Chapter 353

"Hokage, let's be direct. What is the matter?"

Shimura Danzo had no intention of exchanging pleasantries or reminiscing with Sarutobi Hiruzen; from the way he addressed him, one could not tell at all that the two were once comrades who had been through life and death together.

Regarding this, Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared completely unconcerned, the amiable smile on his face never changing in the slightest.

"Hoo—"

"Pah—"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took another puff from the pipe in his hand, then spoke in an unhurried manner.

"Hanzo of the Salamander just sent word; the Rain Ninja have chosen to declare war on Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice reached the ears of the four people present, and all four of them revealed expressions of surprise.

"Huh?"

"Has that old poison-user from Amegakure gone insane?"

Shimura Danzo mocked with disdain, showing not a shred of respect for Hanzo of the Salamander in his words, while a hint of joy flickered deep in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both frowned upon hearing this.

It was evident that the three had diametrically opposed attitudes toward war.

"By the way, before the news of the Rain Ninja declaring war on us arrived—"

"Border ninja detected large-scale movements of Rain Ninja heading toward the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind."

"It is very likely that Hanzo of the Salamander is not simply declaring war on Konoha alone."

Sarutobi Hiruzen opened another piece of intelligence, which finally brought a look of realization to Mitokado Homura's eyes.

"No wonder."

"Hanzo of the Salamander is playing a grand game of chess."

Mitokado Homura exclaimed, a profound look flashing in his eyes.

They were all old foxes who had been famous in the Ninja World for many years; Hanzo's intentions naturally could not escape their eyes.

"Then, following this line of thought, it is highly probable that the Rain Ninja have also declared war on Iwagakure."

"Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to declare war only on us and Sunagakure."

On the other side, Utatane Koharu analyzed rationally, a hint of solemnity flashing in her eyes.

"Danzo, have the people you have planted in Iwagakure send the intelligence back as soon as possible."

"We must verify this hypothesis immediately."

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen's guess coincided with Utatane Koharu's, for the sake of stability, he still ordered Danzo to utilize the Root's intelligence network.

"Understood."

Danzo also realized the severity of the situation and directly agreed to Sarutobi Hiruzen's request.

"Even if Hanzo of the Salamander is a rare talent in the Ninja World—"

"But after all, he comes from Amegakure; in the end, he is unlikely to achieve anything great and is not worth mentioning."

Mitokado Homura said slowly, his glasses glinting with a sharp light under the sunlight.

This confidence of his stemmed from his arrogance regarding Konoha's formidable strength.

"With the strength of the Rain Ninja, it is impossible for them to take action against three Great Nations simultaneously."

"The reason he dares to defeat them one by one—"

"Is nothing more than his calculation that the Great Nations are wary of each other and will not take the initiative to deal with the Rain Ninja."

"And Hanzo of the Salamander is taking advantage of this opportunity to attempt to drive the hands of the Great Nations out of the Land of Rain."

"Based on the movements of the Rain Ninja, it is not hard to see that he wants to squeeze the 'soft persimmon' first."

Sarutobi Hiruzen calmly stated Hanzo of the Salamander's intentions; after all, the other party had no intention of hiding it—this was a genuine "open conspiracy."

"If nothing goes wrong, Sunagakure must have already deployed a large amount of force to the border of the Land of Rivers by now."

(The small nation between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind is the Land of Rivers.)

Mitokado Homura revealed a smile and said slowly, completely unconcerned.

It seemed that in the hearts of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura, not only did they not take the Rain Ninja seriously, but they also looked down upon Sunagakure, which was also one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Even among the Five Great Nations, there were differences in strength.

At present, the strongest was undoubtedly Konoha, followed by Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

Sunagakure had basically remained in the "weakest" position for many years; Kirigakure was slightly stronger than Sunagakure, but only to a limited extent.

Originally, Kirigakure's strength was on par with Iwagakure and Kumogakure, but years of internal strife had further weakened Kirigakure's power.

It had essentially remained in the "second-to-last" position.

And Ryosuke's time since ascending to power was, after all, still short; this was something that could not be helped.

"The Rain Ninja's surprise attack on Sunagakure is also because they have identified Sunagakure as the weakest of the three."

"Following this order, the Rain Ninja should only choose to take action against us last."

Utatane Koharu echoed Mitokado Homura; the two were not only fellow disciples of the Second Hokage and Sarutobi Hiruzen's peers, but they were also a married couple, and their words carried a distinct sense of "the husband sings and the wife follows."

"It's just that I don't know if that time will ever come."

Utatane Koharu added, a look of utter indifference flashing in her eyes, her attitude similar to that of her husband, Mitokado Homura.

The implication was nothing more than saying that with the strength of the Rain Ninja, they were likely no match for the Sunagakure and Iwagakure ninja, and it would never even be their turn to battle Konoha.

"Hmph!"

"But we cannot let the Rain Ninja make Konoha lose face for nothing."

"I am willing to serve as commander and show the Rain Ninja what we are made of."

Shimura Danzo, standing to the side, snorted coldly and then requested to lead the battle with a burning gaze.

Upon hearing this, a strange glint flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, but he remained silent.

"Absolutely not!" X2

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could speak, the couple Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stopped Danzo's idea in unison.

"Why?!"

A flash of dissatisfaction crossed Danzo's eyes, and one of his hands clenched into a fist.

"Going to war now does not serve Konoha's interests."