Tsunade, initially ready to hear out the Hokage, felt her expression darken.
Did he seriously think he could just take things for free? And with no form of compensation whatsoever!
She was reminded of the medicines and drugs she had developed over the years, only for them to be taken by the village without payment. The Third Hokage's rationale was always "for the good of the village."
Well, he had grown accustomed to acquiring things without cost and now seemed prepared to outright demand them under the pretense of village needs.
Fine, if that was the game, she wasn't playing along anymore.
Tsunade had no desire to continue the conversation. She stood up abruptly and walked out.
*Bang!*
The door slammed behind her, leaving the Third Hokage in silence.
It appeared that Tsunade was no longer the compliant shinobi she once was. The old slogans of duty and sacrifice didn't sway her as they used to. Now, how could he acquire the puppets?
The Third Hokage hadn't even considered offering payment or compensation. He hoped that Shinki would see the importance of the situation and willingly contribute his puppets—and ideally, the secrets behind them—all "for the village."
After leaving the office, Tsunade resolved to let Shinki know the Hokage's intentions, even though she wasn't sure how far his puppets could communicate.
In Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki stared at the intelligence scroll in his hands, his expression frozen.
"What kind of luck does Konoha have?"
After a long silence, he cursed under his breath.
While Sunagakure eagerly provoked war, Konoha, caught between defense and counterattack, and Amegakure, reluctantly dragged into the conflict, Iwagakure had never truly wanted to engage in large-scale war—not yet, anyway. Their watchful neighbors ensured that.
Forced into this chaotic conflict, Ōnoki had devised the plan to eliminate Konoha's brightest talents.
Who could have guessed that such a seemingly flawless plan would be foiled by an unrelated figure?
Even though they succeeded in decimating Konoha's elite unit, Ōnoki found no satisfaction in it.
The targets—the very geniuses he had aimed to take down—had all escaped.
Worse still, Iwagakure had suffered casualties from these mysterious puppets.
Puppets that didn't require chakra threads, puppets that appeared almost sentient.
Even dismembered, the puppets would detonate—a chaotic, powerful mechanism.
Had this report come from anyone but his son, Kitsuchi, Ōnoki would have scolded the messenger for such an outrageous tale.
Could this be more unbelievable?
If Sunagakure had developed new puppet technology, Ōnoki wouldn't have been surprised. They were masters of that craft. But Konoha? Puppet ninjas in Konoha were as rare as unicorns.
And now, an unknown figure wielding more advanced puppets than those of Sunagakure had appeared out of nowhere. It was beyond belief.
With the plan now compromised, Konoha would be on high alert. The possibility of further covert action against them was slim.
Ōnoki clenched his fists, feeling a pang in his chest.
Why did Konoha keep producing such prodigies?
With Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and others already formidable, wasn't that enough?
Reflecting on his own village's lackluster pool of talent and comparing it to Konoha's endless stream of geniuses, Ōnoki felt a surge of envy for the Third Hokage's fortune.
Meanwhile, in the Sand Village's camp within the Land of Rain, Chiyo's brow furrowed as she asked, "Are you certain the battlefield has been thoroughly examined?"
The news of Iwagakure's ambush and the decimation of Konoha's elite unit had spread quickly.
Chiyo had immediately dispatched a team to gather intelligence. Unfortunately, Iwagakure had swept the field clean, taking even the bodies of Konoha's fallen, leaving behind only useless remains.
"Yes, Lady Chiyo. However, we discovered numerous large craters that don't match the usual Iwagakure tactics."
Each puppet's explosion, with the power of a seasoned chunin, left deep craters larger than those created by typical explosive tags. Afterward, rain filled the holes, forming large puddles.
But there were no remnants of explosive tags near the craters.
The intelligence team concluded that the craters weren't caused by conventional explosives.
"Also, we found these at the site."
Although Iwagakure had done a thorough job, the battlefield was vast, and careful searching still yielded some valuable information.
The intelligence officer handed Chiyo a cloth bag.
She opened it and found warped pieces of iron and parts mixed with unknown materials.
As one of Sunagakure's foremost puppet masters, Chiyo immediately recognized them. "Are these... puppet components?"
"Yes, Lady Chiyo. Our analysis confirms that these are indeed puppet parts, though different from our village's standard designs."
Things were getting interesting.
Chiyo examined one piece, rubbing it between her fingers until it regained its sheen.
Konoha's puppet users were rarer than treasures, and the same could be said for Iwagakure.
Aside from Sunagakure, few villages in the ninja world specialized in puppet-making.
So, the question was, where did these parts come from?
And what caused the massive puddles?
Could these puppets have self-destructed?
Chiyo tried to envision the scene but quickly dismissed it as impossible.
The idea of Konoha or Iwagakure using puppets was absurd.
"Send out more scouts. I want more information."
Although the situation was puzzling, it was ultimately favorable for Sunagakure.
"Ōnoki, you're a crafty one!" Chiyo muttered coldly, looking in the direction of Iwagakure.
Iwagakure had declined her proposal for cooperation only to deal a heavy blow to Konoha.
Chiyo grudgingly admired Ōnoki's shrewdness and decisiveness.
While others were locked in battle, Iwagakure had aimed directly at Konoha's rising stars, trying to take them all out at once.
But did it work?
"Pass down the orders: advance toward Konoha's position. We need to maintain pressure on them."
Without their elite unit to hold the line, Konoha's forces would be forced to retreat or defend more conservatively.
>>>>>
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