The Plan Works, Danzo!

The morning sun was exceptionally warm.

Fugaku Uchiha, having just been summoned by the Third Hokage, walked out of the Hokage Building with a pleasant mood.

During the summons, the Third Hokage had praised the contributions of the Uchiha Clan in the pursuit of Danzo, with his words implying an intention to entrust the Uchiha with greater responsibilities.

Faced with the Third Hokage's sudden display of goodwill, Fugaku felt some suspicion, but he felt far more joy.

As the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, he had to face the precautions of the Hokage's faction externally while suppressing the ambitions of the extremist faction internally; caught in the middle, he felt utterly exhausted.

Being able to receive such commendation from the Third Hokage this time gave Fugaku hope that the Uchiha could take a step closer to the center of power in the village.

With Danzo having turned traitor and the Third Hokage having lost his right-hand man, if he wished to continue leading the village, he would inevitably need the assistance of new strength.

And the Uchiha Clan, as a prestigious family of the village, had always been a powerful force drifting outside the village's power center.

If both sides could initiate cooperation based on this, the Third Hokage could stabilize the situation and maintain his current grip, while the Uchiha would have the hope of coveting the future.

This was a win-win cooperation.

At least, in Fugaku's view, it was.

Inside the Hokage's office, Danzo leaned back in his chair, the sunlight from the window spilling over him, making his mood increasingly pleasant.

In front of the desk, Shinnosuke Sarutobi, captain of an Anbu division, wearing an Anbu mask, was reporting the situation to Danzo.

"Lord Hokage, I have already had all the ninjas and documents of Root transferred and placed under tight guard."

Danzo stood up, placed his hands on the desk, and tapped his right index finger lightly against the surface, looking at Shinnosuke with an inscrutable expression.

"Keep them under strict guard. Without my orders, no one is allowed to approach," Danzo commanded.

"Lord Hokage, is it necessary to arrange for members of the Yamanaka Clan to conduct interrogations?" Shinnosuke asked proactively.

"No need!" Danzo refused flatly; he had other arrangements for Root.

After a moment of hesitation, Shinnosuke chose to continue persuading him: "But Danzo's whereabouts are currently unknown, and he holds a vast amount of the village's classified intelligence. If we cannot capture him as soon as possible, once other ninja villages obtain it, the village may suffer significant losses."

"I have other arrangements for this matter. You just ensure Root is well-guarded; I intend to interrogate them personally. I want to see why Danzo would commit such... such an act!"

Danzo wore a look of deep distress, slamming his hand forcefully against the desk.

"Father, now is not the time to be ruled by emotion." Shinnosuke mistakenly believed his "father" had been provoked by Danzo's betrayal and had become irrational.

"When working, address me by my title," Danzo's gaze sharpened.

"Yes!" Shinnosuke lowered his head.

"Very well, you may leave! The war situation is the priority now; focus your mind on the front lines. I will personally take charge of the investigation into Root," Danzo said finally.

Shinnosuke looked at his "father" again; he always felt that over this recent period, his father's words, actions, and attitude had undergone some changes.

"What? Is there something else?" Danzo asked.

"No!"

After answering, Shinnosuke turned and left the office.

Watching Shinnosuke leave, Danzo leaned back in his chair again, resting his hands on the armrests, his fingers tapping lightly as he fell into deep thought.

With the village under his own leadership, and after resolving the issue of Hiruzen Sarutobi, it had already returned to the right track.

Next, as long as he waited for the victory against the Hidden Cloud, he could use the momentum of that great triumph to eliminate the village's final stubborn ailment: the Uchiha Clan.

And Danzo had already prepared the excuse for dealing with the Uchiha: that the Uchiha's ninjutsu, utilizing the Sharingan's genjutsu, had secretly controlled Root and controlled Danzo, plotting the assassination attempt against himself.

In other words, the Uchiha Clan was the true mastermind behind this rebellion and the assassination attempt on the Hokage, while the Hokage's assistant, Danzo, was merely a victim of the Uchiha's conspiracy.

Of course, this did not mean Danzo intended to let Hiruzen Sarutobi off; his plan was to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and then announce the Uchiha's conspiracy.

By that time, he could take the opportunity to eradicate the Uchiha Clan while also clearing his own original identity, allowing him to be carved into the Heroic Spirit Monument as a hero of Konoha.

This was the flawless, perfect plan Danzo had devised over the past few days.

Thinking of Konoha being completely under his control once the plan was perfectly executed, Danzo could not help but show a smug smile; he leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled upward continuously.

Whether it was the Uchiha or Hiruzen, they were nothing more than fools being played in the palm of his hand.

The corners of Danzo's mouth rose even higher.

In the Land of Rain, on a farmland outside a village.

Asuma, following several young ninjas from the Akatsuki, was helping the villagers harvest rice.

Back when Asuma had just graduated from the Ninja Academy in Konoha and become a genin, he had also taken on some D-rank missions under the guidance of a jonin, helping villagers harvest crops.

At that time, he had looked down on such missions entirely, feeling that making a genius ninja like himself do this kind of farm work was a waste of time, and he had been full of resentment while working.

But strangely enough, despite having looked down on such tasks in the past, he felt not a shred of resentment while working this time; instead, he felt full of motivation.

Perhaps it was because those villagers, with their wrinkled faces, sallow skin, and patched clothing, were looking at him with strained, ingratiating gazes.

Or perhaps it was because, during a break just moments ago, that little girl with yellow, withered hair, bare feet, and hands covered in scars from daily labor, had carefully brought him a bowl of cool water.

"Big brother, drink some water."

The little girl's voice, not particularly pleasant and carrying a hint of timidity, kept echoing in Asuma's mind.

Ever since Asuma followed the ninjas of the Akatsuki to this village, his mood had grown increasingly stifled.

The poverty of this village exceeded anything Asuma could have imagined.

It was not as if Asuma had never seen villages in the Land of Fire while on missions, but even the most backward village he had encountered there was far better off than the people here.

At the very least, the people in those villages could barely manage to fill their stomachs, and they would not drown their own newborns in water simply because they could not afford to raise them.

Infanticide! Parents killing their own newborn children with their own hands.

Asuma had only heard of such human tragedies after arriving in this village, learning of them from the mouths of his fellow ninjas—and they were happening right here.

Yet, this was not even the most shocking thing to Asuma; afterward, he heard something from his companions that he found even harder to accept.

It was the practice of exchanging children to eat!

Two years ago, when the war was at its most intense, the Land of Rain became a battlefield for the great nations, and countless villages were caught in the crossfire.

To survive, people had no choice but to abandon their fields and homes, fleeing to the few dozen towns that remained in the Land of Rain.

The abandonment of vast tracts of farmland triggered a famine in the Land of Rain, and countless people starved to death for lack of rations.

Under the instinct to survive and the ravages of hunger, people ceased to be human; in order to live, they turned into beasts.

Those who died of hunger one moment would become food for others the next.

Families with children would exchange them with one another, cooking and eating them.

After hearing of these tragedies that had truly occurred in the Land of Rain, Asuma fell into a deep silence, feeling as though a massive stone were pressing down on his heart, leaving him unable to catch his breath.

Because the ninjas of Konoha were also one of the factions fighting in the Land of Rain, he, Asuma, had once fought and killed Hidden Stone ninjas on this very soil.

He, too, was one of the culprits who had brought these tragedies to pass.