bookbashuk Chapter 177 Sunagakure, Konoha
Chapter 177 Sunagakure, Konoha
Chapter 177 Sunagakure, Konoha
The next morning, the bird uttered its first chirp, and Taiyi awoke from his sweet dream.
Looking around, Taiyi still couldn't find any trace of Yangping and the others, and could only sigh. He now desperately hoped to treat Yangping's kaleidoscope as soon as possible, so that he could also calm his restless heart.
This is like a child who has just received a beloved toy. His restless heart is constantly urging him to find a place to play with his new toy to his heart's content.
However, Taiichi was also a qualified ninja. It was common sense for a ninja not to pry into other people's missions. So, unless there were special circumstances, he would just wait quietly and continue his daily work of training himself and teaching others.
Time flows like water, unchanging according to human will; it flows forward relentlessly according to its own inherent laws.
The ninja world is now like a turbulent sea, with battles of all sizes taking place every moment, just like the splashing waves, one wave after another.
However, a violent undersea earthquake has already occurred, but the resulting waves are still brewing in the deep sea. When those waves reach the coast, they will be enough to form a massive tsunami, which will sweep away everything on the shore, leaving nothing alive!
That evening, after traveling day and night, Chiyo's delegation finally arrived at Sunagakure Village before sunset.
The first thing she did upon returning to the village was to find her younger brother, Ichie, to learn about the circumstances surrounding Kazekage's disappearance.
"What exactly happened? How could the Kazekage have disappeared?"
Without any polite formalities or unnecessary words, this was the answer Chiyo most wanted to know.
However, reality disappointed her once again.
"We don't have a definitive answer yet."
Ebizo was also helpless. It had been four days since the Kazekage went missing, and Sunagakure had not found any trace of him, neither alive nor dead.
"Sister—there's something you need to be prepared for!" Ebizo stammered, hesitating about how to finish his sentence.
"What's wrong? Stop nagging and acting like a man." Chiyo had no time to waste with him and snapped at him.
"At the scene—a human puppet has been discovered, and the one fighting the Wind Shadow is a puppeteer who controls it!"
It was like a thunderbolt striking Chiyo's ears; it made her lose her composure even more than hearing about Kazekage's disappearance.
"What! A human puppet! Impossible! How could this be—"
Chiyo's eyes suddenly lost their sparkle, and she muttered to herself blankly.
Looking at his sister, Ebizo felt a pang of sadness. In fact, when he first heard the on-site investigation report, he was also filled with disbelief.
After a long while, when Chiyo came to her senses again, she uttered words devoid of any emotion: "Tell me about everything that happened on the spot in detail."
"The scene was littered with iron filings and puppets damaged by the iron filings; among them, 12 were human puppets alone."
It's certain that this puppeteer was among those who fought the Kazekage.
No other corpses were left at the scene besides the puppets; both the Kazekage and those who fought him had vanished without a trace.
After our people arrived, they discovered traces of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) underground. These traces ultimately led towards the Land of Earth, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it was a deliberate deception.
Furthermore, near the central oasis on the battlefield, we discovered an underground hideout created using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels to create a hideout). Upon investigation, we can determine that someone was there when the battle took place.
Ebizo told Chiyo everything he knew without missing a single word. After he finished speaking, he waited quietly for Chiyo to think about it.
"Is there any arrangement for the village?" As one of the most respected elders in Sunagakure, his love for the village was no less than that for his own grandson.
"Although it hasn't been officially confirmed yet, everyone knows that the Third Kazekage is likely to die. Right now, they're all arguing endlessly about who should be the Fourth Kazekage, and there's no sign of it stopping yet."
"What a bunch of useless trash!" Chiyo's face was ashen. What kind of time is this? Konoha or Iwagakure might attack Sunagakure tomorrow after receiving the news, and they are still arguing about this. Shouldn't they be trying to calm people down quickly?
"Go! Immediately issue the order to convene an elders' meeting and resolve the Wind Shadow matter today!"
Ebizo paused, glancing at the sky. "Isn't this all too rushed?"
"Hurry up! This is a matter of life and death. Don't think it's now; even if it's midnight, you need to get everyone here for a meeting!"
Chiyo truly lives up to her name; she possesses remarkable courage and decisiveness. Only someone with sufficient prestige and ability could make such a decision.
Soon, within half an hour, all twelve elders of Sunagakure had gathered in the meeting room. However, this time, the head seat was empty; only Chiyo sat beside it, indicating that she would preside over the meeting.
"Now that everyone is here, I'll get straight to the point. The Third Kazekage has been missing for four days, and I believe everyone knows the outcome. Given the current state of the ninja world, a great war is imminent. We must immediately elect a new Kazekage to lead the village forward!"
Chiyo's words were quite blunt, which caused the other elders present to discuss among themselves.
"How can we give up on the Third Kazekage so easily?"
"Let's recommend Rasa. He has already mastered Magnet Release and is a very suitable candidate."
"I think Ye Cang is great. She is top-notch in both ability and personal reputation."
"Isn't it too hasty to select the Fourth Kazekage so quickly?"
The conference room was immediately filled with various voices of discussion.
Chiyo, sitting in front, was getting increasingly pale. These guys were still fighting for power and profit, disregarding the safety of the entire village for the sake of some say.
A loud slap landed on the table, silencing the entire conference room. Everyone's eyes turned to Elder Chiyo, whose face was ashen. Several of the younger elders shrank back, clearly indicating that Chiyo had long held considerable power.
"What time is it? You're still arguing here."
Believe it or not, after today, information about unusual activity within Sunagakure will be on the desks of other ninja villages.
By the day after tomorrow, they will all know that the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure has gone missing.
And in another day, the Land of Wind will be teeming with spies from other ninja villages.
The other elders fell silent. Some disagreed, thinking that Chiyo was making a mountain out of a molehill; others thought that Elder Chiyo was right, but still had doubts about the selection of the fourth generation.
"Reifu, Goemon, and Buggy, you are all elders of the village. Shouldn't you be the first to speak up at this time?"
Seeing that these people were still hesitating, Chiyo stopped showing them any mercy and directly called out the names of the elders, forcing them to speak.
"Well, no matter what, the body of the third generation hasn't been found yet, so it's really not appropriate to choose the fourth generation so hastily."
Reifeng spoke up at this moment. As the cousin of the First Kazekage, he held a very high position in Sunagakure. But he continued, "However, the external situation is indeed too dangerous. The village urgently needs a leader. Why don't we elect an acting Kazekage to lead everyone for now, and wait until the matter of the Third Kazekage is confirmed, or until his prestige is sufficient, before he officially succeeds as the Fourth Kazekage?"
Let's all look at each other. Okay, whether it's appropriate or not is up to you. What else can we do?
At this moment, Goemon and Buggy also agreed to choose one of them as the acting Fourth Kazekage. Immediately afterwards, Chiyo and Ebizo also agreed.
In the blink of an eye, five of the twelve elders agreed, and these were the five with the highest prestige. So what was there to discuss? The other elders also nodded in agreement.
The remaining task is to choose who will serve as the acting fourth Kazekage.
There wasn't much to hesitate about. If Rasa hadn't learned Magnet Release: Gold Sand, the outcome of the Fourth Kazekage's fate might have been uncertain. But what can you do when you're so lucky?
Magnet Release is no ordinary bloodline limit; it is one of the few bloodline limits in the ninja world that can be learned and passed down.
Moreover, Magnet Release has a major advantage: it can suppress Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, to a certain extent. In this era where top-tier combat power is urgently needed, this ability is extremely valuable.
As expected, the final vote was the same: with the exception of a few elders, all of the 12 elders voted for Luo Sha.
From then on, Rasa became the acting Fourth Kazekage, and the Fourth Kazekage will lead Sunagakure into the future. Of course, that will happen after the results are announced tomorrow.
Chiyo has accomplished what she envisioned. Upon her return, she has initially stabilized the internal problems within Sunagakure and united the internal forces, enabling her to cope with the external crisis.
At the same time, around the same time that Chiyo rushed back to Sunagakure, Jiraiya's urgent military intelligence was delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi from Konoha.
Looking at the urgent report in his hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi's first reaction was not anything else, but rather to worry whether Jiraiya was dissatisfied with the village's decision and was using this urgent report to question him, but then he realized that the timing didn't make sense.
With a nervous heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll, but the title that caught his eye stunned him—The Death of the Third Kazekage.
Kazekage is dead? How could that be!
-
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't believe it. He pulled back the scroll and scanned all the text in the report at a glance.
When he saw that it was Taiichi who had personally witnessed and brought back the Kazekage's body, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
When they saw Taiichi kill Sasori of the Red Sand who was fighting the Kazekage with a sneak attack and obtain the final spoils, they sighed again, marveling at how times make heroes, and how such a coincidence could happen to him.
He closed the report in his hand, then looked at the sealed scroll that had been sent along with it. It should contain the corpses of the Third Kazekage and Sasori of the Red Sand. This was truly a precious, yet troublesome, gift.
"Go and fetch those three advisors for me!" The Third Generation said, puffing on his cigarette, his voice coming through the swirling smoke.
"Yes!" A figure appeared from the shadows behind him, bowed, and then disappeared from the spot.
Half an hour later, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado hurriedly arrived at the Hokage's office. The fact that they were summoned so late meant there must have been some emergency; they hadn't stopped for a moment and had come straight from home.
Ten minutes later, Shimura Danzo also pushed open the door and entered. Compared to the two before him, he was much more relaxed. Upon entering, he saw that Koharu and En had already arrived, and he was the only one missing. He then quickened his pace and walked to his designated spot.
Once everyone was present, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't keep them in suspense. He slowly unfolded the scroll of Jiraiya's report onto the table, with the front facing the three of them.
"This is an urgent report from Jiraiya at the Southern Camp. Please take a look!"
All three looked puzzled; this scene was rather unusual. So they took a few steps forward and turned their gaze to the scroll, where the bolded title was clearly visible—"The Death of the Third Kazekage."
A deathly silence fell over the office. Both Danzos, whose eyes were always half-closed, suddenly widened their gazes. Koharu Utatane gasped, while Homura Mitokado instinctively adjusted his glasses, trying to see more clearly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi recounted the key information in a deep voice: "It was Taichi Matsushita. While on a reconnaissance mission, he unexpectedly witnessed the entire process in the heart of the Land of Wind: the Third Kazekage was ambushed and killed by their rogue ninja, Sasori of the Red Sand."
Taiyi even seized the opportunity, taking advantage of the fact that both sides were severely injured, and decisively killed Sasori himself, then brought their bodies back.
The shock of this earth-shattering news far surpassed that of the previous major victory at the front. The three advisors never dreamed they would hear such news.
Koharu Utatane was the first to recover from her shock. Pointing at the intelligence report on the table, her voice was urgent: "The Kazekage—he's dead? And he died at the hands of a rogue ninja from his own village! Once this is confirmed—"
"The sky over Sunagakure has fallen." Danzo's cold voice interrupted her, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone. "Chiyo just used a so-called alliance to exchange for those prisoners, and now their shadow has fallen—ha, Sunagakure's internal affairs are bound to fall into chaos!"
He immediately realized this was a golden opportunity for Konoha, and asked urgently, "Where's the body? Weren't you supposed to bring it back?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed to the scroll beside him, indicating that the corpses of the Kazekage and Sasori were sealed there.
Danzo's gaze immediately became incredibly intense, probably even more so than when he looked at his wife.
"The Kazekage's corpse is an excellent bargaining chip. Not only can it further destabilize Sunagakure, but if planned properly, it can also force them to make concessions on the border and in future struggles! Hiruzen, we must make good use of this!"
Mitokado Homura frowned, considering the bigger picture: "Danzo is right. The internal strife in Sunagakure is our opportunity, but it won't last long. Our primary concern is the pack of wolves eyeing us from all sides!"
Iwagakure is continuously increasing its troops in the Land of Grass, and they're likely doing the same in the Land of Birds. As for Kumogakure, no one can predict what those madmen will do.
Once they confirm the Kazekage's death, will they spare the weakened Land of Wind?
He looked at Hiruzen, hesitated, but continued, "We just formed an alliance with Sunagakure. If they are really invaded by Iwagakure, what should we do? Should we stand by and watch, or should we take the initiative to join the war according to the alliance?"
Everyone present, except Danzo, turned pale. What was originally a defensive alliance meant to relieve their own pressure had now become a fuse that could drag them into war. It was impossible for them not to be annoyed. Not to mention the more than one hundred prisoners who had been released for free.
It's like losing both your wife and your army.
At this point, this decision has become a thorn in their side, constantly reminding them how foolish they had been!
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, no longer wanting to discuss the matter. His gaze swept over the sealed scroll, pondering how to maximize its profits.
But after much thought, given Konoha's current situation, there's really nothing else they can do besides gaining an advantage by knowing about this in advance.
These two corpses are probably only of research value; Magnet Release and Sand Village's puppet technology are both invaluable secrets.
"We cannot expose the Kazekage's body to us yet, at least not now. The Sand Village probably doesn't even know if their Kazekage is alive or dead. If we reveal it first, and they assume we killed the Kazekage, then we'll have no way to defend ourselves."
Upon hearing this, the three of them agreed that it made sense. Under immense internal pressure, it was entirely possible that Sunagakure would use Konoha as a target to vent its internal frustrations.
"That's all for today. Danzo, have the Root intensify their reconnaissance of Sunagakure's interior, and find out their movements as soon as possible. Also, give orders to the defense forces in the Kumogakure and Iwagakure directions, instructing them to pay close attention to the situation on the other side during this time, and not to give them any opportunity to take advantage."
As for the question of Taiichi's reward that Jiraiya mentioned at the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn't discuss it here, especially since he had the right to give such a reward directly.