Kitsuchi was utterly bewildered.
What on earth was going on with Deidara?
He knew that Ōnoki had always harbored hopes of teaching Deidara Dust Release. After all, Iwagakure couldn't compare to Konohagakure, which seemed to constantly produce prodigies out of nowhere.
Even though Deidara's personality was... challenging, he was still a genius of their village.
But hadn't Deidara always been resistant to Ōnoki's teachings? Why had one visit to Konohagakure changed him?
"Kitsuchi-dono, seeing you reminds me of your father. Though we stand on different sides, we've been old friends for a long time."
Before Kitsuchi could sort out his thoughts, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly interrupted him.
The words startled Kitsuchi, and he couldn't help but silently curse Deidara for being unreliable.
No matter what questions they asked Deidara, he had refused to answer.
And after a thorough examination last night, they had confirmed that Deidara hadn't been poisoned or subjected to any Genjutsu.
Kitsuchi genuinely couldn't understand why Deidara had suddenly changed his attitude.
"Hokage-sama, my father often speaks of you as well."
Despite his rough and burly appearance, Kitsuchi was, after all, the son of Ōnoki. Having grown up under his father's influence, he understood the nuances of diplomacy.
"After all, among the Thirds, only you and my father remain."
"Indeed, time flies."
Hiruzen smiled faintly, deliberately sidestepping the fact that he had already retired once. Instead, he spoke earnestly.
"I had always thought we'd need a special opportunity to sit down and talk. I never expected that opportunity to come like this."
Coming to our village to stir up trouble and then dragging Deidara to Konohagakure—sure, let's call that an opportunity, huh?
Kitsuchi couldn't help but complain inwardly, but he still nodded along.
"That's true. However, Hokage-sama, this time your actions..."
"In the past, due to various reasons, we couldn't trust each other, let alone communicate effectively."
But Hiruzen was a seasoned diplomat. Before Kitsuchi could finish his sentence, Hiruzen smiled and continued.
"Konohagakure and Iwagakure have had little to no channels of communication. But now, I see an opportunity. Don't you think so?"
"...You might as well just say you want information!"
Though Kitsuchi was a bit slow on the uptake, he wasn't oblivious to what Hiruzen was implying.
Still, this kind of roundabout conversation was what Kitsuchi disliked the most.
He would much rather be on the battlefield than dealing with diplomatic negotiations.
"Yes, it's an opportunity. However, Hokage-sama..."
Kitsuchi sighed, looking at Hiruzen with resignation.
"Building mutual trust is indeed important, but it must be based on transparency. Could you tell us what exactly is going on?
The events in the Land of Earth, and everything that happened that day—only by clarifying these matters can we move forward."
"Agreed."
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully, puffing on his pipe. Kitsuchi's directness was exactly what he needed to move things forward.
"To build trust, we do need to exchange information. Only through this can we better understand each other, especially concerning a certain mysterious organization..."
Meanwhile, in a training field in Konohagakure, Kakashi and Kitagawa Minamoto had just finished a round of training and were now taking a break.
The ongoing diplomatic discussions in the village were something Kakashi could participate in if needed, but he wasn't particularly interested.
Minamoto, on the other hand, was curious. However, as a Chūnin, he wasn't yet qualified to take part in such matters. Since there weren't any missions for now, they decided to focus on training instead.
"You've really grown stronger, kid."
Kakashi sat nearby, rubbing his head as he gave his assessment.
"With the increasing difficulty of your missions, your combat experience has also grown. While there's still room for improvement, your Flying Thunder God Technique makes up for it.
I'm confident that one day, you'll become a shinobi who astonishes the world."
"Hehe."
Minamoto chuckled, then deliberately asked,
"So I'm not astonishing enough yet?"
"...!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes and picked up his book, choosing to ignore the remark.
"Stay humble. There's always someone stronger out there. Every shinobi must remain cautious. The more people learn about your abilities, the more they'll study ways to counter you."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
Minamoto nodded. He was well aware of this.
Even though he wasn't weak, the shinobi world was filled with powerful individuals. For instance, he wouldn't dare face Ōnoki's Dust Release head-on.
"Still, it's good that the Iwagakure representatives are here. Deidara owes me money, after all."
"Huh? Didn't Naruto say you already asked him for it?"
At that moment, a voice interrupted their conversation. Turning around, they saw Jiraiya approaching.
"Jiraiya-sama, what are you doing here?"
Kakashi was surprised. He thought Jiraiya was meeting with the Sunagakure representatives.
"The old man isn't done yet. The Sunagakure folks wanted some time to cool off, so I decided to slip away."
Jiraiya grinned nonchalantly. He had no interest in these discussions, but his position made it impossible to avoid them entirely.
"Things over there are quite troublesome."
Jiraiya shook his head and sat down, joining the two white-haired shinobi.
"Sunagakure is taking this very seriously. Chiyo herself came this time. Good thing neither of you were there, or else..."
As he spoke, Jiraiya glanced teasingly at Minamoto and Kakashi.
His gaze immediately made Kakashi's expression turn into his signature dead-fish eyes.
The last time they encountered that puppet master, she had mistaken Minamoto for her son.
Though no one talked about it openly, everyone knew.
"Do I look like him, Kakashi-sensei?"
Minamoto blinked innocently, turning to Kakashi.
In response, Kakashi slammed his book onto Minamoto's head.
"Go dye your hair back!"
Though annoyed, Kakashi then turned to Jiraiya and asked,
"So, that guy—is he the legendary 'Sasori of the Red Sand'?"
"Yes, most likely."
Jiraiya nodded, his expression growing serious.
"That level of puppet mastery, along with the ability to turn people into human puppets while preserving their abilities from life—only Sunagakure's top puppet masters could achieve that.
I also heard that Sasori was once a member of the Third Kazekage's personal guard. After the Third Kazekage disappeared, he vanished as well.
Initially, people thought he had met with misfortune. But now it seems..."
"A case of hiding in plain sight. As a personal guard, he would have had private access to the Third Kazekage."
Minamoto chimed in, his tone thoughtful.
"And that guy is highly skilled with poisons. The Third Kazekage was probably poisoned to death, wasn't he?"
"That's very possible."
Jiraiya sighed, then gave a bitter smile.
"Who would have thought that the Third Shinobi World War was sparked by something like this?
Even though the war was bound to happen eventually, this catalyst is just absurd."
The shinobi world was like a powder keg. The end of the Second Shinobi World War hadn't eliminated hatred; it had only planted deeper seeds of conflict.
Issues like resource distribution and development plagued every major village. And the simplest way to resolve them was through plunder.
Places like the Land of Fire were especially tempting targets. Any bite they could take was worth it.
Jiraiya understood this all too well, which was why he could only sigh.
"Let's not dwell on this—it's too heavy. Let's talk about something else."
"Are we getting a new mission soon?"
Minamoto nodded, then asked curiously.
"Not yet. The details haven't been finalized."
Jiraiya shook his head, stroking his chin as he thought aloud.
"The information you encountered came from a one-eyed old man. It involves Orochimaru, which has piqued my interest.
Apparently, he's also investigating something else. Supposedly, he has ties to Hanzo of the Salamander. So for now, we wait."
"I see."
Minamoto chuckled inwardly. Hanzo and Danzō had almost ended up running for their lives together, chased down by Nagato.
After that incident, their old friendship had likely turned into bitter hatred.
"After all, Hanzo of the Salamander is now Hanzo the Stewed Salamander."
Hanzo's death had handed Amegakure over to new leadership.
If Danzō went there to ask questions...
"Hah! That'd be like walking into the lion's den!"
Nagato and his comrades bore grudges against both Hanzo and Danzō.
Suddenly, Minamoto realized why Orochimaru had come up in conversation.
This was likely Danzō's doing. Too afraid to go to Amegakure himself, he had dragged Orochimaru into it instead.
While many details were unclear, Minamoto could piece together the general picture.
Danzō was up to something.
"Alright, enough about that. We're waiting for results, but in the meantime..."
Jiraiya's laughter interrupted Minamoto's train of thought.
He turned to Kakashi with a grin.
"I think we could take on a different kind of mission. Something worthwhile."
"A mission? What kind of mission?"
Minamoto's eyes lit up. He never turned down missions—they always benefited him!
"Another troublesome task?"
Kakashi, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic.
Although Minamoto's presence seemed to have turned his luck around—no more worrying about losing teammates—he couldn't ignore the fact that their missions were becoming increasingly difficult and absurd.
"Relax, relax. This one won't be too hard."
Jiraiya laughed, patting Kakashi's shoulder with mock seriousness.
"This time, I plan to bring Tsunade back!"
"Tsunade-sama?"
Kakashi blinked, then nodded. That was definitely a good idea.
The mysterious organization they were dealing with was becoming more complex and dangerous. Konohagakure needed someone like Tsunade to hold the fort.
Especially since Obito Uchiha had mastered Wood Release, Tsunade's expertise could shed light on many unanswered questions.
"That's a great idea, Jiraiya-sama."
"Absolutely. I've heard Tsunade-sama's medical ninjutsu is incredible."
Before Jiraiya could respond, Minamoto nodded eagerly.
"That way, when Kakashi-sensei ends up in the hospital again, he'll recover even faster!"
"...!"
Kakashi buried his face in his hand.
He really didn't want to say anything anymore.
(End of Chapter)
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