Tobirama handed a document from the table to Hibari, then said, "These are the initial intentions we've reached. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the location for the alliance and peace talks will be set here. Take a look first..."
Hibari took the document and quickly flipped through it. Before long, he said, "It seems this envoy has quite a lot of authority to be able to confirm so many arrangements..."
"That just goes to show that the Second Raikage genuinely intends to have peace talks, and isn't just stalling for time or anything," Tobirama nodded and said.
"Indeed... Hmm, this location isn't too far from either side's front lines, which should put both parties a little more at ease," Hibari added softly.
"Go and make the arrangements. First, neither of us can bring too many accompanying members. And this matter I'm entrusting to you is very secretive, so you will lead your Anbu squad as escorts, working with Torifu and the others to accompany me to the meeting place," Tobirama said very calmly.
"Do we not need to prepare for any support or backup?" Hibari asked.
"No need. That might alert the enemy. We just need to be fully prepared ourselves. Make sure you have a plan and route for a swift evacuation if anything goes wrong, as well as relevant routes," Tobirama said in a deep voice, his tone very confident.
"Alright, I'll do as you say, Ojiisan. But I must warn you, those Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers are very powerful. Don't underestimate them just because I took off Kinkaku's arm. The key lies in their teamwork; when they work together, they are at their strongest!" Hibari nodded, then once again cautioned his Hokage grandfather.
Tobirama chuckled, then said, "I know what I'm doing. You don't need to worry."
Then he paused slightly, lowering his voice, and said, "As for the matters we discussed earlier, you'll arrange them yourself once you're down there, and then just report the corresponding plan to me. Remember, this matter must be kept secret at the highest level. Only trustworthy individuals can be involved!"
Hibari grinned, a cunning smile on his face, then said, "Don't worry, Hokage-sama. I have plenty of trustworthy people at my disposal. For example, the members of that Land of Water operation are all subordinates I trust! This time, I'll bring them along to handle this for you. Don't worry, there won't be any mishaps."
Although Tobirama's way of doing things felt a bit underhanded, aiming to exploit Kumogakure at the last moment, Hibari was also a ruthless individual. After that brief moment of surprise, he had no thought of standing up for Kumogakure. That would simply be a fool's errand, because Tobirama was right: a declining Kumogakure was a good ally for Konoha!
For Hibari, who had even readily killed the Daimyō of the Land of Water, there was no psychological burden in exploiting Kumogakure.
"Hmm, go make the arrangements. That's all I needed you for," Tobirama said, nodding at Hibari's words.
Then Hibari didn't delay. He took the document, bid farewell to his granfather, and turned to leave the tent.
Not long after, Hibari returned to his own tent. At this time, those guys were still excitedly playing 'Fight the Landlord'. As soon as Hibari entered, he immediately said, "Mission received! Stop playing, pack up what you need to!"
As soon as Hibari's words fell, the others quickly stopped their entertainment and all looked at Hibari with serious expressions. Torifu also very consciously said, "Don't involve my small frame in your Anbu troubles. You guys go ahead. I'm a bit hungry; I'm going back to eat something..."
Although Hibari trusted Torifu—after all, he was his grandfather's personal guard—a mission was a mission, and the Anbu was the Anbu. So, even with trust, he couldn't just reveal things to others. Therefore, Hibari didn't stop him. Instead, he chuckled and said, "You call that a 'small frame'? If you're small, I'd be a bean sprout..."
After a bit of teasing, and once Torifu had left, Sakumo quickly set up a hidden barrier in the tent, isolating all external information. Only then did Hibari sit on his chair, placing the document on the table, and said, "I just received a top-secret mission from the Hokage. Our previous mission needs to be changed from a 'secret protection operation' to a 'secret sabotage operation'. Of course, we also need to balance that with the important task of protecting the Hokage-sama. First, let's confirm the mission codename is 'Black Crow'. Listen carefully, this time we need to..."
Then Hibari babbled on, explaining the mission's objective to them. Afterward, the group quickly discussed the relevant details, determining how to silently maximize Kumogakure's losses while making them take the blame.
Five days later, Konohagakure and Kumogakure officially ceased their hostilities, preparing to jointly hold a peace ceremony in the central Land of Hot Water.
Konohagakure's team was now approaching the alliance grounds. Tobirama sat in his carriage, while Hibari and others, wearing standard Anbu attire and masks concealing their faces, formed a protective formation around Tobirama's carriage.
Hibari was currently walking by the carriage window, looking at Tobirama sitting inside, and said with a hint of envy, "Being Hokage does have some perks, huh? We have to walk, but you get to sit..."
As soon as Hibari's words fell, a figure wearing a monkey mask walking in front of him spoke, "What? Did you change your mind, brat?"
Hibari glanced at the person, then said, "If I changed my mind, wouldn't you, Hiruzen, cry your eyes out? By the way, I haven't even asked yet, why are you here? Does this mission have anything to do with you?"
"I am the Anbu Commander, after all. This mission is very serious, and I was afraid you'd mess it up, so of course, I had to come and see for myself..." Hiruzen said without any hesitation.
"Oh, come on. I think you just want to join the fun," Hibari said dismissively.
Actually, it wasn't just Hiruzen who was involved in this operation. Danzō was also playing the role of a personal guard member at Torifu's side, also in the escort team.
But unlike Hiruzen, Danzō was someone Hibari himself sought out. After all, even though this guy hadn't fully turned to darkness yet, he was full of cunning schemes, and Hibari had even asked him to help refine his plan.
Since their relationship was quite good at the moment, Danzō was very dedicated in helping Hibari brainstorm and perfect the plan. At the same time, when he expressed his desire to participate in this mission, Hibari agreed without even thinking.
Because he knew very well that although Hiruzen was currently the best candidate to succeed as the Third Hokage, Danzō still wanted to see if he could contend for the position. Therefore, it was perfectly reasonable for him to want to make an appearance during this mission and show off his capabilities to Tobirama, wasn't it?
Ignoring Hiruzen, Hibari spoke to Tobirama in the carriage, "Ojiisan, you'll need to put on an acting performance later. Don't give anything away..."
Tobirama, sitting in the carriage, heard Hibari's words and turned to look at him, then said, "When I was young, I also wanted to be a stage actor, but due to circumstances, I eventually became a shinobi. Still, I did study these things, so don't worry."
"When you 'vomit blood,' make sure it's realistic, but don't overdo it. After all, you're a renowned shinobi of the world, so you can't appear too weak; otherwise, people will get suspicious. In short, there's a fine line there, so you need to grasp it well!" Hibari still reminded him with a hint of worry.
Tobirama looked at Hibari with amusement, then said, "Why do I feel like you're so excited, kid?"
"Of course! This is a major event that will be recorded in the history of two nations. As the planner and participant of this event, I'm naturally thrilled..." Hibari said with a chuckle.
Just then, two figures suddenly appeared not far from the team. They were Anbu members, identified by their masks as Kagami Uchiha and Hitenn Hyūga.
They quickly joined the team. Hibari's eyebrow, beneath his mask, subtly twitched, and he asked, "Is everything arranged?"
Kagami confidently replied, "Although the security is tight, with Hitenn's Byakugan combined with my Sharingan, we managed to infiltrate very smoothly, and all the relevant arrangements are ready..."
"Good, then we can wait for the grand play to begin. But pay attention, even though we have the element of surprise, the enemy's strength cannot be underestimated. If those two bastards, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, really stir up trouble, the top priority is still to ensure the Hokage-sama's safety!" Hibari said very seriously.
All his subordinates quickly affirmed Hibari's words.
The venue for the peace talks and alliance was supposed to be arranged jointly by both sides. However, on one hand, to show Konoha's magnanimity, and on the other, to shift all blame to Kumogakure if chaos erupted, Tobirama cooperated with Hibari's plan and, with a grand gesture, 'confidently' entrusted all the arrangements to Kumogakure.
Upon hearing about this 'good thing', Kumogakure didn't refuse. After all, they were also afraid that Konohagakure might pull some tricks at the venue and suddenly launch an attack, wiping out Kumogakure's leadership, which would truly be a devastating loss.
And after learning of Konoha's intentions, the Second Raikage also felt that Tobirama genuinely intended to have peace talks and wasn't playing him, which put him more at ease. He was completely unaware that he had already been caught in the calculations of Tobirama, that cunning individual...
"Deputy Commander, what's the secondary priority?" Hitenn asked in a deep voice.
"Secondary priority... Prioritize 'assisting' Kinkaku and Ginkaku in eliminating the Second Raikage. Then, it is absolutely crucial that those two bastards don't survive; we must eliminate them to silence them! Pin all the blame on them!" A cold glint flashed in Hibari's eyes as he whispered.
Don't misunderstand; Hibari had not made any agreements or communicated with those two madmen, Kinkaku and Ginkaku. He simply intended to secretly help these two cause the Second Raikage's immediate demise.
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