Drive the Wolf to Devour the Tiger

Three days later, Danzo returned to Konoha with his Root subordinates in secret.

Inside the Hokage Building, within the Hokage office, the Third was hunched over his desk, busy writing official documents.

With his retirement approaching, the Third was not slowing down; if anything, he had become even busier.

Just then, a familiar set of footsteps echoed through the room. Hearing them, the Third knew his old friend had returned.

Sure enough, as the footsteps drew near, Danzo's figure appeared at the office doorway.

"Why has the ceasefire and peace treaty with Sunagakure not been signed after all this time?" The Third asked with a darkened face, seizing the initiative. "Months have passed. What exactly have you been doing in the Land of Rain all this time?"

"Hiruzen, the situation has changed." Danzo's expression remained unchanged, devoid of any panic. "It is not that I do not wish to sign a peace treaty with Iwagakure, but someone is interfering, sabotaging our relationship with them and trying to provoke us into continuing the war."

"What do you mean?" The Third frowned, took a drag from his pipe, and asked, "Is Hanzo the one sabotaging our peace negotiations with Iwagakure?"

Danzo did not answer directly, instead posing a different question: "Hiruzen, have you heard of a new organization that has appeared in the Land of Rain recently?"

"A new organization?" The Third looked at Danzo with suspicion.

A fledgling group in a place like the Land of Rain was not enough to capture the Third's attention. As the Hokage, especially during the tail end of a war, he had far too many pressing matters to attend to.

A new organization in a small country was not worthy of a spot on his desk.

"An organization that preaches mutual understanding between people, advocates for replacing war with dialogue, and believes that once people understand one another, true peace will follow." Danzo briefly summarized the philosophy of the Akatsuki.

The Third frowned. This philosophy felt strangely familiar—wasn't that just Jiraiya's rhetoric?

"The youth may be a bit naive, but their intentions are good." The Third nodded, then asked skeptically, "Their philosophy is sound; perhaps they will bring some change to the Land of Rain. Is there a problem with this organization?"

"That is merely the surface. It looks bright and clean on the outside, but it is actually full of petty, underhanded schemes." Danzo sneered. "Hiruzen, as the Hokage, surely you understand this principle?"

The Third's expression turned cold. "What have they done?"

"The organization known as Akatsuki has been disguising themselves as ninjas from various hidden villages to burn, kill, and pillage throughout the Land of Rain, while simultaneously attacking ninjas from the major villages. What is their goal?" Danzo's expression was frigid, his eyes icy as he emphasized, "They simply do not want the Five Great Nations to stop fighting!"

"What about Hanzo? What is he doing? Why hasn't he dealt with such an organization appearing in his own Land of Rain?" The Third asked in a deep voice.

"Hanzo has been defeated," Danzo said airily.

This casual remark shocked the Third, who found it hard to believe: "Hanzo was defeated? Has the strength of the Akatsuki reached such a level?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes, his expression grave. "Indeed, this is something I witnessed with my own eyes."

"Because of this, my Root lost three squads. It was a heavy loss," Danzo added heavily.

"What is Hanzo's current situation?" the Third pressed.

"I don't know the specifics, only that Hanzo did not sustain any life-threatening injuries." Danzo shook his head, then mused, "However, I imagine Hanzo can still hold on for a while; he was, after all, once known as a Demigod."

Watching the Third fall into deep thought, Danzo spoke up: "The situation in the Land of Rain is treacherous now. We must be wary of this organization; they have great ambitions."

"How much intelligence do you have on the Akatsuki?" The Third looked at Danzo.

"Almost none," Danzo replied, shaking his head.

"Almost none..." The Third took a frustrated drag from his pipe.

"Hiruzen," Danzo looked at the Third and said in a low voice, "We cannot simply ignore such a dangerous organization. Although Hanzo is old, he is no pushover. Even if we cannot destroy this group, we should at least understand them."

"Isn't that exactly what your Root excels at?" The Third looked at Danzo. "Now is the time for your Root to prove its worth!"

"Hiruzen, don't you think the Uchiha Clan has been a bit too prominent lately?" Danzo ignored the comment and instead brought up the Uchiha Clan.

The Third raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"First there was Uchiha Fugaku, then Uchiha Shisui, and now an Uchiha Akira has emerged. I hear Uchiha Fugaku's son, Uchiha Itachi, is also a rare genius who followed his father to the battlefield before even attending the academy. Don't you think the Uchiha Clan is becoming a bit too prosperous?"

Danzo said with profound meaning, "Conversely, we only have the Yellow Flash. The Sannin and their ilk are of the older generation; there don't seem to be any new talents emerging on our side!"

"While the Uchiha Clan has indeed produced many geniuses, it is a good thing for Konoha." The Third's voice was calm. "Shisui is a descendant of Kagami; unlike other Uchiha, he is a Konoha ninja who possesses the Will of Fire."

"I have observed Uchiha Itachi; he is a child with a deep-seated Hokage-like mindset. This is a good thing for us," the Third continued.

"As for Uchiha Akira..." The Third tapped his desk unconsciously, musing, "Uchiha Akira is different from the other Uchiha. I cannot quite gauge his true intentions..."

He said nothing about Uchiha Fugaku; they all knew his personality—indecisiveness was the best way to describe him.

The Third said with full confidence, "However, with Minato here, no monsters or demons will dare to show their faces!"

"Hmph," Danzo sneered. "Minato Namikaze is getting very close to the Uchiha Clan. The relationship between Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto is quite intimate. You had best remind him to mind his boundaries."

The Third lifted his eyelids and said flatly, "Minato will naturally be careful; there is no need for me to remind him. Let us focus on who to send to the Land of Rain to gather intelligence on that organization!"

"Who else? Naturally, someone from the Uchiha Clan. The ninjas of the Uchiha Clan are powerful and are the most suitable for gathering intelligence in the current Land of Rain," Danzo said indifferently.

"Uchiha..." The Third nodded slowly. "That is one idea."

"I suggest we immediately recall Uchiha Shisui from the front lines and have him and Uchiha Akira enter the Land of Rain to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki," Danzo said with a solemn expression.

"No," the Third shook his head. "Shisui is too young. Such a mission requires an experienced ninja. Shisui's strength is sufficient, but he lacks experience. He cannot go."

Glancing at Danzo, he continued, "I have already decided that once Shisui returns, I will recruit him into my Anbu so he can experience the Will of Fire more personally."

"Then let it be Uchiha Akira. I hear he single-handedly repelled the Six-Tails. Such strength is not much weaker than the current Hanzo," Danzo suggested.

To him, being able to remove an unstable element from within the Uchiha Clan was a good thing.

"Very well," the Third nodded. "Uchiha Akira is very strong; he is well-suited to go to the Land of Rain to investigate."