A Letter from the Daimyo

Danzo hurried to the Hokage Building. This time, he did not knock, instead kicking the door open with a bang. The clan heads and advisers who had attended the previous meeting were already there.

"A letter from the Daimyo?" Danzo asked, understanding Sarutobi's probing look.

"How did you get the Daimyo to agree to deploy troops?" Sarutobi did not answer, but his attitude made the answer obvious.

The Fire Country Daimyo was different from shinobi like them. He was a pure politician, and without profit, he would never permit military action.

He had only agreed to join the previous wars because he had been left with no other choice.

The other clan heads also looked at Danzo curiously. Danzo had not concealed his actions these past few days, and they had all kept an eye on him.

This sort of pre-battle mobilization meant Danzo had known all along that the Fire Country Daimyo would agree to send troops.

How exactly had he done it?

Danzo did not hide it from them. "Profit and prestige," he responded.

"As a politician, the Daimyo cares about very few things. Cater to his preferences, and naturally, you'll gain his approval."

For someone like him, with the experiences of his previous life and exposure to all manner of cultures, such matters were simple. But for shinobi who placed greater emphasis on force, they were rather difficult.

Across the entire shinobi world, perhaps the only one who could match him in schemes and long-term planning was Black Zetsu, who had hidden himself deeply and laid plans for a thousand years.

Sarutobi and the others frowned. Danzo's answer clearly did not satisfy them.

What he had said was no different from saying nothing at all.

"Since the Daimyo has agreed to deploy troops, shouldn't we discuss strategy next?" Danzo did not give them a chance to press further. He walked over to his seat, sat down, and spoke.

"You certainly can't wait," Sarutobi said, but he did not stop him.

"You're the commander-in-chief this time. You arrange it." Utatane Koharu had unexpectedly changed her previous stance of opposing Danzo and actually spoke in his support.

Danzo did not stand on ceremony. He rose directly from his seat, swept his gaze across the room, and said slowly, "Although Kumogakure started this incident, the current situation in the village does not support expanding the conflict."

"It has not been long since the Third Shinobi War. Aside from Sunagakure, which was defeated and withdrew from the battlefield at the very beginning of that war, the other villages are actually in much the same situation as us."

"Kumogakure was simultaneously surrounded by us and Iwagakure in the later stages of the Third Shinobi War. Their losses were no less severe."

"Although Kumogakure has taken the initiative to warn us, their stance is ambiguous. There is a high chance they merely intend to use this opportunity to seize the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan."

"In other words, they may only be trying to intimidate us. They might not actually intend, or even be capable, of starting a war."

"Then what do you intend to do?" Sarutobi asked. No one present was a fool, and they all understood this clearly, but they simply could not afford to gamble.

"I have only one plan: be fast and ruthless!"

"What do you mean?"

Everyone in the conference room was baffled, unable to understand Danzo's meaning.

"Since they may be taking advantage of our current weakness and trying to intimidate us, then we'll show them what we're made of and let them know that Konoha's people weren't raised to be scared," Danzo said with a smile.

"We'll strike with full force and suppress Kumogakure's people, making every village uncertain of Konoha's current strength. At the same time, we'll end our conflict with Kumogakure as quickly as possible and strive to finish the war before the battlefield expands."

"The current situation absolutely cannot be delayed. The longer we drag this out, the harder it will be to predict the attitudes of the other shinobi villages."

"We must end the war before the other shinobi villages make up their minds to join it."

"Are you confident?" Sarutobi looked at Danzo with a frown. Sure enough, he was not suited for the position of Hokage. His ideas were still this aggressive.

"I am."

Danzo glanced at him, having guessed what Sarutobi was thinking. But the position of Hokage no longer held any temptation for him.

Still, since he was now the commander-in-chief, he naturally needed to reassure these people.

"I have already made contact with Kirigakure. In this war, they will form an alliance with us and move their forces into the Land of Lightning, but they will not help us much."

"They will merely help us deter them and will not send troops to join the war," Danzo explained.

"Kirigakure?"

Shikaku frowned. "How did Lord Danzo establish contact with Kirigakure? Those lunatics aren't easy to deal with."

"Indeed. The Fourth Mizukage was once a Jinchuriki, and Kirigakure's people even dared to fight among themselves during wartime. Those lunatics aren't easy to deal with," Mitokado Homura added.

"Danzo, you'd better think this partnership through."

He was responsible for Konoha's diplomacy, and the people of Kirigakure were nothing but one unreasonable lunatic after another.

"There are no eternal enemies in this world. The Land of Water is nowhere near as prosperous as our Land of Fire, especially when it comes to supplies."

"The Daimyo will help us coordinate matters regarding supplies in the Land of Water in exchange for Kirigakure's assistance," Danzo explained to those present.

"Compared to that old fellow Ōnoki, although the Fourth Mizukage has quite a few capable people around him, his age and status as a Jinchuriki make his position in Kirigakure rather awkward."

"He has only recently taken office and needs achievements to solidify his position. I happened to help him with that."

Everyone nodded. Though they did not understand how Danzo had accomplished it, Kirigakure's assistance gave them a little more confidence.

"This time, I intend to concentrate most of our forces on the Land of Lightning. As for the other three countries, we mainly need to remain vigilant against Iwagakure."

"Sunagakure has a ceasefire agreement with us, and Kirigakure has allied with us. Furthermore, Iwagakure killed the Third Raikage during the Third Shinobi War. Though we know they most likely will not side with the Land of Lightning and may even kick them while they are down."

"But to be safe, we should still allocate some forces to guard against Iwagakure."

The originally precarious situation had somehow become overwhelmingly favorable under Danzo's analysis.

Everyone present, aside from Sarutobi Hiruzen, felt boundless fighting spirit rise within them.

How could they possibly refuse to fight a battle that looked like a certain victory?

As soon as the meeting ended, everyone impatiently returned to organize their troops.

Quite some time had passed since the Land of Lightning delegation was killed. Although Danzo's Root had continued impersonating the delegation to send messages to the Land of Lightning, they could not delay much longer.

They had to strike first before the Raikage reacted.

"Sarutobi, now is not the time for infighting."

As soon as the others left, Danzo spoke bluntly to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Although quite a few clans supported his deployment, Sarutobi's attitude had remained uncertain.

This had also caused many members of the Hokage faction to hesitate along with him.

Now that only the two of them remained in the conference room, they spoke far more freely.