Talents Abound in Konoha!

Did the Third Kazekage really die in battle?

From the mouth of the ninja who managed to escape, news of the defeat spread. Ebizo, who was arranged to stay behind to guard the borders and was responsible for commanding and dispatching, sat somewhat powerless in his position.

Looking at the strategic map in front of him, Ebizo, usually optimistic, now felt a hint of despair.

The Third Kazekage died in battle, and his sister Chiyo's fate was unknown. More than 2,000 elite ninja forces accumulated by Sunagakure over more than twenty years were almost entirely lost in Amegakure.

At this moment, Sunagakure was truly devastated.

Except for one Jinchuriki, there wasn't even one elite shinobi available in the entire village.

If Konoha seized this opportunity to attack the Land of Wind, Sunagakure would have no resistance left other than thousands of ordinary ninja and the Jinchuriki.

As the strategist of Sunagakure, Ebizo understood that the village had reached a critical moment of life and death.

For the sake of the village, for the trust of his sister, Ebizo struggled to suppress the panic in his heart and forced himself to calm down.

With his hands propped on the armrests of the chair, Ebizo stood up.

Gazing down at the map in front of him, Ebizo's brain spun rapidly, contemplating the next course of action.

After much contemplation, Ebizo made a decision and walked out of the tent with determination in his eyes.

Outside the tent, there were anxious Sunagakure ninjas waiting.

Seeing Ebizo stepping out of the tent, these anxious and uneasy ninjas seemed to see the only hope and reliance.

"Ebizo-sama, what should we do next?" asked a Sand ninja who had escaped from the battlefield, his body wrapped in bandages, with an anxious yet hopeful tone.

Feeling the gazes around him, Ebizo began to issue orders with a serious expression.

"Immediately arrange for squads to return to the village to convey the message. Gather all the ninjas in the village and rush to the front line with Gaara for support."

As the first order was given, many of the ninjas present were shocked.

Ebizo was risking the entire village with this decision.

Without pausing after the first order, Ebizo continued, "Hiroichi, Daisuke, you will accompany me to Amegakure to deliver the surrender letter to Konoha."

Once Ebizo issued the surrender order, it ignited the emotions of the surrounding Sunagakure ninjas completely.

"Ebizo, you coward, how dare you think of surrendering to Konoha, the ones who killed the Kazekage!"

"We cannot surrender! Ebizo-sama!"

"Sasori, don't be disrespectful to Ebizo-sama!"

For a moment, various voices rang out, and the order began to become chaotic.

Some excited ninjas even rushed to Ebizo, seemingly intending to take action.

Showing no mercy, Ebizo stepped forward abruptly and knocked down a ninja who had lost control of his emotions, then looked around and shouted loudly, "Silence!"

After the roar, there was a temporary silence all around.

"Kazekage-sama and Elder Chiyo's fates are unknown, and nearly 2,300 elite ninja forces have been almost entirely wiped out! If we don't surrender, how much strength do we have left to resist Konoha's counterattack?"

Ebizo's question left the Sunagakure ninjas around unable to answer for a moment.

"Even if we have to fight to the death, we must take a bite out of Konoha before we perish." Sasori's eyes were bloodshot, and he approached Ebizo emotionally.

Raising his right hand, he slapped Sasori's face hard. Ebizo angrily admonished, "Foolish! What we should do now is to protect the village and the country. Only by surviving do we have hope of winning back."

Staring at Ebizo, Sasori, who had been struck, saw anger and sorrow in Ebizo's eyes, as well as the faint tears of indignation that hadn't shed.

"I..." With his mouth half open, Sasori, who had come to his senses, understood Ebizo's intentions and feelings, and lowered his head in shame.

"This is an order I issued as the highest commander on the battlefield. If anyone dares to question it again, they will be treated as traitors." Ebizo knew that in such a crisis of chaos, severe punishment was necessary.

With this statement, none of the ninjas present dared to speak out anymore, only staring resentfully at Ebizo or silently bowing their heads.

"Disperse and do your own tasks."

"Yes."

At the entrance of the Amegakure, Kizaru and Tsunade walked side by side as they left the village.

In the afternoon, Fuso who had discussed with her husband, Ise, found Kizaru again and invited him to her home at 7 p.m. that evening, intending to inquire further about the specific arrangements for going to Konoha.

Kizaru naturally accepted the invitation and suggested bringing along a member of the Senju clan, who had blood ties with the Uzumaki clan, to accompany him.

Of course, Fuso, who had already made up her mind to move to Konoha, agreed.

It was because of this that Kizaru left the Amegakure with Tsunade.

Encountering Nagato unexpectedly on the outskirts of the Amegakure opened up a new world of thought for Kizaru.

Kizaru, who disliked trouble and wasn't interested in being a Hokage, had been planning to procrastinate in dealing with people around him who wanted him to become Hokage.

But encountering the young Nagato at noon unexpectedly inspired Kizaru.

A new idea of slacking off in the future emerged in Kizaru's mind.

"Being a Hokage doesn't mean one can't slack off! It seemed quite easy to slack off as a Hokage as long as there were enough subordinates."

As long as there were enough talented people collected and trained, and they were all placed in suitable positions, being a Hokage would actually be quite easy.

Just think about it, when he becomes Hokage in the future, he would have the peak Legendary Sannin, Sakumo, Shinnosuke, Might Duy, Dan, and others under him.

In addition to the new generation like Minato, Kushina, Nono, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, the Hyuga brothers, and Uchiha Fugaku, among others.

If he looked further ahead, there were talents like Kakashi, Itachi, Shisui, Guy, and Kabuto, among others.

With such a lineup, Konoha could easily initiate a Fourth War on its own.

And this didn't even include Kizaru himself, as well as the four elders.

It could be said that if Kizaru were forced to become Hokage in the future, as long as he took care of the elder four-man squad, he could comfortably slack off and win.

It was precisely for the sake of being able to slack off comfortably in the future that Kizaru was so keen on persuading Nagato to return to the village.

Not only Nagato, but Kizaru had also planned that after the situation in Suna was resolved, he would work hard again to bring Yahiko and Konan back to the village for training.

Freeing his mind and imagining the future, the cheerful Kizaru, accompanied by Tsunade, soon arrived at the open space in front of Nagato's house.

"Is this the place?" Tsunade asked with some expectation and excitement, knowing that they would meet a member of the Uzumaki clan tonight.

Her grandfather, second grandfather, and both parents passed away early, so the one who truly raised Tsunade was her grandmother, Mito.

And Tsunade's grandmother Mito was from the Uzumaki clan!

For this reason, Tsunade still had a lot of affection for the Uzumaki clan members.

"Let's go in!" Hands in pockets, Kizaru looked at the simple two-story wooden house ahead and spoke.

After speaking, Kizaru led Tsunade to the front door of the wooden house and raised his hand to knock on the door.