Danzo, Set Up Once Again

"Minato Namikaze. My name is Minato Namikaze!"

Facing Rōshi's confusion, Minato Namikaze enunciated each word earnestly.

"Minato Namikaze... Namikaze..."

Rōshi muttered to himself, his brows furrowing. There didn't seem to be any family named Namikaze in Konoha!

"Konoha shinobi, this time, you won!"

The smile on Rōshi's face vanished at once.

"You may have won this battle, but you can't keep winning forever!"

"Do you know? It's not just here—corresponding plans are being carried out on the other fronts as well! In this ninja war, Konoha is destined to lose!"

Rōshi spoke to the Konoha shinobi facing him from afar, his expression gradually turning savage.

"Just because you can win here doesn't mean you can win over there too!"

He did not say much, because a rough outline was enough. The other side would fill in the rest themselves, and it would be even better if they threw themselves into disarray.

Jiraiya and the others' expressions changed upon hearing this.

No wonder the reports during the previous jōnin meeting had indicated that enemy shinobi forces had already reached the border, yet had not launched an invasion. So that was why!

Just as they exchanged glances, intending to probe for more intelligence, Katsuyu on their shoulders relayed Tsunade's order once again.

"The shinobi forces have all withdrawn to the safe zone. You need to return quickly as well."

"Lord Jiraiya, then..."

A jōnin asked Jiraiya hesitantly. In their current situation, should they continue gathering intelligence, or withdraw immediately?

"Withdraw!"

Jiraiya gritted his teeth and decisively ordered the retreat.

It was clear from their earlier exchange that the Four-Tails jinchūriki on the other side was no easy opponent. Staying behind would likely yield no useful intelligence.

It would be better to return as soon as possible and relay this information to every front, so they could remain on guard.

"Is that so?"

Tsunade, commander-in-chief of the Sand Ninja front, listened to Jiraiya and the others' report and rubbed her temples in frustration.

With the Allied Shinobi Forces stationed on the other side, Konoha's battle plan against the Sand Ninja had essentially been rendered useless.

Moreover, because Hiruzen Sarutobi had prioritized sending troops to support them, the other fronts were now struggling even more!

And now that both sides on the Sand Ninja front were locked in a standoff, it was not easy to directly transfer troops to the other fronts.

Instead, they had even dragged down the overall war situation!

"Jiraiya, you did well! Withdrawing promptly and decisively to bring back the intelligence was the correct choice!"

Tsunade first affirmed Jiraiya's decision.

"Now, as you said, send this information back to Konoha!"

"I just don't know whether Danzo's side or the Uchiha's side will be the ones caught in their scheme."

Tsunade's face was filled with worry. If everything truly went as Rōshi had said, then Konoha's fronts would all be in grave danger!

And the change in the entire war situation might have been caused by their defeat.

Because they had failed to take the Sand Ninja front according to plan, leaving the other fronts short on troops and ultimately leading to Konoha's destruction!

On the Rock Ninja front, Shimura Danzō sat in the main tent with exhaustion written all over his face.

To deal separately with the Rock Ninja and Cloud Ninja, he and Orochimaru had divided their forces, each leading more than five thousand men against one shinobi village.

In the end, after gaining Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval, he had been assigned to the Rock Ninja front based on the circumstances.

And since the Cloud Ninja possessed stronger individual combat abilities, nearly all of the original elite troops had been taken away by Orochimaru!

Now, the Rock Ninja front was being supported entirely by his Root!

"Damn Sarutobi! He set me up again!"

Thinking of the miserable days he had spent putting out fires everywhere, Danzo could not help cursing Hiruzen Sarutobi again.

"I need to make them send over some of their private forces too. I can't shoulder this blame alone!"

Danzo thought resentfully.

Konoha's shinobi could generally be divided into three types.

The first type was clan shinobi, including members of Konoha's various clans and their retainers.

They possessed excellent resources and had the strongest average strength among the three types. The three thousand shinobi of the Sarutobi clan during the Fourth Shinobi World War were typical clan shinobi.

The second type was civilian shinobi. This included, but was not limited to, shinobi who had risen through the ranks by figuring out ways to use shuriken and the like on their own. Most were cannon fodder rapidly trained through shinobi knowledge privately passed down by shinobi or shinobi villages.

Jiraiya teaching the three members of Akatsuki in the original story could barely be counted among them as well.

The third type was shinobi academy shinobi, and they were the smallest group!

Only shinobi who had studied at the shinobi academy from childhood and successfully graduated counted as academy shinobi.

They were naturally the Hokage's most loyal subordinates and the Hokage's personal guard!

As long as their strength met the standard, their positions would rise accordingly. After graduation, most of them held Konoha's most important departments.

The original Twelve Young Strong and the current Legendary Three Ninja of Konoha all belonged to this type.

That was also why, despite the shinobi academy having been established for decades, its shinobi registration numbers remained so few.

And now, what Shimura Danzō wanted were the unused clan shinobi of the three clans that were likewise part of Konoha's upper ranks!

"Lord Danzo, an urgent report from Konoha!"

At that moment, a Root shinobi flashed into the main tent, dropped to one knee, and reported.

"Speak!"

Shimura Danzō's expression immediately turned solemn as he said in a deep voice.

"On the morning of May 19, Konoha Year 43, the Sand Ninja front commanded by Tsunade was caught in an ambush planned by the Allied Shinobi Forces. The originally favorable situation took a sharp turn for the worse and has now become a standoff. The shinobi on the Sand Ninja front can no longer support the various fronts according to plan."

"Furthermore, during the battle with Rōshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki among the Allied Shinobi Forces, we obtained the following information from him: the Sand Ninja front is not the only front targeted by the Allied Shinobi Forces' planned ambush! Moreover, there is certainly more than one such ambush."

"All commanders are requested to begin investigations, monitor the movements of the other Allied Shinobi Forces, and remain vigilant at all times!"

"That is all!"

After relaying the information sent from Konoha, the Root shinobi remained on one knee and waited quietly for Shimura Danzō's orders.

"Hiss!"

Even Shimura Danzō, a veteran of countless battles, could not help drawing in a sharp breath after hearing this report!

According to the intelligence, any ambush planned by the Allied Shinobi Forces would definitely involve an expert on the level of a jinchūriki.

And Stone Village still had two experts of that level remaining: one was Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki, while the other was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!

No matter which one personally entered the battle, the shinobi under his command would definitely be forced back again and again!

"Damn monkey!"

The moment Danzo thought about how he had no one available under his command, he could not help cursing Hiruzen Sarutobi again.

Just then, another Root shinobi entered the main tent to report.

"Lord Danzo, someone from the Rock Ninja has arrived!"