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

Chapter 97 Details and Reactions

"What?"

Long Er stared blankly at the middle-aged ninja, momentarily thinking that he had stayed up all night studying sealing techniques and had confused himself.

"Lord Kazekage tragically perished in the battle of the Land of Rain," the middle-aged ninja repeated.

This time, Long Er heard it clearly.

But he didn't panic. Instead, he looked at the middle-aged ninja in front of him and remembered his identity.

This man is named Yamada. He works in the communications department, is skilled at raising eagles, and is responsible for maintaining contact between the mission in Konoha and Sunagakure.

"How could this happen?" Ryuji rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

The Third Kazekage personally led the attack on Amegakure... Ryuji didn't know this at first, and even when he did find out, he didn't think much of it.

After all, Hanzo led three thousand ninjas to attack the Land of Iron, leaving only about a thousand soldiers to defend it, and without any strong figures to oversee it, the Sand Village held an absolute advantage in both numbers and individual strength.

Victory was practically a foregone conclusion that night, and the Third Kazekage didn't tell Ryuji, nor did he see any problem with it.

result……

Long Er sighed, gestured to the cushion next to the low table, and said, "Sit down first, and slowly explain the details to me."

"Thank you, Lady Aya."

Yamada got up, knelt down by the low table, cleared his throat, and began to recount the details.

Ryuji poured him a cup of tea and then sat down to listen attentively.

"The Third Kazekage was not killed by Amegakure ninjas, but by members of an organization called 'Akatsuki.' At that time..."

With Yamada's explanation, Ryuji learned the whole story.

The Land of Iron hired Sunagakure to attack Amegakure in order to force Hanzo to withdraw his troops.

Because the forces left behind by Amegakure were far weaker than those of Sunagakure, the Land of Iron worried that Sunagakure would destroy Amegakure before Hanzo could react, causing Hanzo to lose his attachments and resolve to take drastic measures to recoup his losses from the Land of Iron.

Therefore, the mission was designed to put pressure on Amegakure, rather than destroy it.

The Third Kazekage readily agreed to this mission, which would allow him to avoid a decisive battle with the enemy and minimize losses.

He did not let his guard down despite the weak defenses of Amegakure and gathered three thousand men to attack Amegakure.

However, the people from Sunagakure were stopped by a group of people as soon as they entered the border of the Land of Rain.

There were hundreds of these people, and their leader was a boy with orange hair.

They called themselves "Akatsuki" and came to negotiate for peace.

The result was self-evident; how could the Third Kazekage possibly give up the mission rewards he had earned just because of the other party's verbal sparring?

Not only did they refuse his request, but they also mocked him for being hypocritical and questioned him: If it's for peace, then why didn't you stop Hanzo from invading the Land of Iron?

The other side claimed they were unaware of the situation at first, and by the time they found out, the war had already begun. They were preparing to go to the Land of Iron to persuade Hanzo to withdraw his troops.

The Third Kazekage naturally didn't believe this, and only felt that he was even more hypocritical.

Then, the negotiations broke down.

The two sides clashed on the border of the Land of Rain.

The Akatsuki only had a few hundred members, many of whom were very powerful, but the Sand Village was no weakling either. With their numerical advantage, they naturally forced the enemy into a series of defeats.

But the Akatsuki organization did not give up.

As they retreated, they used their familiarity with the terrain to wage guerrilla warfare, constantly harassing Sunagakure in an attempt to hinder their advance.

Both sides fought wits and courage along the way, and both suffered losses, but the Sand Village side greatly delayed the speed of their advance.

When people from the Land of Iron came to express their dissatisfaction and even considered changing ninja villages, the Third Kazekage ultimately made a foolish move.

During the nearly two months of fighting between the two sides, he had long discovered that the Akatsuki organization had close ties with the residents of various towns and villages in the Land of Rain. They often deliberately guided the local residents to shift the battlefield in order to prevent them from being affected by the war, and even delayed the relocation of the local residents.

At first, the Third Kazekage ignored these things.

In wars between ninjas, except for those survivors, deserters, or special circumstances for secrecy, they generally do not deliberately cause trouble for ordinary residents.

But this time, due to the client's urging, the Third Kazekage chose to target ordinary people.

He exploited the Akatsuki's pursuit of peace, threatening the lives of the town's residents to force them to come out for a final battle.

Then, the decisive battle broke out between the Sand Village and the combined forces of Akatsuki and Amegakure.

The Third Kazekage also died at the hands of the Akatsuki leader.

After listening to Yamada's explanation, Ryuji was stunned for a moment, then quickly asked, "Are you sure it was the Akatsuki leader who died, and not one of his subordinates?"

"Many people saw it on the battlefield. It is indeed the leader of the small organization, 'Yahiko,' no doubt about it!" Yamada glanced at Ryuji with a strange look.

Generally speaking, the leader of an organization is the strongest person, so it would be normal for the Third Kazekage to die at the hands of the opposing leader!

But judging from Jonin Ayaki's tone, it would be strange if she had died at the hands of the enemy leader.

He didn't ask any more questions, and Long Er didn't answer either. He just took deep breaths to calm down the urge to curse.

After a while, he calmed down and continued to ask, "Has any news come from the village or the daimyo?"

"There's a lot of turmoil in the village right now. The higher-ups are discussing the election for the Fourth Kazekage. But the former high-ranking officials who were dismissed by the Third Kazekage have also come forward." Yamada glanced at Ryuji's face, and seeing that his expression was calm and unchanged, he continued, "They say that the Third Kazekage has had mental problems ever since he was turned into a puppet by Sasori. The current defeat is all due to the Third Kazekage's foolish decision to dismiss all the elders and put new people in power. If the Third Kazekage's policies continue to be implemented, it will surely lead to the destruction of the village."

"What a bunch of old foxes." Long Er couldn't help but sneer. "Their story must have the support of quite a few people in the village."

"Yes, the elders who once followed them in the village, and even many young people, firmly believe this to be true. They have united to demand the dissolution of the current round table meeting and the replacement of the original elders with their positions. They have also reported this matter to the Daming Prefecture."

"What's the attitude from Daming Prefecture?"

"They were very dissatisfied with the outcome of the Sand Village's operation, and many ministers within the village agreed with the claim that the defeat was due to the Third Kazekage's mental instability. However, the Daimyo did not choose to intervene, but simply said that the ninja villages should decide their own affairs."

"That means he's smart."

The relationship between the ninja village and the country is one of cooperation, not subordination.

Normally, we treat them with great respect because of their biggest financial backer, and we even consult their opinions when making elections.

But if you really want to get involved in important political affairs that determine the future of the village, then you'll just be living a life of idleness.

"But the Daimyo expressed his disappointment with Sunagakure. He believed that there was a huge gap between the strength left behind by Sunagakure and Amegakure, and this should have been an overwhelming victory, but it turned out like this."

(End of this chapter)