I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 558 Every Gift of Fate Comes with a Hidden Price

"It seems that Hiashi Hyuga didn't discuss the specifics of the treaty with the others, and just let them go like that?"

Inside the camp, darkness enveloped everything, and the waves crashed against the harbor. In one of the houses, Tenka, his bath towel wrapped into a loincloth, was cleaning his ears with cotton swabs when he asked Tatsuma, who was reading intelligence nearby, a question that seemed to be in his head.

Tatsuma glanced at him and said, "Don't forget this is the Hyuga camp. News of your licentious behavior in your room will spread very quickly."

"What's there to be afraid of? If they really want to see me, I'll be naked no matter how conservatively I dress."

Tianfeng didn't care at all. It was only because the conditions here were good, and he could settle directly in the town with no shortage of water and electricity, that he could take a shower so leisurely.

Back in the Land of Lightning, he used to go into the water fully clothed, washing his clothes while rinsing his body. Then a group of men would stand naked around the campfire to dry their clothes. He wasn't ashamed then, and now that there's a wall separating them, he's even less ashamed.

"No wonder those people neglected their duties. This is not a mission on the battlefield, it's clearly a beach vacation. I just saw that there are quite a few deck chairs on the beach behind."

Although Tianfeng said he didn't care, he quickly cleaned his ears and started putting on his clothes, saying repeatedly, "You still haven't told me why you don't care that Hyuga Hiashi kept this a secret from the other Hyuga clan members."

"He's willing to take the blame, so why should I stop him?"

Tatsuma turned the page of the intelligence report in his hand and continued, "If he were to speak out now, the Hyuga clan's resentment towards him would be about 50/50 compared to their resentment towards the village."

If he drags it out until it comes to light, he'll be seen as a deceiver and bear even more infamy. The longer he keeps it a secret, the better it is for the village in terms of public opinion. Why should he be forced to tell the truth?

"But... those Hyuga main family members think the village wouldn't dare punish them. They were so humble when we arrived, but after the meeting they practically looked down on us."

As Tianfeng spoke, his temper flared up, and he said, "No, I have to find some time to beat up Qiandou. Ugh! Why isn't he here right now? I really want to hit him."

"What's it to him?"

"He's also from the Hyuga main family; beating him up will at least vent my anger."

Tianfeng said confidently, "It's perfect timing that I can beat Qiandou up again. I'll just give him a good beating to vent my anger."

Chenma rolled his eyes at him, having finished reading the documents in his hand. He rolled up the papers and threw them at Tianfeng, saying, "Take a good look at the documents, or I'll be the one to take the blame if something goes wrong."

Tenka caught it, casually unfolded it, and said, "I don't understand why you didn't let Sento participate in the operation. He's clearly much more useful than the other Hyuga members."

"That's the problem. He's from the Hyuga clan. If he does well, the Hyuga will not hesitate to attribute his achievements to the Hyuga clan."

But if he messes up, even the smallest problem, it will become my problem, because he is, in a sense, my subordinate. Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I won't give Hyuga a chance.

As Chenma spoke, he began to take off his clothes. After all, there was only one bathroom, and he couldn't possibly bathe with Tianfeng, could he?

When Tatsuma returned after taking a bath, Tenka was already asleep, with the documents in his hand turned to the last page. Tatsuma glanced at them, blew out the candle, and went to sleep as well.

As for communication? At least he and Tianfeng don't need to communicate. It's like two good classmates who know with just a glance whether to go to the toilet or the convenience store when the bell rings.

It's just a matter of not knowing which people the Hyuga side will send to assist, but in Tatsuma's mind, they're just a bunch of living surveillance cameras, not that important.

What needs to be figured out now is where Rasa decided to sell Yekura: the Land of Wind? The Land of Lightning? Or the Land of Water?

This determined the mission locations for Tatsuma and the others. Inoichi was keeping an eye on the Land of Wind, while Tatsuma and Hyuga were mainly responsible for the Land of Water.

As for the Land of Lightning, this is the least likely place in Tatsuma's opinion, because even if the Cloud Ninja are stupid, they would not create a stage for the feud between the Land of Wind and the Land of Water.

If something were to happen to Yekura in the Land of Lightning, and if Sunagakure were to exonerate her someday, Kumogakure would become one of the "culprits," bringing trouble upon themselves. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence wouldn't do that.

This wasn't the first time Tatsuma had led people to infiltrate the Land of Water. Although many years had passed and the Land of Water might have changed a lot, and the intelligence network nodes that Konoha had previously established might have been abandoned, there would still be some usable things.

Just as Konoha was preparing for its infiltration mission, in the Land of Wind on the other side of the ninja world, Pakura also received a cooperation invitation from the Raikage's side.

Amidst the swirling sandstorm, a little girl lifted the tent flap, stepped inside, quickly replaced it, and smoothed the edges to prevent more sand from getting in.

"Teacher, were you looking for me?"

The little girl ran quickly to the center of the tent and looked at the teacher who was known as the village's hero. Even in the dimly lit tent, her eyes shone brightly.

Ye Cang put down the documents in his hand, nodded, and said, "Juan, you'll go back to the village with the wounded tomorrow. I might not have time to teach you during this time, so you need to keep training diligently in the village, understand?"

The little girl paused, her eyes filled with reluctance and confusion, and asked, "Teacher, are you going on a mission?"

"Yes, a very important task."

Yecang nodded, his eyes involuntarily glancing at the letter on the table, a letter sent in the name of the Raikage.

The gist of the letter is that the Third Raikage, A, intervened to mediate the conflict between Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. Although not explicitly stated, the letter subtly hinted that Kirigakure intended to win over Sunagakure.

This implication is quite interesting because the current Sunagakure lacks a sufficiently influential entity, and the cooperation, which is based on the village as a unit, has been given to Pakura, who is merely a Jonin in the village.

Yecang subconsciously connected the dots, realizing that Kumogakure and Kirigakure intended to support him in becoming the Fourth Kazekage. This negotiation was not only about the three-way mediation, but also about cooperation during and after the war.

Yekura couldn't possibly let this opportunity slip by. In fact, in the past year of competition, her and Rasa's support rates had gradually shifted from being evenly split at the beginning to Rasa gaining the upper hand.

Because Rasa's Magnet Release is more suitable for the battlefield than her Scorch Release, Rasa can do a better job than Pakura, whether it is fighting enemies or protecting comrades, not to mention that she also has Karura's support.

Although Karura rarely appears in public, the sand protection hidden within the gold dust, full of protective power, has led more and more neutral Sand Ninja to choose the Karura camp.

In the recent mobilization and conscription activities, the number of Sand Ninja that Pakura was able to recruit is clearly much smaller than that of Rasa, and this situation is very dangerous.

Even if Konoha retreats slightly, giving Sunagakure more "safe space," Pakura suspects that Rasa will directly convene a meeting to elect the Fourth Kazekage.

With older generations like Chiyo and Ebizo clearly stating they won't get involved, the current ticket situation is extremely unfavorable for Yokura.

Therefore, even if it meant risking collusion with other villages, Yekura decided to attend this mediation meeting, hoping to gain some help from it.

For example, if Sunagakure were to receive the logistical and war supplies it currently lacks, her approval rating would rise significantly, and she might even surpass Rasa's.

If she can also use this to thwart Konoha's Uchiha forces, she might be able to ride the wave of opportunity and fly to an even higher position.

Both she and Rasa held rotating command positions, each leading their troops to fight against Konoha. Now that her rotation had ended, Yekura decided to attend this meeting before starting a new round of war mobilization.

Ye Cang withdrew his gaze from the letter and turned back to his student. Juan nodded and said, "Then, teacher, please be careful when you are on your mission. I will be waiting for you in the village."

Hearing her student's sensible words, Ye Cang smiled slightly on her tired face. She nodded and said, "When the teacher comes back, she will check your training results. You should be prepared."

"Um!"

Juan nodded vigorously. Ye Cang blinked his swollen, dry eyes, casually folded the letter on the table, and said, "Go and rest now. The team returning to the village will set off very early tomorrow. Don't be late and make others wait for you."

"I understand. Then you should get some rest too, teacher."

After Juan finished speaking, he respectfully bowed and left. Ye Cang then reviewed the work done over the past period in the command tent until late at night before she finished her work.

She looked at the photo on the table. It was a photo of herself taken more than two years ago. Looking at herself in the frame, full of energy and hope for the future, Ye Cang's tiredness eased slightly.

Yekura remembers that when this photo was taken, the photographer told her to be more confident, after all, she was the hero who drove away Sakamoto Tatsuma.

Suddenly thinking of that person, Ye Cang's expression stiffened. She hadn't been separated from Tatsuma for that long. In the past six months, she and Tatsuma had often clashed in terms of troop deployment.

Although we've never met face-to-face, we've had quite a few exchanges.

Yekura told herself countless times that Sakamoto Tatsuma was the enemy she should hate the most. After all, Tatsuma had brought countless disasters to Sunagakure and the Land of Wind, killed the Third Kazekage, and brought the only stain to her reputation.

but.

"You damned bastard, I'll prove I'm no worse than you! I'll become the most outstanding Kage in the history of Sunagakure, even better than you in Konoha!"

Covering the photo with the frame, Ye Cang stood up, walked out of the tent, and ventured into the desert where the night wind was howling, heading north.

A peregrine falcon swept across the night sky and landed in another camp dozens of miles away. Inside the tent, Luo Sha opened his eyes and was about to get up, but as soon as his back straightened, it relaxed.

Looking at Karura beside her, Rasa carefully moved her body, making sure the blanket on Karura's body wouldn't be pulled. Only after getting off the bed did Rasa lean down and gently press her face against Karura's stomach.

A few seconds later, he stood up again and walked out of the tent. Galuro opened his eyes slightly, his eyes filled with confusion and doubt, and listened to the sounds inside the camp with his eyes closed.

After confirming that there were no strange noises in the camp, she went back to sleep. She didn't dwell on where Luo Sha had gone; Luo Sha had been doing this often lately.

Outside the camp, Luo Sha stroked the peregrine falcon that had flown in from another camp, took out some dried meat to feed it, and then checked the letter the falcon had brought. After reading it, he smiled.

The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure will only be him.

(End of this chapter)