Chapter 472

Precisely because there was no hope, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s proposal had no temptation in the eyes of Hanzo of the Salamander.

This also showed from the side that perhaps Hanzo of the Salamander had already prepared for defeat in his heart.

And precisely because of this, he would be indifferent to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s persuasion and testing.

Still the same sentence: sometimes, having no attitude is already the best attitude.

Using reverse thinking, Mizunuki Ryosuke faintly sensed Hanzo of the Salamander’s thoughts.

And this also made him completely at ease.

There were two reasons for this.

First.

Previously, Mizunuki Ryosuke had always wanted to use the Leaf Village to grind down Hanzo of the Salamander’s edges, and now it seemed that this plan had been successfully realized.

That unruly Hanzo of the Salamander had initially recognized the gap between him and the Five Great Ninja Villages, and he should also have deeply realized that without a sufficiently strong base to support him, even if his strength was the best in the ninja world, it would be difficult to achieve anything.

And after Hanzo of the Salamander’s spirit was frustrated and hit a wall, it provided an opportunity for Mizunuki Ryosuke’s expectations.

Second, and also a very important point.

That was that Tsunade, as one of the Sannin, would inevitably fight Hanzo of the Salamander next; according to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s estimation, with the Sannin’s quasi-Kage level combat power, fighting the super-Kage level Hanzo of the Salamander was still not enough.

So even with the influence brought by the butterfly flapping its wings, the Sannin would still likely lose.

The battlefield was not a place for child’s play, and fighting a super-Kage level powerhouse was an extremely dangerous thing, so Mizunuki Ryosuke had to ensure Tsunade’s safety.

And openly intervening in it was not conducive to Mizunuki Ryosuke’s plan, so letting the battle between the Sannin and Hanzo of the Salamander maintain the result in the original work was the most beneficial for Mizunuki Ryosuke.

And the key to this was Hanzo of the Salamander’s current state of mind.

If Mizunuki Ryosuke had come today and Hanzo of the Salamander’s attitude was still as arrogant and sharp as before, Mizunuki Ryosuke would have had to reconsider laying out backup plans to ensure Tsunade’s safety.

Fortunately, everything was as Mizunuki Ryosuke had expected.

Hanzo of the Salamander had lost his spirit and was unable to fight again.

Then it was very likely that Hanzo of the Salamander would replicate the trajectory in the original work next.

Since the situation in the Land of Rain had generally been settled, with only the final step remaining, it was time for him to launch his plan.

And this plan, Mizunuki Ryosuke intended to name it—Leaf Collapse!

Thinking of this, Mizunuki Ryosuke couldn't help but lift a pleasant arc at the corner of his mouth; the reason he chose this name was not that he really wanted the Leaf Village to completely collapse, but just to satisfy his own bad taste.

After all, the Leaf Village still had to be kept well for his little Tsunade.

After gathering his thoughts, Mizunuki Ryosuke didn't hesitate and directly began to take action.

He used the White Shark Unit’s intelligence network to deliver three letters to the Sand Village, the Cloud Village, and Mifune’s samurai group in the Land of Iron, respectively.

For a time, a giant net that could not be seen or touched, but was enough to cover the entire ninja world, began to slowly spread.

Land of Wind, today is the third day since Chiyo expressed her intention to seek peace to Hatake Sakumo.

For three days, neither side had made a move, as if waiting for something.

For such a major event, Hatake Sakumo didn't dare to make a decision on his own, so he chose to inform the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was far away in the Leaf Village, at the first opportunity.

After receiving the news, Sarutobi Hiruzen first comforted Hatake Sakumo, and then ordered him not to worry and to temporarily stop the attack.

Next, the Leaf Village would send a Hokage special envoy to have some control over the negotiation process.

After all, everyone knew clearly that from the surface, this was called "peace talks," but in reality, it could be completely regarded as the Sand Village’s surrender.

Since the Sand Village had already surrendered, it was inevitable that there would be some "ceding of territory and paying of indemnities."

Otherwise, why would the Leaf Village stop?

As for how much the Sand Village should pay and how to pay, these political games were clearly not what Hatake Sakumo was good at.

Therefore, Hatake Sakumo actually had no opinion on the Hokage sending a special person to negotiate.

-86

One!

Just today, a high-ranking Leaf official led several negotiation experts from the Leaf Village, but the moment he saw this person, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, his eyes showing some surprise.

The person who came could also be considered a "familiar face" to Hatake Sakumo; it was none other than the leader of the Root organization in the Hokage quartet—Shimura Danzo!

Looking at Danzo’s sallow old face, a trace of gravity flashed in Hatake Sakumo’s eyes.

As both high-ranking officials of the Leaf Village, and with the functions of the Mist Anbu and the Root overlapping, Hatake Sakumo, as the Mist Anbu Commander, naturally had dealt with Shimura Danzo many times.

Hatake Sakumo naturally knew what role Danzo played in the Leaf Village and what kind of person this existence named Shimura Danzo was.

"Why was he sent here?"

Although Hatake Sakumo was very wary, he still greeted him calmly.

"Minister Shimura, long time no see..."

Hatake Sakumo took the initiative to greet him, his attitude just right—neither distant nor making people feel that the relationship between the two was very close.

From the perspective of status, Hatake Sakumo, as the Mist Anbu Commander, was not inferior to Shimura Danzo, and his address was also appropriate.

"Minister Hatake, I must congratulate you first."

Shimura Danzo narrowed his eyes and complimented Hatake Sakumo, a hypocritical smile appearing on his sallow face.

This expression of smiling without laughter made people feel a sense of repulsion in their hearts.

"Thank you for your kindness, Minister Shimura."

Hearing this, Hatake Sakumo just nodded faintly, his expression still neither salty nor indifferent.

Hatake Sakumo naturally knew why Danzo was congratulating him, and he responded very appropriately.

After all, this time, he had defeated the Sand Village and made a great contribution to the Leaf Village, and it could be expected that his future would be limitless when he returned to the village.

Seeing this, Shimura Danzo remained calm on the surface, but a trace of extremely intense jealousy flashed deep in his eyes.

"Damn brat! It’s just relying on the blindness of that old thing Sarutobi!"

"Originally, I should be the one enjoying all this glory!!"

Shimura Danzo kept saying darkly in his heart, and his malice toward Hatake Sakumo increased a bit more.

But thinking of his purpose, Danzo forcibly suppressed the resentment in his heart.

"Brat, let you be proud for a while; you won't be able to be proud soon!"

Danzo said fiercely in his heart.

Thinking of his purpose, a trace of depth flashed in Danzo’s sinister triangular eyes.

Three days ago, the news of Hatake Sakumo’s great victory over the Sand Village spread back to the Leaf Village, making the entire Leaf Village boil.

Along with it came another problem—that was who should be sent to "negotiate" with the Sand Village.

Such things, of course, could not be done by Sarutobi Hiruzen himself; originally, the best candidates were the two Hokage advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

It was a pity that Koharu Utatane was nearing her due date, and Homura Mitokado was unable to get away because he was burdened with the work of two people.

So Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to look for other suitable candidates.

Just at this time, Danzo suddenly found Sarutobi Hiruzen and recommended himself to go to the Land of Wind for negotiations.

To this, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally disagreed and refused immediately; others didn't know, but could he not know what Danzo was planning?