https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-696-Breath-Style-Immortal-Technique/12946414/
Chapter 695: Cruel News
Chapter 695: Cruel News
Wind Country, Sand Hidden Village.
Wind Shadow's Office.
"Night Viper, are you certain that the initial report you submitted is accurate? Does Stone Hide truly intend to eliminate the Shinso?" Rosha furrowed his brows.
"During that meeting, the Stone Hide representatives from Six Paths City did express such intentions," Night Viper replied.
They had prepared a comprehensive plan to sow discord, but before they could even begin, the Stone Hide representatives started criticizing Shinso's ambitions, an attitude that was clearly not befitting of a normal cooperative partner.
"Then why has Stone Hide been avoiding the topic of joint military action?"
Initially, Rosha was delighted with Night Viper's progress and quickly dispatched ninjas to negotiate with Stone Hide. However, the results were less than satisfactory.
Stone Hide did not show any signs of refusing cooperation, but whenever the Sand Hidden Village proposed a joint military operation to eliminate Shinso, Stone Hide would make various excuses to dodge the topic.
They even offered to provide resources and aid to the Sand Hidden Village but refused to send ninjas to the battlefield, citing the significant losses they suffered during the Ninja World War.
Rosha couldn't believe his ears; in the final battle, Stone Hide had surrendered quickly, and everyone knew they hadn't suffered significant losses.
As for the previous battles, although Stone Hide had suffered some defeats at the hands of the Leaf Village, it couldn't be said that they were severely damaged.
"Maybe they're trying to weaken our Sand Hidden Village?" Night Viper replied after some thought.
Compared to joint military action, Stone Hide would rather be a silent bystander.
"Perhaps, but it's strange that Stone Hide is willing to offer so many resources to support us," Rosha said, crossing his arms in a thoughtful pose.
Despite Stone Hide's apparent reluctance to engage in battle, they were surprisingly generous with their funding, which caught Rosha's attention.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the funds offered by Stone Hide were almost enough to hire the Sand Hidden Village for a military campaign.
Moreover, Shinso was indeed a threat to the Sand Hidden Village's interests and needed to be dealt with.
After further consideration, Rosha felt something was amiss. As fellow ninja villages, Stone Hide also needed money, so why were they willing to offer such a substantial amount?
Due to the seriousness of the matter, Rosha decided not to make the decision alone and summoned the Sand Hidden Village's Shadow Division to gather the village's high command for a meeting.
"Advisor Chiyado, Advisor Eizou," Rosha greeted as he saw Chiyado and Eizou enter the meeting room.
As the Fourth Wind Shadow, Rosha would not have bothered with such formalities for ordinary high command members.
These two were indeed exceptional.
Firstly, their experience; Chiyado and Eizou had already established their reputations as high command members of the Sand Hidden Village during the Second Ninja World War, and they were among the most senior and experienced members of the village's current leadership.
Secondly, their strength and influence; Chiyado was the most powerful puppet master in the ninja world, and her puppetry skills were renowned throughout the history of the art.
While Eizou might not match Chiyado in strength, he controlled the Sand Hidden Village's intelligence department. During the period when the Third Wind Shadow went missing and the village was in civil war, Eizou was the one directly commanding the Shadow Division under the Wind Shadow's orders.
Lastly, they were siblings, a fact that had previously made Rosha cautious.
Rosha was relieved that Chiyado's grandson had left the village.
After Scorpion's departure, Chiyado seemed to have lost her spirit, rarely involving herself in village affairs, choosing instead to focus on her puppetry or fishing.
Concerned for his sister, Eizou also put aside much of his work and often accompanied Chiyado on her fishing trips.
Rosha took advantage of this situation to seize more power, increasing his influence in the high command meetings.
"Fourth Wind Shadow."
The two of them nodded in response, neither cold nor particularly interested.
Once all the high command members had arrived, Rosha began the meeting.
"The rapidly expanding power of Shinso has affected our relationship with Stone Hide, but their behavior regarding cooperation is unusual."
Rosha quickly informed the high command members about the strange conditions set by Stone Hide.
"There's definitely something wrong. Is it possible that Stone Hide is avoiding direct involvement because they possess information that we don't?"
"It's also possible that they're preserving their strength for other plans, but from what we can see, cooperating with Stone Hide won't be a loss. With this funding, we can alleviate some of the military budget pressure."
The high command members began discussing the matter, with differing opinions emerging.
Some believed that they could try to take advantage of this opportunity and earn the money, as the Sand Hidden Village couldn't afford to ignore Shinso's growth.
Others felt that the money was too hot to handle, suspecting that Stone Hide had ulterior motives, and thus, cooperation was not advisable.
Chiyado sat in her chair, her expression indifferent as she watched the high command members debate. She had no intention of speaking up.
If not for the Sand Hidden Village's current difficulties, Chiyado would have retired long ago.
She had already lost her son and daughter-in-law on the battlefield, and her grandson had abandoned her. After devoting most of her life to the village, she was left with only her younger brother by her side.
She had given more than enough to the village; it was the Sand Hidden Village that owed her, not the other way around.
"I will activate our undercover networks in the Rain Country and the Earth Country to investigate. Stone Hide's behavior is indeed suspicious," Eizou said.
Eizou, being in charge of intelligence, was particularly sensitive to such anomalies.
This matter is of great significance, and indeed, a decision cannot be made lightly. We must conduct a thorough investigation, and I will trouble Eizou for his intelligence."
The previously divided High Council members unanimously agreed with Eizou's idea.
Those who had reached the High Council were not fools; they could sense that something was amiss with the Stone Hide Shinobi Elite, but they couldn't pinpoint what it was.
And so the High Council meeting came to an end, to be continued once Eizou's intelligence was gathered.
However, to Eizou's surprise, instead of uncovering the anomaly within the Stone Hide Shinobi Elite, he stumbled upon some unexpected intelligence.
After reading the intelligence report, Eizou immediately sought out Chiyado.
"I think I've found Sasori," Eizou said.
Chiyado's serene face showed a hint of emotion, but she shook her head with a forlorn expression, "What good will it do to find him?"
If Sasori had been persecuted or harmed, Chiyado would have spared no effort to find him. But Sasori had left the Sand Shadow Village of his own accord, and he had left her side willingly.
Given Chiyado's influence in the Sand Shadow Village, if she truly wanted to find Sasori, unless he went into complete hiding, she would have been able to gather some information about him.
However, for many years, aside from the initial period, Chiyado had not actively searched for Sasori.
She knew that even if she found him, it would be futile if Sasori didn't want to be by her side. She couldn't stop him.
"Where is he? How is he doing? Has he settled down, or is he just passing through?" Chiyado couldn't help but ask.
Sasori was, after all, her grandson, and whether she knew his whereabouts or not, she couldn't help but worry about his well-being upon receiving news of him.
"He's in the Six Paths City in the Rain Country, but I'm not sure if he's settled there or how he's doing. I'm just making an assumption based on the intelligence that he might be there," Eizou replied.
The puppet techniques mentioned in the intelligence report were undoubtedly beyond the capabilities of any inferior puppet masters outside the Sand Shadow Village.
Combining this with Sasori's previous direction in developing puppet techniques, even if Sasori himself wasn't in the Rain Country, Eizou could confidently conclude that the source of the Ninja Sect Puppet Prosthesis was Sasori.
"Six Paths City? Isn't that the base of the Shinshu?"
Chiyado was no stranger to the emerging Shinshu faction, even though she hadn't paid much attention to ninja village affairs since Sasori's departure. With the Rain Country bordering the Wind Country, various news always found its way to her, making it hard for her to remain unaware.
"Yes, Sasori might have joined the Shinshu, or perhaps he has reached some sort of cooperation with them," Eizou nodded and shared the information about the puppet prostheses.
Chiyado instinctively wanted to refute Eizou's speculation, even though he had only said it was a possibility.
Sasori had left even his own Sand Shadow Village, so why would he join a ninja faction that couldn't compare to it? Whether considering the technological conditions for puppet research or the familial ties, it was unlikely that Sasori would join the Shinshu.
Eizou remained silent and sighed.
Chiyado fell silent, and the light in her eyes dimmed.
Given her life experiences, Sasori's departure was only a matter of four or five years, not a long time.
But for Sasori, a young man in his teens, this already accounted for a quarter of his current life.
In this situation, it wasn't impossible that Sasori had gone through changes and experiences unknown to Chiyado.
"Why, of all places, the Shinshu..." Chiyado murmured.
Undoubtedly, the Shinshu, with its ambitious aspirations and immense potential, was the upcoming enemy of the Sand Shadow Village.
If it weren't for Son Ryouka's ability to defeat Enma, the Sand Shadow Village's ninja forces would have likely already entered the Rain Country.
If Sasori had truly joined the Shinshu, he would become an enemy of the Sand Shadow Village, standing in opposition to them. They might even face each other on the battlefield.
Just the thought of it made Chiyado feel faint; he was her own grandson.
"It's just a possibility," Eizou reassured her.
"I'll have my spies spare no effort to obtain accurate information about Sasori."
Eizou should have focused more on the Earth Country and the Stone Hide Shinobi Elite, but he couldn't bring himself to let Chiyado go.
If he didn't have the spies investigate thoroughly, what if Chiyado went to the Shinshu herself?
Entering the Six Paths City was easy, but leaving would require the Shinshu to seek Son Ryouka's approval. Eizou couldn't let his own sister take such a risk.
In fact, Eizou hadn't wanted to share this intelligence with Chiyado at all, as it was genuinely bad news for her.
The main reason he did so was that the Shinshu's prostheses were no longer a secret, and Chiyado might learn about them from other sources and deduce Sasori's involvement.
"Alright," Chiyado nodded.
Chiyado had initially planned to go fishing, given the pleasant weather, but upon hearing this news, her desire to fish vanished, and her mind was filled with thoughts of Sasori.
She desperately hoped that this was a false alarm, that Eizou's intelligence was incorrect, and that Sasori was neither in the Rain Country nor with the Shinshu.
PS:
This chapter is 3k words, and the two chapters combined make a total of 8k words, perfectly completing the third day's update.
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