The name of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, is mostly passed down by the older generation of ninjas. After all, this Tsuchikage is already almost seventy years old, with old arms and legs that try not to move...
Kakashi Hatake could only briefly describe it based on past intelligence: "The Third Tsuchikage, whose full name is Both Scales Onoki, possesses Dust Release, which is a fusion of wind, earth, and fire Chakra nature transformations, a Kekkeitota that is even more powerful than a Kekkeigenkai..."
"It sounds even stronger than Wood Release..."
Akihara Kagura seemed somewhat taken by imagination.
"It should…not be stronger than Wood Release."
Kakashi Hatake wasn't very knowledgeable in such matters either.
Although the Dust Release of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki and the Wood Release of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama have never fought, the Dust Release definitely doesn't surpass Hashirama's power.
"Let me handle it."
Uchiha Itachi volunteered, seriously discussing his plan: "I can first have the members of the Intelligence Department secretly uncover the location of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, then infiltrate The Hidden Rock Village, and secretly meet with that Five-Tails Jinchuriki..."
"An excellent plan, but it's still too dangerous..."
Kakashi Hatake sincerely praised it, yet didn't quite agree.
The plan provided him with some ideas, notably about letting the Intelligence Department members secretly check the Five-Tails Jinchuriki's location to avoid getting lost in The Hidden Rock Village.
Akihara Kagura's [capture the Tsuchikage to interrogate for intelligence] plan was too outrageous, making Uchiha Itachi's seemingly ordinary infiltration plan appear outstanding in comparison.
"Um..."
Little Karin cautiously interjected from the side: "If infiltrating is so dangerous, why not think of a way to reduce their guard personnel?"
"..."
Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Itachi fell into silence.
Akihara Kagura laughed, messing up Little Karin's hair: "If we release information about Uchiha Obito being outside, we might attract a lot of them out, right?"
Uchiha Itachi nodded, earnestly continuing: "Creating intelligence that attracts those from The Hidden Rock Village at a certain spot, even if we can't lure everyone out, as long as we draw out more Rock Ninjas guarding the place, it can greatly reduce the risk of infiltrating..."
"That task would be quite feasible."
Akihara Kagura immediately proposed a plan that Kakashi Hatake was bound to oppose: "I'll disguise myself as Uchiha Obito and then massacre a city, deliberately letting a few people flee to The Hidden Rock Village to report..."
"This plan is already exceedingly extreme..."
With his face full of frustration, Kakashi Hatake opened his mouth in opposition: "Slaughtering an entire city's population is far too brutal; if discovered in the future, it will cause big trouble for Konoha..."
Akihara Kagura immediately put forward his second plan: "Then I'll only kill the people of a small town, so it won't seem that gruesome..."
"Still not okay!"
Kakashi Hatake earnestly explained: "It's not about the number of people you kill, but killing itself. We cannot harm innocent civilians..."
"Then can I go after some Hidden Rock Ninjas?"
It seemed as though Akihara Kagura had arrived at a point of desperation, but this sentence apparently gave him an instant flash of inspiration for a more perfect plan!
Akihara Kagura immediately put forward his third plan: "I'll first pose as a ninja from The Hidden Cloud Village and kill the ninja at The Hidden Rock Village's border outpost, triggering a war between them..."
"We..."
It seemed like Kakashi Hatake wanted to interrupt.
"Don't rush, listen to me first."
A confident smile appeared on Akihara Kagura's face as he continued: "Once the war starts, I'll commence killing on the battlefield, escalating the war between them, drawing out all the stationed Rock ninjas..."
After he finished speaking, Akihara Kagura looked at Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Itachi, awaiting their feedback: "This way, The Hidden Rock Village will inevitably be emptied, allowing us to infiltrate The Hidden Rock Village with peace of mind. Even Captain Kakashi could go in..."
"..."
Sweat broke out on Kakashi Hatake's forehead upon hearing this.
It was indeed a good plan, but Uchiha Itachi wouldn't need to infiltrate The Hidden Rock Village; they could simply prepare for a ninja world war right away...
"Just for an infiltration plan, isn't it a bit overboard?"
Kakashi Hatake rubbed his temples: "We just want to sneak into The Hidden Rock Village, such methods are too extreme; you'd be hanged by the Five Great Countries for inciting a war..."
"Then I'll impersonate Uchiha Obito..."
Akihara Kagura quickly adopted Kakashi Hatake's suggestion.
"It's not about who you impersonate..."
Kakashi Hatake felt this kid wasn't grasping the key point.
Compared to Akihara Kagura's plans of inciting the ninja world war, those plans of massacring a city or a town started to appear somewhat reasonable...
Wait a minute...
Those weren't reasonable either.
He was beginning to get swayed by this guy's thoughts.
"This plan takes too long, more unexpected situations could arise at any time."
Recalling the time of his assessment mission, Uchiha Itachi suggested: "We could try to kidnap an important figure from the Land of Earth, or create chaos in a remote area from The Hidden Rock Village..."
"This is feasible."
Akihara Kagura immediately supplemented Uchiha Itachi's proposal: "I'll disguise myself as Uchiha Obito and go kidnap the daimyo of the Land of Earth; if lucky, we might even get some ransom."
"..."
Kakashi Hatake felt his subordinates had a twisted way of thinking, always seeming to want to take the path of crime, kidnapping a nation's daimyo is also a grave crime!
And also...
Could this guy stop always impersonating Obito!
With Akihara Kagura's outrageous actions, even if they got Obito back to Konoha, other great countries might compel Konoha to take Obito's head...
"No more unnecessary actions..."
"I've long decided I should be the one to infiltrate The Hidden Rock Village."
Kakashi Hatake decided to take the matter back upon himself, laying his hands on his legs, earnestly speaking his mind: "I've long thought about the cost I'm willing to pay to bring Obito back, even at the cost of my life. This life was originally saved by Obito, now I want to save his life..."
"Don't stop me."
Kakashi Hatake interrupted their thoughts of persuasion, continuing: "Retrieving Obito was originally just my responsibility; it has nothing to do with you two. You are Konoha's future, you absolutely must not sacrifice yourselves in such a place."
"Now issuing the final order as the sub-commander of the sixth squad of the Dark Department, if I'm killed by the people of The Hidden Rock Village during the infiltration reconnaissance, you two should immediately return to Konoha with Karin and report the situation to the Hokage."
After saying these words, Kakashi Hatake looked at Akihara Kagura, as if intending to leave his last testament: "Kagura, the one I trust the most is you."
"You're a kind person who holds your own love and bonds, but you've been tainted by the darkness of the Root for too long, preferring extreme methods to solve problems."
"That's not right, as extremism will breed darkness endlessly; darkness will let hatred spread, in the future, when you encounter problems, don't always think killing can solve everything, there are troubles in this world that killing cannot solve."
"You're a true genius, more talented than anyone I've ever seen. If there's anyone in this world who can stop Obito from threatening the ninja world in the future, it has to be you."
"And also."
Kakashi Hatake, calmly and as if it were his last wish, said: "When you meet Obito again, please convey a message for me..."
"Rin and I will always be watching over his life from the Pure Land."