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Chapter 586: Shikaku\'s Brilliance

Homura thought, \'There is more to this story. It seems like Hiruzen was already aware of Sunagakure building a hideout there. The ninjas we sent after Tanigakure\'s request only reached a couple of days after the incident. By then, most of the memories would have dissipated.

Not to mention, Tanigakure sent ninjas before us. They would have discovered Sunagakure ninja\'s bodies before our ninjas reached there. The only way for things to develop this way would be if some Konoha ninjas sneaked into the town right after the attack had taken place.

However, that would only happen if Hiruzen was suspicious and sent someone there beforehand. The squads he sent should have witnessed the attack and likely took advantage of the situation.\'

Since Fujin had asked Hiruzen not to expose the fact that he was the one in the Yamakawa town who confronted Sasori, Hiruzen changed the story slightly. However, the experienced ninjas quickly understood how the events had happened. Only the civilians were clueless.

Shikaku added, "To make matters worse, Sunagakure seems to be preparing for something. Their village has been closed off for a few months, making contacting the spies very difficult. Even though we aren\'t sure, we need to be prepared to deal with any stunts they might try to pull. We have to deal with whatever they throw at us swiftly and with minimal losses. Otherwise, things can become ugly very quickly."

Hiruzen said, "Thankfully, the civil war in Kiri is still at a very high intensity. Kumo won\'t do anything until that civil war ends. As for Onoki, he won\'t start a war by himself. Regardless, what Shikaku said is correct. We will need to deal with their schemes quickly.

If possible, we will still need to find a way to maintain our alliance after dealing with their scheme or come to a new agreement after defeating them. We will need to do that before the civil war in Kiri ends."

For the first time, Fujin was surprised. He thought, \'Seeing his attitude, it\'s no wonder Konoha let Suna off so lightly after the war. While I can understand that Kumo and Iwa are as strong as us, it\'s not like they don\'t have any enmity between themselves. Is there a need to be so passive?\'

Fujin wasn\'t on board with staying so passive. After all, what if Sunagakure didn\'t follow the agreement once a war broke out? If Rasa hadn\'t died and continued being the Kazekage, he\'d definitely take advantage of such a moment.

That said, Fujin didn\'t speak up despite not agreeing with Hiruzen\'s methods. After all, it didn\'t have much to do with him. He already knew the future. He knew that there wouldn\'t be any war between Konoha and Kumo or Iwa. And he knew that Konoha and Suna would be very strong allies once Gaara took over. Of course, that was assuming Gaara still becomes the Kazekage!

Inoichi asked, "Do you have any speculations about what their scheme might be?"

Shikaku answered, "We have very little information as of now. So it is hard to say anything for sure. I did calculate several actions I could have taken if I were the Kazekage, but I failed to come up with any plans where they would confront us and not end up suffering.

The only instance where they would benefit is if they ally with another major village. However, Kiri is embroiled in civil war while Kumo and Iwa haven\'t made any movements. Our spies haven\'t informed us of anything happening in those villages either. So, it is difficult to say.

With that option out of the way, there are only two other strategies through which they could benefit. However, both are extremely risky and not something I would have done.

The first is making a sudden attack on the Land of Fire. Using the element of surprise, they can eliminate our patrol units and capture some of our land. If they succeeded in catching us by surprise, then we would need some time to respond. They could use that time to entice Kumo into making a move against us, forcing us to fight on two fronts.

However, this plan hinges on whether Kumo would respond in time or not. If they don\'t, then Suna will suffer heavily.

The second strategy is to do something during the Chunin exams. It could be a sudden attack with Elite troops. Or it could also be an attempt on Lord Hokage\'s life. The only problem is that they would be surrounded by Konoha\'s ninjas and would have to endure our assault, making it extremely risky unless they were planning on sacrificing their lives. Regardless, we need to be careful when they visit during the Chunin Exams."

Everyone thought for a bit and nodded. No one could think of any other possibility. Even Fujin was impressed as Shikaku had guessed Rasa\'s strategy despite having so little information. He thought, \'Apart from guessing Orochimaru\'s involvement, he has guessed everything. I wonder what Rasa would think if he knew, hehe.\'

Choza said, "Since they were creating a hideout in Yamakawa town, they could have also tried to do so in other towns that are along our border. We need to check the Land of River properly."

Hiruzen replied, "They haven\'t. I suspected the same thing and sent Jiraiya to investigate. He didn\'t find any such hideout in other towns. I have even dispatched several Anbu squads to check whether they created any other hideouts along the border. We didn\'t discover anything. I believe that Yamakawa town was their first attempt and since it resulted in such losses, they haven\'t tried it again. Even so, I\'ll continue investigating."

Since Jiraiya was involved, no one suspected the information. Only Fujin thought, \'Ugh! I hope Hiruzen doesn\'t send them to investigate deeper into the Land of Rain. Though the Anbu ninjas won\'t be able to detect it due to my seals, Jiraiya will immediately feel something off if he gets close enough. Though even if he does find it, I doubt he\'d attack them. However, he\'ll report it to Hiruzen, which would make it difficult for me to move...\'

Seeing that no one had anything else to say, Hiruzen said, "We will maintain our high alertness. Since we have been maintaining it since the attack, it won\'t raise any suspicions and won\'t show Suna that we are aware of their schemes. We will keep it that way and catch them off guard.

Start increasing the preparedness of your respective clans. Everyone will need to act immediately if Suna dares to make a move. Our counterattack has to be swift and deadly. The losses we inflict on them have to deter anyone else from having similar thoughts.

If they dare to invade our territories, then we will dispatch an army within hours and will attack them within 24 hours. Even before any other village thinks of moving, we will force Suna to retreat not only from the Land of Fire but also from the Land of Rivers.

If they make a move during the Chunin exams, I\'ll kill Rasa myself. You guys will ensure that no Suna ninja inside Konoha is able to leave in one piece!"

Despite being veterans of several wars and quite old, Hiruzen\'s words raised the morale of everyone in the room. Even Fujin was slightly impressed and thought, \'Now that\'s more like it. Almost makes me wish that they invade the Land of Fire. It\'s been a while since I have fought unrestrained…\'

Hiruzen looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone have anything else to discuss?"

He wasn\'t expecting anyone to reply as the village had been peaceful. To his surprise, Fujin took the initiative to speak for once! Even Shikaku was surprised as Fujin said, "I have a proposal that will be helpful for our village. Considering what you said, it might probably be the best time to implement this."

Fujin activated the storage seal on his bracer and withdrew a few files. Looking at more than a dozen files in front of Fujin, Shikaku wondered, \'Since when did this troublemaker start working?\'

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Thank you Mahesh for supporting me through UPI.