The Third Kazekage, accompanied by two ninjas, arrived at Kamishiro's house and said, "It's time."
The Third Kazekage turned a deaf ear to Kamishiro's complaints.
The Third Kazekage took out an extremely small needle and said to Kamishiro, "Come here. I'm going to perform the Hidden Brain Sand Manipulation technique on you to seal your memories."
Kamishiro shuffled up to the Third Kazekage, all down in the dumps, and said, "Uncle Kuidou, watch out! I earn my bread with my brains, ya know."
The Third Kazekage just waved his hand like it was nothing and said, "I've used this jutsu a million times. I ain't gonna screw it up."
Kamishiro turned around, presenting the back of his head to the Third Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage quickly inserted the needle into the back of Kamishiro's head.
Kamishiro felt a sharp pain in his head.
The Third Kazekage formed hand seals and then placed his hand on Kamishiro's head.
"Hidden Brain Sand Manipulation!"
A spell appeared on Kamishiro's head and then disappeared immediately.
Kamishiro's eyes instantly became blank. After a while, his blank eyes regained their sparkle.
Kamishiro looked at the Third Kazekage and the two ninjas in the room in confusion and said, "Huh? Uncle Kuidou, why are you here?"
The Third Kazekage responded with a hand - strike.
The Third Kazekage knocked Kamishiro out.
Kamishiro rolled his eyes and fainted right away.
The Third Kazekage instructed the two ninjas behind him, "Follow The Plan. There will be comrades waiting for you in the Land of Rivers to lead you to the ninjas of Iwagakure. After the trade with Iwagakure, bring the supplies back to Sunagakure Village immediately!"
"Yes!"
One ninja picked up Kamishiro and disappeared from the spot with the other ninja using the Body Flicker Technique.
The Third Kazekage stood in a daze in Kamishiro's room for a long time, frowning tightly.
"What did Kamishiro ask me to do last night? Forget it. I can't remember anyway. It probably wasn't that important."
...
The Land of Rivers, a tiny nation, lies right on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
To ward off sneak attacks from Sunagakure Village, Konoha has always dispatched ninjas to the Land of Rivers for guard duty.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure Village also has ninjas in the Land of Rivers, and there have been skirmishes between them and the Konoha ninjas.
However, the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, who ought to have been battling Kumogakure on the frontlines, was now in the Land of Rivers.
The reason why Minato Namikaze appeared in the Land of Rivers was because of Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara.
As the legendary Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze always dashed straight into the hottest spots during the fights with Kumogakure.
Since Kakashi and the other two were no match for Minato Namikaze's - level battles, Minato Namikaze hardly ever got the chance to teach them.
So, during this period when the fighting with Kumogakure was not so intense, Minato Namikaze took on a mission in the Land of Rivers.
Because Sunagakure Village in The Land of Rivers was restless and constantly harassing the Konoha ninjas stationed there, Minato Namikaze came to The Land of Rivers to intimidate the Sunagakure ninjas and give some guidance to Kakashi and his two companions.
Just as Minato Namikaze arrived in The Land of Rivers, a Konoha ninja rushed to him.
"Lord Minato! We got a piece of intelligence a few days ago. We sent our ninja beasts to report the intelligence to the Hokage. The Hokage replied, saying that you've come to The Land of Rivers and told you to carry out a mission!"
Minato Namikaze asked, "What intelligence did you guys get? What mission does the Third Hokage want me to carry out?"
The Konoha ninja reported, "A few days ago, we caught a suspicious Sunagakure Village ninja. That Sunagakure Village ninja immediately tried to destroy a Scroll, but we stopped him. Then that Sunagakure Village ninja committed suicide.
"The content of the Scroll is that Iwagakure is willing to form an alliance with Sunagakure Village and is willing to exchange military supplies for a ninja with the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai to show their determination to ally with Sunagakure Village.
"The mission the Hokage assigned to you is to stop the alliance between Sunagakure Village and Iwagakure by any means and get that Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninja.
"We've arranged ninjas all over The Land of Rivers. As soon as we spot any Iwa - nin in The Land of Rivers, we'll inform you right away."
Minato Namikaze's eyes narrowed slightly.
He couldn't believe that Sunagakure Village wouldn't cause any trouble if they allied with Iwagakure at this point.
Sunagakure Village had been eyeing Konoha's resources for a long time.
Although Iwagakure hadn't taken any action yet, they had been restless during the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure and had sent many ninjas to spy on Konoha's intelligence.
Once Sunagakure Village and Iwagakure formed an alliance, they might join forces to attack Konoha.
Then Konoha would be caught between two fires, facing the sieges of three major ninja villages: Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure Village.
So, he must stop the alliance between Sunagakure Village and Iwagakure.
As for that Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninja, Kekkei Genkai was very precious in the ninja world. Minato Namikaze could understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to get that Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai ninja used as a trading item.
After all, the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai was extremely powerful.
The Third Kazekage had made a name for himself in the ninja world with his Iron Sand, earning the title of "The Strongest Kazekage".
Minato Namikaze said to the Konoha ninja, "Okay. To avoid tipping them off, don't let anyone know that I've come to The Land of Rivers. If they find out, they might change the trading location."
The Konoha ninja replied, "Only a few ninjas know that you've come to The Land of Rivers. I'll tell them not to say a word."
Minato Namikaze nodded and said, "Alright. Then go now. I'll stay at the base and wait for your news."
After the Konoha ninjas left, they immediately went to inform Minato Namikaze.
Three days passed. The two Sunagakure Village ninjas escorting Kamishiro had entered the territory of The Land of Rivers and had joined up with the awaiting Sunagakure Village ninjas.
The Sunagakure Village ninjas deliberately let the Konoha ninjas obtain the Scroll.
If Sunagakure Village really wanted to make a deal with Iwagakure, there was no need to choose The Land of Rivers, which was closer to The Land of Fire. They could have chosen The Land of Birds, which was closer to the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
Now they just had to wait for the Iwa - nin to come to The Land of Rivers for the deal and execute The Plan.
Two more days passed.
A five - man Iwa - nin squad from Iwagakure entered The Land of Rivers.
As soon as the Iwa - nin squad entered the territory of The Land of Rivers, they were locked in by the Konoha ninjas.
Since the Iwa - nin were most likely to enter The Land of Rivers from the north, the most Konoha ninjas were arranged there.
After discovering that the Iwa - nin squad had entered The Land of Rivers, the Konoha ninjas immediately informed Minato Namikaze.
After Minato Namikaze learned that the Iwa - nin had arrived in The Land of Rivers, he immediately summoned Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara.
"Alright, come with me on a secret mission. Let's roll right now!"
Minato Namikaze's squad left the Konoha camp and quickly headed for the location of the Iwa - nin locked in by the Konoha ninjas.