, Jonin Aoki, finally couldn't bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer and broke the silence with his gruff voice:
"Even... even so... we should still mobilize the entire village to search for Lord Third's body! No matter how powerful the murderer is, it's impossible for them to leave absolutely no trace!"
Li Fan glanced at Jonin Aoki, recalling information from Rasa's memories.
Jonin Aoki was a puppet master who was typically all brawn and no brains.
However, precisely because of his physical strength, his close-combat abilities were relatively decent, combined with his exquisite puppet manipulation skills.
In terms of strength within the current Sand Village, he ranked in the top tier.
This was evident from the fact that, despite being a puppet master, he had no face paint.
Only recognized, powerful puppet masters didn't need face paint to prove their identity.
Because they themselves were the proof.
Li Fan shook his head:
"Naturally, we could mobilize the entire village to search, but let's put aside whether we can find him or not."
"Just the act of mobilizing the whole village with such fanfare—do you think other ninja villages won't find out?"
"It has been ten years since the Second Great Ninja War. You are all the pillars of this village; you must be very clear about the power comparison between the other villages and our Sand Village right now."
Hearing Li Fan's words, Jonin Aoki suddenly let out a long sigh.
His rugged face was full of unwillingness, with other complex emotions faintly visible.
The crowd present pondered for a moment and understood the meaning behind Li Fan's words.
The Hidden Sand Village had not yet recovered from the Second Great Ninja War.
The other major ninja villages, however, had mostly recovered.
Especially Konoha and Kumogakure (Cloud Village), which had returned to their pre-war peak.
No one here was a child; they naturally understood.
Once the other villages noticed such a massive movement from the Sand, they would quickly deduce that the Kazekage had likely met with misfortune.
One could easily imagine that they would naturally take advantage of the fire to loot.
This had nothing to do with morality or whether relations between villages were good or bad; it was solely about benefits.
Moreover, the Sand Village's relationship with the other major villages was usually poor anyway.
Chiyo remained silent for a long time. Her sagging facial skin twitched slightly, and her withered lips opened and closed. Her voice was no longer calm as before, but carried a trace of grief and lament:
"In that case, Li Fan, in your opinion, what should we do next?"
As soon as Chiyo said this, the surrounding Jonin opened their eyes wide in unison, then looked at each other.
They naturally knew what Chiyo's words implied.
However, after exchanging glances for a few seconds, they did not voice any objections. Instead, they all looked at Li Fan again.
Unlike before, their eyes no longer held anger, but a faint expectation.
Pakura also kept her eyes wide open. Her emerald-green eyes gazed expectantly at the young man beside her, who sat with a straight back, radiating a calm and steady aura.
Li Fan's well-reasoned and extremely composed speech constantly shattered Pakura's previous impression of him.
She never expected that this friend, who in her memory was always reticent and only cared about training,
Would be so calm, so foresightful, and not afraid to offend the Jonin present in the slightest.
This caused strange feelings to constantly emerge in Pakura's heart.
She suddenly felt that sitting next to Li Fan made her heartbeat accelerate involuntarily.
Pakura felt her rapidly beating heart and the unfamiliar emotion surging within her.
That strange emotion grew from weak to intense in just a dozen seconds, almost filling her mind.
At this moment, Pakura only felt bewildered; she didn't understand what this situation was at all.
Pakura, who had never been in love and had very few recreational activities, naturally didn't understand that this strange feeling was an emotion called admiration.
Li Fan didn't know about the changes in Pakura's heart beside him, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew he had pretty much convinced them.
Li Fan had the memory of reading the original work in his past life, so he knew clearly.
The Sand Village's decision in the original story was to mobilize the power of the whole village, searching for traces of the Third Kazekage like madmen.
If they couldn't find traces in the village, they expanded the search range to the entire Land of Wind, and eventually even to other countries.
The consequence of doing so.
Was that a few days later, the Cloud Village quickly detected the disappearance of the Third Kazekage and launched a massive invasion.
Ultimately, this event became the fuse for the Third Great Ninja War.
The Sand Village, which had not yet recovered from the Second Great Ninja War, suffered heavy losses again, hurting its very foundation.
In the later stages, the Sand Village was even forced to fight multiple major ninja villages simultaneously, teetering on the brink of destruction.
This also led the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, in the original story, to decide to use Pakura, the hero who shone brightly on the Hidden Mist front, as a scapegoat to quell the Mist Village's anger.
He tricked her into going to the Mist Village alone to sign a so-called peace treaty.
Pakura, who was loyal to the Sand Village and not very politically sensitive, didn't know the truth until the moment she died.
The condition for the Mist Village's willingness to negotiate peace was her death.
And even though the Sand Village took such actions, it was too late.
Even ten years later, during the crown prince Naruto's first Chunin Exam, the Sand Village's vitality had not recovered.
This also caused the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, at that time to decide to risk launching a surprise attack when Konoha hosted the Chunin Exams, resorting to deceitful tactics.
But the result was that he was killed by Orochimaru halfway there, and his corpse was left exposed in the desert for several days before being found by the Sand Village.
From the beginning, Li Fan observed this matter from the perspective of a bystander. Coupled with the help of his past life memories, deducing the process from the result...
It was naturally easy to convince these high-ranking Sand officials who were immersed in grief and confused by the situation.
These thoughts flashed through Li Fan's mind, but his mouth didn't stay idle. He slowly stated his plan:
"I personally believe that at this time, we should prepare on the premise that war will occur. We should prepare combat supplies on a small scale in advance and secretly organize elite ninjas to be sent to various borders, just in case."
"At the same time, we should urgently double the training volume of the reserve ninjas and train them according to wartime standards."
At this point, Li Fan looked at Ebizo.
"Lord Ebizo will act as Lord Third Kazekage in public. There is no need to appear frequently; if you appear too often, it will be easier to reveal flaws."
"Just show your face in public once or twice at random times every day. In this way, no one will see through it for at least ten to fifteen days."
"Even if the major ninja villages are suspicious, they won't dare to act rashly."
Li Fan thought for a moment. Considering that the Sand Village didn't have a god's-eye view and didn't know that the Third Kazekage was already dead as a doornail, he added:
"Of course, searching for the Third Kazekage is something that must be done."
"We can send out reliable, idle ninjas without affecting the village's defensive strength."
"On the surface, give them various mission pretexts, but in reality, they will be secretly searching for the Third Kazekage."
After listening to these words, Pakura's eyes, which were already passionate, suddenly changed, filled with brilliance.
Her two towering, massive breasts, which Li Fan's hands could only barely grasp...
Even tightly wrapped in clothing, they continued to bounce up and down with her breathing, forming beautiful curves.
Pakura's long legs—beautiful, slender, smooth, and one meter in length without a single visible pore—involuntarily pressed tightly together.
At this moment, in a dimly lit corner of the office.
A woman with a slender figure, completely wrapped in a black trench coat, had her arms crossed over her chest. Her massive breasts appeared even more spectacular in this pose.
She wore a mask on her face, hiding her true appearance.
Only in her exposed light purple eyes was the reflection of Li Fan—high-spirited and full of confidence—clearly visible.
She gazed quietly at Li Fan. As she watched, a faint excitement appeared in her originally calm eyes, but it vanished quickly.
The woman nodded slowly, obviously approving of Li Fan's words completely. Then she elegantly turned her neck to observe the others.
After hearing these words, Chiyo revealed an unconcealed look of approval and relief.
She subconsciously exchanged a glance with Ebizo standing beside her, and both nodded in unison.
Originally, Chiyo summoned the Jonin remaining in the village to discuss this matter with the intention of letting everyone know the situation and then working together to find the Third Kazekage.
But Chiyo didn't expect that this personal disciple of the Third, Li Fan, who was always reticent and only knew how to bury his head in training in her impression...
Would possess such a mind, such courage, and such foresight, even if he was overly calm.
His master had suddenly disappeared inexplicably and was very likely murdered, yet there was not a trace of sadness on his face.
This would be a flaw in an ordinary person, but for a Kazekage, the head of a village, it was an excellent virtue.
This proved that he would not do anything foolish out of momentary anger, nor would he make decisions with endless future troubles due to momentary impulse.
While this requirement seemed simple, one only had to look at the performance of the Jonin present to know that it was a very rare quality.
Because the Sand Village's resources were too scarce, combined with many other reasons, the ideology of seeking quick success and instant benefits permeated every aspect of the village.
Therefore, the Sand Village produced an abundance of rough men with simple minds and well-developed limbs.
Chiyo exchanged glances with Ebizo again. The two nodded in unison once more, evidently having made a decision in their silent communication.
"Li Fan, you are very good. Seeing that there is a genius like you among the younger generation of the Sand Village, this old woman is very happy."
"However, you must absolutely not slack off because of this. In the near future, our Sand Village will rely on you!"
Chiyo's words were no longer a hint, but a naked declaration.
If it weren't for the fact that they still needed the title of the Third Kazekage to keep the surrounding ninja villages from acting rashly...
Chiyo might have appointed Li Fan as the Fourth Kazekage right then and there.
After saying this, Chiyo looked at the surrounding crowd:
"You are all battle-hardened Jonin. If you have any proposals, bring them up. Don't be afraid of saying something wrong."
The Jonin now had things to say.
Perhaps regarding other matters, they weren't great, but when it came to war, they were very familiar with it. They began adding details one by one.
As for Chiyo's explicit statement?
Li Fan was already the most talented and strongest among the younger generation of the Sand Village.
Coupled with Li Fan's performance just now—an analysis that was well-founded and unhurried from start to finish—
Most of the Jonin present had already acknowledged Li Fan's status.
The remaining small portion of Jonin dared not voice opposition openly due to the prestige of the Chiyo siblings.
Jonin Aoki, however, did not participate in the conversation at this time. Instead, he lowered his head slightly to hide the unclear emotions flickering in his eyes.
Li Fan's words had indeed convinced him, but that didn't mean he would accept Li Fan as the future Fourth Kazekage.
Aoki pondered internally:
"Although this kid Li Fan is the most talented and strongest among the younger generation..."
"That only proves his talent is high. What the Sand Village needs most right now is a powerful Kazekage, not a talented Kazekage."
Thinking of this, Aoki's heart began to burn with ambition.
He considered himself to be in the first tier among the hundred or so official Jonin in the village.
And now he was only in his early forties. He felt that his physical functions hadn't declined; he was in his prime. If...
Pondering this, Aoki quietly raised his head to glance quickly at Chiyo, then lowered it just as fast.
Although Elder Chiyo's words implied inside and out that Li Fan should become the future Kazekage, and he didn't have the guts to disobey Chiyo...
If he defeated Li Fan in combat using a spar as an excuse...
Then no matter what, that kid Li Fan wouldn't have the face to assume the position of Kazekage.
At this moment, Li Fan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that his position as the future Fourth Kazekage was most likely secured.
Before Li Fan could think further, a series of system notification sounds suddenly popped up in his mind.
Li Fan's mind stirred, and he began to check the series of notifications while also keeping a bit of attention on reality.
"Successfully changed the original plot, gained 300 Skill Points!"
"Pakura's affection increased by 5 points, reaching 21 affection points!"
"Pakura's affection increased by 8 points, reaching 29 affection points!"
"Chiyo, Ebizo, Akatsuki, etc., affection levels increased individually!"
"All characters increased affection by a total of 80 points. Total gained: 80 Skill Points!"
Li Fan wasn't surprised about gaining skill points for changing the plot.
However, getting three hundred skill points was a bit unexpected.
He thought that changing such an important plot point all at once would yield at least a thousand skill points. He didn't expect it to be so little.
But after thinking about it, Li Fan understood.
His actions merely prevented the Sand Village from being so passive and allowed them to prepare in advance.
When the war happened, the battle lines wouldn't collapse instantly due to being caught off guard.
Moreover, the Third Great Ninja War would definitely still happen; at most, the timing would be a month or two later than in the original story.
As for Pakura's affection increasing by several points at once, this was within Li Fan's expectations.
During his performance just now, although he didn't have time to observe Pakura...
Li Fan hadn't ignored Pakura's fervent gaze.
After all, even an ordinary person would notice if someone stared at them from behind for a long time.
Let alone Li Fan, who was so close to Pakura.
Thus, Pakura had already reached 29 affection points.
Li Fan guessed to himself that according to the system's standards, he and Pakura were now considered relatively good friends.
Just a little more effort, and hehe...
As for the affection increase of the others, Li Fan glanced at it roughly and stopped paying attention.
Instead, he looked at the three interfaces before him:
[Host]
[Character Affection]
[Exchange]
Li Fan gently clicked on the Host interface, and a string of character data immediately popped into his mind:
Host Name: Li Fan
Physical Age: 23 years old
Comprehensive Combat Power: Ordinary Person
Chakra Natures: Wind, Fire
Mastered Skills: None
Owned Skill Points: 420
Owned Items: None
This character interface was roughly within Li Fan's expectations, though the Chakra natures surprised him a bit.
He didn't expect his Earthling body to possess both Wind and Fire Chakra natures.
Placed in the early stages of Shippuden, this should be considered a moderate genius level.
As for these 420 skill points, Li Fan wasn't sure if it was a lot or a little.