War

Now that the plan had been carried out, Danzo lightly patted Darui on the shoulder.

The unconscious Darui groggily came to.

The dungeon he had imagined did not appear. Before him was still that familiar battlefield, while Yugito lay helplessly beside him.

Yugito no longer had her previous arrogance and high spirits. She looked somewhat helpless and timid.

What she feared was not the Konoha forces surrounding them, but Darui's gaze.

Yugito understood clearly that, because of her momentary carelessness, this entire front had completely collapsed.

"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito, has been captured! Your commander-in-chief has also been taken prisoner!"

"Lay down your weapons, seal your Chakra, and surrender! We absolutely will not harm you!"

"We do not wish for conflict or war. As long as you surrender, the war will end, and we will send you back to Kumogakure!"

Following the slogans Danzo had prepared in advance, the Root-led ninja spread those words across the battlefield after Yugito and Darui surrendered.

On one hand, it was to crush Kumogakure's will to resist and reduce casualties.

On the other, it was to control the prisoners.

Though they had not acted, quite a few Konoha ninja did not want to miss this opportunity to earn military merit.

Mito Hiroichi led numerous clans across the battlefield. With Kumogakure's main forces captured, their morale had plummeted, while his own side was in full swing.

Perhaps because he had been the first to step forward at the beginning, many minor clans, and even medium-sized clans, had subtly begun to gather around him.

As time passed, the force gathered at his side grew larger and larger.

Kumogakure's main force had been led away by Samui the moment Darui was captured.

Most of those still on the battlefield were civilian-born ninja or weak, unpromising ones.

"Mito Hiroichi! Lord Danzo ordered that if Kumogakure's people surrender, you are not to kill them!"

Seeing Mito Hiroichi ignore the pleas of the Kumogakure ninja and lead his men in slaughter, Ryoma came to his side and warned him.

Mito Hiroichi's expression shifted.

Yet with the massive force behind him supporting him, he stiffened his resolve and said, "This is war, not a game! Maybe one day, the Kumogakure ninja you spare here will turn their blades on your descendants."

"Well said!"

The moment Mito Hiroichi finished speaking, Danzo's familiar voice rang out.

A path opened through the battlefield. Danzo, with Shisui behind him, walked over from the other side of the battlefield as though they were strolling through a garden.

Shisui held Yugito and Darui in one hand each.

The two could only lower their heads and close their eyes in humiliation.

Weak all over and without Chakra, facing the gazes of the surrounding Kumogakure ninja, they were better off dead.

"Lord Danzo."

Ryoma greeted him respectfully, then stepped back to follow behind Danzo.

Mito Hiroichi, who had been standing proud like a strutting rooster, lowered his head. Danzo had cast too deep a shadow over him.

His uncle held a high position of power, yet when he arrived on the battlefield, Danzo had knocked him down with a single punch. Even the Hokage could not negotiate on his behalf and could only obediently return to the village.

Domineering and powerful.

Mito Hiroichi both envied and feared him.

"What you said was very reasonable. Perhaps these people may one day raise their blades against Konoha again." Danzo swept his gaze across the surrendered Kumogakure ninja who had already given up resisting.

Delight appeared on Mito Hiroichi's face. "Then what do you mean?"

The Kumogakure ninja who had given up resisting all lowered their heads, pricking up their ears as they quietly listened to Danzo.

Yet quite a few of them were secretly gathering their strength.

"Capture them and bind them." Danzo glanced at Mito Hiroichi and spoke flatly.

The delight on Mito Hiroichi's face froze.

The Kumogakure ninja also stopped gathering their strength.

"Why?"

He did not understand Danzo's meaning. "Didn't you just agree with me?"

"I do agree with your view."

Danzo coldly swept his gaze over the force behind Mito Hiroichi. Without lowering his voice in the slightest, he declared, "But this is a battlefield, and I am the commander-in-chief. I have no need to explain every decision I make to you or anyone else. You only need to carry out my orders."

"Do you understand?" Danzo stared at Mito Hiroichi and asked word by word.

"I understand."

Mito Hiroichi nodded, his expression ugly.

"Very good."

Danzo nodded in satisfaction.

The entire battlefield was being cleared up. With the two major leaders captured, the whole Kumogakure force was like a body without a head and began to fall apart.

"Most of Kumogakure has already withdrawn. They were too fast, and we couldn't catch up." Fugaku and A Kai said somewhat dejectedly.

After the two arrived at the battlefield and confirmed Danzo's safety, they immediately led their forces in a counterattack against Kumogakure.

Unfortunately, most of Kumogakure had only wanted to retreat and had not tangled with them for long.

"Having those two is enough. These foot soldiers are merely a few bargaining chips; they do not matter." Danzo smiled and comforted them.

The Kumogakure ninja, however, flushed with anger upon hearing Danzo call them bargaining chips, but not a single one wanted to step forward and resist.

The moment they surrendered, their backs had already bent.

Unless someone led them to resist again, Danzo truly did not think much of people like them.

Darui struggled desperately, trying to kill himself, but he had no strength at all.

He did not want to become a burden to the Raikage and Kumogakure.

"Ryoma, take a few men to the Land of Lightning to gather intelligence. While you are there, deliver a letter to the Land of Lightning's daimyo. Tell him that if he wants Peace Talks, he should come to the border himself." Danzo handed Ryoma a scroll he had prepared long ago.

"Yes."

Ryoma nodded, selected several Root members from the crowd, and left.

"Get the news back to Konoha early. Sarutobi won't be able to suppress this news again, right?" Danzo asked Shisui as they headed toward the Temporary Camp.

"Please rest assured. We have promoted newspapers throughout the entire Land of Fire according to your instructions."

"Matters concerning the battlefield, and even certain merits, will no longer be limited to word of mouth. Dedicated personnel will write reports on the battle here."

"Every achievement you have made for Konoha will be truthfully presented before every citizen of the Land of Fire," Shisui responded.

Danzo nodded in satisfaction.

Darui and Yugito at his side, however, were both at a loss. Did Konoha's people all like using this method to spread their own names?

Because Shisui moved especially quickly, before leaving the village, Danzo had specifically arranged for Shisui to take charge of consolidating Newspaper Offices throughout the Land of Fire.

Although Newspaper Offices existed in the ninja world, most only dared to report matters among civilians, such as what happened to a certain household or where a fire had broken out.

Because people in the ninja world valued strength more, no one paid attention to something like newspapers.