Chapter 565: Villages' Thoughts

The Land of Earth, Hidden Rock Village.

In the Tsuchikage Building, inside the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki glanced at the intelligence in his hand, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

"Shimura Danzō is dead, and killed by Sōsuke at this very time."

This was somewhat unexpected for Ōnoki.

Although his plan was to use the Ninja Sect to drain Konoha's strength, the plan hadn't even started yet—how had Konoha already clashed with the Ninja Sect, and even lost a high-ranking member of Konoha?

At this moment, Ōnoki felt a pleasant surprise, as if he had woken up to find that the fruit tree he planted yesterday had grown rapidly and borne fruit.

"Then the next steps will be much easier." A delighted expression appeared on Ōnoki's face.

Originally, his plan had a major flaw: the Hidden Rock's scheme must not be discovered by the Ninja Sect, or it would backfire.

Now there was no need for such trouble. With the irreconcilable conflict between the Ninja Sect and Konoha, the Hidden Rock's intervention could even earn the Ninja Sect's gratitude.

If the Ninja Sect could withstand Konoha's pressure, they could fully support the Ninja Sect in the long term to harass Konoha.

Smiling, Ōnoki picked up the teacup on his desk and savored the imported tea leaves from the Land of Fire.

This was the only good news he had heard recently.

After setting the teacup down, Ōnoki felt his entire body relax quite a bit.

Because he couldn't find Rōshi, he had been under a lot of pressure lately.

Rōshi himself was dispensable to the Hidden Rock, but the Four-Tails inside Rōshi was far too important.

One tailed beast represented one top-tier powerhouse, and one that could be passed down forever—something no genius could compare to.

Humans cannot achieve immortality, but tailed beasts are truly undying. Not only do they not die of old age, even if killed, they can be resurrected.

What's more, now was a time of war, a period when manpower was needed. Rōshi's departure was like adding frost to snow for the Hidden Rock.

Right now, Ōnoki was quite grateful to the Ninja Sect and Konoha. Seeing him in a bad mood, they gave him such a big show to cheer him up.

Under normal circumstances, a jinchūriki's desertion would have a greater negative impact on the village than the death of a high-ranking official.

But Rōshi had left quietly and after leaving the village, he acted low-key without exposing himself, which greatly reduced the impact of his departure.

On the other hand, Shimura Danzō's death was different—it spread rapidly throughout the entire shinobi world.

As a result, the actual impact of Shimura Danzō's death on Konoha was greater than that of Rōshi's departure.

"Is it the Hidden Cloud Village or the Hidden Sand Village?" Ōnoki was curious about who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Such a speed of dissemination was clearly not natural; a major power was at work.

Although the Hidden Sand Village had not declared war on Konoha, the Land of Wind bordered the Land of Rain, so the Sand might have been the first ninja village to get the news. Ōnoki thought the Sand Village was also highly suspicious.

The Sand and Konoha were not far apart. Even if the Sand had no intention of launching an attack, they would probably be happy to see their neighbor take a loss.

Take Ōnoki, for example. Even though he had no recent intention to go to war with Konoha, as soon as he received the news, he immediately ordered the Hidden Rock's forces to help spread it.

He didn't want to fight, but maybe someone else would be interested.

As Ōnoki had expected, there really were ninja villages that became interested.

On the other side, upon learning the news, the Third Mizukage hastily convened a high-level meeting.

Having suffered defeat, they were not convinced by Konoha and had been waiting for a chance to avenge their humiliation and reclaim their ninja swords.

"Everyone, state your opinions." The Third Mizukage smiled with narrowed eyes.

Konoha was not the Hidden Mist's only enemy, but it was the biggest one. Now that trouble had arisen in Konoha, it could only benefit the Hidden Mist, not harm it.

The high-ranking members exchanged glances, and finally, the leader of the Hidden Mist's Jōnin Squad spoke first.

"This is a good opportunity for the village. Shimura Danzō's death not only robs Konoha of a strong fighter but also deals a certain blow to Konoha's morale.

Moreover, Konoha now has a new opponent. Although the Ninja Sect is a newly formed organization, its leader and deputy are not weak. Konoha will need to expend some strength to retaliate."

"That's aggressive—something's off." The Hidden Mist's advisor, whose lower face was wrapped in bandages, glanced subtly at the Third Mizukage.

He was a hawk among the high-ranking members of the Hidden Mist, always supporting another war with Konoha.

The leader of the Jōnin Squad was usually a neutral party, but today he suddenly sounded like an aggressive hawk. After thinking it over, the Mist advisor concluded that the Third Mizukage intended to go to war with Konoha again.

Unfortunately, the Mist Advisor could not discern the Third Mizukage's true thoughts from his eternal smiling expression.

"I also think this is an opportunity for our Mist to avenge our past disgrace. The death of our village's high-ranking officials at the hands of a small country's ninja force is proof that Konoha is showing signs of fatigue." The Mist Advisor said after a moment's thought.

Setting aside other factors, he felt that this was indeed a good opportunity, at least better than the last one.

"Opportunity is opportunity, but the risk is also considerable," Genji said.

"The death of Shimura Danzo is a loss to Konoha, but not an excessively serious loss."

Genji did not quite agree with attacking Konoha now. The death of Shimura Danzo brought more of a loss of face to Konoha than a loss of hard power.

If they rushed in now, they would likely be beaten badly by an irritated Konoha.

If it had been Sarutobi Hiruzen who died, then Genji would have agreed.

The sudden death of a Hokage is not simply the loss of a top combatant; it could easily lead to internal strife due to power struggles.

"Konoha has not yet suffered a major defeat and is still strong. An attack requires careful deliberation," Genji said, and another high-ranking official immediately added.

With the opposition from two high-ranking officials, the atmosphere in the meeting room became somewhat delicate.

"Elder Genji's reasoning is sound, but a war without risk does not exist. The other four great ninja villages will not willingly share the interests on the continent with us," the Jonin Squad Leader continued.

The Mist Advisor was slightly surprised inwardly, confirming his own conjecture.

Although they were all high-ranking officials of the Mist Village, their statuses differed due to variations in strength, influence, seniority, and so on.

Genji was the highest-ranking and most powerful official in the Mist Village. Under normal circumstances, the Jonin Squad Leader would never dare to directly confront Genji.

The wind direction in the meeting room shifted slightly. The officials who had previously supported Genji fell silent, while the pro-war faction continued to argue for the necessity of war.

"A battle between Mist and Konoha is inevitable, but there is no need for such urgency. We can first observe the situation in the ninja world and then make arrangements," Genji said after some thought.

He was not opposed to war, but he felt the timing was wrong.

"Indeed, we should not act hastily. Let us first deploy some ninja forces in the Land of Waves," the Third Mizukage spoke.

The Third Mizukage wanted to go to war with Konoha and defeat them.

This would not only wash away the shame of their previous defeat but also allow him to gain an honor that no Mizukage in the Mist Village had ever achieved.

If he could decisively defeat Konoha, he might become the strongest Mizukage in the history books of the Mist Village.

The future of defeating Konoha was very rosy, but the Third Mizukage's mind was clear. Given the Mist's strength, winning against Konoha alone would be difficult; they needed to find a suitable opportunity.

Genji nodded, showing an expression of approval.

The Land of Waves was the island nation closest to the Land of Fire. From the Land of Waves, one could reach the Land of Fire quickly by boat.

Moreover, the Land of Waves had no ninja forces; it was a weak country that the Mist Village could manipulate as it pleased.

The Land of Wind, the Sand Village.

Sand Village Main Building, Kazekage Office.

"This Ninshu is indeed a hidden danger," Rasa thought to himself as he put down the intelligence report.

Earlier, as Ninshu continued to grow and Sōsuke's reputation became increasingly exaggerated, he felt that Ninshu might become a threat.

However, he did not expect that Ninshu would so quickly come into conflict with neighboring countries, and specifically with Konoha, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

"But with Shimura Danzo killed at this time, the ninja world is probably going to get lively again." A smile of someone who enjoys watching a big scene appeared on Rasa's face.

There is no absolute hatred between ninja villages, only absolute interests.

Since the start of the war, Konoha has repeatedly won. If this continues until the end, Konoha's prestige in the ninja world will greatly increase, and a large number of clients and sponsors will flock to Konoha.

The other great ninja villages certainly would not stand idly by and watch this scenario become reality.

Under these circumstances, any trouble in Konoha would almost be an invitation for other ninja villages to act.

Rasa did not know whether the Kages of other great ninja villages were tempted or not, but he himself was genuinely tempted.

Since the start of the war, the Sand Village first suffered internal strife, then was taken advantage of by the Cloud Village. They were either being beaten or on the way to being beaten, with worrisome performance. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind's dissatisfaction with the Sand Village was almost written on his face.

For the development of the Sand Village, Rasa was eager to take a bite out of the wealthy and prosperous Konoha.

After thinking it over, Rasa called for the Sand Anbu and commanded, "Strengthen our spy network in the Land of Fire. Send more spies to the Land of Fire."

The internal strife and the war with Kumogakure caused Sunagakure to lose many ninja; as it stood, the Sand Village did not have the ability to go head-to-head with Konoha.

Rasa's idea was to pay more attention to Konoha and see if he could pick up scraps and drink the broth.

Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.

Inside the Raikage Building, meeting room.

Although both were holding meetings, the content of Kumogakure's meeting was somewhat different from Kirigakure's.

"Konoha has been vigilant against us. Since the war began, they've frequently deployed large numbers of ninja to guard the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. This time, we can use sea transport to first go to the Land of Rice Fields, and from there enter the Land of Fire."

Torii excitedly explained his surprise attack plan.

That's right—Kumogakure had not only decided to strike, they were already discussing specific operational plans.

"Even though this march takes more time, it is indeed harder to be detected." Dodai nodded, showing an expression of approval.

The Land of Grass borders the Land of Hot Water. If they entered the Land of Grass through the Land of Hot Water, they would very likely be discovered by Konoha ninja in the Land of Hot Water.

"Before the main force in the Land of Rice Fields launches its formal attack, we can send some squads to operate in the Land of Hot Water, giving Konoha ninja the false impression that we are still preparing to attack through the Land of Hot Water." Dodai continued.

Every Cloud ninja in the meeting room eagerly expressed their own ideas, and soon the broad framework of the attack plan was completed.

"This time, you will lead the team." The Third Raikage looked at the Fourth A sitting to his left and said.

The battlefield is dangerous, but it is also the best place to temper a person.

"Yes, Lord Third Raikage." Fourth A replied seriously.

Although they were father and son, this was a meeting, so he had to address him by his position.

"As for Bee, should I let him continue training in the village, or take him along on the mission?" Fourth A thought of something and asked.

He himself didn't feel much about going to the battlefield. Although he was the son of the Third Raikage, Fourth A had never known what it meant to be pampered from childhood—going to the battlefield and taking on dangerous missions was a common occurrence for him.

However, Killer B's situation was special now, and Fourth A didn't know how to handle it.

"Take him along. Remember to protect your brother." The Third Raikage said in a deep voice.

At this point, Killer B had not yet fully mastered the power of the Eight-Tails. Logically, it would certainly be better for him to train in Kumogakure.

However, the Third Raikage felt that settling in the battlefield would make it easier to progress than training alone.

Anyway, even if an accident happened, he could back them up; at worst, he would go personally.

"I will." Fourth A nodded seriously.

Killer B was not his biological younger brother, but as they continued to interact, their relationship was even better than that of most blood-related brothers.

Land of Fire, Konoha.

"Sensei, Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly opened his eyes wide, looked at the familiar ceiling above him, and let out a sigh of relief.

"So it was a dream."

Probably because he had been busy with Shimura Danzo's affairs until late yesterday, his head was full of Shimura Danzo. Not only did Hiruzen Sarutobi rarely have a dream, but it was actually a dream about Shimura Danzo.

In the dream, Shimura Danzo was the first to volunteer as bait, and Tobirama Senju immediately agreed.

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi bear to watch his brother go to his death alone? He quickly spoke up to be the bait as well, but was refused by Tobirama Senju.

In the end, Tobirama Senju said that Shimura Danzo's strength was insufficient, and then went to be the bait together with Shimura Danzo...

"Because both Sensei and Danzo died." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, no longer thinking about this somewhat strange dream.

Hiruzen Sarutobi first finished washing up, then, as usual, ate breakfast and went to the Hokage Building to work and handle affairs.

He had already assigned the Anbu to investigate the matter of Shimura Danzo; there was no need for him to personally go to the Root office to investigate. That would be irresponsible to Konoha.

However, while handling Konoha's affairs, Hiruzen Sarutobi occasionally couldn't help but think about the death of Shimura Danzo.

Shimura Danzo was, after all, a dear friend he had known for decades.

"I hope the Anbu can find clues soon." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly.

If it hadn't implicated "Madara Uchiha," perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have cared so much and would have directly dispatched ninja to assassinate Sōsuke to avenge his old friend.

But now that even "Uchiha Madara" has appeared, Sarutobi Hiruzen always feels that if he doesn't investigate thoroughly, he'll be used as a pawn.

The village's safety is above all else; with the situation unclear, Sarutobi Hiruzen finds it hard to act rashly.

"Lord Third Hokage, the intelligence has been compiled. There are new discoveries in several secret chambers." In the afternoon, an Anbu entered the Hokage's office to report.

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately felt a surge of energy.: mhtxs

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