Rasa's words caused everyone's face to change and they all looked at him solemnly.
Why is this person so violent that he starts wars at every turn?
"Don't worry! Let's sit and talk peacefully. You don't need to get angry."
Hiruzen hurriedly appeased Rasa while sweating profusely on his forehead.
This guy had really come here for war!
According to the news that Hiruzen received before, although Gaara is Rasa's son, he has no sentiment for him at all.
On the very day Gaara was born, tragedy struck as Rasa's wife passed away during childbirth. Moreover, in his pursuit of ensuring that his son could control the immense power of the One Tail, Rasa subjected Gaara to numerous tests of so-called tolerance, even going so far as to task Gaara with killing his own uncle.
Childhood life of Naruto and Gaara are almost the same.
Thus, Rasa had no affection for Gaara at all, only endless hatred and disappointment.
And the current performance of Rassa has deepened Hiruzen's guess.
Allowing to participate in the Chūnin exam with the identity of Jinchūriki and then causing the disappearance and then holding Konoha accountable. Also, if they can't negotiate, it will just give him a reason to start a war. Nobody cared about Jinchūriki at all.
During Gaara's disappearance, Sunagakure claimed that there was only one so-called Anbu present except them. However, in reality, there were no Anbu operating that night at all.
Even one particular Jōnin of theirs is missing, with no news so far.
The Third Hokage is aware that Hayate possesses the ability to gather sensitive information, surpassing the limitations of Kekkei Genkai, making him the most suitable for such tasks. However, due to Hayate's own health condition causing him to suffer from a persistent cough, he is unable to engage in prolonged physical activities, significantly impacting his combat capabilities. Therefore, Hiruzen only calls him for special tasks.
Therefore, Hiruzen came to a conclusion that Hayate might have discovered something and was silenced by the man in the dark.
"Oh, please remain calm. The utmost priority at the moment is to locate your son. The ninja observing us from the dark must have witnessed the current state of Konoha. It can be said that we have mobilized our full strength to search for him, but he has been concealed skillfully and has remained undiscovered until now, prolonging the situation."
"But I believe that with Kazekage's visit to Konoha, there may be a possibility of obtaining some information, don't you think so?"
Although Hiruzen held certain suspicions within, he maintained an outward appearance of anxiety, persistently attempting to persuade Rasa with a profound intent in his words.
"The reason I arrived early is to expedite the search for Gaara. I am willing to halt the Chūnin exams if necessary, all in the hopes of locating him as soon as possible."
"Of course, of course, it would be best for Kazekage to rest here temporarily and familiarize himself with the current situation. Later, I will arrange for someone to provide you with all the information gathered over the past few days, giving you a comprehensive overview. How does that sound? Would you like a sample?"
"I will wait for five more days. If there is still no news by then, you must either allow my people to conduct a search within Konoha, or I will leave."
Rasa said with a cold snort and walked out of the reception room.
The Third Hokage didn't arrange another place for Kazekage to live. After all, the house that Sunagakure lived in before was enough.
"Teacher, what do you think?"
After Kazekage left, Jiraiya asked, who was smoking a pipe, worriedly.
"Kakashi, I have a mission for you. You must watch Kazekage's next movement acutely."
Hiruzen didn't answer Jiraiya, but instead arranged tasks for Kakashi.
"I understand." Kakashi nodded and turned to leave.
As an Elite Jōnin, he is qualified to mobilize Anbu. Especially now that he has been ordered by the Third Hokage himself, so naturally he has to mobilize several other elite Anbu to stare at Kazekage with him.
"Teacher, what is this?"
Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage in puzzlement. For just observing Kazekage, there was no need to send Kakashi in person.
"Jiraiya, I suspect that the disappearance of Jinchūriki may be a ploy executed by Sunagakure, in order to start a war against us. They want to find a suitable reason. Otherwise, why would Rasa conceal his son's identity as a Jinchūriki and send him to Konoha to participate in the Chūnin exams?"
The Third Hokage expressed his inner guess.
"However... it was one thing if only the Jinchūriki disappeared, but Fukasaku-sama from Mount Myōboku also vanished alongside him. Could it be that the Kazekage was involved in this as well? It's unlikely that he possesses the power to execute such an act within Konoha without being detected."
Jiraiya frowned and said, as he felt that his teacher's guess was a bit flawed.
"Hmm... what if their purpose is to establish a connection with Mount Myōboku and replace us, Konoha?"
Although what Jiraiya said makes sense. But since they wanted to do something, why can't Sunagakure make such a plan?
"However, it must be an extremely powerful sealing technique or an unknown ninjutsu that can trap Fukasaku-sama. Because Fukasaku-sama has come here through the Summoning technique. As long as he undid the Summoning technique, he can return to Mount Myōboku."
Jiraiya denied again.
"Anyways, let's monitor the actions of Kazekage for now. Furthermore, is what you said really reliable?"
Hiruzen is very helpless and could only hope that they will return safely, as foretold by the prophecy. Otherwise, he fears that the mounting pressure may push him to resort to war as a last resort.
"The prophecy of the Great Sage has always come true."
"That's good."
…
"Kazekage sama, we have been searching together with Konoha's ninjas for the past few days and indeed we haven't found any information on Gaara."
Baki reported to Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama, I'm sorry! I am incompetent. I allowed Gaara to disappear right before my eyes. This is a grave negligence on my part."
As Baki knelt down on one knee, he took the initiative to plead guilty.
"This is not your fault. It is simply that the enemy has employed exceedingly cunning methods."
Rasa shook his head and didn't held Baki accountable.
After all, this is all caused by Naruto. Orochimaru, despite his vast knowledge and abilities, is unable to fully comprehend Naruto's ninjutsu, specifically the technique which he used to transfer the Summoning Scroll. Orochimaru can only speculate that it is a high level space-time ninjutsu.
How else would it be possible to trap the Sage of Mount Myōboku if not for it?
But he will not say these words to Baki and others.
"Kazekage-sama, do you want to contact Otogakure and Orochimaru and check if they have any information?"
In terms of being a spy, Baki acknowledges that he is no match for Orochimaru and his disciple. Yakushi Kabuto, has managed to infiltrate the ranks of Konoha Shinobi for seven years without being detected, which is truly astonishing.
"No need. I've already received their message. Like Konoha, they haven't found anything. In short, keep looking and also keep an eye on Konoha to see what they will do."
"Yes!" Baki nodded, then turned and left to arrange tasks.
'Speaking of which, I must still approach Naruto-kun and inquire about the duration for which he intends to borrow the Jinchūriki. If it extends for too long, I may find it challenging to come up with an excuse to handle Sarutobi-sensei.' Orochimaru thought.
…