The little pokes of the other villages did not affect the reconstruction Konoha. None of the many spies trying to access the village could enter.
Spies are usually weaker Ninjas. Such people are less remarkable, so they find it easier to infiltrate into villages.
With this in mind, Sak.u.mo allowed the Uchihas to use Genjutsu on outsiders entering the village, all while sending the Anbu to observe the borders.
This method was simple and crude, and made most civilians entering the village very dissatisfied. However, Konoha was in a very bad state. If these spies were to be allowed in, the vulnerability of the village would be made public, and the consequences would be disastrous.
In just two days, the Uchiha captured dozens of spies from various villages. Over half of them were from the Hidden Cloud!!!
In the Hokage’s office, Sak.u.mo looked at the reports on his table and sneered: “The Cloud can really hold a grudge!”
He looked at an Anbu by his side and said: “Go find the Sandaime and Ryo Yamanaka.”
After a while, Ryo teleported to the office, and the 3rd also arrived. Sak.u.mo handed them both the information on his table.
After the two read the reports, the 3rd’s face was very serious, while Ryo smiled having the same first impression as Sak.u.mo.
“Sak.u.mo, I think this must be handled with care. The Hidden Cloud are not to be underestimated. Right now, we should be able to go to war against them.”
Hearing the 3rd, Sak.u.mo nodded: “I think so as well. However, with all the spies that they are sending, dealing with this is not going to be simple.”
Ryo looked at the two and said: “You’re both being too nervous. They are hesitating, not knowing the true state of Konoha. If we start acting too abnormally, they would become sure that we are in a bad state.”
The 3rd immediately answered: “What Ryo’s saying also makes sense. However, we can’t just do nothing. We must have some sort of response, or else the Cloud would end up finding that out on their own.”
After taking the time to think, Sak.u.mo said: “What do you think of dispatching extra Hyuga and Aburame Ninjas to cover the entirety of Konoha’s borders?”
The 3rd smiled and nodded: “That should be enough. While the Hyuga and the Aburame Ninjas are very good at investigating, their usual surveillance group might find it hard to cover all the borders. With more of them however, they shouldn’t miss anything.”
“I think that should be fine too for the time being. If not, I will personally pay a visit to the Hidden Cloud!”
Ryo now was no longer the same. With the help of Korin, he could maintain Ice Colossus indefinitely. he was confident that even the Hidden Cloud should not be able to stop him if he went rampaging in their village.
Sak.u.mo and the 3rd also understood how powerful Ryo had become, and his words made them feel a lot more at ease.
This way, according to their plan, the Aburame and Hyuga clans dispatched over twenty more Ninjas to watch the borders.
…….
The Hidden Cloud’s spies were not returning, and this made the Forth Raikage very anxious.
The while world was at Konoha’s gates because of the Kyubi’s attack, and there were even rumors that the 4th Hokage had died on that night.
It was clear to the 4th Raikage that this was a rare opportunity for revenge, but while very impulsive, A was not stupid; he couldn’t risk the lives of his Ninjas without having the rumors confirmed.
“Raikage sama, we have sent many spies, but we’re getting no information back. Should we really continue?” Dodai said to A.
“Continue sending them! We will get intelligence soon or later. I must know what happened in Konoha!”
“Yes, Raikage sama!” Dodai knew all too well about A’s temper, and did not object.
What the Fourth did not expect this time was that the spies he sent next returned with the news!
He did expect Konoha’s border protection to waver, but not so soon. As soon as the intelligence scroll fell on his desk, he eagerly opened it and browsed through it.
The first thing that was noted was that the death of Minato was indeed a fact!
A became excited, but as he went on to read the rest, his face became more and more gloomy.
“Hey!” A finally looked up, “Dodai, inform the troops to cancel all the plans for Konoha!”
“Cancel? Raikage sama, why?” Dodai was very surprised. A had been planning for this invasion for so long. Him giving up on it was strange!
“Check out for yourself why!” The fourth gave the scroll to Dodai.
After the later read through it, his face changed greatly. Immediately, he executed A’s command.
The scroll very simply said that: “The Fourth Hokage died in order to Seal the Kyubi. However, the one to subdue the Kyubi for Sealing was actually Ryo Yamanaka, who managed to do it very quickly!”
A sighed in frustration. He knew the spy to send the information, and it was absolutely credible to him.
He had seen the Kyubi on the battlefield before, man-handling both the Hachibi and the Nibi. He knew all about its horrifying power, and never expected that Ryo Yamanaka would be able to subdue the Kyubi on his own!
Facing such a powerful emerging Kage Tier, the 4th Raikage could not afford to get his village to go against Konoha, and could only choose to give up.
Back in Konoha, the guards caught no spies from the Hidden Cloud for a few days, and Sak.u.mo finally felt relieved. It seems that Ryo’s plan was a success.
The story started a few days ago when the Uchiha, as usual, were checking the civilians entering Konoha.
However, one man who was never checked pretended to be under the effect of Genjutsu, and stumbled his way through the Barrier. A Hyuga member of the Anbu noticed him and immediately reported it to Sak.u.mo.
With his Byakugan, he could clearly see that the man’s Chakra was not disturbed in anyway; he was obviously faking it.
Sak.u.mo immediately sent another one of his Anbu to track the spy, all while notifying Ryo and the 3rd.
After learning about the matter, Ryo used Genjutsu and his Clan’s techniques, altering this spy’s memories, and planting clues that prove that Ryo had subdued the Kyubi on his own.
From this man’s memories, Ryo learned that his name was Kian, a spy who is extremely trusted by A. He had great camouflage and detection abilities.
He was perfect to fool the 4th Raikage, which was why Ryo planed the fake memories in his mind, and then left him in a hotel in Konoha.
Doing so, Ryo effectively stopped the Cloud Village from waging an all out war on Konoha!