The bandits' unfortunate conversation couldn't be heard by Haseo, and fortunately not by Tsunade either.
However, Haseo hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. And even if he had, the laws of the Land of Rivers didn't apply to ninja from Konoha anyway. Furthermore, these two Konoha ninja quickly left the Land of Rivers and entered the sandy, desert-filled Land of Wind.
Because of environmental differences, things worked out differently—while the Land of Wind was mostly desert wasteland, its neighboring smaller nations had much better natural resources. In other words, although the Land of Wind had considerable military strength, it lacked high-quality territory. Meanwhile, those smaller nations with better land struggled to carry out annexation... One has to admit, whoever designed the world order back then sure played a cruel joke.
Perhaps he himself wasn't necessarily that bad, but his younger brother definitely was.
After arriving in the Land of Wind, Haseo and Tsunade picked up their pace, and after enduring just one day of swallowing sand, they reached the Daimyo's Castle of the Land of Wind, an architectural marvel unlike any other.
After slipping unnoticed into the city, Haseo turned his eyes in one direction… No matter how unique the architectural style might be, the residence of a nation's leader would always stand out noticeably.
All one needed to do was look for the largest building within the city.
"Haseo?"
Tsunade's voice brought Haseo back from his thoughts.
"Nothing. Let's scout around the palace first. If the defensive level here is limited, we'll find a chance to sneak inside the Palace and take a quick look around—it might bring us some unexpected discoveries… After all, our mission is to gather intelligence; we can't seriously just submit a report about local customs and landscapes back to the village."
Haseo expressed this sentiment quite clearly, as he understood perfectly well.
"The palace… should probably be fine. Konoha only implemented systematic defensive barriers in recent years. Given the Land of Wind's relatively weaker national strength, it likely doesn't have the capacity for something like that yet.
At most, Sunagakure might assign a few ninja as guards, similar to our Twelve Guardians."
Tsunade voiced her opinion, which aligned closely with Haseo's own views. She'd been trained under the most orthodox ninja education system—she was hardly a mere decoration. That kind of judgment came as nothing surprising.
She'd have been perfect if only she weren't such a gambling addict.
After discreetly surveying the situation within the Daimyo's Castle, they indeed found no sign of any powerful defensive barrier. Thus, after avoiding surveillance, they successfully infiltrated the castle without encountering major difficulties.
In many ways, Haseo seemed unusually destined to cross paths with figures bearing the title of "Daimyo." However, this time, entering the Daimyo's Palace in the Land of Wind definitely wasn't for the purpose of assassinating the Daimyo.
The current global situation remained stable—he had no reason to go looking for trouble or chase unnecessary thrills.
Moreover, in many respects, assassinating a foreign head of state was simply unnecessary. Although ninja villages and a country's internal politics were part of a unified structure, essentially they were two separate systems, maintaining considerable independence from each other.
Simply put, the death of a Daimyo wouldn't have much impact on a ninja village unless the newly appointed Daimyo decided to completely cut off funding—which was impossible. How had the previous Daimyo of the Land of Fire died? That itself serves as a perfect example.
Haseo and Tsunade slipped into the Daimyo's Castle unnoticed and remained there for three full days without giving away their presence. Instead, they managed to locate the positions of eight Sunagakure guardian ninja.
As for whether there were other ninja hiding in the shadows, Haseo couldn't be sure. After all, this was the Land of Wind, so out of caution, he wouldn't act recklessly.
Under such cautious circumstances, who could possibly imagine two Konoha ninja had actually infiltrated right here?
Yet for three straight days, the two found nothing of value, only darting around atop high palace beams and ventilation ducts.
Their days felt like those of lazy rats—sitting idle for hours without gaining any useful intel. Even Tsunade was starting to feel bored.
She opened her mouth as if to yawn, but Haseo suddenly clamped a hand over it, signaling her to stay silent.
Startled by his abrupt action, she didn't make a sound anyway. She silently nodded at him to show her understanding, after which he finally let go.
Voices drifted closer, reaching both of them.
"Even if we don't harbor particular ambitions toward the two major countries nearby, nations like the Land of Rivers to the east or the Land of Birds to the north should still fall under our control. Lord Daimyo, it's not that we desire war—it's because the land of the Land of Wind is too barren. We need more fertile territory."
"But whether it's the Land of Fire or the Land of Earth, neither will allow us to seize surrounding smaller nations and expand our borders."
"Precisely. Once we attempt such moves, Konoha and Iwagakure will immediately respond, even resorting to war… The third party will never allow the Land of Wind to grow strong."
"War... Can the Land of Wind afford the economic and military costs?"
"Actually, Konoha and Iwagakure's reactions are secondary—we can proceed step by step. If we wish to control the neighboring small nations, one crucial point must be seized first—that is Amegakure."
"Amegakure, located at the heart of the continent, is a chaotic battleground. Ever since Konoha captured Ame during the final stages of the Great Ninja World War, unrest has continued within the hidden village."
"As long as we seize Amegakure before Konoha and Iwagakure can react effectively, we will gain a certain strategic advantage. Amegakure acts as a shield for smaller nations; once lost, the Land of Rivers to the north and the Land of Birds to the east will lose all defense."
"So capturing Amegakure is key?"
"More accurately, capturing Amegakure before Konoha and Iwagakure can mount an effective response—that's what matters most."
Peeking slowly forward, Haseo looked through the air vent in the ventilation duct and saw two people below. One was naturally the Daimyo of the Land of Wind—but the other ninja he recognized as well… It was Chiyo from Sunagakure.
As he cautiously peeked through the gap, a sudden whizzing sound cut through the air, followed by a kunai embedding itself into the wall below the opening with a dull thud.
"What was that?"
"Probably nothing — maybe a false alarm or just a mouse. Lord Daimyo, please allow us to move away from here..."
Haseo couldn't help but think — his caution was truly impressive. At that moment, though, he suddenly caught sight of gray smoke spreading from that kunai.
Haseo instantly held his breath, but apparently a bit too late... His legs felt slightly weak.
Chiyo indeed is a master of poison.
Tsunade noticed this as well. At this moment, her arm circled around Haseo's waist, and without even glancing, she swiftly grabbed several vials from his ninja tool pouch... These items were all prepared by her for Haseo. She knew far better than him what effects each medicine had and what ingredients they were made from.
While silently retreating, Tsunade mixed several pills together, after which both of them swallowed a portion each.
The symptoms eased somewhat, and Haseo nodded slightly.
So they kept slipping through the shadows of the palace, hiding deeper into its forgotten corners, until they reached a spot no one could find.
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