Danzo's Brilliant Plan Saves Konoha

What kind of person was Shimura Danzō?

He was a powerhouse who served the village with utmost devotion until death, someone who could take a bridge down with him even if he were killed in action.

He looked down on the fellow Konoha F4 advisors, believed he was Fifty-Fifty with Sarutobi Hiruzen, that he too could become Hokage, and had long since risen above base interests.

He was also a great figure of the Shinobi World who could personally go to the battlefield and play dead to start trouble just to keep the flames of war burning.

Looking over Danzo's life, it could truly be called turbulent and magnificent, intertwined with the history of the Shinobi World.

Whenever someone needed to take the blame, he was never absent.

On a grand scale, he could influence Nagato's descent into darkness and determine the course of the Shinobi World. On a smaller scale, if a dog in Konoha had diarrhea, it was probably because it had eaten the Shimura Clan's filthy shit.

Therefore.

As powerful as Danzo was, how could he willingly stay away from the Center of Power like this?

Earlier, in order to clear his own suspicions, the Old Village Chief had made his stance clear by directly cutting ties with Danzo and stripping him of his position as Root Leader.

Even though Root still effectively belonged to him, it was a genuine blow to someone as concerned with appearances as Danzo.

Not to mention that the people in the village no longer showed him the respect he deserved.

This absolutely would not do!

And so, under these circumstances.

After coming to the front line and joining the command ranks, Danzo fully put his brain to work and summarized every war he had participated in during the first half of his life.

In the end, he brought his proposal to the command post, intending to make an earth-shattering contribution and return to his former position!

Perhaps even go further—win the support of the front-line commanders and seize the Hokage Position!

"I have fought countless battles in my life. The current dispute between Kumogakure and Konoha is nothing more than a minor affair."

Shimura Danzō said this before the gathered shinobi.

To be fair, although Danzo's reputation was poor now and he had even taken the blame for Konoha's heavy losses during the Nine-Tails Attack, his words still carried some weight.

There was no helping it.

His seniority was genuinely immense.

From the death of the Second Hokage during the First Shinobi World War to the Third Shinobi World War now nearing its end, Danzo's presence ran through the entire timeline. He had always been among the most active figures on the battlefield.

Naturally, seeing Danzo so confident, the shinobi felt a glimmer of hope rise in their hearts.

That was Danzo-sama, after all!

Of course, not everyone present had lost their senses.

For example, Konoha's strategist, the Hokage's personal Brain Trust, Nara Shikaku, furrowed his brow.

He recalled something very real: a set of statistics he had once come across while browsing through the intelligence department.

After reading it, he had been unable to calm himself for a long time.

The data was extremely straightforward. It recorded the outcomes of every battle personally participated in by Konoha's high-ranking official, Shimura Danzō.

He had taken part in many battles. In that regard, Danzo could be called Konoha's model worker.

But those glaringly red results were truly eye-catching.

That was right.

Every single war Danzo had helped command had ended with Konoha suffering heavy losses!

It was hard to imagine just how devastating his effect on Konoha's side was. This was no longer a matter of ability, but something metaphysical! A terrifying law of causality!

So as Nara Shikaku watched Danzo now gesturing grandly and discussing strategy, he actually felt a chill run down his spine.

"Cough, cough. Danzo-sama, this war is extremely important to Konoha. We must think carefully before acting."

With that thought, a bead of sweat formed on Nara Shikaku's forehead. Yet he had no idea how to stop Danzo from entering the conflict. Especially when Danzo was offering Constructive Suggestions, it was difficult for him to reject them outright.

So he could only offer a tactful reminder.

But Danzo answered him with an ordinary yet confident smile.

"No one understands war better than I do."

It was over.

Nara Shikaku's heart sank. According to the statistics, the more confident Danzo-sama was, the greater the chance of failure.

In fact, whenever one saw a confident Danzo, all one had to do was propose the exact opposite of whatever he wanted, and one would definitely gain an advantage!

But Nara Shikaku did not know that Danzo was confident because this time, he was not seeking a war that absolutely had to be lost. There had been reasons for his previous defeats—for example, when leading certain groups integrated into the village straight into hell, those wars had to be lost.

Now, however, he could put his intelligence to use. Of course he was even more confident!

"As everyone knows, war is nothing more than a conflict of interests. Before profit, everything else must give way."

Danzo said solemnly.

"Everyone can see that relying on ourselves alone, we will likely find it difficult to hold back Kumogakure. Our defensive line has been shrinking continuously."

"But this is not necessarily a bad thing!"

Huh?

Other than Nara Shikaku, the gathered shinobi looked at each other, unable to keep up with Danzo's train of thought.

"Do not doubt it. There is a reason I say this."

Danzo wore a proud expression and held up five fingers.

"Given the current situation, I have three Strategies to Break the Stalemate!"

"First, Kumogakure's battle line is too long, so why not let it grow even longer? We retreat directly! Retreat until Kumogakure's supply line collapses, and we will naturally win this war!"

Huh?

The shinobi's eyes widened.

"Second, form alliances and play rivals against each other! The enemy of our enemy is our friend. As I understand it, Iwagakure and Kumogakure have a blood feud. The Fourth Raikage's father was killed by Iwagakure. We can make use of that and drag Iwagakure into this!"

That was not a bad plan.

If Iwagakure could stab Kumogakure in the back at this time, Konoha's pressure would lessen considerably!

"But if we want Iwagakure to act, we will likely have to pay a great price. Konoha may not be able to afford that right now."

The Brain Trust said.

"That is why I do not intend to pay!"

Danzo stood with his hands behind his back, carrying himself like a true master.

"Huh?"

Nara Shikaku was dumbfounded. What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

"First, promise them enormous benefits and have Ōnoki send his men to harass the Land of Lightning's border. Kumogakure will certainly grow wary. Of course, Ōnoki probably will not act recklessly on his own, so we will need to give things a little push."

Danzo was thoroughly familiar with the process of sending people to impersonate others and fan the flames. He had done it many times!

"Once they start fighting, those promises we made earlier will naturally no longer matter!"

He was confident he could make Kumogakure and Iwagakure fight, but the prerequisite was giving Ōnoki enough incentive!

"Danzo-sama, do you mean that after they finish the job, we do not pay them?"

Akimichi Choza suddenly spoke, getting straight to the point.

"They have already finished the job. Why should we pay them?"

Danzo raised a brow and answered as though it were only natural. It was the same principle as going to a brothel: once you had arranged to meet the girl outside, it no longer counted as work. And if it was not work, there was no need to settle the bill.

But that was rather disrespectful toward the Tsuchikage, and the side effect was that it could easily lead to the Tsuchikage settling scores later.

Besides, Ōnoki was a shrewd man, not an idiot. How could he possibly fall for it?

And after Kannabi Bridge was destroyed, mobilizing Iwagakure's army was extremely difficult. Would they really set out without receiving benefits first?

Nara Shikaku was skeptical.

He wanted to advise Danzo that rather than going to such trouble to find help, it would be faster for him to persuade Hokage-sama to transfer the Uchiha and Hyuga Clan to the front line.

Surely, if they joined the battle, Konoha's side would have a far easier time.

But when the words reached his lips, he ultimately did not say them.

Because Danzo began his performance once more.

"In addition, I have a third strategy! This is the killing blow!"

Danzo said in a deep voice.

"Send someone to fake a surrender and use the opportunity to trigger an Eight-Tails Rampage! Sarutobi has the medicine anyway."

Holy shit?!

The instant those words came out, the entire room was stunned!

But what shocked them was that Hokage-sama really possessed drugs capable of making a tailed beast go berserk?!

Did Danzo-sama know what he was saying?

Would that not directly confirm that the Nine-Tails Attack had been staged by Hokage-sama himself?

But.

If this plan truly succeeded, the situation could turn around in an instant!

At once, all the shinobi fixed their gazes on Danzo-sama.

It seemed Danzo-sama's understanding of war truly ran deeper than theirs.

And as he basked in those looks, Danzo somehow produced a feather fan and leisurely fanned himself.

As he had said.

No one understood war better than he did!

He was Shimura Danzō, and he spoke for himself!

Thanks to Yakumo Koho for the two monthly tickets! Thanks to everyone for the Recommendation Tickets!

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