Late at night in the Suna, Chiyo's home.
At this hour, Chiyo had finally managed to soothe her beloved grandson to sleep before quietly slipping out of the room.
"Mom and Dad."
As she stepped away, she caught her grandson muttering, a pang of anguish stabbing her heart like a needle.
"Damn Hattori Masanari..."
Through gritted teeth, Chiyo muttered under her breath, her expression contorted with ferocity.
It had been two agonizing days since her son and daughter-in-law were taken captive. The envoys dispatched by the Suna to the Rain Village, only to discover that Hattori Masanari was nowhere to be found, leaving no trace behind.
The fate of her son and daughter-in-law remained shrouded in uncertainty.
Returning to her quarters, Chiyo attempted to rest, but her mind was consumed with worry, rendering sleep elusive. Another night of restlessness loomed ahead.
In a bid to distract herself, she ventured down to the underground puppet workshop, hoping that crafting puppets might offer temporary respite from her troubles.
But as she made her way, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched within her own home.
"Why the secrecy at home ?"
Her words cut through the silence, and in the next moment, Ebizo emerged from the shadows, offering a faint smile. "Force of habit, I suppose."
"Any news?" Chiyo's tone was urgent, devoid of humor.
"Masanari Hattori has resurfaced," Ebizo confirmed.
"Where is he? And what of Chisha and Shalan?" Chiyo's inquiry was tinged with anticipation.
Ebizo paused for a moment before delivering the somber news. "He's still in the Land of Rain. As for Chisha and Shalan, they're likely alive, but the Ame-nin is colluding with representatives from Iwagakure, aiming to strike a clandestine deal."
"Iwa!" Chiyo's demeanor turned icy, her gaze piercing.
"Calm yourself, sister. It's too late to intervene now," Ebizo interjected, sensing Chiyo's mounting agitation.
"How do you expect me to remain calm? Iwa is far more treacherous than Suna. Onogi will relish extracting information from Chisha and Shalan before disposing of them. I cannot stand by and watch my son and daughter-in-law meet such a fate," Chiyo retorted, her tone frigid.
In her eyes, Iwa posed a greater threat than Suna. Unlike konoha, which occupied fertile lands and maintained relative peace, Iwa had long exhibited aggressive tendencies, coveting the rich oases in the Kingdom of Wind's northern territories.
Though Suna and Iwa hadn't engaged in large-scale conflicts in recent years, skirmishes along the border persisted. Her son and daughter-in-law had earned numerous accolades in battles against Iwagakure, claiming the lives of countless enemy ninjas. Their expertise in puppetry made them formidable adversaries, capable of inflicting swift and lethal strikes.
As puppet masters adept in the art of subterfuge, they ranked among the top echelons of the ninja world. A single poisoned needle from their puppets could spell death for any foe.
As a result, her son and daughter-in-law had incurred Iwa's wrath, becoming prime targets for assassination.
Now, with Hattori Masanari negotiating with Iwa instead of Suna, Chiyo couldn't help but wish for a different outcome. While dealing with konoha presented its challenges, it was a far more manageable scenario. If Suna demonstrated a willingness to halt hostilities, there was a chance her family might survive and even be returned as diplomatic assets.
"But patience is paramount. Rushing in recklessly will only seal their fates. Do you wish for their demise?" Ebizo's rebuke was unyielding, devoid of sympathy.
In that moment, Ebizo shed his deference to his sister, offering a blunt reality check.
When Chiyo heard Ebizo's words, she clenched her fist in anger, tempted to school her insubordinate brother with puppetry.
But ultimately, she restrained herself, stomping the ground in impotent fury, cursing Hattori Masanari and Iwagakure relentlessly.
"Sister, fret not. Even if Masanari Hattori strikes a deal with Iwagakure, we still have a chance. My operatives in Amegakure will uncover the location and details of the transaction. Then, we can lay an ambush in advance," Ebizo assured, observing his usually composed elder sister unravel.
"Truly?" Chiyo lifted her gaze to Ebizo, clutching at hope as if it were a lifeline.
She dreaded the thought of her son and daughter-in-law meeting their demise. Their loss would cast a long shadow over her precious grandson's future.
"Without a doubt," Ebizo's affirmed confidently.
------
In the Land of Rain, within a border town near the boundary with the Land of Earth, Kirito's zetsu avatar held a clandestine meeting with a burly Iwagakure ninja in the privacy of a hotel room.
This rock ninja was Kitsuchi's, the son of the third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki.
"Mr. Hattori, are your terms not overly ambitious? Can a mere two Sunagakure Jonin be bartered for resources sufficient to train douzen of Jonin, coupled with an S-level ninjutsu and various Earth release techniques? I doubt Tsuchikage-sama of our village will entertain such demands," Kitsuchi expressed discontent upon hearing Kirito's proposal.
"Mr. Kitsuchi, allow me to correct you. It's not merely two Sunagakure Jonin, but two elite Sunagakure puppet masters responsible for eliminating fifteen of your village's elite Jonin. Furthermore, one of them is the offspring of the first Kazekage and Chiyo. The value of the intelligence they possess speaks for itself.
Frankly, I consider my offer to be more than fair," Kirito retorted with a smirk, refusing to yield on his terms.
Having accessed Chisha and Shalan's memories through spiritualization, Kirito was acutely aware of the threat they posed to Iwagakure. The pair's record alone justified a resource investment equivalent to training twenty Jonin. And that was without factoring in the wealth of intelligence they possessed on Suna's puppetry techniques, a potential game-changer in any future conflict between Iwa and Suna.
Therefore, it is also a very reasonable request for Kirito to ask for S-rank ninjutsu and various earth escape ninjutsu from Iwagakure Lion.
"It seems that Mr. Hattori knows a lot of secrets from the two of them."
Hearing this, Kitsuchi asked tentatively, his eyes fixed on Kirito's.
Kirito just smiled slightly at this and did not give a clear answer.
However, his calm appearance was already a clear answer in Kitsuchi's eyes.
"I didn't expect that there are ninjas who are proficient in torture in Amegakure."
Kitsuchi thought to himself.
He originally thought that Amegakure would not be able to obtain any useful information from the two Shayin puppet masters, so they traded them to iwagakure in exchange for the greatest benefit. However, from the current point of view, Amegakure may have obtained information from the two of them. Lots of really useful information.
After all, the number of Iwagakushi jonin killed by the two is quite confidential information.
In fact, these two Suna-hidden puppet masters secretly sneaked into the Land of Earth to carry out a secret mission and then killed multiple jonin of Iwagakure, and this matter can be said to be top secret.
With Amegakure intelligence ability, if they did not get this information from the two Shayin puppet masters, it would be basically impossible to acquire it from other channels.
"Is it possible that this guy is proficient in torture? During this time, he doesn't seem to have returned to Amegakure."
After all, Kitsuchi expressed doubts about Amegakure torture technique and couldn't help but question Hattori Masanari in front of him.
He is now very interested in Hattori Masanari, this Rain village Hidden Jonin. To be precise, Iwa Village is now very interested in Hattori Masanari.
Using Hattori Masanari, a powerful Ame-nin who clearly disagrees with Hanzo's political views, to split Amegakure. This possibility is not only seen by the people of Konoha and Sunagakure but also some individuals in iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, expressed approval of the plan to split Amegakure.
Of course.
A split Amegakure is beneficial to Iwagakure, and if it is possible to have a force that leans towards Iwagakure in Amegakure by supporting Hattori Masanari, it will be advantageous for Iwagakure to use it to contain Konoha and Sunagakure. This is strategically very important.
The Land of Earth is not particularly interested in the territory of the Land of Rain, which cannot produce food. However, it is clear that the Land of Wind, suffering from a scarcity of water resources, is very interested in the territory of the Land of Rain, full of water.
Once the Land of Wind annexes the territory of the Land of Rain and resolves the issue of insufficient domestic water resources, the national strength of the Land of Wind will inevitably experience a significant boost.
Due to the Land of Earth's invasion and occupation of numerous food-producing oases in the north of the Land of Wind, iwagakure and Sunagakure harbor deep-seated enmity. Naturally, they cannot idly watch Sunagakure grow while iwagakure weakens. Military intervention becomes a necessity.
However, direct military intervention in Sunagakure would be a considerable burden for iwagakure. This is because Iwagakure ninjas, accustomed to the highland climate of the Land of Earth, are susceptible to acclimatization issues and diseases when fighting in the Land of the wind, leading to significant non-combat losses.
Therefore, it would be a cost-effective move for Iwa if it could restrain suna by supporting Amegakure with a small amount of economic and military aid.
Before coming into contact with Masanari Hattori, Ohnoki once sent a signal to Hanzo to support him,and to join forces, but Hanzo, who was blindly arrogant and arrogant at the time, refused without hesitation, and became more hostile to Iwagakure afterwards. .
Since then, Ohnoki has given up his support for amegakure led by Hanzo, and no longer mentions the matter of supporting Amegakure.
Now Hattori Masanari's unexpected appearance made him once again see iwagakure hope of supporting Amegakure to restrain Konoha and Sunagakure
Also, once the Amegakure split plan is successful, it can not only help the Land of Earth in terms of military strategy, but also help the Land of Earth economically.
At that time, the Land of Rain will once again become the dumping ground for the Land of Earth's products, which will make the Land of Earth a lot of money.
Due to the climate, the country of rain has been unable to develop agriculture, so it has to concentrate on developing industry.
With its superior geographical location and well-connected water system network, the products of the Land of Rain have a very competitive advantage. In addition, the country focuses on the development of industry. The industry of the Land of Rain is developing very rapidly, and its industrial level is among the best in ninja countries. Among them, heavy industry is the pillar industry of the Land of Rain.
Because of the developed heavy industry, the Land of Rain has a huge demand for mineral resources, but the Land of Rain itself is not a country rich in mineral resources, and the special climate of the country prevents the development of local mining, so it can only be imported.
The land of earth is the country with the richest mineral resources in the ninja world, and the output of coal and iron ranks first in the ninja world.
Years ago, the Land of Earth had always been the largest exporter of mineral resources in the Land of Rain.
However, ever since Hanzo became the leader of Amegakure, iwagakure and Amegakure had turned against each other, and Amegakure led by Hanzo took the initiative to cut off the normal business exchanges between the two countries, causing many local mining companies in the Land of Earth to go bankrupt. The country's economy has brought no small negative impact.
The land country daimyo has expressed dissatisfaction with Ohnoki many times over this matter, and has threatened to cut economic support to Iwagakure.
Ohnoki doesn't have much respect for the weak daimyo, but the one country, one village system in the ninja world has been established for a long time. He is temporarily unable to challenge this system, so he has to make a compromise on the surface, saying that he will solve the problem of the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain as soon as possible. of commercial trade.
Ohnoki now also sees the hope of solving this problem from Hattori Masanari.
In particular, Hattori Masanari, played by Kirito, easily captured the two elite puppet masters of Shalan and Chisha, showing his invincible strength at the non-kage level, and his confidence grew more and more.
Judging from the current situation, Hattori Masamari's strength is very strong. The water escape ninjutsu released by Masanari is terrifyingly strong, and his concealment methods are also very powerful. As long as he is careful enough, Hanzo will not be able to easily take him down in all likelihood. At most, it can only be defeated, but not killed.
Also, judging from the current situation in the ninja world, only Iwagakre has not had any enemies with Masanari for the time being, and Hattori Masanari has great hopes of reaching a cooperation with them.
Therefore, Kitsuchi's knew in his heart that he could only succeed and not fail in this captive transaction he conducted with Hattori Masanari.
And this caused him to be in an extremely disadvantaged position in this negotiation.
At this time, he saw Hattori Masanari showing a strong attitude, and he didn't intend to give in at all, and he also firmly grasped the gold content of the two elite puppet masters towards iwagakure. He was already a bit of a headache and didn't know what to do next. How to lower the price.
In order not to break the deal and not leave a bad impression on Masanari Hattori, he had no choice but to back down, and said helplessly, "Okay, I will report your conditions to Lord Tsuchikage later, and let him make the judgment himself."
"That would be the best, Mr. Kitsuchi's, I have prepared some good food and wine, let's enjoy it."
When Kirito heard this, he immediately knew that the transaction was almost stable, and said with a smile.
A variety of earth escape ninjutsu is the same thing for Iwain who is proficient in earth escape ninjutsu. It doesn't feel bad to trade some of them. I guess it will be a little troublesome for S-level ninjutsu.
After speaking, he clapped his hands vigorously.
Soon, the door was opened, and some maids came in with some fragrant dishes.
To show his sincerity, Kirito first picked up the chopsticks and ate all the dishes first.
Seeing this, Kitsuchi's boldly ate the delicious food in front of him.
After a good meal of wine and good food, and the two complimenting each other, Kitsuchi's felt that the relationship with Kirito had become much closer. He suddenly asked, "Can I ask, how are the two puppet masters?"
"Don't worry, as long as Iwagakure agrees to my conditions, I guarantee that they will live well and get delivered in excellent state."