The Third Kazekage arrived at Shindai's home accompanied by two ninja and said, "It's time."
As Shindai muttered under his breath, the Third Kazekage ignored him completely.
The Third Kazekage took out a needle of extremely small size and told Shindai, "Come here. I'm going to use the Subconscious Brain-Control Sand Technique on you to seal your memories."
Shindai trudged up in front of the Third Kazekage and said, "Uncle Kaito, please be careful. I make my living with my brains, you know."
Waving his hand dismissively, the Third Kazekage replied, "I've used this technique a hundred times. There won't be any mistakes."
Shindai turned around, facing his back toward the Third Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage swiftly inserted the needle into the back of Shindai's head with lightning speed.
Shindai felt a sharp pain pierce his head.
The Third Kazekage formed hand seals rapidly, then placed his hands over Shindai's head.
[Subconscious Brain-Control Sand Technique!]
Inscriptions flared across Shindai's forehead—and vanished just as quickly.
Shindai's eyes went blank for a moment, then slowly regained their usual sharpness.
Looking confused, Shindai glanced around at the Third Kazekage and the two ninja in the room and asked, "Huh? Uncle Kaito, why are you here?"
In response, the Third Kazekage struck Shindai with a swift chop to the neck.
Shindai's eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious.
The Third Kazekage instructed the two ninja behind him, "Proceed according to plan. In the Land of Rivers, allies will meet you and help find the Iwagakure ninja. After completing the exchange with Iwagakure, return to the village with the supplies immediately!"
"Yes!"
One ninja lifted Shindai onto his back, and along with the other, they vanished in a blur using the Shifting Body Technique.
The Third Kazekage stood motionless for a long time in Shindai's room, his brows tightly knitted.
"What did Shindai ask me to do last night again? Never mind, I can't remember anymore. It probably wasn't anything important anyway."
...
The Land of Rivers was a small country located at the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
To prevent Sunagakure from launching surprise attacks, Konoha had consistently stationed ninjas in the Land of Rivers.
Likewise, Sunagakure also had ninja operating within the Land of Rivers, often clashing with Konoha operatives.
Yet Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash, who should have been on the battlefield fighting Kumogakure, was now in the Land of Rivers.
The reason Minato Namikaze was in the Land of Rivers was for Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara.
As the Yellow Flash, Minato always charged into the most dangerous areas during battles with Kumogakure.
Since fighting at Minato's level was far beyond the capabilities of the three young ninja, he rarely had time to personally train them.
So during this lull in the conflict with Kumogakure, Minato took on a mission in the Land of Rivers.
Because Sunagakure in the Land of Rivers had been stirring up trouble, continuously harassing the Konoha ninjas stationed there, Minato Namikaze came to the Land of Rivers to intimidate the Sunagakure ninja and provide guidance to Kakashi's squad.
As soon as Minato arrived in the Land of Rivers, a Konoha ninja rushed over urgently to find him.
"Lord Minato! A few days ago, we received an intelligence report. We previously sent our ninja beasts to deliver this intelligence to Lord Hokage. Lord Hiruzen replied that you had arrived in the Land of Rivers and ordered you to carry out this mission!"
Minato asked, "What intelligence did you receive? What task does Lord Third want me to do?"
The Konoha ninja reported, "A few days ago, we captured a suspicious Sunagakure ninja. That Suna ninja immediately tried to destroy a scroll, but we intercepted it before he could. The ninja then committed suicide.
The content of the scroll states that Iwagakure is willing to form an alliance with Sunagakure and will exchange military supplies for a Magnet Release kekkei genkai ninja, proving Sunagakure's determination to ally with Iwagakure.
Lord Hokage has assigned you the mission: to stop the alliance between Sunagakure and Iwagakure by any means necessary, and secure that Magnet Release kekkei genkai ninja.
We have now deployed ninjas across the Land of Rivers. As soon as we detect any Iwa ninjas appearing here, we will notify you immediately, Lord Minato."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly.
For Sunagakure to attempt an alliance with Iwagakure at this critical moment—Minato wouldn't believe for a second that they wouldn't cause trouble.
Sunagakure had long coveted Konoha's resources.
Although Iwagakure hadn't made any overt moves yet, during the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure, they had already been restless, sending many ninjas to spy on Konoha's intelligence.
Once Sunagakure and Iwagakure formed an alliance, it was highly likely they would jointly attack Konoha.
At that time, Konoha would face enemies from both fronts and be simultaneously attacked by three great ninja villages—Cloud, Rock, and Sand.
Therefore, stopping the alliance between Sunagakure and Iwagakure was absolutely necessary.
As for that Magnet Release kekkei genkai ninja, such bloodline limits were extremely valuable in the ninja world, so Minato completely understood why Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to obtain this valuable kekkei genkai bearer.
After all, the previous Third Kazekage's Magnet Release power was incredibly formidable.
The Third Kazekage had gained fame throughout the ninja world through his Iron Sand techniques, earning the title "Strongest Kazekage."
Minato said to the Konoha ninja, "Understood. To avoid tipping them off early, keep my presence in the Land of Rivers under wraps. If they find out I'm here, they may relocate the exchange."
The Konoha ninja replied, "Only a few of our ninja currently know about your arrival in the Land of Rivers. I'll make sure they keep it strictly confidential."
Minato nodded, saying, "Good. Then proceed now. I'll remain at base for now and await your report."
After the Konoha ninja left, they immediately reported the news.
Three days had passed. The two Sand ninja carrying Shindai had already entered the Land of Rivers and met up with the Sand ninja sent to assist them.
The Scroll obtained by the Konoha ninja had been deliberately left for them by the Sunagakure ninja.
If Sunagakure truly wished to make a deal with Iwagakure, there would have been no need to choose the Land of Rivers, which is closer to the Land of Fire. They could have simply chosen the Land of Birds, which is nearer to both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
Now all that remained was to wait for the Iwa ninja to arrive in the Land of Rivers to complete the transaction, and then the plan could be executed.
Two more days passed.
A squad of five Iwa ninja entered the Land of Rivers.
As soon as the Iwa squad crossed into the Land of Rivers, they were immediately detected by Konoha ninja.
This was because the most likely point of entry for the Iwa ninja into the Land of Rivers was from its northern border.
That's why the most Konoha ninja had been stationed there.
Once the Iwa squad was confirmed to have entered the Land of Rivers, the Konoha ninja quickly notified Minato Namikaze.
Upon learning that the Iwa ninja had arrived in the Land of Rivers, Minato immediately summoned Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara.
"From now on, follow me to carry out a secret mission. We depart immediately!"
Minato Namikaze's squad left the Konoha base and quickly headed toward the location where Konoha ninja had detected the Iwa presence.
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