The Hokage, having traveled here, of course he'd unify the ninja world!

Chapter 354 Vanguard

Tsuchikage's office.

Onoki held the compiled intelligence in his hand, wanting to examine it carefully.

He was both surprised and puzzled.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually expelled from Konoha Village.

Furthermore, he did not leave alone; he also took a large amount of Konoha's power with him.

It even includes 20,000 to 30,000 civilians.

The strange thing is that the Uchiha did not exterminate the Sarutobi clan, but instead let them go.

Konoha is currently at an unprecedented level of weakness.

Moreover, this is the weakest period in recent years.

In the previous Battle of Kikyo Mountain, the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Sand Village had already fought their way to Konoha's doorstep.

Now that Konoha's strength has declined so much, Kumogakure must be getting restless.

Ohnoki thought to himself.

In reality, Onoki's desire to invade the Land of Fire was not that strong.

The main reason for this is that the Land of Earth has a large land area and abundant resources, so it does not have a great need for the Land of Fire.

Secondly, their Iwagakure has no successor.

With Onoki dead, there was no one left to take over.

Although her son Huang Tu was quite capable, his personality was like his mother's, making him unsuitable to be a leader.

Such an opportunity is rare, but Onoki had no intention of being the first to step forward.

It's important to know that recently, high-level combat power has been frequently appearing in the ninja world. Whether it's the Akatsuki organization or the Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan, their strength should not be underestimated.

Deidara was able to learn Dust Release in just a few months; his future achievements are limitless.

Steady and methodical progress is the guiding principle of Iwagakure.

"Continue to gather intelligence and see how other ninja villages react to this matter."

"Yes!"

As the highest leader of Iwagakure, Onoki needs to give the orders, and his subordinates will figure out a solution on their own.

Of course, he himself is quite busy. Besides the matters in the Land of Fire, there are many other things waiting for him to make decisions.

He quickly began to review and correct official documents.

Not long after, a member of the secret service came to report.

"Lord Tsuchikage, Deidara has just sneaked out again."

"Should we bring him back?"

Onoki looked up and sighed, somewhat annoyed.

"They've never suffered a loss before. Oh well, I'll just go along with them."

After Deidara began learning Dust Release, Onoki regarded Deidara as his successor.

They were naturally equipped with corresponding coverts.

Deidara not only had tracking devices attached to him, but the Anbu members he encountered this time also had flying summoning beasts.

But the main concern wasn't protecting Deidara's safety, but rather worrying that Deidara would cause trouble again.

Fortunately, Deidara behaved himself for a few months in order to learn Dust Release.

This time, Onoki turned a blind eye to his attempt to sneak out to play.

……

Deidara, who sneaked out, was unaware that his whereabouts were being monitored by Onoki.

He sat on the clay bird, feeling the free wind blowing in his face, which was quite refreshing.

"I've learned Dust Release, but I don't have enough chakra."

Deidara muttered to himself as he pulled out the clay from his waist and examined it.

"No, it's because Dust Release consumed too much chakra, hmm!"

"Since Dust Release is so powerful, making it smaller and more subtle should consume less energy."

"However, a dust stunt that's too small isn't artistic at all, hmm."

"Forget it, let's go to the black market and see what's been going on lately."

Unable to reach a conclusion, Deidara changed direction and flew towards the black market.

……

Sunagakure Village

Wind Shadow Office

Luo Sha looked at the report in his hand and tapped his fingers on the table repeatedly.

Compared to Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Sunagakure was much more interested.

After all, Sunagakure was dirt poor and had long coveted the rich land of the Land of Fire.

"How long has Hiruzen Sarutobi been away from Konoha?" Rasa asked.

There is a lag between gathering information and receiving it back.

The exact delay of a few days depends on how quickly the message is relayed.

Since Maki brought the intelligence over, he must have known this perfectly well.

"When we were gathering intelligence, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group had just left Konoha Village."

"It's the fifth day now, and they're moving towards the direction of the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire."

"Because there were too many civilians mixed in, they were moving very slowly."

"At their current speed, it will take them another twelve days to reach Daming Prefecture."

After pondering for a moment, Rasa asked, "Is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki still in Konoha?"

"That's right. This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi replaced the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with one of his own clansmen, but he didn't take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with him."

"Moreover, their methods were quite strange, as if they were trying to lure someone into attacking."

Maki explained the strange aspects of Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions this time.

"Um……"

After being reminded by Maki, Luo Sha also realized what was happening.

"Did they think the Uchiha would hunt them down, which is why they left like this?"

Maki nodded: "It's not impossible."

Rasa stood up and walked to the huge map. Looking at the vast land of the Land of Fire, a greedy light appeared in his eyes.

"Whether that's true or not, we'll send someone over to check the situation first."

"Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi has reached the Daimyo's residence, it will be difficult to make a move."

Maki asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why is it Hiruzen Sarutobi's team?"

Rasa snorted coldly: "The way Hiruzen Sarutobi retreated is definitely because he wants to go back."

"For us, whether it's Hiruzen Sarutobi's side or Konoha Village's side, they are both forces of the Land of Fire."

"Konoha's strength has decreased, but with just our Sand Village, it's simply impossible for us to break in."

"Of course, we should pick the softest persimmons to squeeze. If Iwagakure and Kumogakure see us make a move, they will naturally become restless."

There was worry in Maki's eyes:

"Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength should not be underestimated, and Jiraiya is also in the group. Who should we send?"

Luo Sha crossed his arms and said, "Naturally, we'll send those who aren't afraid to die."

……

The country of ghosts.

The demon and Obito arrived at the underground palace where they had escaped.

Since the priestess lineage is no longer in the Land of Demons, this place is naturally unguarded.

The two descended into the ground.

Obito surveyed the entire underground plaza, his eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of the neatly arranged stones.

It seems this demon is quite effective.

"Awaken, my legion!"

The demon roared angrily from the center of the underground palace.

Black energy continuously emerged from underground and spread outwards.

Obito saw that the neatly arranged stones cracked open, revealing the stone puppets inside.

The stone golem's eyes lit up one by one, emanating a fierce aura.

With a smug wave of his hand, Wangliang said, "Stand up!"

All the stone golems made a "click" sound and stood up.

"First! Crush the land of demons!"

After the demon gave the order, all the stone golems raised their weapons.

With a rumbling sound, they began to move out of the underground palace.

Obito carefully examined the stone golems.

Dark energy?

He reached out and touched his heart; a dark healing technique…

……