The world I hear is completely different from yours.

Such a small amount of natural energy is impossible for ordinary ninjas to use for training. However, as a listener, Tianqing gradually sensed the natural energy by becoming familiar with the sounds it emitted. After that, it was just a matter of patience and perseverance. By continuously absorbing natural energy to a certain proportion, he could successfully use Sage Mode.

Of course, Sage Mode also has its drawbacks. First, it requires precise control of the amount of natural energy inhaled. If it's too little, less than a third, Sage Mode cannot be activated; if it's too much, more than a third, it will cause loss of control due to excessive inhalation.

For example, the natural energy of Mount Myōboku can petrify cultivators. In the original story, Naruto was petrified many times due to inhaling too much natural energy. If it weren't for the toads guarding him and hitting him on the head with big sticks, Naruto would probably have died countless times.

The natural energy of the Earth Dragon Cave can drive cultivators mad and cause them to go berserk. In the original work, the mohawk-haired henchmen in Orochimaru's underground base are typical examples of this. However, this is not a problem for Tian Qing at all. As a listener, by listening to the sounds of natural energy at different concentrations, Tian Qing can accurately control the amount of natural energy absorbed and has no worries about side effects.

The second drawback of Sage Mode is its slow activation time; the prelude to entering Sage Mode is too long.

Because the concentration of natural energy is relatively low outside of the three sacred sites, to use Immortal Mode outside of the three sacred sites, one needs to absorb natural energy without moving for a certain period of time, during which time one is practically a sitting duck.

In the original story, Jiraiya was like this: he needed to summon the toads of Mount Myōboku to assist him and absorb enough natural energy before he could go into battle. Therefore, in his battle with Pain, he first confirmed Pain's location was nearby, then found a place to enter Sage Mode before engaging Pain. In other words, if the original story had been a direct encounter between Pain and Jiraiya, Jiraiya wouldn't have had time to use Sage Mode and would have been easily defeated.

Naruto Uzumaki, however, employed a different method. He placed shadow clones on Mount Myōboku, using them to absorb natural energy. When needed for battle, he would simply dispel the shadow clones, and then, relying on the unique nature of the Shadow Clone Technique—the remaining energy would return after the clones dissipated, allowing his main body to immediately enter Sage Mode. Because the Shadow Clone Technique needed to be maintained at all times, this method required the ninja to possess an enormous amount of chakra, a condition that only a handful of people besides Jinchūriki could meet.

Tenqing couldn't use any of these methods. As a Chunin with no background in the original story, she had no way of entering Mount Myōboku. However, Tenqing had a solution: by guiding natural energy and compressing it into scrolls, she could directly enter Sage Mode during battle. But this method required extremely high precision in manipulating natural energy, which only Tenqing, as the Listener, could accomplish, and each scroll required a significant amount of time to create.

What truly troubled Tensei was the third drawback of Sage Mode. Because Sage Mode requires a 1:1:1 mixture of spiritual power, physical strength, and natural energy, Sage Chakra is essentially just spiritual and physical power mixed with a proportional amount of natural energy, unlike regular chakra. Therefore, if the user's spiritual and physical strength is insufficient, their Sage Chakra will also be limited, preventing them from maintaining Sage Mode for long.

Based on Ameyo's current chakra levels, Sage Mode probably won't last more than 3 minutes, and the boost to her ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu isn't that significant. However, her actual combat power still needs to be tested in real battles.

Chapter Six: New Teammates and Hidden Meanings

The next day, under the Hokage Rock.

Tian Qing stood quietly, exchanging glances with the other two. It wasn't that Tian Qing didn't want to speak, but rather that the other two had been glaring at each other fiercely ever since they arrived, giving the impression that I saw no one else but her.

The peace was broken by the arrival of the fourth person. It was a middle-aged man with a stubble beard and a crooked headband: "I am Jonin Sarutobi Aoyama. From now on, the four of us will be a team on missions, codenamed Team 308. But before that, let's introduce ourselves."

Tianqing quietly raised her hand, indicating that she would speak: "My name is Tianqing, and I have just been promoted to Chunin."

"My name is Uchiha Haruno, a Chunin," a short-haired, rather spirited girl said coldly, glancing at the other person provocatively.

“My name is Hyuga Kagetsu, a Chunin,” said another girl with long hair and Byakugan, staring at Uchiha Haruno with a similarly displeased expression.

Even though Sarutobi Aoyama had already reviewed the team members' files beforehand, he was still feeling a bit overwhelmed.

The Uchiha and Hyuga clans have disliked each other since the Warring States period. However, the Hyuga clan was not as strong as the Uchiha clan at that time, so they did not dare to step forward. Instead, the Senju clan took on the pressure from the Uchiha clan.

However, with Madara Uchiha's departure and the losses from the Nine-Tails' attack and the First Shinobi World War, the Uchiha clan's strength has been significantly weakened. Meanwhile, the Hyuga clan, due to the stable awakening rate of the Byakugan and its unique main and branch family system, has not suffered much loss. With this shift in power, the two sides are beginning to show signs of becoming evenly matched.

The Senju clan suffered even greater losses than the Uchiha clan after each war. After Hashirama Senju died, no Senju ninja was ever born who could use Wood Release. At the same time, the number of newly born Senju members with Sage Mode was decreasing. Coupled with the casualties from each battle, the Senju clan no longer had the strength to reliably suppress the Uchiha clan.

Therefore, in order to maintain the balance of power in Konoha after the Senju clan weakened, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, decided to offer the bait of "Konoha's number one clan" to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans to compete for it, thus diverting the Uchiha clan's attention from the Senju clan to the Hyuga clan.

Of course, in order not to give others a reason to criticize him, Tobirama Senju immediately promoted the Uchiha clan to be in charge of the Konoha Police Department and also took Uchiha Kagami as his disciple, demonstrating with practical actions that Konoha still had full trust in the Uchiha clan.

Then, they secretly supported the Hyuga clan in their rivalry with the Uchiha clan, providing the Hyuga clan with a certain amount of assistance to ensure a balance of power between the two sides. Finally, they established the Hokage's direct Anbu as insurance, ensuring that the Uchiha and Hyuga clans would only engage in healthy competition and would not actually escalate into civil war due to mutual hostility.

While these plans did counterbalance the power of the major clans within Konoha, they also exacerbated tensions between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. Now, the Hokage has paired an Uchiha ninja with a Hyuga ninja into a single team, making the relationship between the two members truly worrisome.

Tianqing, however, was curious about another question: Why are there three female ninjas in the squad? Konoha's combat squads are generally composed of four people, with one high-ranking ninja as the captain and three low-ranking ninjas as members.

Because female ninjas are relatively rare, a typical squad usually has only one female ninja, or even none at all. The other members are paired up according to the principle of complementary strength, with a strong member paired with a weaker one to ensure that the strength of each squad is equal. But the 308 squad that I'm about to join doesn't meet any of these principles!

Sarutobi Aoyama naturally wouldn't answer these questions, but it wasn't difficult for Ameharu.

Inputting his mental power, Sarutobi Aoyama's headband spoke, recounting materials he had recently reviewed: "Because all their suitable teammates are dead. Generally speaking, Uchiha ninjas only team up with other Uchiha ninjas, and Hyuga ninjas only team up with other Hyuga ninjas. However, currently, their clansmen who are suitable either already have teams or are receiving treatment in hospitals, so there are no suitable clansmen to team up with them. Therefore, Tobirama Senju, under the pretext of promoting cooperation among Konoha ninjas, assigned them to a small team."

However, in Tian Qing's view, the reason this time was not so simple. Taking advantage of the fact that Uchiha Haruno and Hyuga Kagetsu did not have suitable teammates, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, first slapped on the big label of "promoting cooperation among Konoha ninjas," and the Uchiha and Hyuga leaders dared not oppose this team formation, nor could they stop it with other objective reasons.

Once the precedent of forming teams with Uchiha and Hyuga ninjas is set, Tobirama Senju can use the Hokage's personnel appointment authority to incorporate a large number of Uchiha, Hyuga, and even other ninja clans into mixed teams. During missions, the friendships among team members will deepen, allowing ninjas to shed narrow-minded clan views and establish the concept that everyone is a Konoha ninja. This will effectively bridge the gaps between different clans within Konoha, limiting competition between clans to healthy competition and preventing vicious internal strife.

"Isn't that amazing? Just an appointment carries such profound meaning. No wonder he's the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Although his combat strength isn't as good as his brother Hashirama Senju, his scheming ability is miles ahead. He's practically a master of palace intrigue. It seems my mission to become the Third Hokage is truly arduous," Ameyoshi thought to herself.

PS: The groundwork is in progress, take your time, no rush.

Chapter Seven: Slaughter and Missions

At dusk, in a small country between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, a group of cloaked figures hurried along. Suddenly, the leader seemed to realize something and abruptly made a gesture. The people behind him immediately scattered, each concealing themselves and drawing their weapons; clearly, they were a battle-hardened team.

Seeing that the target had entered the pre-arranged trap, Tian Qing signaled to her teammates, then formed the Yin seal with her hands: "Explode!"

"Boom boom boom!" The dozen or so explosive tags that had been planted on the field exploded instantly. Several enemies were unable to dodge in time and were immediately seriously injured. Their limbs were blown away and scattered everywhere. One unlucky guy was blown to pieces, with blood and flesh flying everywhere and a bloody smell wafting through the air.

At this moment, Uchiha Haruno unleashed the Uchiha's signature ninjutsu: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!" A massive fireball slammed into the enemy, engulfing several in flames, eliciting screams of agony. However, this Great Fireball Technique also revealed the location of his own forces.

"They're over there!" These enemies were incredibly tenacious. After falling into the trap and being suddenly attacked, they lost more than half of their fighting force at the start, but they didn't retreat. Instead, they launched a counterattack. After discovering Tianqing and the others' hiding place, several ninjutsu attacks were immediately unleashed towards them, and then the enemies grabbed their weapons and charged forward!

"Earth Release: Earth Wall!" Sarutobi Aoyama also made his move, raising an earthen wall to block the opponent's ranged ninjutsu. Then, he threw a kunai backhand, "Shadow Clone Technique: Kunai!!" One kunai instantly split into hundreds of kunai that shot towards the enemy. These were mixed with hundreds of kunai that Uchiha Haruno had frantically hurled using the Uchiha-style throwing technique. Like a torrential rain, they rained down on the enemy. Several enemies at the forefront were immediately riddled with kunai, their bodies covered in blood, convulsing as they collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, the enemies behind them became even more enraged and charged forward like madmen.

At this moment, Tian Qing quickly formed hand seals: "Genjutsu—Weakness Swamp!" Simultaneously, she secretly unwrapped a scroll, absorbing the natural energy she had previously guided into her body, transforming her chakra into Sage Chakra. Amplified by the Sage Chakra, the genjutsu's range, originally only affecting a single target, greatly increased, directly enveloping all enemies. The effect was also significantly enhanced; previously, this technique only caused numbness and weakness in the limbs, but now all the enemies felt limp and heavy, unable even to lift their weapons! Sensing this powerful genjutsu, the enemies' initial madness slowly faded, replaced by a wave of despair. How could they possibly fight like this?

Seeing that the enemy had lost its ranged attack capability, Hyuga Kagetsu leaped over the earthen wall and charged towards the burly man at the front. "Hyuga Gentle Fist!" He knocked away an enemy's weapon with one palm, and taking advantage of the opponent's wide-open defense, he unleashed a flurry of punches on the opponent's chest.

As the wielder of the Hyuga Byakugan, her role in battle is reconnaissance and close combat. Now that the enemy is so weak, even basic parrying is proving difficult; when is a better time to act?

After quickly throwing kunai, Uchiha Haruno rushed out to join the close combat. Having already awakened her Sharingan with a single tomoe, she was completely unfazed by taijutsu. Captain Sarutobi Aoyama, however, was even faster. As a Jonin, he had already charged into the enemy ranks, piercing one enemy with an Earth Release spear thrust before swiftly lunging at another. His sharp kunai deflected the opponent's weapon, and he swiftly slit the enemy's throat.

Soon, the enemy was slaughtered. Before the captain could give the order, the three of them tacitly began to clean up the battlefield. Hyuga Kagetsu activated his Byakugan and began to hunt down the fleeing enemies in the surrounding area to prevent the news from leaking and attracting other enemies; Uchiha Haruno, on the other hand, hummed a song as he searched the battlefield for any enemies who were still alive, and once he saw one, he would send him to hell with a kunai.

Meanwhile, Tianqing calmly squatted among the pile of corpses, retrieving ninja tools. Every now and then, she would touch the corpses to see if they contained any information. However, Tianqing never dared to listen to the voices of the corpses. Those inhuman sounds mixed between life and death were not something a low-level listener like her could understand. She remembered that last time she had only listened to a little bit, she almost had a mental breakdown again.

Sarutobi Aoyama took out the mission sheet, checked the enemy's identity, and confirmed that the mission was completed. He looked up at the few people busy on the battlefield and couldn't help but smile bitterly. These young guys are so indifferent. They really are veterans who have been on the battlefield.

However, Tian Qing knew very well that the reason she could be so calm about the battle was mainly due to her habits from her previous life. Back then, as a civil servant, Tian Qing was like a band-aid, sticking to wherever there was trouble. Not only did she have to go on field missions with the Dragon Group to fight superpowered criminals, but she also had to fight alongside the heroes on the Great Wall to tear apart the Taotie. From time to time, she also had to go abroad to spar with the heroes of S.H.I.E.L.D. Although she didn't bring any equipment with her this time, her adaptability to combat had not diminished in the slightest.

Chapter Eight: Reasons for Forced School Attendance

Inside the Hokage Building, Tobirama Senju was sitting in his office, reading the mission report that Aoyama Sarutobi had just submitted.

Almost three months have passed since the formation of Squad 308, and they have already completed several B-rank missions. From a practical standpoint, the teamwork between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans has been as excellent as expected, providing a good example for future integration of ninja from other clans. Although the relationship between Uchiha Haruno and Hyuga Kagetsu remains strained, at least in battle, they are able to place a high degree of trust in each other.

The only person Tobirama Senju found somewhat perplexing was another member of Team 308, Ameharu. This newly promoted Chunin was an orphan adopted by the residents of Konoha. Her adoptive parents were incredibly lenient with her, even refraining from requiring her to inherit their surname, leaving it to her to decide. She had previously performed only moderately on the battlefield, only experiencing hallucinations due to excessive stress during her final battle, claiming she could hear things talking, but a subsequent medical examination confirmed she was cured.

Tobirama Senju originally chose Ameharu to join Squad 308 with the intention of adding a commoner ninja of average strength and clean family background to act as a mediator between the other two elite ninjas and maintain the team's balance. However, to Tobirama's surprise, in the battles after joining the new squad, Ameharu used ninjutsu with considerable power and range, demonstrating combat strength comparable to that of Haruno Uchiha and Kagetsu Hyuga.

Tobirama Senju wasn't particularly surprised by Amemori's increased strength; many ninjas unleash their full potential after life-or-death battles. However, as the first step in the "Konoha Harmony Plan," Team 308 was a crucial piece of the puzzle for Tobirama, so he couldn't afford any changes. With that in mind, Tobirama waved his hand and said to one of the Anbu, "Summon Sarutobi Aoyama to see me."

Soon, Sarutobi Aoyama walked into the office: "Hokage-sama, you wanted to see me?"

Tobirama Senju put down the documents in his hand. "What are Tenharu's opinions about Konoha?"

Sarutobi Aoyama scratched the back of his head, looking troubled. "Tenqing is usually quiet and doesn't talk to many people. She just cultivates quietly. When I try to talk to her, she just gives me perfunctory replies. I really don't understand her opinion."

Tobirama Senju sighed. Sarutobi Aoyama was loyal to Konoha and had good combat ability, but he was very clumsy in dealing with people. Otherwise, with his seniority and achievements, he would have transferred him to other high-level departments long ago, and he wouldn't still be just a Jonin leading a team.

"Here's what we'll do. Squad 308 has a few days off from their mission. Go back and inform Ten'ei Chunin to go to the academy for special instruction from Konoha. The Konoha Ninja Academy wasn't established long ago, and Ten'ei missed it because she was on the battlefield before. This is a good opportunity for her to make up for it."

"Yes, then I'll take my leave."

Although the First Hokage and the Uchiha clan established most of the structural framework of Konoha when they founded the village, the Konoha Ninja Academy, a crucial part of the village's organizational structure, was the creation of the Second Hokage.

Compared to the First Hokage, the Second Hokage had a deeper understanding of intrigue and human nature. He keenly perceived that the divisions between different ninja clans and between clan ninjas and commoner ninjas could lead to serious divisions within Konoha. Therefore, he established the important organization, the Konoha Ninja Academy. Furthermore, he stipulated that all talented children of appropriate age, regardless of whether they belonged to a clan or were commoners, must attend the Konoha Ninja Academy.

On one hand, through the education provided by the schools, young ninjas were able to correctly establish the values ​​of the Konoha family, making them understand that they are first and foremost ninjas of Konoha, and only secondarily ninjas of different clans. On the other hand, it also broke the monopoly of clans on ninjutsu, unearthing talented individuals among the common people, thus providing Konoha with a continuous stream of new blood.

From this perspective, the Konoha Ninja Academy is the foundation for Konoha's continued hegemony. It instills the concept of the Konoha family in the hearts of every Konoha ninja. Any clan that attempts to split Konoha or seek independence will be besieged by other forces within Konoha, and may even be torn apart internally.

The Uchiha clan later became a prime example. Once they plotted independence, they faced not only external attacks but also internal opposition. Both Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi were graduates of the Konoha Ninja Academy. On the other hand, the commoner ninjas trained at the Konoha Ninja Academy formed the backbone of Konoha; the Fourth Hokage was of commoner origin. The Ninja Academy fostered a strong sense of belonging to Konoha among commoner ninjas. While ninja clans remained ninja clans even after leaving Konoha and the Ninja Academy, commoners were nothing without them.

However, despite such a good policy, some people are still unhappy, some people still want to stand against the people, and some people still want to go against the tide of the times.

"I don't want to go to school!!!!" Tianqing shouted frantically.

Chapter Nine: Students and New Tasks

Just moments before, Sarutobi Aoyama hastily assembled Squad 308 and solemnly handed Ame to her a special training notice from the Konoha Ninja Academy. He explained that during Squad 308's upcoming mission break, the Hokage required her to attend a special training course at the Konoha Ninja Academy. He excitedly rattled off a string of things like the Hokage had high hopes for her, and that she would soon be promoted, receive a raise, and reach the pinnacle of her life. Uchiha Haruno and Hyuga Kagetsu, standing nearby, looked at Ame with envy, leaving her speechless. Of course, under these circumstances, she dared not say anything in refusal and had to put on a professional smile, pretending to be happy as she accepted the notice and went home.

Sitting in her room, looking at the notification letter, Tian Qing quickly guessed Tobirama Senju's plan. Apparently, because she had shown considerable potential in previous missions, she had gone from an insignificant pawn to one with some weight. Therefore, Tobirama intended to give her a moral education to confirm whether she possessed the Will of Fire. Just like in the original story, whenever Naruto was bullied in the village as a child, the Third Hokage would always appear with words of encouragement to ensure that the village's promising talent didn't go astray.

Of course, Ame-chan won't receive the same treatment as Naruto. This special instruction will be used to confirm that Ame-chan identifies with Konoha and possesses the Will of Fire, so he will naturally be given special attention in the future. However, if it is discovered that Ame-chan is dissatisfied with Konoha and has embarked on the evil path of opposing Konoha and the Hokage, then there will be no inspirational message from Naruto, but rather a large group of murderous Anbu members.

However, there are advantages to going to school when the weather is sunny.

This special course at the Konoha Ninja Academy was established by order of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. It is a course open only to special individuals. Although it does not teach ninjutsu, but only theory, it is said that ninjas who pass the special course will generally be promoted to Jonin very quickly, so it is very popular among young ninjas in Konoha.

The ninjas selected to participate in the special training were all personally chosen by Tobirama Senju. Although they varied in age, gender, and rank, their only commonality was that they possessed a certain level of potential.

Tobirama Senju's purpose in doing this was naturally to cultivate a worldview and values ​​of "only one Konoha" in promising ninjas through special training courses, uniting them closely around the Konoha leadership centered around the First and Second Hokage, and steadfastly upholding the principle of "only one Konoha." In the words of Ame-no-Kage's previous life, that's how it was.

Although the instructor phrased it tactfully, that was the core message.

Tian Qing had seen many such courses in her previous life, so she couldn't help but grumble a little when she learned she would be participating. However, she quickly composed herself. On one hand, she could understand the course; any organization or even a country would do the same, and it was indeed beneficial to Konoha's development. Being invited by the Second Hokage to participate in this course also proved her rising status in the Second Hokage's eyes, bringing her one step closer to her goal of becoming the Third Hokage. On the other hand, most of the ninjas participating in the special training were future elites, and befriending them would help expand her network. For someone aspiring to the Hokage throne, this was a good opportunity.

Furthermore, during the course, Tianqing also met some characters who would later become prominent figures in the original work, such as the legendary "Three Ninjas of Gambling, Prostitution, and Drugs," and the legendary White Fang of Konoha, whose swordsmanship was divine. However, at present, they were just teenagers slightly younger than Tianqing.

"Sister Tianqing, let's go eat ramen together after class. A new ramen shop just opened in the village, and I heard it's pretty good," Tsunade said.

"Yes, of course I'm going! Why don't you come along, Hatake-kun?" Tensei said to Hatake Sakumo with a smile.

"Okay, let's go together." Young Hatake Sakumo was quite cheerful.

Among the students receiving special instruction, Ameyoshi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sakumo Hatake were all around the same age. Ameyoshi and the Sannin had previously worked together on a mission, so they got along quite well. Later, they also invited Sakumo Hatake to join them, and the group ate and chatted together, getting along quite well.

After their mission break ended, the regrouped 308th Squad received their first S-rank mission. Previously, the Uchiha and Hyuga teams had demonstrated excellent teamwork in their missions, but since those were all B-rank missions, their persuasiveness wasn't quite there yet. Therefore, Tobirama Senju assigned them an S-rank mission this time: before Tobirama led his team to the Land of Lightning to sign the peace treaty, the 308th Squad needed to clear out any enemies along the way, then travel to the Land of Lightning to exchange documents and agree on the specific itinerary for the peace talks.

According to Konoha's intelligence, the Land of Lightning is currently divided into two factions: the pro-war faction and the pro-peace faction. Although the Second Raikage, in his capacity as Kage, forcibly suppressed the pro-war faction and prepared to negotiate peace with Konoha, how could the bloodshed and hatred shed in the war be so easily erased? Therefore, the 308th Squad is very likely to face interception and killing by the pro-war faction and other forces in the Land of Lightning who do not want to see Konoha and Kumogakure cease hostilities on their way to exchange documents.

To this end, Tobirama Senju specifically arranged for a group of ANBU to follow behind to ensure the safety of Squad 308. If the Uchiha and Hyuga were to die before they could demonstrate their combat effectiveness, that would be a huge problem.

P.S. Shamelessly asking for recommendations and favorites.

Chapter Ten: Decisions and Ambition

Nighttime, on a high mountain in Hidden Cloud Village.

Kinkaku soaked in the hot spring, gazing up at the star-studded sky, and let out a comfortable groan. In the Land of Lightning, where the wind blows cold all year round, being able to quietly soak in a hot spring and sip some sake after completing a mission, washing away the blood and fatigue, is something many Cloud Village ninjas love to do.

Suddenly, a person abruptly ripped open the windproof cloth surrounding the hot spring and strode in.

A biting wind immediately swept in, and Golden Horn shivered and huddled up. Just as he was about to get angry, he turned around and saw that it was Silver Horn who had come in. He had no choice but to suppress his anger and said, "It's you. What's the matter that's so urgent?"

Silver Horn quickly walked up and squatted down: "Brother, all the mercenaries you asked us to find have arrived."

"Oh? So fast?"

"Yes, and someone has already paid the large commission that needs to be paid in advance for us."

"who is it?"

“I don’t know,” Silver Horn took a big gulp of wine. He hadn’t drunk any alcohol for five days in order to complete this mission. “Besides, these mercenaries are quite skilled. I’ve tested them myself. If someone hadn’t paid our commission, the money we had prepared beforehand probably wouldn’t have been enough to pay these experts.”

Kinkaku was somewhat surprised. He knew that his younger brother had high aspirations and there weren't many ninjas that he could call experts. Even in the Hidden Cloud Village, there weren't many people that he could call experts.

"It seems we're not the only ones who don't want Kumogakure and Konoha to sign a ceasefire agreement. It's likely that one of the other ninja villages is paying for it, and there might even be people from other ninja villages among these mercenaries."

"But it doesn't matter, our goals are the same right now." Kinkaku sneered, took a sip of his drink, and continued, "Tomorrow, give them the information about the team Konoha sent and let them handle it. If even the team Konoha sent to exchange documents and negotiate the itinerary doesn't show up, how can Lord Raikage convince the villagers of Konoha's sincerity in making peace?"