Konoha Hospital
The sky was gradually darkening.
Sakura had been busy all afternoon without even realizing it. After her initial mistake, she'd become much more cautious. Even after reading the patient charts, she'd double-check herself. After all, lives were at stake. The invading ninja included those from the Sand and Sound, with various attack styles, which lead to some rather unique injuries.
"Haruno Sakura, you're doing a great job..." Hyakusou-bucho approached her and said.
"..Haha... This is all a form of training, I guess..." Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Would you be interested in joining the medical corps...?" Hyakusou asked, extending an invitation. Sakura's talent was undeniable, and her master was Tsunade-sama. Having her in the medical corps would be a great morale booster, considering Tsunade's high standing in Konoha.
"Ah... about that... I'm actually a combat-type ninja," Sakura replied. She didn't want to waste her time in the medical corps right now. It would be fine to come here occasionally to practice her chakra control, but staying here long-term would definitely hinder her progress.
"..Is that so? What a shame..." Hyakusou didn't press the issue. He'd seen her performance during the preliminary exams, and besides, Konoha wasn't exactly lacking medical ninja at the moment. He'd just thrown the suggestion out there casually.
"If I have free time, I'll come back to the hospital to help," Sakura added.
Hyakusou looked at Sakura, speechless. You just want to come here to practice your chakra control, don't you?
Just then, two figures entered the hospital's main entrance. One of them shouted, "Where's Sasuke...?"
Sakura looked towards the entrance. It was Naruto and Kakashi.
"Sakura-chan, you're here too! Where's Sasuke...? How is he...?" Naruto asked urgently.
"Sasuke's fine," Sakura said, stepping forward and using her hands to heal some of Naruto's minor external injuries.
Judging by Naruto's wounds, he'd also been through a tough battle.
"Um, what about Shikamaru and Shino?" Sakura asked.
"We're fine, but Sakura, I'm injured too, you know..." Shikamaru's lazy voice drifted from behind Naruto.
"Looks like we've been overlooked, Shikamaru," Shino said.
"Hehe... Shikamaru, do you want me to heal you...?" Sakura asked, hearing Shikamaru's teasing tone. He clearly didn't look injured.
"Ha... Haha, no thanks..." Shikamaru quickly laughed awkwardly and waved his hands.
"Sakura-chan, how is Sasuke? Kakashi-sensei said he was injured..." Naruto was still worried about Sasuke, especially since Orochimaru was involved.
"Sasuke's situation is a bit... special. The Third Hokage is treating him right now," Sakura said. "Just relax."
"Is that so? That's good..."
Sunagakure
Baki had already led the remaining members who participated in the plan back to the Sand Village.
"What did you say? The Kazekage-sama is dead...?" Baki slammed his hand on the table, questioning Yura, who stood before him.
"Yes. Shortly after the Kazekage-sama departed, our scouts discovered his body," Yura replied calmly. "Please calm down, Baki-sama."
"Damn it... Orochimaru..." Baki couldn't possibly remain calm at this moment.
If one were to say who suffered the greatest loss from this operation, it was undoubtedly Sunagakure. Not only had the Konoha Crush plan failed, but they had also lost their Kazekage.
Baki had sensed something was off about the Kazekage, but he never imagined Orochimaru would kill him. After all, the two sides were supposed to be partners. But now, it seemed Orochimaru had other plans.
"The village cannot be without a Kage for even a day. It's time to choose a new one," Yura said.
"Baki-jounin, what's done is done. The most important thing now is to select the next Kage," said Ebizo, one of the village elders.
"Do we have any suitable candidates...?" Chiyo asked, her voice sounding weak and weary.
Chiyo and Ebizo no longer wanted to interfere in the village's affairs. Having strived for Sunagakure for a lifetime, she now only wanted to spend her remaining years in peace.
Chiyo had no opinion on the Konoha Crush plan. Her generation no longer participated in the affairs of the ninja world. But, unfortunately, the younger generation was incompetent. They had conspired with a dangerous enemy, and not only had the plan failed, but they had also lost the Kazekage. There were very few in the village who could shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
So, faced with the village's dire situation, Chiyo and Ebizo had no choice but to come out of retirement.
"Candidates... candidates... candidates..." Baki ran through all the shinobi of Sunagakure in his mind, but not a single one seemed fit to become Kazekage.
"Sigh..." Chiyo couldn't help but sigh as she watched Baki stammer and stutter.
If the Third Hokage of Konoha were to die, Konoha could immediately choose a successor. Sunagakure was truly inferior to Konoha.
"I recommend Baki-jounin," a clear voice rang out.
Chiyo looked up. The speaker was somewhat familiar. Closing her eyes, she thought for a moment. It was Maki, Pakura's disciple. Heh, the little girl from back then had grown into a capable ninja, hadn't she?
Chiyo hadn't attended a high-level meeting in a long time, so she was somewhat unfamiliar with the village's newer generation.
"I disagree. I'm not suited to be Kazekage," Baki immediately objected.
Chiyo looked at Baki. He did have the strength, but his personality was somewhat unsuitable. Chiyo knew him well. Baki was only willing to be a cornerstone of Sunagakure. He was loyal to the village, but he couldn't become the Kage who led it.
"Let's put the issue of the Kazekage aside for now. All of you, go back and think about it carefully. Today, we'll deal with the immediate problems..." Chiyo said, seeing that the Kazekage issue couldn't be resolved quickly.
"Tell me about your plan, every single detail. Don't leave anything out..." Chiyo's tone suddenly changed, sending a shiver down the spines of Baki and the other jounin.
Chiyo had only learned of the plan after receiving the news of the Kazekage's death. Chiyo and Ebizo had already learned the general situation from Yura, but they still needed a detailed report from Baki after he returned to the village.
Sunagakure had suffered a major loss, and they were also in the wrong. If this wasn't handled properly, it would make things even worse for the Sand.
After Baki had truthfully reported all the information, Chiyo fell into deep thought.
After a long while, she spoke, "Send a message to the Third Hokage of Konoha. Sunagakure will bear the responsibility for Konoha's losses."
"This... Chiyo-sama, our losses are even greater than Konoha's..." Yura immediately objected.
Baki remained silent. Even if Konoha counterattacked Sunagakure because of this incident, it wouldn't be unreasonable. If compensating Konoha for its losses could resolve the matter, that would be the best outcome.
"Bang!" Chiyo slammed her hand on the table. "Hmph, of course I know that! If you hadn't been so foolish as to cooperate with Orochimaru, would we be in this situation...? Sunagakure is truly getting worse with each generation..."
"......." The conference room, which had been buzzing with discussion just moments before due to Chiyo's words, instantly fell silent.
Ebizo sighed helplessly as he watched his sister scold the younger generation.
"Send an envoy to re-establish the alliance with Konoha. Blame everything on Orochimaru. Say that Sunagakure knew nothing and that Orochimaru impersonated the Kazekage to issue orders..." Chiyo continued.
Chiyo had no other choice. She had always scoffed at alliances, but Sunagakure's current situation did not allow for war. They could only buy time and use compensation to prevent Konoha from pursuing the matter further.
"This time... let's send Baki..." Chiyo said, glancing around at everyone.
"Yes, Chiyo-sama," Baki promptly accepted the order.
"Next is a letter from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind," Ebizo said, taking out a scroll.
"The Daimyo of the Land of Wind will increase funding for Sunagakure, and all missions within the Land of Wind will be entrusted to Sunagakure... This could be considered good news, I suppose..." Ebizo paused, then added, "Only, this good news came at the cost of the Fourth Kazekage's life..."
The jounin, who had just shown a hint of joy on their faces, instantly sobered up upon hearing Ebizo's last sentence.
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was actually forced into this. His own country's ninja village had fallen out with Konoha, so he had no choice but to do this.
The relationship between a ninja village and its country was relatively equal. The country and the ninja village were interdependent. This model had both advantages and disadvantages.
The Daimyo didn't need to maintain his own army or worry about military affairs. However, due to the equal relationship, even if countries were not hostile to each other, ninja villages often were. This was a headache for the Daimyo, as they had to provide financial support to the ninja villages. Otherwise, a weakening of the ninja village would mean a decline in national power.
When ninja villages formed alliances, it was a time of great joy for the Daimyo, as they no longer needed to provide large sums of money to the ninja villages and could choose the cheaper village for mission requests.
Therefore, when Konoha and Sunagakure allied, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, in order to save money, gradually reduced his support for Sunagakure.
And when Sunagakure and Konoha had a falling out, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had no choice but to support Sunagakure.
In short, this social structure was very complex, with interdependence and contradictions. It had been this way since the formation of ninja villages. The Daimyo of the major countries had basically achieved peaceful coexistence, so the main contradictions now lay within the ninja villages.
Sakura didn't care about these complicated relationships. Right now, she was rather speechless about the task the Third Hokage had given her.
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