At the Fire Temple, a young married woman slowly descended the long stone steps from the temple gate.
Once she reached a secluded spot, she raised her hand.
Before long, a ninja hawk arrived and carried away a fingertip-sized intelligence scroll.
Only after reporting back to the village did Yakushi Nono'u take out the left-hand scroll and send Fox the latest news:
The Fire Temple was already preparing for the grand ordination ceremony of the First Prince.
Yako pulled out the right-hand scroll and read Nono'u's message.
She was efficient as ever.
And this would immediately put pressure on Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
The version of the intelligence she had given Sarutobi Einosuke made one thing clear—
The Fire Temple was rushing the schedule.
They intended to complete the prince's ordination as quickly as possible.
Once the First Prince formally entered the temple and began his ordained training—
It would already be too late.
The hawk carrying the message flew swiftly toward the Land of Hot Water, eventually landing on Sarutobi Einosuke's arm.
Einosuke scanned the contents and immediately went to find Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
What a disaster.
The Fire Daimyō was still determined to go through with it.
He still intended to let the Fire Temple produce warrior monks to serve as his Guardian Ninja.
Yako found Hippo and said,
"Hippo… how are you doing such a good job?"
The rumors were spreading rapidly.
The entire ninja world now believed Sarutobi Shinnosuke was the next Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hippo immediately replied when he heard the strange tone in Fox's voice:
"It's all because I learned from you, Fox-sama."
"I've been following you for so long—no matter how stupid I am, I've still picked up a little."
"Without even waiting for orders from you or Shinnosuke-sama, I already arranged for people to spread the stories."
"Advisor Shinnosuke led just over a hundred Konoha ninja and defeated over five hundred Cloud ninja, killing more than two hundred of them."
"And that was a Cloud force led by the Two-Tails Jinchūriki."
"With strength and achievements like that, all I have to do is polish the story a little, and Shinnosuke-sama's name will spread through the entire ninja world."
He lowered his voice.
"And yes… I know it was you, Fox-sama, who held off the Two-Tails Jinchūriki."
"But rumors have to be half-truth and half-fabrication."
"In some versions, Fox-sama descends like a war god."
"In others… it's almost as if Fox-sama was never there at all."
"I assume you won't mind if, in certain versions of the story, it was Shinnosuke-sama who defeated the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?"
"I don't mind," Yako said, eyes full of satisfaction. "Of course I don't mind."
"Hippo… you've graduated."
"You did very well."
"Shinnosuke-sama has only just become the Foreign Affairs Advisor. He needs prestige to intimidate enemy villages."
"Of course I don't mind if some rumors leave me out completely."
"Everything is for Shinnosuke-sama."
"For Konoha."
Hippo nodded repeatedly.
As the two whispered together, Nara Kyoichi approached.
"Fox-sama. Shinnosuke-sama is asking for you."
Sarutobi Sakihi had already led people in rebuilding the frontline camp.
Yako entered Sarutobi Shinnosuke's tent.
Shinnosuke handed him a mission scroll and said,
"Fox…"
"If the Fire Temple abbot, Jie, dies by 'accident' while I'm negotiating with the Fire Daimyō, it'll look too deliberate."
"I've thought it through carefully."
"You leave now and go assassinate Jie at the Fire Temple."
"Konoha will absolutely not allow the Fire Temple to take a single Guardian Ninja slot from us."
"The Fire Daimyō can only be protected by Konoha."
"He has no other choice."
"The Fire Temple monks actually dare to dream of becoming Guardian Ninja? Then they've already earned their deaths."
He paused, then added in a more serious tone:
"But Jie has cultivated Buddhist ninja arts for fifty years. He's powerful."
"I only have confidence in you to assassinate him."
"And you must succeed."
"The trouble here in the Land of Hot Water is only a skin rash to Konoha."
"The Land of Fire is Konoha's true foundation."
The Guardian Ninja positions of the Fire Daimyō were the forbidden preserve of the Sarutobi Clan.
Even Konoha's own ninja wouldn't dare covet them openly—
Yet the Fire Temple had dared to force itself into the matter.
Yako accepted the scroll and asked,
"My lord, what about your safety after I leave?"
"It's fine."
"Reinforcements have already arrived in the Land of Hot Water."
"My uncle, Sarutobi Hiyu, is leading them."
"The village sent a total of five hundred ninja. That's more than enough to deal with the Cloud's provocations."
Yako nodded.
"Then I'll go and return as quickly as possible."
Hippo watched Fox-sama leave the frontline camp and felt a little uneasy.
He had already grown used to taking orders from Fox-sama.
Without him here, it felt as if even the temperature in the Land of Hot Water had dropped a few degrees.
At the same time, both Iwagakure and Kumogakure dispatched elite strike teams of absurd caliber, leaving their villages and heading for the Land of Hot Water.
Through different intelligence channels, both villages had arrived at the same conclusion:
Sarutobi Shinnosuke was frighteningly powerful.
He was no weaker than Sarutobi Hiruzen in his youth.
One Sarutobi Hiruzen had suppressed them for over twenty years.
If another Sarutobi Hiruzen rose now—
How were they ever supposed to defeat Konoha?
That was why both villages took this operation with extreme seriousness.
This was not merely an assassination.
This was an operation designed to break Konoha's future.
Uchiha Madara had already gone to Konoha, shattered its leg, and killed three of its top leaders.
Now Sarutobi Shinnosuke had appeared—
Like a crutch supporting the wounded giant.
That crutch had to be broken.
And then the broken leg had to be stomped into the ground.
Kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke—
And Konoha loses its crutch.
Make Sarutobi Hiruzen watch his son die—
And Konoha's broken leg is stomped to pieces.
Somewhere in the Land of Iron—
Tōtai looked at the Iwa delegation and frowned.
"Huangtu, Sarutobi Shinnosuke may be strong, but isn't this overkill?"
"If you betray the alliance halfway through and turn on us Cloud ninja instead…"
"Even Kumogakure wouldn't be able to withstand this."
Huangtu smiled.
"Relax."
"Our common enemy right now is Sarutobi Shinnosuke."
"We brought this many people only to ensure a guaranteed kill."
"He killed three bloodline clan heads from Kirigakure in a single battle."
"And just now, he led his forces to defeat your Two-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Even a powerful Konoha ANBU like Fox has served him loyally for years."
"Shinnosuke's true strength is unfathomable."
"Our two villages must go all out."
"No amount of caution is too much… wouldn't you agree?"
Tōtai looked at the three Iwa powerhouses and thought to himself—
So even Iwa felt that much pressure from Sarutobi Shinnosuke?
The three strongest figures from Iwagakure were:
Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi.
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han.
And the head of the Explosion Release clan, Pokkle.
Tōtai then glanced behind them.
Fortunately, the three had brought only a dozen or so subordinates.
If they had arrived with hundreds of Iwa ninja, he might have suspected they were actually here to assassinate the Two-Tails Jinchūriki instead.
The Eight-Tails had only just been sealed into a child named B.
Nothing could happen to the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Ryuuren.
Kitsuchi gave a faint smile.
"You're not exactly taking Shinnosuke lightly either."
Standing beside Tōtai were the Two-Tails Jinchūriki Ryuuren and the Raikage's advisor, Gomoi.
Each village had sent three major powerhouses.
They were determined to kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke in the Land of Hot Water.
Gomoi said,
"Konoha has sent five hundred ninja as reinforcements."
"For this battle, we of Kumogakure have also assembled five hundred ninja."
"We should carefully plan our tactics."
"The five hundred Cloud ninja will pin down Konoha's forces."
"And the few of us here…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"We will deliver the killing blow."
"A sudden strike."
"Then kill Sarutobi Shinnosuke."
Kitsuchi nodded.
"Agreed."
"We should plan this carefully."
The full moon hung in the sky like a silver plate.
As Yako entered the Land of Fire, the moon above had finally become full.
This mission was troublesome.
If he had to defeat the Fire Temple abbot head-on—
He had many ways to do it.
But Sarutobi Shinnosuke's order was not to defeat him.
It was to assassinate him.
And he absolutely could not expose himself as a Konoha ninja.
He could not use Wood Release.
The hard part was not killing Jie—
It was killing him without revealing who he was.
Yako was still on the move when he suddenly felt a disturbance from the chakra on the right-hand scroll.
He opened it.
Yakushi Nono'u had sent another message:
Her subordinates had obtained new intelligence—
Kitsuchi had left Iwagakure.
Kitsuchi was not just anyone.
He was Ōnoki's son.
And a renowned powerhouse whose fame predated even Sarutobi Shinnosuke's.
What kind of major event would require Kitsuchi himself to leave the village?
…That was a difficult one to guess.
In the Land of Hot Water, Sarutobi Hiyu had arrived with five hundred Konoha ninja and was organizing the border defenses.
"Shinnosuke, your father is taking this operation very seriously."
"If you successfully repel the Cloud ninja this time, your position as advisor will be completely secure."
He lowered his voice.
"And because of that…"
"Your father secretly hid one more person among these five hundred ninja."
"Just to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Shinnosuke nodded.
His father had even invited that person to participate.
That alone showed how serious he was.
If everything went smoothly, that person would never reveal themselves.
All the credit would go to Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Only if things went badly—
Would that person step in as the final safety net.
"Still…" Sarutobi Hiyu said, "sending Fox away on a mission at a time like this… was that really wise?"
"With Fox here, even if the Third Raikage himself showed up, he could at least help block a few blows."
Shinnosuke calmly explained:
"The Daimyō and the Fire Temple are already making quiet moves behind the scenes."
"The First Prince is about to be sent there for ordination."
"The situation is urgent."
"I can't wait until I re-enter the Land of Fire to assassinate the Fire Temple abbot."
"He has to die beforehand."
"As long as I'm here in the Land of Hot Water fighting the Cloud, no one will be able to connect me to Jie's death."
"The Fire Temple abbot is too strong."
"Only Fox can successfully assassinate him."
He looked ahead and said coldly,
"The trouble from the Cloud is only the immediate problem."
"But the Fire Daimyō trying to introduce warrior monks into the Guardian Ninja system…"
"That is the bigger problem."
Sarutobi Hiyu said nothing more.
Shinnosuke had his own considerations.
What elders like them had to do—
Was clear the road for the younger generation.
If Shinnosuke became advisor—
Or even Hokage one day—
Then in time, his own son Einosuke would also have a bright future.
In the end, the Sarutobi Clan would pass into the hands of brothers like Shinnosuke and Einosuke.
The real headache was Sarutobi Kanosuke.
That traitor was powerful.
If he wasn't dealt with properly, he would become a stain on Shinnosuke's future.
If Sarutobi Kanosuke ever attacked Konoha the way Uchiha Madara had—
That would be a disaster.
Recently, because Uchiha Madara had come from the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha were now unable to lift their heads in the village.
The villagers cursed them openly.
Or behind their backs.
And the Uchiha could do nothing about it.
During the Susanoo Calamity, too many villagers had died.
Too many homes had been destroyed.
And with the village quietly guiding public sentiment—
The hatred had all been directed toward the Uchiha Clan.
At that moment, Sarutobi Einosuke suddenly appeared.
"Shinnosuke-sama! The main Cloud force has moved!"
Shinnosuke stood immediately.
"Good."
"Half a month ago, the Cloud already lost over two hundred men, and they still haven't learned."
"This time…"
He smiled coldly.
"We'll make sure all five hundred of them die here."
His Five Elements Great Barrage had already become highly refined.
He was confident he could inflict catastrophic losses on the Cloud.
And after seeing the strength of the Two-Tails Jinchūriki for himself—
He was even confident he could clash head-on with a Tailed Beast Bomb for a short time.
As long as Uncle Hiyu could efficiently wipe out the remaining Cloud ninja—
This battle would be a guaranteed victory.
Soon, Sarutobi Shinnosuke saw the Cloud army.
At the very front stood the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Ryuuren.
Shinnosuke felt a flicker of irritation.
Facing him—
And she hadn't even entered partial Tailed Beast transformation in advance?
How disrespectful.
How utterly dismissive of him.
And of the Five Elements Great Barrage.
At that very moment—
A figure suddenly appeared behind Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Sarutobi Hiyu in a blur of Body Flicker.
Hiyu turned, saw those vertical snake-like pupils, and asked,
"What is it, Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru tilted his head and looked up at the sky.
Then he chuckled.
"Retreat."
"Heh…"
"You've been surrounded."
Shinnosuke had just opened his mouth to question him—
When he saw them.
Three giant white birds diving from the sky.
Explosive clay birds?
The secret technique clan of Iwagakure—
The Explosion Release clan?
Sarutobi Hiyu's face changed instantly.
"This is bad!"
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure have formed an alliance!"
The clay birds opened their claws.
Several massive explosive clay bombs shrieked downward toward Konoha's ninja ranks.
But even more terrifying—
Were the figures leaping from the birds' backs.
The Five-Tails Jinchūriki, Han of Iwagakure.
Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi.
The Raikage's advisor, Gomoi.
The Raikage's aide, Tōtai.
And in addition to them—
The fully Tailed Beast–transformed Two-Tails charging straight toward them.
And still above—
The head of the Explosion Release clan, Pokkle, continuing to shape bombs atop the white bird.
This…
This was a force built to assassinate a village's Kage.
What exactly were they trying to do?!
From the air, Tōtai shouted:
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke is extremely powerful!"
"We cannot underestimate him!"
"Fight with the resolve to die alongside him if necessary—"
"Kill him!"