Could it be... that Kumogakure and Konoha have allied?
It seems Sunagakure must make some changes... "Chiyo, you will go to Konoha as Sunagakure's envoy. You should try to ascertain the relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure and express an intention for an alliance to see Konoha's attitude towards Sunagakure."
The Third Kazekage pondered for a long time before speaking to Chiyo.
Regardless of whether Konoha and Kumogakure had allied, the intelligence about Bunbuku reaching Konoha must have come from Kumogakure. This meant that even if Konoha and Kumogakure weren't officially allied, they had some form of secret cooperation.
Konoha's strength was undoubtedly the strongest among the Five Great Nations. If Sunagakure could cooperate with Konoha, they might gain an advantage in the war.
"I will go to Konoha immediately."
Chiyo knew this was her chance to atone for her mistakes.
"No need to rush. It would be better for you to rest before going to Konoha."
The Third Kazekage advised, looking at Chiyo's somewhat poor mental state.
"I understand."
Chiyo nodded, left the Kazekage Building, and returned home, where she saw her son and daughter-in-law.
"Mom, how did this operation go?"
Chiyo's son asked with concern.
"Akagitsune!"
The woman beside him saw that Chiyo's expression wasn't very good and tugged on her husband's sleeve, saving him, the fool who couldn't read people's expressions, from saying anything that would make his mother-in-law feel even worse.
"Eryu, did I say something wrong?"
Akagitsune scratched his head, looking at his wife beside him, completely unaware of how inappropriate his words had just been.
(Red foxes inhabit diverse environments, including deserts. Eryu's name comes from the desert plant, short-spike willow. Neither the manga nor the anime revealed the names of Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, so I named them after desert animals and plants.)
"The mission failed..." Chiyo said in a deep voice, "The mission failed all because of my mistakes."
Chiyo didn't make excuses, such as intelligence leaks or Kumogakure giving Bunbuku's information to Konoha. If they had known this information before the mission, this operation wouldn't have happened. But bringing it up after the operation was just making excuses for her failure.
"Mom, you..."
Akagitsune didn't know what to say to comfort his mother for a moment. Only then did he understand why Eryu had stopped him earlier.
"Akagitsune, Eryu, don't worry about me. I now have a new mission, which is to go to Konoha as an envoy."
Chiyo forced a smile, not wanting the young couple to worry too much about her.
Land of Waves
It was Orochimaru's first time visiting Uzumaki Chigusa's home. The layout here was almost identical to Uzumaki Chigusa's home in Land of Whirlpools. Their combined photos were on the table, and Hyuga Mio and Uchiha Hikari could also be seen in the background.
"Orochimaru, when did you arrive!"
Uzumaki Nano, wearing a Sky Ninja's flying device on her back, quickly walked into the house. Her vibrant red hair was tied into twin buns. Seeing Orochimaru, she pushed her goggles onto her forehead, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise. She quickly walked over and hugged her.
"Nano, long time no see."
Orochimaru looked at Uzumaki Nano's flying device, which was painted a vibrant red.
When the elite Ninja from various Various Ninja Villages attacked Land of Whirlpools, the flying device was damaged then. This was the flying device she made for Uzumaki Nano afterward.
"Orochimaru, isn't Konoha at war with Iwagakure and Hidden Mist? How do you have time to come here?"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"