Though Hiruzen received the message almost half a day later than A, the Anbu squads he dispatched moved much faster than Kumogakure's negotiator group.
Under the cover of the night, Kakashi left Konoha along with Guy and 200 ninjas. They disappeared into the vast neverending forests in the Land of Fire.
A few hours later, 3 Anbu squads arrived outside Yusuke's mansion. No one in the Hidden Hot Springs Village detected them.
Yusuke was sleeping in his bed. He had a smile on his face as he dreamt about being the new Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water. As Hiruzen had guessed, he was working together with Kumogakure. He wanted their support to overthrow the current Daimyo. In return, he will help them kill Konoha's ninjas and will remove Konoha's influence on the country after he becomes the Daimyo.
Unfortunately for him, an Anbu ninja appeared next to him while he slept. He grabbed a tanto and pierced it into Yusuke's heart leaving him permanently in the dream world. Yusuke died without knowing who killed him and how!
In a few minutes, everyone in the mansion was killed! Not a single being was left alive. Instead, blood was flowing on the ground. The Anbu also burned or confiscated all the documents.
After confirming that their work is done, they destroyed the pillars supporting the mansion with Lightning jutsus and escaped. The village, which was resting peacefully, suddenly woke up due to loud noise. However, before anyone could figure out what was happening, the Anbu ninjas had already escaped. They kept moving towards the Land of Frost.
The Daimyo of the land of Hot Water was woken up due to the massacre and destruction. He reached Yusuke's destroyed mansion and frowned, 'He had found a chakra metal mine a week ago. And he is already dead? He had said that he will employ Konoha ninjas, is this their work?'
Daimyo analyzed for a bit before concluding, 'No, this isn't the way the Hokage acts usually. Besides, why would he even do this when we were offering Konoha the most benefits?'
At that time, Takeshita Tokuhei appeared in front of the Daimyo and reported, "Lord Daimyo, everyone in the mansion, including Lord Yusuke, has been killed. They are all killed with swords. From their wounds, it doesn't seem like they even had a chance to struggle. The documents are all destroyed though we don't know if some of them have been stolen. And the pillars have been destroyed with Lightning jutsus."
Daimyo asked, "Lightning? Do you mean that Kumogakure is behind this?"
Tokuhei answered, "It's either them or someone who wants to frame them."
Daimyo analyzed the situation, 'This sort of activity is something Kumogakure would do. Did they find the mine as well? If so, it would make sense that they want to silence Yusuke and secretly mine the mine themselves. But, such a thing is impossible to be kept a secret. Are they planning to wage another war in my country?'
The daimyo frowned. He said, "Tokuhei, come with me."
He brought Tokuhei to his own office and told him about the mine in Yusuke's province. Tokuhei was shocked. He exclaimed, "There is a chakra metal mine in our country?"
The Daimyo corrected him, "A mine that might have some deposits of it. The quantity won't be much but it might be sufficient to cause a war."
Tokuhei frowned. He said with a bitter expression, "Our country will be ravaged once again."
The Daimyo nodded, "That is why I wanted to keep it a secret. I suspect that the mine has been taken over by other forces. Most likely by Kumogakure. I want you to lead a force of 15 ninjas there stealthily and check. You are not to engage in any combat. After you confirm, leave immediately and return back."
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Tokuhei nodded. He left and immediately assembled a team and went towards the area the Daimyo had instructed him to. In a couple of hours, they reached the location of the mine. However, they stopped a long distance away from the mine and kept an eye. An hour later, they saw someone move. They followed that person secretly and noticed 3 squads of Kumogakure ninjas.
The Kumogakure ninjas spotted them as well and raised an alarm. Tokuhei and his squad immediately escaped. Some Kumo ninjas gave chase but stopped when they entered too deep into the Land of Hot Water.
A few hours later after taking multiple detours, they returned to the capital. Tokuhei immediately reported to the Daimyo. The Daimyo's face became grim as he confirmed his fears. He immediately began writing letters.
The content of the letters included the fact that they have discovered a mine that might have minute deposits of Chakra Metal. It also mentioned the fact that Kumogakure had forcefully occupied the mine and is hunting everyone who goes there. He sent these letters to every Daimyo and every Kage except the Raikage!
When Hiruzen received the letter the following morning, a smile formed on his face. He thought, 'The result of killing Yusuke was exactly what I envisioned and desired. Though Kiri is in a mess and might not make a move, Suna and Iwa will not want to see such a mine in the hands of Kumogakure. The villages and Daimyos still remember the trauma of the last war, so they wouldn't want a new war.
Everyone will apply pressure on Kumogakure. If they step back, then the control of this mine should be handed to the Land of Iron. If they don't, then they will have to face the combined might of all villages. Both the scenarios are favorable for Konoha.'
In order to ensure that his speculations come true, Hiruzen wrote a letter to the Land of Iron's leader, Mifune. The letter stated Konoha's desire for peace and its support for having the Land of Iron mining the newly discovered mine as a neutral country.
The 2nd Group of 7 Anbu squads sent by Hiruzen headed straight towards the Land of Lightning. Though the trip took longer, they infiltrated the Land of Lightning before the group of negotiators left the country. They stayed far away from Kumogakure. Instead, they disguised themselves and mixed among the common people.
Yugao was among these Anbu ninjas. She transformed herself into a middle-aged woman and went into the market. She began buying groceries as normal. As she did, she began having short interactions with the other ladies in the market who were also buying groceries.
During one such conversation, she sighed and said, "I heard that Raikage-sama wants to start a war with Konohagakure."
The lady was surprised. A couple more around them heard her as well. She asked, "He does? Haven't we been very peaceful lately?"
Yugao nodded and said, "I heard that he sent 60 ninjas to the land of Hot Water to kill 5 Konoha ninjas. However, they were defeated by an eleven-year-old kid! 13 of our brave ninjas died due to it!"
The other ladies were shocked to hear it. They joined the conversation, "Is it true?"
Yugao nodded and said, "Yeah, my husband used to work in Lord Raikage's office. He still has some contacts there. I am worried that if we suffered so much at the hands of just an eleven-year-old kid, how many losses will we have against the whole might of Konoha?"
The scenario Yugao painted shocked the ladies. They talked a bit more before leaving. Yugao quickly changed her disguise and went to another market.
In the same way, all the other 27 Anbu ninjas spread misinformation in the villages in the land of lightning. They hyped up Fujin's actions while making everyone think subconsciously that Kumo's forces were weak. A few even propagated the fear of Konoha invading the Land of Lightning if the Raikage went to war!
Slowly, the people who heard the information began gossiping with the ones who hadn't. The news spread through the entire Land of Lightning like a raging wildfire, igniting conversations and emotions of common people. As the rumors spread, they became more and more preposterous. Fear spread among the people in the Land of Lightning.
Unfortunately for A, he would remain unaware of this development until it was too late.
While the Anbu ninjas were doing their task, a monkey was roaming in the Land of Rice. He had been searching for a man for 2 days! Finally, he managed to locate him. The area was a complete mess! It looked as if someone had blown up an underground base.
The Monkey landed next to the man and handed him the scroll. He said in his childish voice, "Lord Hokage wants you to act on this immediately."
The man opened the scroll and read its contents. His eyes widened before returning to their usual size. He sighed and said, "Another war… Alright, tell him that I'll get it done."