Finally, he glanced at the Hidden Mist Village and once again used the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to teleport to Asuma Sarutobi.
"Chao Yanqian!"
"Chao Yanqian! Are you back?"
"En! The matter is done. I released the Three-Tails in the Hidden Mist Village. The Hidden Mist Village has been destroyed by the Three-Tails, and the Mist Ninjas also suffered heavy casualties. This war can be over, and we Konoha have won!" Chao Yanqian said.
"Great!" Sarutobi Asuma said excitedly.
"How's the situation on your side?" Chao Yanqian asked.
"Might Guy was seriously injured and is lying inside. Koychi is treating him inside. Kakashi isn't here; it seems he went out to look for Koychi's whereabouts!" Kurenai Yuhi explained.
"En! Next, Koychi and I will return to Konoha. You two stay here and wait for Kakashi to come back. At 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, I will come and pick you up!" After talking to Asuma and Kurenai, Chao Yanqian shouted into the cave: "Koychi, come out!"
"Chao Yanqian, are you back?" Koychi walked out of the cave and asked, "Has the plan succeeded?"
"En! I will take you back to Konoha immediately now, and explain the situation to Lord Hokage!" Chao Yanqian said.
"Aren't you waiting for Kakashi?" Koychi asked.
"Asuma and Kurenai will wait here for Kakashi. You'll return with me right now." At the end of his words, he directly took Koychi's hand and used [Flying Thunder God Technique], teleporting to Konoha.
"Ah! This is..." Although it wasn't her first time experiencing the Flying Thunder God teleportation ability, Koychi was still startled. It was too unbelievable to return directly to Konoha from the Land of Water!
"Quickly follow me!" Chao Yanqian said.
Hokage's Office
"What? Chao Yanqian wants to see me?" Hearing the ninja's announcement, the Third Hokage was obviously taken aback, then quickly said: "Let him in."
At this moment, seeing Chao Yanqian return, it was obvious that something had gone wrong in the Land of Water, and the Third Hokage was very worried about the safety of Asuma Sarutobi.
"Lord Hokage!" Chao Yanqian saluted.
"Chao Yanqian, Koychi? Why are you back? Is something wrong?" the Third Hokage asked. Even though he was worried about Asuma's safety, when faced with Chao Yanqian and Koychi, he still maintained a kind face, showing care for the two in front of him.
"En! I released the Three-Tails in the Hidden Mist Village!" Chao Yanqian said directly.
"What!" The Third Hokage was shocked. His hand shook, and his pipe almost fell to the ground.
"What exactly happened?" the Third Hokage asked in a deep voice.
"Here's the situation. After entering the Land of Water, I overheard the Mist ninja's conversation. It seems that the lifespan of the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki was nearing its end, and the Mist Village was preparing to replace the Jinchuriki. I investigated and gathered information about the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki," Chao Yanqian explained. "During the investigation, I discovered that the Mist ninja secretly transferred the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki out of the Hidden Mist Village. Then, a Mist ninja kidnapped Koychi, so I attempted to rescue Koychi and the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki together."
"En!" Koychi nodded at this point and said: "At that time, about a dozen Mist ninjas attacked our team. Kakashi and Might Guy were injured, and I was knocked unconscious and taken away by the Mist ninjas."
"And then?" the Third Hokage asked.
"During the rescue mission, I discovered a conspiracy in the Hidden Mist Village," Chao Yanqian said solemnly. "It turns out that the Mist planned to transfer the Three-Tails into Koychi's body. When Koychi returned to Konoha, they would release the Three-Tails within Konoha to destroy the village. Upon learning this, I decided to fight fire with fire. I released the Three-Tails' power within the Hidden Mist Village."
"You..." The Third Hokage was silent for a while, not knowing what to say.
This incident was too outrageous. Even after so many years in the Ninja World, it was the first time the Third Hokage had heard of such a thing.
Both the Mist Village's conspiracy and Chao Yanqian's actions were enough to shock the entire Ninja World.
"Koychi, step outside for now," Chao Yanqian said.
"Okay!" Koychi obediently left the Hokage's office.
"Is there more?" The Third Hokage massaged his temples, preparing himself for possibly even more shocking news.
"Lord Hokage, here's the situation. After the release of the Three-Tails, the Mist Village will certainly accuse Konoha. But the entire operation was planned and executed solely by me and has nothing to do with Konoha. Furthermore, after the Three-Tails incident, the Mist Village suffered heavy losses and is absolutely incapable of continuing the war with Konoha," Chao Yanqian explained.
Given Konoha's current strength, facing a weakened Mist Village, they would not have to make any compromises that would harm their prestige. That's why Chao Yanqian decided to shoulder the blame alone and protect Konoha.
If Konoha's strength had been as weak as it was after the Nine-Tails' attack—with the death of Bo Feng Shuimen and heavy ninja casualties—Chao Yanqian would have chosen a different course of action to avoid danger.
"You..." The Third Hokage was indeed shocked. He hadn't expected Chao Yanqian to have thought so far ahead.
Indeed, if the entire Ninja World thought Konoha had orchestrated everything, Konoha would have been condemned. But if all actions were credited to a single individual, Konoha could maintain its 'justice' image.
"But after all, it was the Mist Village who first plotted against Konoha, so I had no choice but to counterattack," Chao Yanqian continued. "Lord Hokage, we must immediately denounce the Mist Village's behavior and accuse them of attempting to destroy Konoha using the Tailed Beast."
For such a big matter, it would normally be discussed with the Hokage advisors and Danzo, but the Third Hokage—no longer as indecisive as in the original plot—quickly made a decision.
"Alright! I'll handle this. But... Chao Yanqian, you might suffer some grievances," the Third Hokage said.
"It's okay. Before taking action, I had already prepared for this," Chao Yanqian said. "As long as Konoha can win the war, nothing else matters."
Being wronged was inevitable, and Chao Yanqian had already anticipated it.
His fate would likely fall into one of two possibilities: either being abandoned by Konoha and handed over to the Mist Village for punishment, or being protected and hidden within Konoha until the situation cooled down.
If it was the second outcome, it would be acceptable. But if it were the first, Chao Yanqian would defect—after all, he did not intend to sacrifice his life for Konoha blindly.
However, overall, Chao Yanqian's actions this time would win him the respect of Konoha's ninjas and the trust of the Third Hokage. As long as he could survive the Three-Tails incident, the benefits afterward would be enough to compensate for everything.
"Then, Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave!" Chao Yanqian said.
"En!" The Third Hokage nodded. After Chao Yanqian left, the Third Hokage immediately summoned Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Danzo Shimura, and others to discuss Konoha's stance on this matter and their next move.
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