"Later, in the Battle of the Land of Whirlpools, Tsunade's reputation resounded throughout the shinobi world. Within Konoha, some even believed that Tsunade was more suited to be Hokage, and Hiruzen should step down."
"Then, A went to Konoha to propose to Tsunade, which intensified internal conflicts in the village, creating irreconcilable tension between Hiruzen and Tsunade."
"Later still, Tsunade and Shin were suddenly sent to the border. You even said at the time that this was Hiruzen's way of deliberately sending them away, planning to eliminate their support."
"But Tsunade's wings had already grown strong, and Hiruzen couldn't find an opening. So he tried to take advantage of this chance to provoke a war, then pin the blame for starting it on Tsunade."
"That's why the Konoha ninjas ambushed me."
"Naturally, Shin wouldn't let that happen, which explains why he suddenly showed up to help me."
"That's all just your speculation," Chiyo said as she frowned.
"But it's reasonable," Pakura affirmed.
"At that time, hardly any Uchiha had come to the border. The few who did weren't particularly strong. I even fought one myself and almost killed him."
"Back then, only Shin could have appeared so quickly, and only he had that kind of power. What's more, I suspect Shin is a sensory ninja, one whose sensory abilities are almost unmatched in the shinobi world."
"Chiyo-sama, didn't you say there were many strange things in the Battle of the Land of Whirlpools?"
"The most suspicious of all was how our intelligence agents either disappeared or were completely unable to gather any useful information, while Tsunade seemed to know our every move."
"If there were a powerful sensory ninja helping her from the shadows, wouldn't that explain everything?"
"And take this time as another example. Let's suppose Hiruzen truly intended to get rid of Tsunade. But with Shin around, someone who could sense the trap, he turned the tables..."
"That must be it." Chiyo suddenly stood up.
It all made sense now. Everything made perfect sense.
The truly powerful one wasn't Tsunade, it was Shin.
She wasn't just making excuses for the defeat in the Land of Whirlpools. In fact, she wasn't the type to shift blame. But that war had been incredibly frustrating.
Their forces were practically blind, unable to gather any reliable intelligence.
Yet Tsunade and the ninjas of Uzushio had seemed to anticipate their every move.
And the one likely behind it all… was Shin.
"But Pakura, knowing all this, how does it help us?" Chiyo couldn't help but ask.
"Of course it helps!" Pakura replied. "It means the internal power struggle within Konoha is far more intense and brutal than we imagined."
"It also means that both sides of the conflict, Hiruzen and Tsunade, are willing to do whatever it takes to bring the other down."
"That explains why Hiruzen sent people to kill me, and why he leaked top-secret intel to us, like Tsunade's troop movements and arrival times."
"We're talking about extremely classified information. If this wasn't a deliberate Konoha plot, then the only explanation is that someone orchestrated the entire situation in advance."
"And the only people capable of that would be Hiruzen and Danzō."
"They simply underestimated Shin. Otherwise, the ones who would've died wouldn't be our men, it would've been Tsunade and her troops."
"Since Tsunade and Hiruzen are now locked in a battle to the death, if we use this letter as leverage, couldn't we recover some of our losses?"
"Do you think I haven't considered that?" Chiyo sighed. "But the letter is anonymous. We don't even know who sent it. Hiruzen would never admit to it, how could we use it to threaten him?"
"Chiyo-sama, with all due respect, I believe he would."
Pakura smiled.
"Why?" For the first time, Chiyo realized that Pakura had matured even more quickly than she had imagined, to the point where she could no longer keep up with her thinking.
"Two reasons," Pakura explained.
"First, others may not know the tricks behind what happened on the battlefield. But if it really was Shin who unraveled this entire scheme, he would be more convinced than anyone that the letter is real. Do you think that if this matter got out, Tsunade, or rather, Shin, wouldn't seize the chance to make a huge deal out of it?"
Chiyo now fully understood. She nodded deeply, expressing her strong agreement.
"As for the second reason, according to our latest intel, Hiruzen's position as Hokage is already on shaky ground. He cannot withstand even the slightest blow. Once we make this public, Shin will surely cooperate with us from the shadows, stirring up public opinion until the whole situation becomes uncontrollable."
"By then, Hiruzen will be like someone who's got mud in his pants, even if it's not what it looks like, people will think it is. Not only will he lose his seat as Hokage, but his name will be forever tarnished. And judging from his fanatical obsession with remaining Hokage, once we lay it all out for him, he'll have no choice but to yield."
At this moment, Chiyo felt her mood lift, and she looked at Pakura with intense admiration.
If her son weren't already married, she'd honestly want Pakura to become her daughter-in-law.
Such talent!
Such brilliance!
This... this was what the next Kazekage should look like.
Compared to the wisdom Pakura was displaying, what was Rasa worth?
But faced with Chiyo's admiring gaze, Pakura felt a flicker of guilt.
Were these thoughts really her own? Or had someone guided her thinking in this direction?
Because much of this information had appeared in her mind so suddenly, even though it had taken her a long time to piece it all together to form her earlier argument.
Pakura had considered the possibility that this was Shin's doing.
But even so, it was a powerful bargaining chip, something that could boost her standing in the eyes of Chiyo and the Third Kazekage, and bring her one step closer to the position of Kazekage.
Besides, in the past six months, her performance on the battlefield had been exceptionally smooth, almost too smooth. But those she had killed were mostly ninjas from the Shimura, Sarutobi, and Utatane clans.
This subtle sense of being manipulated made her uncomfortable.
Yet, if it brought her closer to the seat of Kazekage, she couldn't help but be tempted, unable to refuse.
"Who do you think would be the best person to send to Konoha as an envoy?" Chiyo asked, though she already had someone in mind.
"Let me go," Pakura volunteered. "First, I'm most familiar with the matter. Second, I'm confident I can persuade Hiruzen to agree to a ceasefire, and even force him to compensate us in return."
"Absolutely not!" Chiyo immediately rejected the idea. "This visit to Konoha is extremely risky. No one knows what might happen. I can't let you take that risk."
"Chiyo-sama..."
"Say no more. Give me the name of the person you believe is most suitable, besides yourself."
Pakura frowned slightly, falling into deep thought. After a while, she finally said, "Perhaps… it would be best to send my teacher."