Storm Clouds Gather

Konoha was especially desolate on rainy nights.

The rain was like silvery-gray, sticky spider silk, woven into a net that clung to the buildings.

Konoha's raincoat-clad residents hurried along the streets, and the air still carried the uneasy feeling of an approaching storm.

One cold streetlamp after another lined the road, like moons rising one after another into the sky, illuminating a path that led into boundless darkness.

At the village's sparsely traveled outskirts, dense, heavy shadows lay hidden underground.

Inside the Root base, several small figures fought to the death in a sealed room while Shimura Danzō watched everything without expression.

"Lord Danzo."

A Root ninja appeared behind Danzo, dropped to one knee, and presented the Scroll in his hands. "This is the resolution the Third Hokage and the Hyuga Clan reached after their discussion."

Shimura Danzō withdrew his indifferent gaze, turned his head to take the Scroll, and frowned tightly after giving it a glance.

"So Sarutobi compromised again after all?" Danzo snorted, his tone mocking. "The Hyuga Clan is ruthless too. To think they came up with the idea of having Hizashi Hyuga die in place of Hiashi Hyuga."

The Root ninja kneeling nearby lowered his head slightly, and a trace of dissatisfaction appeared on his face beneath the shadow of his black cloak.

Though Shimura Danzō was seen by many as a shady figure who could not stand in the open, he was in fact Konoha's undisputed "Hawk" in the eyes of other powers.

To be called a "Hawk" meant his influence had already formed a true faction. Many ninja subscribed to his radical ideals; not all of them had been forced into Root.

The brighter the sun, the deeper and broader the shadows. Beneath Konoha's shadow, they drove their roots deep into darkness, eliminating obstacles that hindered the village by any means necessary.

In that sense, Danzo possessed his own "personal charisma." Root's ninja were all aggressive, and they were deeply dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's weakness.

In their eyes, if the Third Hokage truly hardened his heart, used the Forbidden Jutsu within the Scroll of Seals, and rallied every ninja clan in the village, they could crush any other village.

Instead of being passively beaten every time, winning every war only for it to mean nothing.

War in the Ninja World would never cease. The end of every war was merely preparation for the next.

It could be said that Sarutobi Hiruzen's indecisiveness and weakness toward foreign powers were among the main reasons Shimura Danzō had been able to develop Root to its present scale. Many ninja joined Root because their families had died in war, leaving them with blood-deep hatred toward other villages.

This ninja from the Aburame Clan, who wore black sunglasses and bore a purple mark on his right cheek, was also one of the Hawks.

"Aburame."

Shimura Danzō called his name, a gloomy glint flashing in his eyes. "I will place you within this escort team. I still have some men stationed at the border, and I'll temporarily hand command over to you..."

He paused there, narrowing his eyes slightly before saying coldly, "If Kumogakure obediently accepts this 'explanation,' then so be it. But if they still refuse to let it go, then pour more oil onto the fire!"

Since Kumogakure had pressed them again and again, Sarutobi could not blame him for manipulating public opinion within the village.

Konoha's strength had indeed weakened, but that did not mean Kumogakure was qualified to ride roughshod over Konoha.

Did they really think Tobirama-sensei's Forbidden Jutsu existed merely for display?

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

Aburame kept his head lowered, but excitement still showed on his face.

Rumble!

On a towering, cloud-shrouded mountain in the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure was awakened by thunder carried on the white serpent streaking across the sky.

Howling storms drove rolling black clouds into a massive vortex, forming a breathtaking natural spectacle above Kumogakure.

It looked as though some monster was rolling and struggling within the vortex. The blazing white lightning it spat out illuminated the two figures inside the Raikage's office.

Wearing only a white cloak that revealed his powerful physique, the Fourth Raikage sat behind his desk. Mabui, with green eyes, silver hair, and brown skin, stood beside him holding a stack of documents.

"Did that old bastard Sarutobi Hiruzen actually swallow it?"

The Fourth Raikage's eyes swept over the Scroll, and mockery appeared on his rugged dark face. "He gets more useless the older he gets. If he'd hit back directly, I'd have respected him!"

As he spoke, he turned toward Mabui, only to find that she did not wear the expression he had expected. Instead, she was frowning as if deep in thought.

Knowing Mabui would not make such an expression without reason, the Fourth Raikage's face grew serious as well. "Is there another problem?"

Although they had failed to start a war as they wished, they should have achieved at least half their objective, shouldn't they?

Not only had they obtained a member of the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch, they had also driven a wedge between the Hokage and the ninja clans and tested Konoha's outwardly fierce but inwardly weak state.

"Lord Raikage, I just feel that this has gone too smoothly." Mabui's brows remained tightly furrowed. "The Daimyo's attitude earlier was somewhat perfunctory. I'm worried Konoha may have caught some flaw on their side, which is why Sarutobi Hiruzen made his decision so quickly."

The Land of Lightning's Daimyo had delivered his ultimatum unilaterally to the Land of Fire's Daimyo, who then relayed it to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage.

Therefore, the Fourth Raikage and Mabui did not know that the Land of Lightning's Daimyo had misunderstood what they wanted.

Mabui merely felt that Konoha had compromised too quickly. Even if the Third Hokage had remained tough internally since returning to power, he could not possibly have suppressed all opposition in such a short time.

That was the head of the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch. The Hyuga Clan could not have compromised so easily.

In fact, from the very beginning, she had believed the chance of the two nations declaring war was greater than the chance of Konoha handing over Hiashi Hyuga.

"So you think it's a trap?"

The Fourth Raikage gradually calmed down, and he too began to sense that something was off.

"Yes." Mabui nodded. "I suggest sending someone to ask the Daimyo. If there is a flaw in the plan, it is most likely on his side."

At that, the Fourth Raikage frowned. Even someone as forceful as him could only deal with the Daimyo as an equal, and he truly did not wish to get entangled with him too much.

Moreover, he knew perfectly well that the Daimyo did not actually want war with the Land of Fire. Not long had passed since the end of the Third Shinobi World War; they should recuperate for a while before even considering another war.

So if there really had been some mistake, whether that Daimyo had made it unintentionally or deliberately was hard to say.

But as Konoha's longtime rival, the Fourth Raikage understood Konoha all too well.

If they did not strike while Konoha was weak, then with Konoha's abundance of talent and deep foundations, some genius might suddenly emerge one day to prop up a collapsing building or turn the tide at the brink of disaster.

Furthermore, unlike Konoha's ninja, who had won the war, and its ordinary civilians, who had merely been affected by it, Kumogakure's internal hatred and resentment toward Konoha and Iwagakure had grown ever deeper due to its severe casualties.

"Mabui, make a personal trip to the Daimyo's Mansion."

Having reached a decision, the Fourth Raikage said calmly, "Have Toroi lead a squad of Anbu to coordinate with Konoha. If Sarutobi Hiruzen truly intends to play tricks, strike immediately!"

"Yes, Lord Raikage."

Upon hearing the name "Toroi," Mabui answered and breathed a sigh of relief. The inexplicable unease in her heart dissipated considerably.

As long as Konoha did not deploy ninja on the level of the Sannin, she believed no one could come away unscathed against Toroi.

Because Toroi was a Jonin of Kumogakure, and he possessed the Kekkei Genkai Magnet Release.