After that brutal battle, the situation on the peninsula had completely stabilized. With two thousand shinobi transferred from Kirigakure and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki stationed there, work on digging the river channel resumed.
Although Iwagakure's reinforcements had suffered heavy losses in that battle, even losing the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and the four shinobi supporting him, the three thousand Iwa shinobi hadn't taken part in the fighting, so they remained intact and could continue the project.
With the Six-Tails Jinchuriki using Tailed Beast Bombs and Tailed Beast Cannons to bombard the mountainous areas, the river channel was being dug at a rapid pace.
A month passed, and then a piece of news sent the entire Ninja World reeling once again.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had died. A month earlier, after losing the war on the peninsula, he had vomited blood and fallen unconscious. He held on for a month before finally breathing his last.
At the same time, the daimyo's eldest and second sons had fought each other in an Open and Secret Struggle for the right to succeed him. The eldest son was poisoned and murdered, while the second son had one of his legs cut off. In the end, the third son took the throne, becoming the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, just another succession struggle of the sort that had happened countless times before. But many factions noticed that something was off.
"I was too conservative after all."
After reading the detailed intelligence they had gathered, Shimura Danzō sighed in admiration.
His old comrades had always called him too aggressive, and even he had felt that he sometimes went too far.
But now he realized that his old comrade was the truly aggressive one. The cautious approach he had