Revolution in the Ninja World

Sunagakure's intelligence was slow in coming.

Generally speaking, the intelligence capabilities of the Five Great Shinobi Villages were formidable. While perhaps not completely omnipresent across the shinobi world, they weren't far off. Take Konoha, for example. They had been tracking Orochimaru for some time, seemingly without much success. However, one had to consider the actual resources Konoha had allocated to this task... In reality, Konoha had entirely delegated the matter to Jiraiya.

One might argue Konoha didn't take dealing with this particular rogue ninja seriously, yet they had assigned Jiraiya—a shinobi of comparable power, whose overall combat abilities might even surpass Orochimaru's. But if one argued they did take it seriously, well, they had only assigned Jiraiya, adding no other ninja support.

Put simply, Konoha hadn't prioritized Orochimaru's capture as a primary village objective.

In the original timeline, this lack of urgency only shifted after the Konoha Crush, the death of the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru's subsequent conflict with the new Fifth Hokage. Only then did Konoha begin dispatching large numbers of ninja to search for Orochimaru's whereabouts.

And once Konoha stopped merely going through the motions, their intelligence gathering and tracking of Orochimaru became markedly effective.

Reasoning similarly, if Sunagakure were to throw their full weight behind a matter, there was no reason their intelligence capabilities should be significantly weaker than Konoha's.

Several months passed like this. Just as Habara was beginning to think this supposed joint mission request had fizzled out due to Suna's lack of progress, he suddenly received word from them. There had been developments. Sunagakure hoped he could proceed to the Land of Wind as soon as possible.

When the Suna messenger had first arrived in Konoha with the request, the joint Chunin Exams had just concluded; it was late winter or early spring at the latest. Now, summer had already set in. Habara had certainly endured a long wait. However, considering the specific nature of the mission, he couldn't exactly accuse Suna of dragging their feet. In fact, one might even say their progress over these few months had been remarkably efficient.

Habara had chosen to accept Suna's request. But since it was a joint mission, he shouldn't be the only Konoha ninja heading to Suna. Acting alone would imply Konoha wasn't taking Suna's request seriously, which wouldn't do for an ally. Therefore, Habara would bring a companion along.

As for who that companion would be, there wasn't much need for deliberation. Kakashi was perfectly suitable.

Kakashi had the skill, the reputation, and certainly the shared animosity. He was ideal for working alongside Habara. His skill and reputation were self-evident; dispatching such a ninja to the Land of Wind demonstrated Konoha's willingness to assist Suna. As for the animosity... given that both Habara and Kakashi were culprits involved in the death of the Fourth Kazekage, even if Suna decided to play dirty and set another trap during this mission, Kakashi could at least draw half the enemy's fire away from Habara.

Furthermore, Kakashi possessed a commendable spirit of self-sacrifice, coupled with a slight self-destructive tendency. In a worst-case scenario, he might even volunteer to cover the retreat, creating an opportunity for Habara's successful escape. See? What a great guy, Kakashi. Such a beautiful embodiment of the Will of Fire.

In any case, given the mission's tight time frame, Habara needed to act sooner rather than later. After receiving the notification from the Hokage's Office, he decided to depart for the Land of Wind immediately.

Before that, however, he had to find his delightful little partner, Kakashi, to form their friendship-filled team.

Habara quickly organized his ninja tools and strapped his large sword box to his back. With that, his personal preparations were complete. He then did a quick sweep of the small administrative building but found no trace of Kakashi.

No matter. Habara found Daigo and asked about Kakashi's current location. Daigo tilted her head slightly, seemingly establishing some sort of "remote link," then recited the name of a secluded external training ground.

"An urgent mission? Should I notify him to return immediately?" Daigo asked, noticing Habara looked ready to head out.

"No need. I'll go find him directly. We're leaving for the Land of Wind right away," Habara replied, shaking his head.

With that, he left the building, made his way out of Konoha, and located the remote training ground.

Kakashi was currently sitting at the edge of the training field, panting like an exhausted dog. Upon spotting Habara, he instinctively felt a sense of foreboding.

Seeing Kakashi in this state, Habara knew he had just finished some high-intensity training. Rather inconvenient timing. Despite Kakashi's heavy exertion, the mission couldn't wait.

"Don't you find it hard to breathe, wearing your mask even during strenuous exercise?" Habara asked, feeling a twinge of pity for Kakashi's lungs.

Kakashi, however, was long accustomed to it. As everyone knew, he even slept with his mask on, warding off all manner of respiratory infections.

Habara scanned the messy surroundings; the distinct environmental damage caused by ninjutsu was quite apparent. He hesitated slightly before asking, "Kakashi-senpai, were you perhaps practicing..."

Kakashi immediately cut him off. "Ahem, what's up?"

"Right. Urgent mission. We're heading to the Land of Wind. You have half an hour to get ready."

"Urgent mission... The Land of Wind?"

The destination made Kakashi pause for a moment, but he didn't voice any objections. Kakashi was, in some ways, an even purer shinobi than Habara; questioning missions wasn't his style. His ninja tools were already fully stocked, needing no replenishment. A short rest, and he'd be ready to go.

However, despite Kakashi's silence, it didn't mean he had no thoughts on the matter. Himself, Habara, and the Land of Wind—the combination radiated an ominous aura.

"A mission to the Land of Wind, huh... If nothing unexpected happens, then something unexpected is definitely about to happen..." Kakashi lamented inwardly just before they departed.

The journey was uneventful. The two swiftly traversed the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Wind's territory. With their level of skill, encountering trouble while traveling was unlikely; they simply weren't afraid of it.

Upon entering the Land of Wind, they veered north, stopping in a stretch of desert north of Sunagakure rather than heading directly into the village.

It was, frankly, a bit impolite. Here were Habara and Kakashi, two Konoha ninja who had traveled a great distance to help, fully embodying the spirit of international humanitarianism, yet Sunagakure wouldn't even let them through the front gate. Who could they complain to?

However, from Suna's perspective, impolite or not, who would dare let these two back inside their village?

Arriving at the designated coordinates, Habara carefully scanned the surroundings, sensing no hidden ninja nearby. Suna wouldn't make the same mistake twice; confronting these two rarely ended well.

The reasoning was simple: if they were trouble before, they were even more trouble now. Habara, in particular, was practically a walking counter-measure specifically against Suna.

"Looks clear. Send the signal," Habara said to Kakashi.

Since the other party was adhering to protocol, they would naturally do the same.

Kakashi nodded and launched a signal flare. A pillar of blue light shot into the sky. About half an hour later, Habara sensed two individuals approaching.

A short while later, two kunoichi appeared before them.

One was the messenger who had previously traveled to Konoha to request assistance.

The other was Sunagakure's current de facto leader... Chiyo.

She had come to meet two Konoha ninja, bringing only a single escort.