Chapter 815 : Battling 7 rank S ninjas!

“What is the information?” The Sunagakure ninja looked at Hiromasa attentively. They had a feeling that the information would be very important.

Hiromasa replied, “It is related to the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage.”

The Sunagakure ninjas were surprised, though there were several reasons for that. For starters, they hadn't expected Hiromasa to mention this matter. More importantly, they believed that Konoha was behind that incident despite not having any concrete evidence.

Arisa wondered, ‘What does this mean? Is he saying the truth or is this another attempt to confuse us?’

Thoughts clashed at the speed of light in her mind as she carefully analyzed every aspect of Hiromasa's words. At the same time, the Konoha ninjas also looked at Hiromasa with surprise. Needless to say, the ones who were shocked the most were the two elders.

Homura wondered, ‘When did we learn about what happened with the Third Kazekage?’
Koharu wondered, ‘Why didn't he inform us if he had information on that? Or, is this just a bluff?’

Arisa analyzed, ‘He shouldn't be faking it. Though it can give Konoha some benefits, he won't ruin the Senju clan's reputation for such small benefits. However, this can still be an attempt to misguide us and divert our attention…’

After thinking for a bit, Arisa asked, “How accurate is this information? And, what do you know about it? Do you know everything related to his death?”

Hiromasa shook his head and answered, “It has been nearly two decades since his death. Getting concrete evidence about everything that happened then is impossible. However, with this information, we are 99% sure who the killer is. We also know why no one ever discovered anything related to him. It's…”

Hiromasa let out a long sigh. He looked at the Sunagakure ninjas and muttered, “The information is quite shocking. Even I never expected it'd be something like this. If you don't learn it, who can say how many more losses you'll face in the future? If you don't take the necessary precautions, you may even lose another Kazekage. That is why I insist that you give Konoha the veto power.”

The room became dead silent. Both sides realized that Hiromasa wasn't bluffing. The Sunagakure negotiation team felt the gravity of the situation. They realized that their village had a few terrifying hidden dangers. At the same time, Homura and Koharu were miffed at not being informed of something so important. Even Inoichi and Tsume wondered why Hiromasa never shared this information with the council.

After a few minutes, Yura said, “Alright. However, we want to make a change to your terms. Instead of Konoha having the power to veto our choice of Kazekage, that power will lay with both you and Daimyo-sama. Only if both of you reject the person we choose will we change our choice.”

The Konoha side had already considered that Sunagakure would demand this change. So, Hiromasa immediately agreed, “That's fine with us. However, the information will cost you extra. You'll have to pay 1,000 Wind Crystals, 250 Fire Crystals and 250 Earth Crystals to get this information. In addition, the payment will have to be made first.”

Once again, everyone was caught off guard by Hiromasa's words. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a kind, compassionate old man to an experienced swindler. For a moment, no one knew what to say.

A few from Konoha noticed a detail. They wondered, ‘Just Wind, Fire and Earth Crystals? Why's that?’

Before any of her subordinates lost their temper, Arisa asked as politely as she could, “Do you mean this is in addition to 2,000 Wind Crystals and 500 of each of the remaining Elemental Crystals that we agreed to pay?”

Without a moment of hesitation, Hiromasa nodded casually. Arisa's eyes twitched. Yura immediately said, “I'm sorry, but the previous agreement itself is way beyond our bottom line. We can't afford such a cost. Besides, we are giving you the power of veto in exchange for the information.”

Without backing down, Hiromasa said, “If we weren't allies, we wouldn't have sold this information even if you offered us 10,000 elemental crystals. From what I see, you're getting off easy. Besides, considering how dangerous it was to obtain this information, you're practically getting it for free.”

Hiromasa's words directed the focus of everyone to a question they had but didn't ask. How did Hiromasa get this information? Needless to say, such things wouldn't be asked openly due to the secrets involved. However, since Hiromasa brought it up himself, they could finally ask.

Yura immediately jumped on the opportunity, “Would you enlighten us how dangerous it was?”

Arisa analyzed, ‘If he answers, we can get clues about where he obtained the information. Perhaps we could obtain it ourselves too. However, he isn't foolish to make such a mistake. If he says it, then it'll be something we can't get with our capabilities or perhaps the cost of doing so would be disastrous.’

Even Homura, Koharu, Inoichi and Tsume were curious. After all, this was one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the ninja world. There was no other instance of a Kage vanishing without a trace!

Hiromasa finally said, “This information wasn't obtained by me or my clan members. It was recently obtained by Suzuki Fujin. Even as strong as the boy is, he nearly lost his life in getting it.”

Everyone was shocked. Fujin's strength was no longer hidden or subject to speculation. While he still had several terrifying hidden cards, the strength he exposed was extremely formidable. Sunagakure no longer held misgivings about it and had no plans to assassinate him like Rasa wanted to do.

Similarly, everyone in Konoha was aware as well. During the attack on Konoha, Fujin contributed the most after Hiruzen. No one else came close to his contributions. The fact that he fell into such a predicament alarmed the Konoha council members.

Hiromasa continued, “He battled 7 rank S ninjas by himself and it was during this battle that he gained this information.”

‘Battled 7 rank S ninjas?’ Without an exception, everyone's pupils dilated and eyes widened, some in surprise, others in terror! Their breathing became rough.

They quickly came to their senses as they had some doubts. Tsume looked suspiciously at Hiromasa as she questioned, ‘7 rank S ninjas? Do rank S ninjas grow on trees now? Where did Fujin run into so many toge…’

Her eyes widened once again as she realized the answer to her question. The council members on both sides realized it as well. Arisa analyzed, ‘The Akatsuki? The mercenary organization recruited several rogue rank S ninjas... To think they would have as many as 7 while our village barely has 1.

So, that organization has something to do with the disappearance of Lord Third? From what I know, it didn't exist back then. However, someone strong enough to recruit such ninjas wouldn't appear out of thin air. Could he be the one behind it?

Not to mention, Elder Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, is also said to be a member of Akatsuki. Did he have something to do with it? Or, could it be that he figured it out and wanted to pass the message through Fujin? Or, is it something completely unrelated to the Akatsuki but something Fujin found just due to their battle?

Of course, there's also a chance that this is a lie. He knows that we can't take on such an organization at this moment. Maybe they got the information from somewhere else but are mentioning them in case we make a stupid decision and confront them.’

Arisa had a headache. Though Hiromasa's words gave them some clues, it created more confusion instead of solving the mystery. Complicated expressions started appearing on the Sunagakure ninjas as they grasped Hiromasa's move.

Even though her face gave away nothing, Arisa was completely annoyed. Doing her best to hide her hate, she looked at Hiromasa and thought, ‘What a cruel move. He has dangled this information in front of us like bait! There is no way we can say no after coming this close to understanding what happened to Lord Third! The price he put is just low enough that we can't use it as a reason and try to bargain it down. Honorable clan my ass! He's more cunning and devious than anyone I have seen!’