Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Hey! Hiruzen Sarutobi, I don't like what you're saying. What do you mean by saying that going back to Konoha with you is the best way to protect Nawaki? It's like only your Konoha is reliable and the other villages are no good. Don't forget that your Konoha has a wolf watching him all day long. If Tsunade and I hadn't had to leave on important business, would those two weak Iwa ninja have been able to catch Nawaki? Onoki, sorry, I'm just being blunt. I'm not saying your Iwa ninja are weak, I'm saying weak Iwa ninja..."

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two eloquent Konoha underlings were about to persuade Tsunade, Shinto, who was in the middle of lecturing his son, suddenly stopped trying to educate the Four-Tails and went to Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two eloquent Konoha underlings to retort.

As they were talking, they noticed that Onoki's nose was turning from red to black again, and only then did they realize their grammatical error.

"Let's go!"

Onoki was so angry his nose turned black again. He wanted to lash out, but the other person had at least apologized politely. If he lost his temper, people would inevitably say he was petty and narrow-minded, like Hiruzen Sarutobi. But damn it, he couldn't help but feel uneasy if he didn't: You bastard, you're the weakling, your whole family are weaklings! (▼he▼メ)

Those two henchmen were already gone, their men had been rescued, and they'd wasted so much time fighting for nothing. Onoki couldn't be bothered to stay and witness that bastard's awful face, so he turned and left with his men. There was no point in staying; the fight wouldn't even start. Looking at the Four-Tails, its head covered in bumps and lying half-dead on the ground, Onoki felt a pang of sympathy. He finally understood why the Four-Tails had reacted like a mouse to a cat when it saw that jerk...

......

"Golden Lion, this is our family matter. You're from Sunagakure, so it's best if you don't interfere..."

Ōnoki left, and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't bother with him. One shouldn't push things too far, especially since this was the Land of Earth's territory. If Ōnoki got angry and started calling in reinforcements without considering the consequences, things would really get messy.

Moreover, just as the three of them were about to persuade Tsunade with their verbal sparring, they were interrupted by this bastard, which made Hiruzen Sarutobi grit his teeth in anger.

If it weren't for you, you bastard, fooling Tsunade, Tsunade would have left with Nawaki. Looking at this scoundrel's righteous face, the truth is that he imprinted his size 32 shoe sole on his face.

Give this bastard a locomotive and he'd dare to perform the love of a boatman for you; he's shameless to the extreme. So Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stated his position: this is our family matter, and you, an outsider, should try not to interfere.

"What are you saying? Doesn't your Konoha always talk about believing in loving family relationships in the ninja world? Why are you treating me like an outsider now? Besides, didn't you hear Nawaki call me brother-in-law? We'll be family sooner or later, so I have the right and obligation to express my opinions, don't I? Furthermore, what place in the ninja world is safer than my own home? Unless White Fang doesn't bring his son and acts as Nawaki's bodyguard 24/7... Don't forget, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. That wolf in Konoha is the biggest threat. I think you should deal with that security threat first..."

Shinto ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was gritting his teeth, and said something insinuatingly. Because Hiruzen Sarutobi had kept the news of Danzo's attack on Nawaki quite secret, only a few people knew about it. And since they still needed Danzo as a friend of the villain, Shinto did not point out Danzo's name to ruin their friendly atmosphere.

"Wolves? When did Rope Tree get targeted by wolves? (⊙_⊙)?"

"I think there's something special about the rope tree, like eating its flesh can grant immortality or something..."

"......"

"...ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Sakumo Hatake rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky, as if to say, "I didn't hear you. Not taking your son to be Nawaki's full-time bodyguard? What a joke! I retired from the Anbu just for my son. Our Hatake clan only has one son per generation. What if Kakashi becomes a cripple without anyone to teach him, or runs off to be a bastard with the Hokage's youngest son? How will he ever face his ancestors again..."

"...Old Hokage, there's no need to say anything more. He's right. Let's go after you've dealt with that bastard!"

This time, Tsunade felt that Masato's words made sense. It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Once she returned to the village, she couldn't stay by Nawaki's side all the time. Moreover, Konoha was her home turf, but it was also Danzo's home turf. If Danzo were to do something to Nawaki again, the consequences would have been unimaginable if she hadn't happened to run into Nawaki last time. Therefore, she would not let Nawaki go back and risk his life. After saying that, she picked up the sleeping Nawaki and turned to leave.

"Ah, you go ahead, I still have a big business deal to discuss with the Hokage..."

After waving at her, Masato looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi meaningfully, deliberately emphasizing the word "big".

"...I don't recall us having any big business to discuss."

Watching Tsunade walk away without looking back, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. Turning back to look at Shiki, who was already rubbing his hands together like he was about to be rich, Hiruzen felt a sudden pang of unease. And the fact that he was using such a respectful form of address meant something was definitely up!

521. It's still Shuo Mao who understands his elder brother best.

"Lord Hokage, what are you saying? It's true that Nawaki was defeated in our Sand Village, but I believe our Kazekage has already explained the situation to you, right? Look at me these past few days, the future savior of you, Prince Senju, exposed to the sun and rain every day, and to make matters worse, I even encountered a sandstorm, which made my skin rough. Do you know how hard it is to maintain my skin in such a dry place all these years? Do you know how expensive these skincare products are?"

"Besides, you are the Hokage, the leader of a powerful force in the ninja world. If you don't show some appreciation to your benefactor, it won't sound good, right?"

Shinto rolled up his tattered sleeves, revealing two pairs of pens, and waved them in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi as he spoke.

"...Nawaki was perfectly fine when he was in our Land of Fire, but he was immediately captured as soon as he arrived in your Sand Village. No matter what, you bear an undeniable responsibility. Now that you've rescued Nawaki, it's not enough to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. I haven't even asked you for compensation for our losses this time, and you still want more from me..."

"Lord Hokage, an urgent report from the village."

Looking at the arms in front of him, Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised to find them quite smooth and delicate. He even wondered what brand of skincare products the bastard used. However, upon hearing "expression," his expression changed. This bastard actually dared to say such a thing! He was really something else. Hiruzen Sarutobi was so angry that his hand holding his pipe trembled as he pointed at the bastard and unleashed a torrent of abuse. Just as he was getting into his rant, Sakumo Hatake took the intelligence scroll from the ANBU subordinate who had just delivered the information, glanced at it, and then came to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side with a furrowed brow, interrupting his interest with a serious expression.

"...Damn it! Let's go!"

Seeing the leader's furrowed brows, Hiruzen Sarutobi curiously took the scroll and read it quickly.

Multiple mines and arms factories have been looted. Return immediately!!!

The handwriting was flamboyant and elegant, unrestrained yet with a touch of composure, clearly the work of his friend Men Yan. The three large exclamation marks at the end indicated how urgent the situation was; otherwise, given his friend's talent for writing, he wouldn't miss any opportunity to be on camera and would have written a long essay for him. So, after reading the title and the three exclamation marks, Hiruzen Sarutobi automatically ignored the text below, which looked to be tens of thousands of words long, and turned to leave with his men, ignoring the shameless Golden Lion in front of him.

mineral!

This is the military lifeline of Konoha. Unlike the jade mines in the Land of Earth, which are only worth a few coins, the Land of Fire has abundant resources, with more than a dozen copper and iron mines of various sizes. These are Konoha's most important strategic resources, and also an important reason why Konoha has been able to stay far ahead of other villages since the First Hokage, Gabin.

The arsenal is secondary; anyone with money can build one. But what the arsenal produces is military equipment—explosive tags, shuriken, and a whole host of other ninja tools come from there. He carefully selected these locations back then, even consulting countless feng shui books before making his decision. Now that he's finally out here to fight, his friends are telling him that their mines and arsenal have been robbed!

If it weren't for that big mouth in front of him, and the fear of more gossip about him spreading throughout the ninja world tomorrow, he would have already spat blood in front of him...

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go! I've done my part, after all. Although Sunagakure also bears some responsibility, think about it: if I hadn't trekked through mountains and rivers, braving sandstorms and scorching sun to rescue him, what do you think Onoki would have done if Nawaki had fallen into his hands? I bet he would have made you eat shit or drink piss, doing everything he could to humiliate you and your Konoha. Would you still have the face to show yourselves then? Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju dedicated their lives to the rise of Konoha. If it were destroyed in your hands like this, wouldn't you feel guilty? If it were me, I'd rather be dead! Now I've gone through so much hardship, eating only one meal a day, to rescue Nawaki, turning the possibilities into the impossible. I've saved face for Konoha and for you, the Hokage. Is this how you repay your benefactor?"

"I've finally seen through you hypocrites..."

"Just tell me, how much do you want this time...-_-||"

While Shinto was still reciting his prepared statement, the Konoha underlings around him were already ashamed, even looking at their Hokage with questioning expressions. "Golden Lion is right! Is it really worth letting the village suffer such infamy for such a small reward..."

At this point, Hatake Sakumo couldn't take it anymore. If this bastard kept talking, forget about going back to the village to deal with the mines and arms factories; he was even threatening to get his underlings to switch sides...

He could tell that the Hokage regretted arguing with him. He should have just agreed in the first place. But as the head of Konoha, he had to keep his word. He couldn't go back on his word, especially with so many of his subordinates present. He couldn't bring himself to do it!

So Sakumo Hatake, who had followed Hiruzen Sarutobi for decades, knew exactly what he meant and stepped forward to clean up his mess.

“Shuo Mao....(?^?)”

Hiruzen Sarutobi was so moved! Indeed, Sakumo truly understood his elder brother best...

"You should have said that sooner! Why did you make me waste all this breath? You truly are the man I admire! In this vast ninja world, only the White Fang can rival me. You have guts. Sigh! It's a pity Tobirama Senju died so young, otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have had a chance to become Hokage! ヾ(^?^)?"

Hearing Hatake Sakumo's directness, Shinto started talking again, his eyes darting around. When Sarutobi Hiruzen opened the scroll earlier, he saw its contents because he was tall and could see far. Multiple mines and armories had been stolen. Goodness, Sasori's dad has a really big appetite!

It's gotten this big! Before he left, he warned Sasori's dad not to be too greedy and to know when to stop, but now it seems he can't stop now. But maybe he can take advantage of Hiruzen Sarutobi's rush back and trick him...

The key question is how many pits there are and what the value of the rope tree is; he still needs to carefully consider this. He clearly lost money during World War II.

"...Hokage-sama, the situation is urgent. You all go first, I'll stay and talk to him...ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Having fought alongside that bastard for decades, and knowing that bastard's eyes were always darting around, Hatake Sakumo knew that this bastard was up to no good again. If he really wanted to stay here and haggle, it would take days and nights, causing even more severe losses to the Fire Country's mines and arms factories.

522. The Golden Lion is the top dog in this industry.

At this time in Konoha, in the Hokage Tower, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, two of the four great leaders of Konoha, no longer had the arrogance and domineering spirit they had after Hiruzen Sarutobi left, when they were commanding troops, issuing orders, and looking down on everyone else.

The two powerful figures, nearing fifty, sat in their seats, brows furrowed, faces weary, their hair streaked with gray from worry. If Shimura Danzo were here, the three, though the same age, would all look about the same age as his parents. Speaking of Shimura Danzo, despite his constant errands—wanting to become Hokage and the strongest in the universe—it's unclear if he's actually gotten it right. While he hasn't yet become Hokage or the strongest in the universe, the transplanted cells from Senju Hashirama have made him increasingly energetic. At least two-thirds of his face looks much younger than his three friends…

"Haven't they found out who did it yet?"

Mitokado Yan frowned, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and suddenly spoke to the air in front of him.

"call out!"

"Lord Menyan, these people acted swiftly and cleaned up the battlefield with great professionalism. They didn't even leave behind any corpses or traces, so it's impossible to determine which company did it."

Just as Mitokado En finished speaking, a lowly ANBU member suddenly appeared in front of him and obediently reported.

"Which village made it...?"

Xiaochun, who was turning over in her dorm, kept tapping her fingers on the armrest of the stool and muttering to herself.

That's right!

Which village?

Although they didn't know who the troublemakers were in their Land of Fire, they already had suspects. There weren't many people who would dare to pull off such a large operation in their Land of Fire. Small villages and countries could basically be ruled out, as the number one in those small villages and countries was at most an elite. So when they first discovered that the mines and arms factories had been stolen, their first thought was of the other four major villages.

Because only these four villages have the strength, the courage, and the motivation to do so.

Moreover, the timing coincides with the period when Hiruzen led his men to fight. However, upon closer examination, it seems that all four villages are possible. First, there's Iwagakure. Onoki is a traditional schemer, so it's very possible that he was fighting them while sending people to flank them, using a feint attack. Iwagakure is a major military village, Sunagakure is laying off personnel, and Kumogakure is strictly controlling its armed forces. Only Onoki's armed forces are growing larger and larger, and his army is strong and well-equipped. However, the Land of Earth lacks resources and doesn't pay attention to supplying so many people. Therefore, it's very possible that Onoki took this opportunity to raid their mines and arms factories.

Secondly, there's Kumogakure. While the Kumogakure ninja are all muscle and brawn, they have a powerful clan with a big head (or perhaps a more imaginative mind). Furthermore, the Azabu clan's sense of responsibility far surpasses that of the Nara clan. The current clan head is several years older than Nara Shikai, yet he remains dedicated to his post, while Shikai, that lazybones, has long since retired… Although Kumogakure's motives are unclear, with a big head like Kumogakure, anything is possible…

Then there's the Hidden Mist Village, whose situation is unclear. The Hidden Mist Village is starting to seem strange to them. They didn't participate in the second war, their strength is the best preserved, and both the previous incident of closing the country off and the mysterious person incident reveal the strangeness of this village. So they also have a motive to take action.

As for Sunagakure, although they were reluctant to believe it was them, since it was the Kazekage who sent the letter requesting their assistance, indicating that they themselves were also pursuing someone and sending people to raid their Land of Fire whenever they had free time, this group's methods were far more professional than those of Shiki's disciples. Every time their men arrived at the crime scene, it was already deserted, and even the bodies of the guards were nowhere to be found, leaving them with no leads. Such professional methods could only be achieved through years of dedicated work, and Shiki was precisely the mastermind behind it all.

It was precisely because of the Golden Lion that they began to have doubts about Sunagakure.

The problem now is that all four villages are suspects, and each family has a motive, but because there are absolutely no clues, they have no idea which family it is.

This gave them a real headache. In the meantime, three of their mines and two of their arsenals had been robbed. Moreover, the robberies were occurring frequently, averaging one every few days. And these days happened to coincide with the time they were traveling, meaning that this group had an exceptionally smooth operation from beginning to end, without encountering any obstacles whatsoever. This was really troubling for them. After learning that the first mine had been robbed, they had already sent people to strengthen their defenses, but this was still the result.

If this drags on any longer, their losses will likely be even greater. Strengthening their defenses won't be a long-term solution. The most crucial thing is to find these people. Right now, almost everyone in the village capable of fighting has gone to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi. They can't command Orochimaru, the only capable person in the village, because he needs to constantly monitor Danzo's condition and be ready to rescue him at any time. What if Orochimaru goes to investigate and Danzo's injuries suddenly relapse and he dies...?

With Hiruzen Sarutobi still not back, they are really worried that they will hear about another accident at a copper or iron mine or an arms factory. They are extremely anxious and on the verge of a breakdown.

.....

"Lord Jie, it seems Konoha has strengthened its defenses. This is going to be difficult."

In the Hokage Building, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were already suffering from fever, and even the fastest and most efficient physical cooling methods were ineffective against them. Meanwhile, in a cave far from an armory in the Land of Fire, Sasori's father and a group of veteran hunters were frowning as they studied the armory's map. For the past month or so, apart from their first operation where they were under pressure and Sasori's father hadn't formulated a proper battle plan, they had almost always conducted perfect operations without leaving a trace. However, their excessive caution had significantly slowed down their movements. If they had split into multiple groups, they might have been able to raid all the mines and armories in the Land of Fire, but the risk of exposure would have been enormous. Their mission wasn't just to raid; they also had to ensure their identities remained hidden. If they were exposed, the Land of Earth would easily suspect them, and the Sand Village being attacked by the combined forces of the two major villages would be no joke.

That's why they're moving slowly. Looking at this hand-drawn defensive map, they're in a bind. As time goes on, the defenses of both the armory and the mines will only get stronger. These hundred or so men aren't gods; they can only launch a surprise attack, taking on two or three enemies at once. But if there are too many enemies, it'll be a head-on confrontation. They're not the Uchiha clan...

523. Handsome Guy's Dad: Let's do one last job!

"...One last job. After this, we'll leave immediately. Judging by the time, Konoha and Iwa should be almost done fighting..."

Looking at the heavily fortified terrain map, Sasori's father calculated the time on his fingers. They had been infiltrating the Land of Fire for some time now, and the Konoha reinforcements had been gone for over two weeks. Usually, these small skirmishes wouldn't last long, since everyone was just recovering from the war and couldn't really fight to the death. Moreover, according to his older brother's plan, once he rescued the Senju prince, it would be time to call it a day. For Onoki, his younger brother getting the Senju prince in their Sunagakure was an unexpected bonus. Getting him was good, but not getting him wouldn't be a big loss. So even though Onoki got carried away whenever he saw Konoha, he was still a qualified Tsuchikage and wouldn't recklessly fight Konoha to the death without regard for the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the same. They went to block the road to rescue people, not to fight. This can be seen from the fact that he took such a small group the first time. Now that the people have been rescued, why bother fighting birds?

Sasori's father calculated the time it took for the two scapegoat Iwa ninja to escape from the village and the distance from the village to the border of their Land of Wind. He figured they should be almost there by now. So, time was of the essence and the mission was heavy. With the number of troops defending the mining areas and the armory increasing, their movements were becoming more and more difficult. If they continued, they risked being surrounded, so it was better to stop while they were ahead. They had already gained enough this time. If it weren't for the fact that the armory was producing explosive tags, he would have given up and retreated with his men.

But these are detonators!

One or two of these explosive tags aren't very powerful; they can kill someone within three meters, but beyond that, it's all about luck. They're mainly used by genin (lower-middle rank), since their offensive capabilities are limited. However, once you reach the jonin (higher-rank) level, they're generally useless; their power is less than a C-rank ninjutsu. Furthermore, explosive tags only become effective in wartime. With so many people, you can easily rack up kills by throwing a few. They're not very useful in regular missions, and they're not cheap either. So, before wartime, explosive tags had an awkward role. In peacetime, the price wasn't too high, but due to the cost, they weren't cheap either. Ordinary genin couldn't afford them, and genin wouldn't risk their status to acquire them. Those who could afford them didn't value them. Therefore, the buyers of explosive tags have always been construction teams. And surprisingly, they're quite useful for demolition...

The explosive tags were used to their fullest potential by the Cloud Ninja during the last great war, and their price continues to soar even now. However, they are still in short supply on the market. This is mainly because there are very few places in the entire ninja world that can make explosive tags. In addition, after people saw how powerful a large number of explosive tags are, the doorsteps of ninja tool shops in various small and medium-sized cities in the ninja world have long been worn down.

There are only a few companies that can make explosive tags, but Sunagakure is not one of them. Firstly, Sunagakure does not have the raw materials for explosive tags, so even if they built an arms factory at great expense, it would be useless.

Secondly, this thing was initially in an awkward position and no one paid much attention to it, including the Sand Village.

But after the Cloud Ninja blasted the battlefield to smithereens with bombardment of explosive tags, it immediately became a hot recommendation. Currently, their orders for the Land of Iron and the Land of Crafts are booked up for at least three years, and the price is astronomical. Although he didn't know the exact amount, it was definitely more expensive than gold. The deposit alone exhausted Rasa, and the Kazekage even spent several days panning for gold...

So even though he knew the armory was heavily guarded, Scorpion's father was unwilling to give up. It was producing explosive tags! The quantity wasn't large, but it was still equivalent to the orders from the Land of Craftsmen.

"But... there are too many of them. Even if we launch a surprise attack, it will be difficult to wipe them all out in a short time. If it takes too long, their reinforcements will arrive... How about we use poison?"

When one of the henchmen next to Handsome Scorpion's father heard that his boss still didn't intend to give up, he frowned and began to think.

Their leader is a puppet master and a poison-making master. Poisoning is practically his specialty. Silently poisoning everyone without warning when the enemy is off guard is no problem for him. And tonight, the southeast wind is blowing...