Two months later,
Sunagakure.
"Still no sign of the Third?"
Chiyo asked several elite jonin with a grim expression.
"No…"
They all shook their heads bitterly. "Over the past half month, we've searched almost the entire Land of Wind and even the nearby Land of Rivers. Some ANBU units have even infiltrated the Land of Fire to search in secret… but there's still no trace."
Chiyo's expression darkened even further.
"Sister! We can't go on like this!"
At this moment, Ebizō spoke up. "With the Third's disappearance, the village has already started to show signs of unrest over the past half month. If the Land of Earth finds out, they'll definitely make a move against us. And we won't be able to hide this from the Daimyō much longer either. We need to give him a satisfactory explanation. We have to shift the conflict."
Chiyo nodded. "That's the only option. We go to war. Only war can divert the Land of Earth's attention—and shift internal pressure."
"Huh?"
The elders and officials present were stunned.
How did this suddenly turn into a war decision?
"Who are we fighting?" Rasa asked without hesitation. To him, this was the best solution.
"Shouldn't we first appoint a new Kazekage to take charge of the situation?"
"Exactly!"
"I actually think war is a good idea. We weren't satisfied with the Second Great Ninja War. This time, we must tear a chunk of flesh from the Land of Fire!"
"..."
The room erupted into overlapping voices.
"Silence!"
Chiyo suddenly stood up and roared, instantly suppressing the chaos.
The room fell quiet.
Her authority was unmistakable.
Once everyone calmed down, she continued, "For now, Rasa will act as the Fourth Kazekage and take charge of war affairs. If he performs well, he will formally take the position. If not, we'll replace him. Any objections?"
Her gaze swept across the room.
No one dared meet her eyes.
"I have no objections."
"Rasa is suitable. He possesses Magnet Release—he's qualified."
"No objections."
One after another, they voiced agreement. Even those who disagreed chose silence under the pressure of Chiyo and Ebizō.
"Good."
Chiyo nodded in satisfaction. "Our target this time is the Land of Fire—Konoha. Begin preparations. No matter what, we must carve out a piece of their flesh. Otherwise, we cannot recover our losses or answer to the Daimyō."
Then she turned to Ebizō. "Brother, I'll leave the Daimyō to you."
"Understood," Ebizō nodded. "The village should mobilize as soon as possible."
"Mm."
That very day, the entire Sand Village began making rapid preparations.
Meanwhile, the unusual movements in Sunagakure over the past half month had already drawn the attention of both Iwagakure and Konoha.
Both sides dispatched numerous spies into the Land of Wind to gather intelligence.
There's no such thing as a perfect secret.
Konoha finally obtained useful information.
Inside the Hokage's office—
"Is it confirmed? The Third Kazekage has disappeared, and the Sand Village is preparing to act against us?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a troubled expression as he smoked his pipe.
"Basically confirmed."
Mitarashi Anko's father? Actually Mitarashi Anko is female; but here it's Mitarashi Shishō? safer generic: Mitarashi ANBU commander (the newly appointed ANBU commander after Sakumo's resignation) nodded. "Large numbers of Sand shinobi have appeared along the Land of Wind border and within the Land of Rivers. Their target is clearly us. Hokage-sama, please make a decision soon."
Hiruzen turned to Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzō Shimura. "What do you think?"
Danzō spoke bluntly, "What's there to think about? It's obvious the Sand Village is trying to shift the blame onto us to provoke war and ease their internal conflicts. They're also trying to divert Onoki's attention."
"That's their Third Kazekage—the so-called strongest Kazekage—yet he vanished without a trace. How ridiculous."
"Do you know what kind of person Ōnoki is? If he finds out, he won't hesitate to attack the Land of Wind."
After all, this makes them look weak—like easy prey.
"If even your strongest Kazekage can disappear without a trace, what kind of strength does your village really have?"
"…It seems war is unavoidable."
Hiruzen sighed and made his decision. "Have Orochimaru lead 2,000 shinobi to Kikyo Castle in two days to establish defenses. No matter what, we can't remain passive."
"Also…"
He turned to Danzō. "Once we engage the Sand, Iwagakure under Ōnoki will not miss this opportunity. He's been dissatisfied since the Second War ended. He's the most active one lately—he'll likely take this chance to start a war."
"So, Danzō, I need you to take 500 men to the frontlines of the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain to guard against a possible Iwa invasion."
"If anything happens, report immediately. I'll send reinforcements."
His concerns were justified.
If Konoha fought the Sand, not just Iwa—even Kumogakure and Kirigakure might join in.
The most likely scenario: a full-scale war against the Land of Fire.
"Fine. Leave it to me."
Danzō nodded, then added, "However, I want to take some Uchiha shinobi with me. I don't trust them. If too many of our forces leave the village, I'm concerned they might cause trouble."
In truth, these were just excuses.
Danzō simply wouldn't miss any opportunity to suppress the Uchiha.
At the same time, Orochimaru's research had made new progress.
He needed a large number of Sharingan.
And this—
Was the perfect opportunity.
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