"Indeed!"
"I knew the death of Konoha's White Fang (Sakumo Hatake) wasn't so simple. Did they use his head to appease Chiyo of Sunagakure?"
"It both eliminated an internal threat and placated an external enemy. That was a truly clever move!"
"It's a shame this kind of thing can't see the light of day. If the Konoha ninja were to find out..."
Yagyu looked at the report in his hand, a playful smile appearing on his face, as he decided on the terms he would offer Sunagakure.
"Send a message to Sunagakure!"
"Bring me Sunagakure's hero, Pakura of the Scorch Release (Shakuton no Pakura)!"
"Tell Sunagakure that we want Pakura of the Scorch Release to be sent here to die."
"This is the price Chiyo must pay for attempting to take advantage of my situation."
"If they disagree, I will personally visit Sunagakure!"
Yagyu smiled slightly, speaking carelessly.
The Third Mizukage contemplated: "Pakura of the Scorch Release from Sunagakure? She is a famous figure in Sunagakure right now! Will Sunagakure agree?"
Yagyu stated with absolute certainty: "They will definitely agree!"
"Tell them not to do the deed themselves."
"They only need to lure Pakura here under the pretext of a confidential mission."
"They were involved in the death of Konoha's White Fang, so they are not unfamiliar with this routine."
"Furthermore..."
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, will definitely help us!"
A cold sneer appeared on Yagyu's face, his tone somewhat mocking.
Pakura of the Scorch Release was not a member of the Kazekage faction, yet she possessed power and prestige no less than the Kazekage himself.
Under these circumstances, could the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, tolerate her?
This point was already demonstrated in the original work.
Pakura of the Scorch Release was betrayed by the high-level officials of Sunagakure and sent to Kirigakure to be killed.
Sunagakure's explanation was that at the time, Sunagakure was about to engage in a decisive battle with Iwagakure and feared an ambush from Kirigakure from behind.
But just by looking at a map of the Ninja World, one can see that even if Kirigakure were to ambush, they would ambush Iwagakure.
Although the map shows a continent separating the Land of Water and the Land of Earth, the Naruto world is a globe, and this is unquestionable.
In other words, the Land of Water and the Land of Earth are actually separated by the sea, but their distance from each other is closer than the distance between the Land of Water and the Land of Wind.
Otherwise, Kirigakure and Iwagakure would not have fought a war during the First Great Ninja War.
If several large countries truly separated them, how could they have fought?
Furthermore, historically, the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage killed each other.
How great must the hatred be between two villages that they fought to the point where even their leaders died together?
Therefore, Sunagakure's explanation doesn't hold water.
The only explanation is that Pakura of the Scorch Release aroused the suspicion of the Sunagakure higher-ups, so they acted to eliminate her.
Thus, Yagyu was absolutely certain that Sunagakure would agree to his demands.
In their view, this request of his helped them greatly, giving them a pretext for getting rid of Pakura.
The Third Mizukage said: "The request for Sunagakure is settled. What about the other three villages?"
Yagyu pondered: "Kumogakure and Iwagakure... these two villages are relatively united. Ordinary methods of sowing discord probably won't work. Never mind, just demand some supplies from them."
"Sunagakure is dirt poor. They would rather sacrifice people than hand over resources. But Iwagakure and Kumogakure are different. These two villages are quite affluent."
In the perpetually warring Naruto world, Iwagakure and Kumogakure are considered outliers, with very little major internal strife.
It is precisely because of this reason that these two villages were able to rapidly rise and gradually possess strength comparable to Konoha Village.
Looking across the entire Naruto manga, Kumogakure never had a powerful Rogue Ninja, a point that other villages do not share.
And while Iwagakure did have the Rogue Ninja Deidara, he did not voluntarily defect; a large part of the reason was that he was forced to join the Akatsuki organization.
Initially, Deidara, like Rōshi, merely left the village; he was not a defector, and his forehead protector did not have a scratch mark.
However, this doesn't mean these two villages have no problems.
It just means their issues are more subtle, and Yagyu currently lacks the conditions to expose them.
Land of Rain, Sunagakure Frontline Base.
Elder Ebizō, who was in charge of commanding this unit, received the news that Chiyo had been killed by Yagyu, and his face showed a look of fury.
"My sister..."
"Yagyu, I will definitely kill you!"
Ebizō gritted his teeth, exuding a chilling killing intent.
The affection between Chiyo and Ebizō was profound.
The two were not only blood-related siblings but also senior sister and junior brother who studied under the same master, and close comrades who fought side-by-side for decades.
Upon hearing that Chiyo had been killed by Yagyu, Ebizō was utterly enraged.
In stark contrast to Ebizō was Rasa, the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, who felt a secret delight upon hearing the news of Chiyo's death.
Although he was the Fourth Kazekage, the highest leader of the entire village, most of the village's power was held by Chiyo and Ebizō, which greatly infuriated Rasa.
While Rasa acknowledged Chiyo as a vital combat force for Sunagakure, this did not prevent him from feeling that Chiyo's death was a good thing.
Rasa had a strange, Danzō-like confidence, believing that if the village's power were maintained solely by himself, Sunagakure would become better than it currently was.
"Asking me to hand over Pakura to die?"
Rasa looked at the message sent from Kirigakure, the smile on his face no longer concealable.
To help him eliminate two obstacles at once, Rasa genuinely wanted to thank Kirigakure profusely, perhaps even send them a trophy.
Although this would cost Sunagakure two Kage-level powerhouses, Rasa felt it was not a big deal.
While Kage-level powerhouses are important, a unified village that follows the Kazekage's orders is far more important than two Kage-level powerhouses.
The poor, isolated environment of Sunagakure means few people would covet it, and external enemies couldn't destroy Sunagakure.
But if the threats of Chiyo and Pakura were not handled properly, they could lead to the fragmentation and civil war of Sunagakure.
This outcome was far more critical than losing two Kage-level powerhouses.
Kage-level powerhouses could be cultivated again. Sunagakure, even without two Kage-level powerhouses, would still be Sunagakure.
But if Sunagakure suffered a civil war or fragmentation, its continued existence would be uncertain.
A strong fortress is often broken from within.
"Yagyu of Kirigakure, is it? I'll remember you!"
"If sealing could defeat you..."
Rasa wore a cold sneer on his face.