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This was the limit of Magnet Release, and also the limit of Rasa's own talent.
"Though we've lost some face, this old lady thinks it's all worth it. For the next while, just let the village's ninjas settle down and stay peaceful."
Chiyo chuckled:
"The ones who should be worried are Iwagakure and Kumogakure. The village doesn't need to go out of its way to curry favor with Konoha either. Stabilizing the situation and keeping a neither-too-close-nor-too-distant relationship is enough."
What a pity—the village lacked a genius like that, or Sunagakure wouldn't feel so stifled.
It had to be said, this was the sorrow of a village.
The announcement from the Kazekage's office building was quickly issued.
In it, it stated that due to some conflicting issues at the border, Kazekage Rasa had negotiated with Konoha's Uchiha Kazuki. The final outcome of the negotiations was that both sides would exercise restraint—no matter Konoha or Sunagakure, neither could arbitrarily harass the other with excuses, detain merchant caravans' goods, and so on.
Even more so, they couldn't trespass into the other's territory without proper declaration and approval.
Even if face had been lost, the announcement still had to maintain dignity where it could.
At least it looked better this way, making the villagers think it was just a normal negotiation.
As for what the villagers would think once the news spread and the truth came out—Rasa couldn't worry about that anymore.
Konoha—the Third Hokage received an invitation from the Hokage's office.
So he changed into his robes and headed to the Hokage's office to meet Tsunade.
"Old man, don't say anything yet. First, take a look at this intelligence scroll."
Before the Third Hokage could even open his mouth, Tsunade pulled out the intelligence scroll that Shikaku had sent back from the camp and tossed it toward the Third Hokage.
"???"
I haven't even spoken yet.
The Third Hokage instinctively caught the scroll and unrolled it to read.
"This is impossible!!!"
A few seconds later, the Third Hokage's face changed dramatically as he cried out in shock, the scroll slipping from his hand to the floor.
He stood stunned for several seconds before hurriedly picking up the scroll again, continuing to read—just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks.
He read it over and over, but the Third Hokage still couldn't believe everything he was seeing.
Tsunade didn't rush him, leaning against the desk and waiting quietly. Shizune, standing to the side, felt a strange sympathy for the Third Hokage.
Just as the Hokage had said—it really was like this. After seeing this intelligence scroll, the Third's emotions would be quite stirred up.
"Tsunade, your eye for talent is better than mine."
After a long while, the Third Hokage finally calmed down, shaking his head with a wry smile. Once upon a time, Kazuki had been just another Uchiha in his eyes—one who needed close monitoring.
Because Kazuki was an unstable factor. He liked hanging around the Ninja Academy gates to eat, so he got flagged.
Any Uchiha, except Sasuke, couldn't get near Naruto.
It was from that point that Kazuki gradually entered his line of sight.
Otherwise, with so many Uchiha clansmen, the Third Hokage couldn't possibly be familiar with every single one.
Who could've imagined that the kid he'd once seen as a bit clueless, a bit clever in petty ways, and boldly reckless—would have such terrifying talent.
In just a few short years, he'd grown to this level.
Now, Konoha had produced a second existence like Uchiha Madara, yet there was no second powerhouse like Hashirama Senju to keep him in check.
Wait—why was his first instinct "keep in check"?
The Third Hokage was stunned by his own thoughts.
"Ahem."
Unaware of what was going through the Third Hokage's mind, Tsunade smugly arched a brow, arms crossed as if to say:
Of course—do you even have to ask who spotted him? My eye for people couldn't possibly be wrong.
Unfortunately, Tsunade was wasting her smug expression entirely.
Because the Third Hokage wasn't paying attention to his disciple's posturing at all—instead, he was rattled by his own ideas.
Seeing the Third Hokage furrow his brows in silence, Tsunade assumed he agreed with her thinking, so she continued:
"After this incident, I believe for a long while, Sunagakure will shrink back into its shell and won't dare provoke us again. Kazuki was right—some things don't hurt us much, but they're disgusting enough. What was that saying again?"
"Hokage-sama, it's like a toad on your foot—not biting, but super gross."
Shizune, standing nearby, kindly reminded Tsunade.
Tsunade had a sudden realization and slapped the desk: "Right, that's the one."
"Why do I feel like you're talking about me?"
Jiraiya, who had just been lounging on the windowsill, happened to overhear this. His gossip-hungry face instantly fell.
Jiraiya had originally planned to go find Naruto, figuring he'd take the kid out for a big meal once training wrapped up.
But halfway there, he spotted the Third Hokage heading toward the Hokage Building, so curiosity got the better of him and he followed.
Not wanting to use the main door, he hopped onto the windowsill—only to catch Tsunade and Shizune's words right as he arrived.
He instinctively assumed this damn woman was talking about him.
A toad on your foot, not biting but gross? Am I that awful?
It has nothing to do with you.
Shizune quickly shook her head, indicating she hadn't meant that at all.
Tsunade couldn't be bothered to explain:
"You're already here, so take a look at the scroll in the old man's hand. And stop acting like a toad all the time—sometimes you are kinda gross."
"..."
Screw you.
You're the gross one.
Jiraiya shot Tsunade a glare full of resentment before hopping unhappily into the Hokage's office. He snatched the scroll from the Third Hokage's hand and started reading.
"Well done!!!"
Soon, Jiraiya slapped his thigh in delight, exclaiming:
"That kid Kazuki's strength is getting stronger and stronger—a second Uchiha Madara, huh? Good thing his personality isn't like Madara's."
As he said it, Jiraiya laughed to himself.
Unfortunately, the joke fell flat. The three in the Hokage's office all looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Ahem!!"
Realizing he'd said something dumb, Jiraiya coughed awkwardly, set down the scroll, and laughed it off:
"For the foreseeable future, the village won't have to worry about any petty tricks from Sunagakure. But with Kazuki exposing his strength like this, I'm afraid Iwagakure and Kumogakure will mark us as a top-priority target."
"As long as our own strength is strong enough, why worry about our enemies keeping tabs on us?" Tsunade couldn't care less about that.
Even if Kazuki hadn't shown his power, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were still fixated on Konoha.
Because in these past few years, Konoha's strength had developed a bit too rapidly.
Add in Jiraiya and Orochimaru's return, plus Kazuki's series of maneuvers, and Iwagakure and Kumogakure were already taking them seriously.