Konoha's Northwest

The Northwestern Stronghold the Land of Fire borders the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain. The official commander is Mimura Hamaki, Jonin in the Defense Konoha, while the mastermind behind the scenes is Shimura Danzō.

On a hillside in the Land of Rain, Shimura Danzō in a green vest, with a bandage wrapped around his right eye, carrying a long sword, stood quietly in the drizzling rain, accompanied by a large group of Root henchmen.

"Ryuma, you will lead two squadrons, use the Transformation Technique to disguise Iwagakure ninja, and destroy all the villages and towns in this area."

After a long silence, Shimura Danzō finally spoke and gave the order.

"Hi!"

Aburame Ryoma answered respectfully, then turned and left. With a wave of Aburame Ryoma hand, dozens of masked ninjas followed Aburame Ryoma.

"C, you lead your squadron members, transform into Iwagakure, and burn down that village ahead."

"Hi!"

The ninja named Bing turned to look at his teammates, who were all gesturing to him. Bing nodded and rushed towards the village below, followed by sixteen Root ninjas.

Shimura Danzō expressionless. The Land of Grass, this opportunist, was colluding with the Iwagakure, seemingly intending to develop an alliance. Meanwhile, the Land of Rain turned a blind eye to the incursions of the Iwagakure.

Shimura Danzō planned to sow discord between Amegakure and Iwagakure, smear Iwagakure to prevent them from cooperating, and even incite conflict between them, so that Salamander Hanzo would expel invading ninjas, just like during Second Shinobi World War.

Shimura Danzō furious at Sarutobi Hiruzen's cowardly peace negotiations. He planned to pull Kusagakure and Amegakure to the opposite side of Iwagakure, so that Konoha, with only a small force of ninja, could wage war against Iwagakure.

Faced with the siege of the Konoha- led coalition, Iwagakure will have no choice but to surrender and pay reparations, not negotiate peace. Meanwhile, Danzo is extremely wary of the two heroes of the Third Shinobi World War, the Yellow Flash, whose contributions in repelling the two nations were immense.

Furthermore, the immense contributions and prestige of Uchiha Nara in the south made Shimura Danzō in his throat.

Two heroes from Konoha during the Third Shinobi World War have earned their fame throughout the Shinobi World, while Shimura Danzō underground. If this continues, the path to Hokage will only become more distant for him.

"Hiruzen, you even let the Uchiha go to the battlefield. You're really getting senile and have forgotten our teacher's strategy."

As Shimura Danzō pondered for a moment, the village ahead was engulfed in flames, and the continuous explosions and the pitiful cries of innocent villagers echoed across the wilderness.

"Um?"

Standing on the hillside, Shimura Danzō had a clear view of the village below. Danzo, who had been unmoved at first, saw that several of his elite ninjas had fallen, and the rest seemed to have encountered a powerful enemy and gone into hiding.

A ninja codenamed "C" from the Root fought a red-haired ninja for two rounds before being repelled by a strange Ninjutsu, crashing into a house and feeling dizzy.

In a village in the Land of Rain, Nagato, a high-ranking leader of the Akatsuki, along with some Akatsuki members, was providing relief to the villagers when they unexpectedly encountered Iwagakure ninjas massacring the villagers.

Nagato's attempts to stop them were ineffective, so he had to resort to force, using several Ninjutsu to defeat the Iwagakure ninjas one by one.

"Nagato, these Iwagakure ninjas are despicable. Let's drive them away and report the situation to Yahiko! Yahiko will surely have a way to resolve this."

After Nagato, with his red hair, defeated several Root disguised as Iwagakure Ninja, several Akatsuki members behind him made a suggestion to Nagato.

"Yes! We must report this to Yahiko immediately. Only Yahiko can bring peace to the world; he must have a way!"

Nagato then continued:

"Evacuate the villagers here. The Iwagakure Ninja are coming; this place might become a battlefield."

The members of Akatsuki nodded and shouted:

"Everyone, get out of here! This place is going to become a battlefield!"

"Everyone, please proceed this way!"

Nagato and the Akatsuki members shouted and led the villagers to flee, while the many Akatsuki members behind them guided the villagers to evacuate.

The Iwagakure Ninja from Root's C-type transformation city recovered from his initial dizziness and stared intently at the red-haired man before him, a hint of apprehension in his expression.

Bing did not forget the task Danzo had given him. After getting up, taking advantage of Nagato and the Akatsuki members' inattention, he formed hand Hand Seals and shot several fireballs toward a group of people. The fireballs exploded upon landing, instantly killing and injuring many villagers.

"You!"

Seeing the villagers dead and wounded behind Nagato, Rinnegan widened in shock, and a surge of anger rose within him.

Originally, Nagato had shown mercy and hadn't killed him, but now he charged at Bing, who immediately ordered a retreat.

"Withdraw!"

Upon hearing the order, many members of the Root temporarily retreated.

Nagato was furious, but he had no intention of letting these Iwagakure Ninja get away, so he gave chase.

Nagato left, several Root members unleashed Ninjutsu into the crowd again, throwing Kunai with Explosive Tag attached, and explosions rang out once more.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Nagato realized that the ordinary members of Akatsuki were no match for the ruthless elites of Root and were quickly cut down.

Seeing that they had lured Nagato out of the village, Bing and the others turned around and fought back, leaping down at Nagato with their long swords in hand.

"Drink it!"

Seeing the plight of the villagers and his companions behind him, Nagato went mad. His Rinnegan, and he Hand Seals.

"Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Nagato came out on a mission simply to protect the innocent villagers of the Land of Rain, but these Root members disguised Iwagakure members were bloodthirsty and slaughtered innocent people right in front of him, and the Akatsuki members who followed him also suffered countless deaths.

With Nagato's roar and his right hand striking the ground, a gigantic monstrous hand emerged from the ground, swatting away all the leaping Iwagakure who were attacking him.

Shimura Danzō had already stealthily approached the spot, observing Nagato Kamui in the arena, as well as the Akatsuki ninjas who had come to provide support from the surrounding area.

Shimura Danzō hidden at the foot of the mountain, without showing himself.

"Nagato!"

"Nagato, what's wrong with you?!"

The ninjas who arrived as reinforcements, one an orange-haired man and the other a blue-haired woman, were none other than Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki, and his partner Konan.

After summoning the Nagato Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Nagato gasped for breath. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path emerged, unleashed its Kamui, and then stood quietly behind him.

With Yahiko and Konan supporting him, Nagato closed his eyes and fainted. As Nagato passed out, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path vanished into smoke.

"There's Iwagakure here, let's go!"

Yahiko gave Konan some instructions, helped Nagato, and then leaped away.

Shimura Danzō hiding in the ground, saw the group leave, stood up, and jumped to the spot where the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had been.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the legendary Rinnegan, the eye of a sage."

Having lived in the Konoha High Command for many years, Shimura Danzō was well-informed and had an extraordinary perspective. He immediately recognized that Nagato's eyes were not those of an ordinary person.

Bang! Bang!

Among the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path Iwagakure, several awoke from their unconsciousness. Unable to maintain their Chakra, they revealed their true forms, transforming into masked ninjas carrying long swords.

"That really hurts! This is a power that no ordinary person could possess."

Transformation Technique, he got up.

Having witnessed the Rinnegan, Shimura Danzō had completely forgotten about his attempt to sow Iwagakure within Iwagakure.

"If I possessed the power of the Rinnegan, I could surely become Hokage. Only under my leadership can Konoha dominate the Shinobi World!"

After a thought flashed through Danzo's mind, he said in a deep voice:

"Dispose of the bodies without leaving any trace of Konoha. Wrap the Ibuse's body in a body bag and finish this quickly!"

"Hi!"

Many of the Hidden Iwagakure members who had been unconscious underground had now awakened. After a puff of smoke, they transformed into figures wearing masks, combat vests, and carrying long swords.

The Root members, now fully conscious, quickly rose to carry out Danzo's orders.