Danzo: Leave It to Me After All

Konoha, Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura gathered here for a private meeting. However, according to the tradition that the more important the matter, the fewer the attendees, their discussion must be about a major issue concerning the entire Hidden Konoha Village!

"In the Land of Rivers, the fighting is intensifying. We just received a report from Jiraiya that Sunagakure has transported the Shukaku Jinchuriki to the front lines. According to their estimates, a large-scale direct conflict between us and Sunagakure is inevitable within the next few days."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a brief overview of the situation in Land of Rivers, but there was little worry in his eyes.

"Did Jiraiya ask for help?" Utatane Koharu asked the key question, which was what they were really concerned about.

"No, it seems there's something wrong with the Sunagakure Jinchuriki. I wonder how much of the Tailed Beast's power they can unleash. Danzo, does your Root have any information on this?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. Most of the spies Konoha sent to enemy countries were arranged by Danzo, so naturally they had to ask him about this.

Danzo pondered for a moment and then answered naturally, "Sunagakure's Sealing Jutsu techniques are quite immature. Since the death of the First Hokage Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, they have sealed Jinchuriki four more times, but none of them lasted long. They were either killed by their own people or died from the Tailed Beast going berserk."

This one should be the fourth one, and he wasn't a successful product either. He often went berserk due to his unstable emotions. Sunagakure probably wanted to make use of him this time, otherwise this Jinchuriki wouldn't have lived for long."

The room fell silent as everyone pondered the message conveyed in Danzo's words.

Having such an unstable Jinchuriki on the front lines is a mixed blessing. Fortunately, Konoha learned of this information in advance; otherwise, a surprise attack by the Jinchuriki during the great battle would have surely caused the front lines to collapse.

"Since the frontline Commander hasn't requested reinforcements from the village, it proves they are still capable of handling this First Shinobi World War, and we should have faith in them."

Mitokado Homura spoke up, which reassured everyone. Without dispatching personnel, the village's ability to interfere with the front lines was very limited, and everything would have to be decided by the frontline Commander on the fly.

"In that case, what are your thoughts on the next matter regarding the Iwagakure front?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, taking out another summary report and handing it to Utatane Koharu, who was closest to him. "This is a summary of the battles on the Western Front since the start of the war in Iwagakure. Take a look."

Utatane Koharu, took the document. Her face darkened at first glance, and after reading the contents, her face turned even darker.

He casually handed the report to Mitokado Homura, whose situation was exactly the same. When Shimura Danzō read it, he simply cursed, "Useless!"

It's no wonder they reacted this way; the battle report was just too rubbish.

Although they knew the battle on the Iwagakure front was going poorly, with the front lines constantly requesting reinforcements or supplies, they never imagined that the accumulated losses would be so enormous.

The Iwagakure front has only been at war for a short time, yet their losses are already almost greater than those of the Sunagakure front. How can these Konoha High Command tolerate this?

"Let's replace him. Isn't Mimura Hamaki the Commander of the western front? Let's transfer someone else to be his deputy. If he keeps fighting like this, even the largest fortune won't be enough for him to squander."

Utatane Koharu, immediately suggested changing the Commander.

"Who should go? Who else in the village is qualified to be the frontline Commander?"

Mitokado Homura pinpointed the crux of the matter: while Konoha has many talented individuals, few possess both strength and prestige, along with leadership skills. Furthermore, Konoha is currently facing multi-front warfare, which further highlights the shortage of such talent.

"How about we send Orochimaru over? The Cloud Village battlefield is relatively stable, so it would be suitable for him to take charge of the Iwagakure battlefield." Utatane Koharu thought for a moment and suggested a solution that wasn't really a solution.

"No, Orochimaru can't be moved. If he does, there will definitely be trouble on the Cloud Village side. Those brutes may look reckless, but they're not really stupid!"

Danzo directly objected, but what he said did make sense. Orochimaru's influence on the Northern Battlefield was still enormous, and if it were someone else, Cloud Village might not be so wary.

"Then who should go? Does Konoha have anyone else? Are we going to Torifu?"

Torifu Akimichi was a member of the Second Hokage's guard team along with them, but after Kagami Uchiha's death, he left the Konoha High Command and returned home to teach the younger generation of his clan.

Utatane Koharu's words contained a hint of complaint. Everyone knew that Torifu Akimichi would not return to the mountains unless Konoha faced a life-or-death crisis, and everyone knew why.

"I'll go. I'll personally oversee the Western Battlefield, and I'll also transfer some of the Root's elite troops there."

Danzo appeared calm on the surface, as if Commander was only doing this because he had no other choice, but in reality, he was extremely nervous.

He still hasn't given up on the Hokage Position, but his current position Root leader of Root means he doesn't have much fame in the public eye, and all he has is a bad reputation.

He desperately needed some tangible achievements to quickly spread his fame in the public eye, so that he would have enough confidence when running for the Fourth Hokage.

And what merit can compare to military exploits?

If he can successfully lead his troops to defeat Iwagakure, with such military achievements and prestige, coupled with his previous efforts, he could certainly contend for the position of the Fourth Hokage.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were both stunned by Danzo. They couldn't understand Danzo's thinking. "You're a perfectly good leader of Root, and now you want to go to the front lines as Commander? Is being Commander really that easy?"

The two turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoping he would persuade Danzo. However, to their surprise, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to be seriously considering Danzo's suggestion.

Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely not have agreed to let Shimura Danzō the Commander. He would have preferred Utatane Koharu or Mitokado Homura to go, and he could have just given them a few more advisors.

But when Danzo said he would bring a group of Root elites with him, he wavered.

To be honest, the Root has become too powerful to control. He can't just dismiss these people without a good excuse. Even if he wants to get them to work, he has to go through Danzo, the leader of the Root.

This has made the Root almost a country within a country.

Now Danzo is actually taking the Root members to the front lines. Regardless of whether the battle goes smoothly, casualties among the Root members are inevitable. This will not only weaken Root's strength but also solve the current problem, truly killing two birds with one stone.

As for Danzo's hidden Danzo, do you really think he can't see through it? If he wants to become the Fourth Hokage, he'll have to see if Danzo agrees.

Having figured all this out, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer hesitated and nodded in agreement with Danzo's suggestion, "Alright, I'll leave the front lines to you. I'll give the orders directly, and Mimura Hamaki will cooperate with your command."

Danzo was overjoyed when Danzo saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi had agreed to his suggestion so easily, though he tried to keep his face calm.

"No problem, don't worry. I'll definitely teach Iwagakure a lesson and show that shorty Konoha what happens when he messes with Ōnoki."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged bewildered glances. They hadn't expected that such an important decision would be made in such a short time, but since the Hokage had agreed, they had nothing more to say.

Besides, Danzo is not unqualified to be the Commander; his previous doubts were merely the instinctive concerns of Advisor.

"Alright, now for the last thing. The prices of war supplies have risen sharply again recently. Although we are well prepared, we must plan ahead. Koharu, Yan, which of you should go to the Daimyo's Mansion and ask Daimyo to allocate some more funds?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as if it were his Daimyo money, showing no sense of superiority whatsoever.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, neither finding anything amiss. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was quite wealthy, and Konoha had used its own strength to keep all enemies who coveted the Land of Fire at bay. Both morally and logically, the Daimyo should give them this money.

"I'll go. I was the one who talked to Daimyo last time, so it'll be easier to communicate this time."

Utatane Koharu volunteered, Mitokado Homura naturally wouldn't compete with her, so the matter was settled amicably.

"Alright, that's all for now. Everyone, go back and get busy!" the Hokage said, picking up his cup and taking a sip.

This was a very obvious hint. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura immediately turned and walked towards the door, but before leaving, they glanced curiously at Danzo, who was standing motionless, wondering what kind of shady business he was going to discuss with the Hokage again.

After the two left, before Hiruzen Sarutobi speak, Danzo took out a scroll from his Danzo and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As the root of Konoha, its influence extends far beyond the Konoha; its members are Root throughout the entire Ninja World. Therefore, rumors that began circulating in the Land of Wind and have gradually spread beyond its borders have naturally reached its ears.

Hiruzen Sarutobi curiously took Danzo's scroll, opened it, and quickly skimmed through it. His brow furrowed slightly, and then he carefully read it again before putting the scroll down.

He casually picked up the pipe from the table, carefully filled it with tobacco, then raised his right index finger, a flame rising from the tip. He brought the pipe close to the flame, carefully lit the tobacco, and finally took a deep, satisfying drag, exhaling wisps of smoke.

Danzo watched quietly from the side, without uttering a word.

After finishing his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi put it down, looked at Danzo in front of him, and said with a hint of mockery, "Does Sunagakure underestimate us? Do they think we can't even tolerate a child?"

He picked up the scroll again and looked at it once more, then laughed and said, "I even came across one where I could abandon the mission immediately. Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru don't have that kind of reputation."

Upon Danzo, Danzo managed a strained smile. "The 'White Reaper' and the Yellow Flash's are indeed impressive titles. What's rare is that they share the same master."

Having said his piece, Danzo remained silent, as if he had done something insignificant, and turned to leave the Hokage's Office.

He certainly wasn't intimidated by those two; they were too young, especially Taichi Matsushita, who was only 10 this year.

Even if he's only a teenager and has made great contributions, would the village really let a boy in his teens become Hokage? He'd be more suited to be the Fifth Hokage.

But Jiraiya is different. He already has enough prestige and strength. If he had two disciples with similar prestige and strength to help him, the Fourth Hokage would be his for the taking.

Therefore, Danzo's only real fear was Jiraiya.

Watching Danzo leave the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze returned to the scroll, his eyes filled with both relief and apprehension.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally liked Minato and Taiichi; they were young, energetic, and, in terms of both strength and mindset, were definitely excellent candidates for Hokage.

Most importantly, these two posed no threat to him whatsoever. Unlike Danzo, he intended to step down, and the choice for the next Hokage was naturally between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

However, despite having plans, he did not want anyone to threaten his position before he stepped down.

"It seems we still need to find an opportunity to bring Taiichi back. Too much rigidity leads to breakage; he needs to come back and reflect on his actions."

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself in the office.

The Land of Rivers, Sunagakure Camp.

After two more days of travel, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, finally arrived at the front-line Camp with a large amount of Resupply and the Shukaku Jinchuriki.

Upon arriving at the Camp, Rasa arranged for the Jinchuriki to be placed in a separate corner of the Camp. This area, within a radius of twenty meters, was designated as a restricted zone, in order to prevent anyone from disturbing the Jinchuriki.

Meanwhile, outside the tent where the Jinchuriki rested, an entire Sealing Team was stationed, constantly suppressing the Tailed Beast within the Jinchuriki through Sealing Jutsu on the ground.

All this trouble was so that the Jinchuriki could unleash their full potential in that crucial First Shinobi World War and help Sunagakure achieve final victory.

Inside the Central Army Tent, Rasa sat at the head of the table, with Chiyo and Ebizo sitting to his left and right respectively.

"I've already told you about Ryosuke's situation. He can't hold on for much longer, maybe only three days at most. Have you all finalized the attack plan?"

--

Ebizo glanced at his older sister, and seeing that she didn't intend to speak, he had no choice but to speak himself.

"Time is too tight. We've only prepared the supplies. Konoha has also learned about the Jinchuriki's situation and is intentionally withdrawing its forces to prepare for this great battle."

"So, you mean—" Rasa looked at Ebizo, gesturing for him to continue.

"This battle will be a fair fight, without any tricks or schemes. Both sides will stand ready and fight. Win or lose. I suspect there are many spies watching our movements outside the Camp right now. Konoha won't give us any chance to use any tricks!"

Ebizo spoke frankly, as this was a consensus he and Chiyo had reached after much discussion. Now, the decision was being handed over to the Fourth Kazekage before them; whether to fight or wait was up to him.

Rasa was in a real bind. He hated Taichi Matsushita terribly. If Taichi hadn't discovered their whereabouts, this battle would have had a perfect ending.

If he were given another chance, he would rather fly all the way from the village to the front-line Camp with the Jinchuriki than slowly travel on the ground just to prevent Shukaku from going berserk.

Unfortunately, there's no going back in life. Such a great opportunity to severely damage Konoha was completely missed because of that bastard Taichi Matsushita.

Rasa was furious just thinking about it. The worst part was that their sneak attack turned the Jinchuriki, who could have been used many more times, into disposable items. How infuriating is that!

Of course, he wouldn't admit that it was because the Sunagakure's sealing technique was poor; it was all because of Taichi Matsushita.

"Since First Shinobi World War battle is inevitable sooner or later, let's take advantage of the Jinchuriki and have First Shinobi World War good fight with Konoha. Let's set the date for three days from now!"