Never would I have thought that Qifeng would suddenly appear here.
"What do you mean by that?"
Hearing the dissatisfaction and veiled sarcasm in his words, Koharu Utatane jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"The literal meaning. I'm young and inexperienced, having only killed a few hundred Cloud ninja on the battlefield, assassinated Shadow Assistant Tsuchi, and dealt with the small Tailed Beast Two-Tails. Next time, tasks like infiltrating the country of an opposing hidden village for negotiations should be left to the two experienced elders.
It would be best if we could also see the figures of the two elders on the battlefield."
Qifeng jumped down from the window and entered the office.
"You!" Koharu Utatane's eyes widened, and her face turned red.
Go to the Land of Water?
She wanted to, but did she dare?
"What is this attitude! What? Relying on your great merits, you're starting to disregard the village elders? I wonder if after a while, you won't even put the Hokage in your eyes?" Homura Mitokado looked indignant.
"Don't put a high hat on me, I can't afford it. Since the two elders think my merits are all picked up, then all the merits I obtain in the future will be counted in the names of you two. After all, sitting in the village doesn't earn you much merit.
Don't you think so? Lord Hokage," Qifeng said coldly.
Having just rushed back from the Land of Water and been startled by Madara Uchiha, Qifeng couldn't bear to hear people speaking ill of him behind his back after such a dangerous mission, and he didn't want to.
Anyone could say that, even Danzo, but these two useless so-called "elders" were not qualified.
"You! You! You..." Koharu Utatane pointed at Qifeng, so angry that she couldn't speak.
Chapter 161: Will Die
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi felt good hearing Qifeng retort at them, they were, after all, nominally Hokage advisors, Konoha elders, and members of the older generation.
He couldn't just watch them argue with Qifeng like this.
He quickly waved his hand, "Ahem, say less. Nikkan is fighting for Konoha on the front lines, this credit cannot be erased or transferred by anyone. He is a hero of Konoha.
The two elders are also silently contributing to Konoha. Nikkan, you can't make such comments; they are all for Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said something to both sides, easing the tense atmosphere in the office.
"Hmph!" Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado knew that they were in the wrong for speaking ill of Qifeng behind his back, so they just "hmph"-ed and didn't continue to pursue the matter.
Qifeng also gave Hiruzen Sarutobi some face.
After all, he was only a little upset because he encountered Madara Uchiha during the mission and heard someone scheming behind his back.
Seeing that the three of them weren't speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression finally eased.
He asked, "Nikkan, shouldn't you be in the Land of Water? Why did you suddenly come back? Did something change with the mission?"
Qifeng nodded, glanced at the two of them, and said in a deep voice, "Lord Hokage, I want to know who provided the intelligence for this mission?"
"What's wrong?"
"This mission is a trap," Qifeng said bluntly.
"Impossible!"
At this moment, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado jumped up, denying it outright.
"Hiruzen..."
Before he could say anything, Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him with a wave of his hand, looking at Qifeng and saying, "The specific situation."
"Several small Mist ninja clans joined forces, trying to make a deal with our Konoha to assassinate their village's Third Mizukage," Qifeng's words were filled with sarcasm.
"Assassinate the Third Mizukage?"
The other three in the office were also stunned by this somewhat absurd proposal.
"What's the exchange?" Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm and continued to ask.
Qifeng's eyes flashed, "Six-Tails."
"Six-Tails!"
The two elders exclaimed.
It wasn't that they couldn't hold their breath, but the content of such a transaction was too exaggerated, and the Six-Tails did have too much appeal.
If Konoha could obtain the Six-Tails, this war wouldn't be so passive.
Because Sunagakure had the One-Tail, Iwagakure had the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, and Kumogakure even had the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails. These were all trump cards they could use to overturn the tables on the battlefield. The reason they couldn't be used as conventional weapons was because they were difficult to control.
And although Konoha had the strongest Nine-Tails, they didn't dare to send it to the battlefield because it was difficult to control.
There was an inherent disadvantage.
But if they could obtain the Mist ninja village's Six-Tails, the outcome might be very different.
"How did you respond?" Koharu Utatane quickly asked.
"I refused," Qifeng glanced at him and replied without hesitation.
"Refused? That's the Six-Tails!"
Homura Mitokado couldn't believe that Qifeng would be so decisive.
Qifeng raised an eyebrow, "What? Does Elder Homura Mitokado think he can kill the Third Mizukage? Or is Konoha able to resolve the Third Mizukage with very little cost?"
A thriving Konoha might have a chance, but Konoha, mired in the quagmire of war, had no possibility and couldn't spare enough manpower.
And once it failed, the impact would be great.
"You two calm down and listen to Nikkan," Hiruzen Sarutobi, although surprised by the reward offered by the Mist ninjas, wasn't surprised by Qifeng's reply.
If he were the one participating in the negotiations, he might also refuse.
What Konoha needed now was stability. They hadn't reached a desperate situation, so there was no need to actively break the situation.
"But this is a trap." Saying this, Qifeng glanced at the two of them, and only continued when he found that they didn't interrupt, "The heads of the five small clans, two of whom have been persuaded by the Third Mizukage. Whoever Konoha sends to contact them will be surrounded by a large number of Mist ninjas.
But I estimate that the Mist ninja village's goal isn't the ninja who goes to make contact. Their appetite is bigger. Once we don't withstand the temptation of the Six-Tails and send people to besiege and attack the Third Mizukage, we will definitely face a group of Konoha who are waiting for us to actively enter the trap, waiting for an opportunity to move and cause Konoha to suffer even greater losses."
He stated his judgment.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't stupid. Listening to Qifeng and adding his own consideration and thinking from another perspective, he found that this possibility was high.
