"Lord Kazekage, battle reports from the Land of Rivers front indicate that our army there, under Lord Sasori’s command, has inflicted heavy losses on Konoha."
A short while later, as Yuji was returning ho from the research institute, an Anbu ssenger arrived with the news.
"Oh?"
His expression brightened imdiately and he took the letter.
"That was fast."
After glancing through it, he narrowed his eyes.
The speed he was referring to was not only the Hidden Mist Village’s large-scale military assault on the Land of Fire. It was also Sasori’s deploynt of the Third Raikage’s modified corpse.
By controlling the Third Raikage as a weapon of destruction, Sasori had unleashed devastating losses against the Konoha forces on a front that, without Minato present, was relying on its commanders, the Uchiha clan mbers, and the Hyuga clan mbers to hold the line.
This had delivered Konoha its most painful blow since the war began.
Sasori now possessed two ultimate weapons. One was the Third Kazekage, the other was the Third Raikage who had only recently been added to the collection.
However, considering the unique nature of the Third Kazekage puppet, it would not be deployed until a truly crucial or special mont arose. The circumstances surrounding that particular weapon were such that it could not be revealed to outsiders under any normal conditions.
He had also been thinking about using the chaos of the Great Ninja War as cover, arranging for the Third Kazekage’s corpse to be conveniently discovered sowhere outside the village by soone unrelated, and then logically transferring it to Sasori’s possession through official channels.
That way Sasori would not need to be so constrained in how he managed and deployed it.
Although, from the village’s perspective, the idea of the Third Kazekage being controlled by Sasori and used in battle might seem disrespectful to a forr Sand Village leader, this was warti. Special circumstances required special asures.
It could also be refrad as the Third Kazekage indirectly continuing to protect the Sand Village even after death. He felt that with so careful persuasion, he could bring the village’s senior officials to a consensus on this.
His thoughts then shifted.
The Hidden Mist Village. He might be able to coordinate with their current fierce assault on the Land of Fire to devise an additional sche.
He could arrange for soone to plant false evidence suggesting the Third Kazekage’s corpse had been found within or near Konoha’s sphere of influence, implying Konoha was responsible for the Third Kazekage’s death.
The discovery of the Third Kazekage’s remains under those circumstances would devastate Konoha’s reputation. They would not be able to wash away that stain no matter what they said or did. As for what had actually happened, no one would particularly care.
There was a certain truth in the saying that those who wrongly accuse you understand your situation better than anyone else. Even the Hidden Mist Village, knowing everything about the arrangent was fabricated, would not care how the Third Kazekage had actually died or who was truly responsible.
On the contrary, as long as Konoha could be frad and made to look guilty, both villages would be more than happy to let the narrative spread. Konoha would beco even more diplomatically and politically isolated as a result.
He set down the battle report from the Land of Rivers front and glanced at the other intelligence summaries, narrowing his eyes.
His own appearance in this world had already caused the course of the Great Ninja War to deviate significantly from the original story’s trajectory.
The Land of Earth seizing Land of Lightning territory, the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist Villages receiving dicinal resources that substantially boosted their combat power, the resulting increased pressure on both the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Leaf Villages.
These changes were compounding.
His only real concern was that they might trigger chain reactions he could not fully anticipate or control.
The most obvious consequence was the accelerated depletion of Konoha’s reserves.
"Perhaps he will be summoned back to the battlefield again."
The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was not an impossibility. Even if Jiraiya used the pretext of seeking peace and traveling the world to erase hatred as his reason for staying away, he was still fundantally a Konoha citizen.
He could not stand by and watch the foundations of Konoha be shaken to their core. He was different from Tsunade in this respect. Tsunade suffered from hemophobia and genuinely could not return to the battlefield. But Jiraiya was another matter entirely.
Thinking of him, a particular glimr of concern flickered in Yuji’s eyes.
He had in fact always carried a specific worry, and it was connected to Jiraiya. Not just Jiraiya himself, but the powerful figure standing behind him. Mount Myoboku’s Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru.
The Great Toad Sage could foresee the future through prophetic dreams, possessing a form of omniscient vision that transcended ordinary perception.
Given this ability, as a transmigrator operating within the ninja world and quietly executing plans that deviated from the original course of history, would his actions draw the attention of the Great Toad Sage? And if they did, would the Great Toad Sage inform Jiraiya of what he had observed?
This was sothing that concerned him considerably more than most threats.
"There is no point overthinking it for now. Even if Mount Myoboku has taken notice of , if that toad is wise enough, it should understand that what I am doing is the right thing."
He pulled his thoughts back and muttered this to himself quietly.
Currently, facing the powerful offensive the Hidden Mist Village had launched against the Land of Fire and with his forces stretched across multiple commitnts, Hiruzen had been left with no choice but to personally lead Konoha’s forces in the battle against the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Konoha’s only remaining battlefield advantage at this point is in its engagent against the Hidden Cloud Village."
"In that battle, with the Third Raikage now serving as Sasori’s ultimate weapon, their situation on the Land of Rice Fields battlefield has beco considerably less favorable. Given Sasori’s temperant, a purely defensive strategy focused on preserving strength would never suit him.
It is only because of the orders he gave that Sasori has reluctantly complied until now."
"This nearly year-long protracted conflict and constant bloodshed has probably already pushed him to the edge of his patience. Looking at the direction the battlefield is heading, Konoha is about to face serious trouble."
He thought this through further and then imdiately instructed the Anbu to notify the village’s intelligence ninja operating in the Land of Rivers. He was changing the tactical approach between the Sand Village army and Konoha’s forces. From this point forward, they would take the initiative and attack.
Konoha was now in a passive position across every front. The Sand Village needed to coordinate with the Hidden Mist Village to deliver a truly decisive blow.
It was worth noting that earlier, after Rasa and Shimizu and the others had moved from the border battlefield to reinforce the Land of Rivers front, the Sand Village could have already signaled a full counterattack.
But there had been no rush at that ti, because Konoha had not yet felt the full weight of the Hidden Mist Village’s pressure bearing down on them simultaneously. Engaging Konoha’s army head-on before that pressure arrived, even if victory was achievable, would have resulted in significant Sand Village casualties.
What he wanted was not only to win but to win while keeping casualties to an absolute minimum. Therefore, to properly execute the strategy, even if the Sand Village’s forces in the Land of Rivers had been forced into temporary retreats, and even if Sasori had harbored resentnt at being held back, compliance had been necessary.
"Tell Sasori he can let loose now. Fight as big as he wants."
Yuji instructed the Anbu before they departed. He understood Sasori’s temperant very well.
"Yes," the Anbu replied and quickly left.
Yuji went to the research lab to extract so Kaguya clan cells for experintation.
Everyone in the ninja world understood that the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit carried serious side effects. Frequent use shortened the user’s lifespan and caused severe illness, almost invariably leading to an early death.
The bloodline’s abilities were primarily manifested through manipulation of bone stem cells and the restructuring of bone tissue. Furthermore, not every mber of the Kaguya clan actually possessed this ability.
Kimimaro’s level of capability made him a genuine genius even within the Kaguya clan. The vast majority of clan mbers were far inferior to him in terms of the range and precision of bone transformation and manipulation they could achieve.
Now that the Kaguya clan would be expanding within the Sand Village over ti, he needed to think seriously about whether he could completely resolve this fundantal problem of harmful side effects through research. Not only resolve the harm but potentially enhance the bloodline limit’s capabilities at the sa ti.
For the village’s broader developnt, the first phase had been collecting dicinal herbs from throughout the ninja world to conduct pharmacological research. This second phase of the talent plan involved collecting various biological cells from throughout the ninja world to investigate whether the harmful aspects of various bloodline limits could be fundantally changed or corrected.
"Lord Kazekage, please prepare yourself. In half an hour, the first Young Genius Pioneer Tournant of the Sand Village will begin, and your presence will be required to preside over the opening."
The Anbu mber stepped forward and delivered the reminder. An administrative ninja appeared simultaneously with a large stack of docunts requiring approval.
"What is it?" Yuji looked up, clearly having forgotten entirely about this event. His relentless daily schedule had left him thoroughly overwheld.
"The Young Genius Pioneer Tournant. It is the competition you proposed earlier, gathering and screening all talented children throughout the Land of Wind, with substantial rewards offered, to identify outstanding candidates for the village’s future ninja developnt."
"Ah, right, I rember now."
He slapped his forehead.
He took a brief mont to collect himself, then stood up and headed for the door.
"Let us go."
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