This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 134 Questioning Konoha (Please Subscribe)

Konoha lacked confidence in a direct confrontation not only because of its numerical inferiority but also because Iwagakure's collective combat prowess was too strong.

Any ninjutsu, once it reaches a certain scale, becomes extremely terrifying, and Earth Release is especially powerful.

Madara's Fire Release technique is amazing, isn't it!

However, when more than 20 Chunin used Water Release techniques together, creating a tsunami, it extinguished his Great Fire Annihilation Technique, not to mention thousands of others.

Even though most people can only throw shuriken, use explosive tags and kunai, and less than one-tenth of ninjas can actually use ninjutsu, it is still an extremely terrifying power.

When they gather together, the consequences can range from minor earthquakes and landslides to major landslides and earthquakes.

Even more extreme, some directly alter the terrain.

This was a disaster for most ninjas who could only fight using basic ninjutsu and weapons.

The Konoha leadership didn't know why the other side didn't want to engage in a direct confrontation with them, but the battle was developing in the direction they wanted, which relieved them.

Now, they want to win even more.

"If the ground can freeze over with a thick layer of ice, it will affect the use of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique or method of earth-based magic) to some extent, and we can take this opportunity to end this war."

After listening to Danzo's advice, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two advisors nodded slightly.

By this point in the war, Konoha had suffered too many losses and did not want to continue fighting.

This winter is indeed colder than usual, and if thick blocks of ice can form, it will definitely weaken the effectiveness of Earth Release techniques.

but……

"We know this, so how could those who practice Earth Release not know it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said while smoking his pipe, "The current situation is that Iwagakure and Kusagakure don't want to fight us head-on. When it's not in a good position to use Earth Release, they'll probably avoid battle even more. Even if we wanted to defeat them in one fell swoop, there's no way."

"That is indeed a problem." Danzo had to admit the issue. He pondered for a moment and said, "In any case, it's better to be prepared. Let's make preparations before the battle, and then see if we can find an opportunity!"

"That concludes this meeting."

Upon hearing this, Danzo and the others got up and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, a member of the secret service appeared in the office in a flash.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Karura of the Sand Village delegation requests an audience."

"Let her in!"

"Yes."

Seeing the departing figures of the ANBU ninjas, Danzo remembered the Root elites he had sent to assassinate Ryuji, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"You guys stay here too, and see what the Sand Village people want with me." Sarutobi shook the dregs out of his pipe and refilled it with fresh leaves as he spoke to the three of them.

Thus, Danzo and the other two sat back down.

A moment later, a girl with shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair entered the office.

"Lord Hokage."

Karura bowed slightly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly and asked, "Lord Karura, as the acting leader of the Sunagakure delegation, what brings you to see me at this hour?"

Karura chuckled softly and said, "I—no, Sunagakure—have something I'd like to ask the Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in his smoking motion.

He glanced at Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, and seeing their blank expressions, he turned back to them, saying seriously, "Please ask!"

"Does Konohagakure want to dissolve the alliance between the two villages?" Karura asked, her face still bearing a gentle smile, her voice as soft and pleasant as ever.

But her words caused a huge stir, leaving the four Konoha high-ranking officials in the room stunned and their expressions frozen.

They had just been discussing how to end the war with Iwagakure and Kusagakure when Sunagakure came running over and asked them this question.

What does this mean?

Seeing that the war was about to end, they wanted to break the alliance and get involved to gain benefits?

The idea had barely surfaced when it was suppressed by the others.

That's impossible.

Even if Sunagakure wanted to break the alliance, they would wait until the delegation's elite students returned home before doing so.

Doing this now will only cause us to give back all the benefits we gained in the negotiations five months ago.

They didn't believe that Sunagakure would be so stupid.

What did Garuda mean by that?

Sarutobi and the others thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. Only Danzo thought of the assassination of Ryuji, and his heart skipped a beat.

"...What do you mean by that, sir?"

After thinking for a long time without finding a solution, Sarutobi frowned and asked.

"News just came from the village that our puppet army leader and the Jonin who is also leading this delegation, Ryuji Ayaki, has been assassinated."

"Assassination?"

Both Men Yan and Xiao Chun were somewhat confused.

What does the assassination of your Sunagakure leaders have to do with Konoha?

Only Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, seemed to have thought of something and gave Danzo a meaningful look.

Danzo, on the other hand, closed his eyes to rest, acting as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Phew~"

Sarutobi let out a deep sigh of relief, then turned to Karura. "I feel sympathy for Lady Ayagi's plight. I wonder if he..."

"Lady Ayaki is certainly unharmed." Karura still wore a gentle smile, but her tone was full of admiration. "In this ninja world, there may be beings who are on par with Lady Ayaki, but there is absolutely no one stronger than her. Assassination attempts would naturally be fruitless."

Upon hearing this, Xiaochun snorted coldly, clearly unconvinced.

Menyan glanced at her without saying a word, while Danzo remained with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

The assassination attempt failed, which was not unexpected, given that the enemy was such a skilled individual and he had long been prepared for the failure.

But the people I sent were all from Root, with no past or future, no names or identities. They shouldn't have been able to escape being discovered as Konoha's Inui.

Why was their identity discovered?

Or is this Garuda bluffing?

Danzo's mind raced as he quickly calculated, while Sarutobi couldn't think that far ahead.

Upon hearing that Ayaki Ryuji was alright, she couldn't help but show a relieved expression, "It's so good that Lady Ayaki is safe and sound."

Upon hearing this, Karura's expression changed for the first time, and her brows furrowed slightly.

She felt somewhat uncomfortable with this person's reaction.

This person is so fake.

If she hadn't known that the assassin was from Konoha's Anbu, she would have thought that the other party was genuinely concerned about the safety of their own ninja.

Although she knew that anyone who could become a leader must possess a considerable degree of shrewdness, the fact that the other party, who had suddenly come to demand accountability and had no time to react beforehand, could still unconsciously put on such a performance was truly disgusting.

In fact, Gallo held an appreciative attitude towards leaders who were shrewd and calculating.

After all, composure is one of the criteria for judging whether a leader is qualified. If the Kage, who is one of the five great ninja villages, has no composure at all and can be seen through at a glance no matter what he does, it is really hard to convince people.

However, it's a different story when you become a victim yourself.

After all, if someone sends someone to mess with you, and you deal with them before coming to hold them accountable, but they pretend not to know anything and even act like they care about you a lot, anyone would feel disgusted.

Garura immediately stopped beating around the bush with the Konoha leadership and stated his purpose directly.

"But when we examined the body, we discovered that the assassin was from Konoha."

"What!?"

The four high-ranking officials of Konoha were shocked, staring at Garura in disbelief.

"That's impossible!"

Sarutobi was the first to regain his senses and said confidently.

The other three echoed this sentiment.

Koharu, in particular, stood up excitedly, slammed her hand on the table, and analyzed logically, "Whether from the perspective of our allies or the situation in Konoha, we would never do something like assassinating Lady Ayagi. That would be too stupid."

Danzo raised his drooping eyebrows slightly, then returned to normal.

"I'm not here to hear your explanations, sirs. I'm simply asking on behalf of the village: Does Konoha intend to unilaterally break the alliance?"

Karura still wore a gentle, spring-like smile, and her tone of voice remained as soft as ever. It seemed that no amount of anger, seriousness, or rage could change that smile, which always gave people a feeling of gentleness and kindness.

However, the four people present did not dare to regard this girl as a naive and innocent person.

Although the other person is gentle and kind in many ways, being gentle and kind does not mean being stupid, nor does it mean that she will let others bully her without fighting back.

Ryuji thought that Karura would be unable to exert her full strength due to her personality, but this was actually a misconception arising from a lack of understanding of her.

While there are people in this world who sympathize with their enemies and let them go, there are also those who sympathize with their enemies and then, with the intention of freeing them, attack them even more fiercely, causing them to die painlessly.

They are both gentle and kind, but they are two completely different kinds of people.

Gallo is undoubtedly the latter.

There was a reason why the Third Kazekage originally intended for her to lead the delegation to Konoha.

In everyday life, she is an angel in people's hearts, but on the battlefield, she becomes a death angel who sends people to the land of the dead.

Her kind smile at that moment, however, seemed somewhat chilling to the four of them.

Quiet, quiet, quiet.

The room fell silent the moment the girl said those words.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and even Homura and Koharu all stared sharply at Karura, while Karura remained calm with a faint smile, though her small hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched involuntarily.

The air grew increasingly still, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.

Just when everyone was on edge, Sarutobi suddenly smiled.

Because of his job as Hokage, he looks much older than his actual age. He is only in his forties but looks like he is in his fifties or sixties. When he smiles, he looks like a kind old grandfather.

"You flatter me. Konoha would never unilaterally break the alliance."

It doesn't mean they won't break the alliance, but rather that they won't break the alliance—a double entendre.

This not only solidified Konoha's stance but also denied the assassination attempt on Ayaki Ryuji. Anyone who isn't observant would likely overlook this detail and be misled.

But Gallo wasn't buying it.

"I'm not here to ask you gentlemen if you would break the alliance, but rather on behalf of the village, to ask you gentlemen: Does Konoha intend to unilaterally break the alliance?"

Gallo still wore a smile and spoke softly, but everyone sensed the aggressive undertone in his voice.

The four people present had all held high positions for a long time, so they naturally understood the underlying meaning of the words: I am not asking you whether you did such a thing, but I am asking you for an explanation.

Whether you give Sunagakure an explanation or pretend nothing happened and let the alliance between the two sides break down, the choice is yours.

Sarutobi's hand, which was under his desk, clenched tightly. The veins on the back of his thin hand bulged, but his face remained calm.

Danzo lowered his eyelids, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his narrow, almost closed eyes.

Xiao Chun and Men Yan looked grim, wanting to get angry but hesitant to speak out for the sake of the bigger picture.

The tense atmosphere that had been so hard to break in the office suddenly became tense again.

(End of this chapter)