Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Tsuchikage Building, Tsuchikage's Office. Ōnoki looked at the intelligence in his hand, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Shimura Danzō actually died, and Sōsuke killed him at a time like this."
This was somewhat beyond Ōnoki's expectations.
Although his plan had been to use Ninshu to wear down Konoha's strength, the plan had not even begun. How had Konoha already clashed with Ninshu, even losing one of its higher-ups?
At that moment, Ōnoki felt as though he had woken up to find that the fruit tree he planted yesterday had rapidly grown and borne fruit.
"Then things will be much easier from here on." A delighted expression appeared on Ōnoki's face.
His original plan had one major flaw: Iwagakure's intentions could not be discovered by Ninshu. Once exposed, it would trigger a backlash.
Now, there was no need for such trouble. With Ninshu and Konoha locked in irreconcilable conflict, Iwagakure's involvement might even earn Ninshu's gratitude.
If Ninshu could withstand Konoha's pressure, they could support Ninshu long-term and make life miserable for Konoha.
Smiling, Ōnoki picked up the teacup on his desk and slowly savored the imported tea leaves from the Land of Fire.
This was the only good news he had heard recently.
After setting down the teacup, Ōnoki felt much lighter.
He had been under tremendous pressure lately because they could not find Rōshi.
Rōshi himself was neither here nor there to Iwagakure, but the Four-Tails within him was far too important.
A single tailed beast represented a top-tier powerhouse, one that could be passed down indefinitely. No genius could compare to that.
Humans could not live forever, but tailed beasts were truly immortal. Not only would they never die of old age, even if killed, they could revive.
More importantly, this was