"What?"
Ryuji stared blankly at the middle-aged Shinobi, momentarily wondering if his all-night research on Sealing Techniques had messed with his head.
"In the battlefield of the Land of Rain, Kazekage-sama fell in battle," the middle-aged Shinobi repeated.
This time, Ryuji heard it clearly.
But he didn't panic. Instead, he observed the middle-aged Shinobi before him and recalled his identity.
This man was named Yamada, a member of the communications division. He was skilled in raising hawks and was responsible for maintaining contact between the delegation in Konoha and Sunagakure.
"How did this happen?" Ryuji rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
The Third Kazekage personally leading the attack on Amegakure... Ryuji hadn't known about it initially. Later, when he found out, he didn't think much of it.
After all, Hanzo had taken 3,000 Shinobi to attack the Land of Iron, leaving only about a thousand to defend. Without any strong individuals stationed, Sunagakure held an absolute advantage in both numbers and individual strength.
Victory was almost guaranteed. The fact that the Third Kazekage hadn't discussed it with Ryuji didn't seem like a problem.
But the result...
Ryuji sighed and gestured to the cushion beside the low table. "Sit down first. Explain the specific details to me slowly."
"Thank you, Ryuji-sama."
Yamada stood up, walked to the low table, knelt, and sat properly. After clearing his throat, he began to recount the specific sequence of events.
Ryuji poured him a cup of tea and then sat quietly listening.
"The Third Kazekage wasn't killed by Amegakure's Shinobi. He was killed by a member of an organization called 'Akatsuki'. At the time..."
As Yamada explained, Ryuji came to understand the entire story.
The Land of Iron hired Sunagakure to attack Amegakure to force Hanzo to withdraw his troops.
Because Amegakure's remaining forces were too weak compared to Sunagakure's, the Land of Iron was worried that Sunagakure might destroy Amegakure before Hanzo could react. This could cause Hanzo, having lost everything, to become desperate and seek to recover his losses entirely from the Land of Iron.
Therefore, the mission details were to put pressure on Amegakure, not to destroy it.
Naturally, the Third Kazekage gladly accepted this mission, which avoided a decisive battle with the enemy and minimized losses.
He also didn't let his guard down despite Amegakure's weak remaining forces. He gathered 3,000 personnel to attack Amegakure.
However, as soon as Sunagakure's forces entered the Land of Rain's borders, they were intercepted by a group of people.
This group numbered in the hundreds. Their leader was a young man with orange hair.
They called themselves 'Akatsuki' and came to negotiate for peace.
The outcome was predictable. There was no way the Third Kazekage would give up the mission reward just because of some smooth talk.
Not only did he refuse their request, but he also mocked them for being hypocrites. He questioned them: If they were truly for peace, why didn't they stop Hanzo from invading the Land of Iron?
The other party claimed they hadn't known initially. By the time they found out, the war had already begun. They were preparing to go to the Land of Iron to persuade Hanzo to withdraw.
Naturally, the Third Kazekage didn't believe this and found them even more hypocritical.
Then, negotiations broke down.
The two sides engaged in battle at the border of the Land of Rain.
Akatsuki only had a few hundred people. Although many of them were skilled, Sunagakure wasn't weak either. With numerical advantage, Sunagakure naturally pushed them back steadily.
But Akatsuki didn't give up.
They retreated while utilizing their familiarity with the terrain to wage guerrilla warfare, continuously harassing Sunagakure to hinder their advance.
Both sides engaged in a battle of wits and strength along the way, each suffering losses, but Sunagakure's advance was greatly slowed.
When messengers from the Land of Iron expressed dissatisfaction and even considered changing villages, the Third Kazekage ultimately made a fatal mistake.
During the nearly two months of conflict, he had long noticed that Akatsuki had deep connections with the residents of various towns and villages in the Land of Rain. They often deliberately redirected the battlefield to avoid involving local residents, even stalling to allow residents to evacuate.
Initially, the Third Kazekage ignored this.
In wars between Shinobi, unless under special circumstances like dealing with survivors, deserters, or for secrecy reasons, they generally don't deliberately target ordinary civilians.
But this time, pressured by the client's urgency, the Third Kazekage chose to target civilians.
He exploited Akatsuki's pursuit of peace, using the safety of a town's residents as leverage, demanding they come out for a decisive battle.
Then, the decisive battle between Sunagakure and the combined forces of Akatsuki and Amegakure's remaining Shinobi erupted.
And the Third Kazekage died at the hands of Akatsuki's leader.
After listening to Yamada's explanation, Ryuji was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "Confirmed he died by the Akatsuki leader's hand, not by one of his subordinates?"
"Many people on the battlefield saw it. It was indeed the Akatsuki leader, 'Nagato'," Yamada replied, giving Ryuji a somewhat strange glance.
'Generally, a group's leader is its strongest member, so it would be normal for the Kazekage to die by the leader's hand, right?'
'But from Ryuji-sama's tone, it sounded like dying by the leader's hand was strange?'
He didn't ask further, and Ryuji didn't answer. He just took deep breaths, trying to calm the urge to curse.
After a while, he calmed down and continued asking, "What news has come from the village and the Daimyo?"
"The village is in great upheaval right now. The elders are discussing the election of the Fourth Kazekage. But the former elders who were dismissed by the Third Kazekage have also emerged." Yamada glanced at Ryuji's expression. Seeing it remained calm and unchanged, he continued, "They claim the Third Kazekage's mind had problems ever since being transformed into a puppet by Sasori. They say the current defeat is the result of the Third Kazekage's foolish decision to dismiss all the old guards and put new people in power. If the Third Kazekage's policies continue, they will lead to the village's destruction."
"Such old foxes," Ryuji couldn't help but sneer coldly. "Their argument must have gained quite a bit of support in the village, right?"
"Yes. Many in the village who once followed them, including older members and even many younger ones, firmly believe this. They've joined together, demanding the dissolution of the current Round Table Council and the reinstatement of the old guard. They've even reported this to the Daimyo's court."
"What is the Daimyo's court's attitude?"
"They are very dissatisfied with the outcome of Sunagakure's this action. Many ministers within accept the argument that this defeat was due to the Third Kazekage's mental issues. But the Daimyo has chosen not to interfere, stating that Shinobi Village's matters should be decided by the villages themselves."
"That shows he's still somewhat smart."
The relationship between a Shinobi Village and its country is one of cooperation, not subordination.
Usually, out of respect for the primary financial backer, they treat them politely and even consider their opinions when electing a Kage.
But if they truly interfered with a village's important internal governance decisions... that would be asking for trouble.
"But the Daimyo expressed great disappointment in Sunagakure. He believes that given the large disparity in strength between Sunagakure and Amegakure's remaining forces, this should have been a crushing victory. Yet it turned out like this."