Ninja Allied Forces
Danzo's large army was moving at an unusually slow pace.
This made Hizashi was familiar with his command style, sense a dangerous atmosphere.
On the other hand, Kumogakure, having received the declaration of war from Konoha, did not show any intention of actively preparing for battle. Apart from sending some additional ninjas to the outskirts of the village, they focused most of their energy on internal affairs.
Now that the two sides have already broken off relations, there is no need for Kumogakure to continue to feign politeness with the Daimyo.
The committee directly proposed a ninja self-governance plan, demanding that the daimyo acknowledge that the Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning were partners, not subordinates.
With a unanimous vote, Dodai was elected as the Fifth Raikage.
The two sides officially broke off relations, and the Daimyo's Mansion, enraged, dispatched his samurai and ninjas, leading to a fierce battle on their own territory.
"Firearm Squad, fire!"
At the commander's order, rows of muskets, controlled by their gunners, unleashed a torrent of fire towards the direction of the Cloud Ninja's assault.
The bullet pierced through the Genin's body without any resistance, but when Jonin the jonin, whose body was crackling with lightning, the bullet was easily deflected.
"Remember this: use Chakra to protect your entire body; this will make you immune to gunfire."
In the shadows, two ninjas belonging to the Konoha Internal Affairs Department were observing the battle from the edge of the battlefield, evaluating the abilities of both sides.
Seeing that the muskets were ineffective, the commander ordered the soldiers in front to hold their ground while simultaneously ordering the artillery to prepare to fire.
"That thing must be a cannon."
Having clearly seen the actions of the Daimyo's Mansion's soldiers, another ninja from the Internal Affairs Department realized that what they were pushing was probably the legendary cannon.
The caliber is indeed very large; the shells fired should be able to cause damage similar to Earth Release: Rockfall.
In the end, only we arrived at the front lines on time.
Within the Land of Moon, the team led by the Explosion Release ninja, Kari, arrived at the border between the Land of Moon and the Land of Lightning, as agreed upon in advance.
Sitting in the room prepared specifically for the commander within the base, Kari waited with a disgruntled expression for the arrival of the other hidden village ninjas.
"Konoha and Kirigakure are alright; at least both sides responded to the Daimyo's call. But Sunagakure refused to send troops, citing insufficient military funds."
A ninja named Kira, who was close to Kari, was very skeptical of Sunagakure's stance.
As the two were talking, they heard an apology, followed by a ninja wearing Mist Village Headband rushing into the house.
"Sorry, sorry, the weather at sea hasn't been very good lately, so we're late."
"You..."
Upon seeing the newcomer's appearance, Kari immediately stood up from his seat and carefully examined the Mist Ninja before him.
"It's truly unexpected that Kirigakure would send out the infamous Monster Kisame."
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen all perished in the Third Shinobi World War, which led Karatachi Yagura of running out of manpower, to quickly promote Kisame Hoshigaki.
Now, he is not only the Captain of the Anbu, but also a trusted bodyguard of the Fourth Mizukage.
"Captain, the guy next to Kisame, if I'm not mistaken, should be Nakayoshi."
Kira's attention was entirely focused on the slightly overweight ninja behind Kisame.
"Nekiko, the most skilled sensory ninja in Kirigakure?"
Shou smiled and spread his hands, "It seems this war should be won easily."
I hope so.
Kisame also raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
"I'm very sorry to bother you at this time."
The two groups had now officially met and were about to continue their conversation when an official from the Land of Moon cautiously pushed open the door.
In the past, he wouldn't have been so humble, but now that the example of the ninja uprising was right before his eyes, even if he was unwilling, he had to take responsibility for his own life.
"The combined ninja forces from Kusagakure, Hoshigakure, Artisan Ninja Village, and Frost Village have arrived at the base. Are you all ready to meet with their commander?"
Kira shook his head. "Just a bunch of rabble."
In the eyes of the Ōmura ninja, these guys weren't even cannon fodder.
Kari asked Kisame tentatively, "Personally, I think Lord Kisame?"
"Hehe, let's do as Mr. Kari says."
Kisame accepted Gari's suggestion.
"However, what I'm more curious about is why the Konoha troops, whose land routes are unobstructed, haven't arrived yet."
Kisame, who thought his group would be the last to arrive at the battlefield, was surprised to find that there were others even slower than them.
"Who knows? Maybe Konoha has changed its mind. After all, they've been implementing reforms quite frequently lately."
After saying this with ill intent, Shou laughed and returned to his seat.
So what was Danzo busy with?
He was busy suppressing bandits.
And it was on the Nangong Family's territory.
According to Kazashiro's original plan, the Nangong Family was dealt with by the Internal Affairs Department as soon as he brought Uchiha Hikari back to the village.
But when he received the message from Kakuzu, he immediately changed his mind.
I never expected that Nangong Zao would hire the Integration Movement to assassinate me.
It's important to understand that the Integration Movement operates within the Land of Fire under the banner of expelling nobles and abolishing their privileges.
Kazashiro seriously doubted whether this guy was still mentally sound.
Upon seeing that this guy was actually courting death, Kazashiro immediately stopped Aburame Ryoma's actions and signaled Kakuzu to make contact with him.
As requested by Kazashiro, Kakuzu accepted the mission to assassinate the Hokage.
Kakuzu himself felt a bit nostalgic; the last time he attempted to assassinate the Hokage was decades ago.
However, he did not act immediately, but instead made an excuse that he needed to make careful plans, and that he could send people to protect Nangong Zao's safety free of charge during this period.
This Nangong Zao deeply, and at the same time made him hate the incompetent Hannya Clan even more.
Look, that's what professionalism looks like.
It requires meticulous planning and professional execution, rather than leading a group of people in a chaotic rush that ends up being wiped out.
Nearly a year passed, Kakuzu finally received the signal to make his move.
However, before they could officially make a move, Danzo's army happened to pass by the area, and Kakuzu happened to mistake Danzo for Kazashiro, and the two sides happened to clash.
Then, Daimyo's Mansion received a strongly worded letter from Danzo.
The letter accused Nangong Zao of colluding with the Integration Movement and plotting to assassinate the Fifth Hokage. Danzo claimed that the area was no longer safe and therefore requested the Daimyo's Mansion's permission to temporarily halt his advance and conduct a bandit suppression operation in the area.
The Daimyo's Mansion certainly wouldn't believe Danzo's one-sided story, but when they sent officials to investigate, they discovered that Nangong Zao and his family were alive and well, and had confessed to all of the aforementioned actions.
"This foolish son of mine has finally come to his senses."
Seeing that his son's scheming skills were becoming increasingly similar to his own, Danzo looked at the officials beside him with unpleasant expressions, as if they had suffered a setback, and nodded in satisfaction.