Danzo's Assault

After the establishment of the one-country, one-village system, the First and Second Hokages of the Five Great Shinobi Villages shared some common characteristics. To put it simply, the Firsts were generally more violent, while the Seconds possessed higher research and development capabilities.

The Firsts played with stats, while the Seconds played with techniques and mechanics… The typical representatives of this were Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.

It was the same for Sunagakure. The Second Kazekage, Shamon, was also a rare talent in research and development, though their research subjects differed.

The Second Hokage's research subjects were various forbidden jutsu and the Uchiha clan. The Second Kazekage's main research subject was the One-Tailed Shukaku—this individual was the origin of Sunagakure's "sand control techniques" later on.

He was also the origin of puppet jutsu.

Although the Second Kazekage had already retired in terms of age, when his figure appeared on the front lines, the Konoha ninja dared not underestimate him.

When the squad leader, Kiba Inuzuka, discovered who the enemy surrounded by Konoha ninja was, his scalp tingled.

"Why… why would someone like that suddenly appear here, and alone?"

He had originally led his squad charging forward, but upon realizing the enemy's identity, he stopped in his tracks subconsciously due to extreme surprise.

"Captain, who is this?" Shinnosuke Kohinata asked Kiba Inuzuka.

"It's the Second Kazekage of Sunagakure."

The Second Kazekage's appearance was too unique. His bald head and the tattoo on his crown made him look less like a powerful figure and more like a thug.

"The Second Kazekage? Didn't they say he was too old to hold power anymore?" Shinnosuke Kohinata was somewhat incredulous, yet he knew his captain wouldn't joke about such things.

The power transition processes of each ninja village varied, related to the personal character and ambitions of those in power. If the talent pipeline was well-developed, some leaders would be willing to relinquish power.

The Third Hokage later fell into this category, although there was a suspicion that he transitioned from the front stage to behind the scenes, not fully relinquishing power. However, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was completely different. After the Shinobi World War ended, she immediately resigned as Hokage, as if staying in the position for a moment longer would be like getting dog feces on her hands.

As for the recent power transition in Sunagakure, it was a result of both subjective and objective factors. The Second Kazekage's advanced age and weakness, combined with the Third Kazekage's surpassing his predecessor, allowed Sunagakure to enter the next stage of leadership.

"What do we do, Captain? Do we join the attack directly?" Yuzuru asked.

As for himself, he certainly didn't want to participate directly. Facing a Kage-level expert, the number of ordinary ninja seemed meaningless.

"No, first, we transmit the message to the forward camp," Kiba Inuzuka's reply was quite rational.

This was almost the common choice for all reconnaissance squads: transmit intelligence first, and only then would they participate in intercepting powerful enemies after completing their primary mission.

Currently, the Konoha ninja were in a standoff with the Second Kazekage. Since his appearance on the battlefield, the Second Kazekage had remained silent. He didn't seem like he was here to fight; he looked more like a lost elderly patient with dementia.

The Konoha ninja dared not launch a rash attack. Regardless, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, bore the title of Kage, and the deterrence he brought was immense.

Therefore, all Konoha reconnaissance squads in the Land of Rivers made the same choice at this time… Regardless, they would call for backup first.

"Then let's circle around the outside. I don't know why this Kazekage hasn't attacked. Since that's the case, there's no need for us to get too close. We can observe the situation from a slightly outer position," Yuzuru suggested to the captain.

He hoped this standoff would last for at least another ten minutes.

"Alright."

Kiba Inuzuka agreed. Since the battle hadn't started yet, there was no harm in observing the enemy's situation from a distance.

As they spoke, he took out a scroll, unrolled it, quickly performed hand seals, and then summoned a communication bird, transmitting the news back to the Konoha camp.

Given the reaction speed of Konoha's reconnaissance system, Kiba Inuzuka didn't necessarily need to do this, as the urgent news from this location had already been repeatedly transmitted to the Konoha camp. However, from the squad's perspective, they had to perform this redundant task because it was their duty.

After completing these tasks, Kiba Inuzuka frowned as he observed the Second Kazekage's condition. What was going on with him? Regardless of why this person appeared here, why wasn't he attacking?

Konoha Forward Camp.

"What? The Second Kazekage appeared in the Land of Rivers? This is bad…"

Inside the command post, Shimura Danzō, who received this sudden news, stood up in surprise.

"Lord Danzō, the message is accurate and irrefutable."

The ninja who came to report the news stated with certainty. More intelligence was being gathered from the Land of Rivers. A single squad might make a mistake, but it was impossible for all of them to be wrong.

Danzō frowned. He had deployed so much reconnaissance force in the Land of Rivers not to detect anything, but rather hoping to detect absolutely nothing from beginning to end. However, man proposes, and fate disposes; an accident still occurred.

"Where are Orochimaru and the others? What is their location?"

"Lord Danzō, the three of them are in the Land of Rain."

Reliable combat power was on the front lines. Another commander had gone to the Land of Grass to carry out a secret mission… Mitokado Homura was attempting to visit Kusagakure… This meant that Shimura Danzō was currently the sole person in charge at the camp, so he had to step forward to resolve the problem brought by the Second Kazekage.

So the question arose: could Shimura Danzō's personal combat strength be compared to that of a Kage?

If it were the Second Kazekage in his prime, then Danzō should forget it; Wind Release couldn't deal with sand control. But now? After all, the Second Kazekage was already old… However, being old didn't mean the opponent had lost his techniques.

In comparison, Danzō at this time had neither transplanted Sharingan nor Senju cells. The means he could employ were somewhat too conventional.

Putting aside the matter of strength for now, the key was that at times, Shimura Danzō even lacked courage and possessed the ability to brazenly regard inaction as necessary caution.

Of course, after discovering the Second Kazekage, Shimura Danzō could not possibly hide away. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to get by in Konoha.

Danzō would not accept such an outcome. Would his "Hokage Dream" essay still be written later?

"No matter what Sunagakure is up to, dispatching the Kazekage directly to the front lines is definitely a foolish move. They cannot afford the price of losing their Kazekage, even if it's the previous Kazekage…"

"Lord Danzō, what should we do? Please give the order."

"Excluding the seriously wounded, immediately assemble half of the ninjas in the camp. Next, we will attack, targeting the head of the Second Kazekage!"

Danzō's words sounded good, but when facing a Kage, he was still prepared to adopt a human wave tactic. To put it nicely, it was self-awareness of his own strength; to put it bluntly… hehe.

If Danzō truly had confidence in his own strength, he would have gone to confront the Kage himself and wouldn't have brought so many people.

Well, Shimura Danzō set out, along with a large number of Konoha ninja.