Masaichi: "The Green Hills Remain; How Many Times Has the Setting Sun Glowed Red?"

The next day.

Masaichi advised Danzo to fortify the area and clear the countryside, relocating the population and supplies from the towns near Kikyo Mountain to the rear.

If possible, they should destroy the towns and rebuild them after the war. They absolutely could not leave the enemy a comfortable place to rest.

Danzo did not accept the suggestion.

He hated spending money.

"Do you think I'm no match for Rasa?"

"No, Uncle Danzo, I just..."

"Enough. I don't need you teaching me how to do things. Just watch. I'll drive back Sand Village in three days."

Three days later.

Masaichi advised Danzo to select several Jonin squads, each equipped with a member of the Inuzuka Clan, and use the dogs' sense of smell to locate and burn Sand Village's granaries.

This time, Danzo listened. He even assigned an additional Shimura Clan member to each squad as commander.

It was understandable that he wanted to earn merits for his own clansmen.

But those Shimura Clan members grew greedy for credit at night and rashly pushed forward, insisting on destroying a few more granaries.

They were wiped out by the Sand ninjas who had returned to reinforce the area.

The dead were dead, and the captured were captured.

Now Danzo had to figure out how to ransom back those clansmen and Jonin.

A bunch of useless trash who couldn't be propped up. From that day on, Masaichi stopped saying a word whenever he entered the command tent.

Danzo was also somewhat sulking at Masaichi.

Occasionally, Masaichi would still speak up to remind him for Konoha's sake.

But Danzo was like a man with rebellion growing from his bones. He always felt that Masaichi was telling him how to do things. Hadn't he roamed the Ninja World for decades? Did he not understand warfare?!

"Lord Danzo, we should hold our ground and wait for reinforcements. Once they arrive, the Konoha ninjas on Kikyo Mountain can charge out and encircle the enemy from within and without alongside the reinforcements."

Danzo merely glanced at him sideways. "It's only Sand Village. As long as I have enough intelligence, there's no need to wait for Konoha's reinforcements."

May, Year 46 of Konoha.

Kikyo Mountain changed hands several times.

Right on Konoha's doorstep, Sand Village captured Kikyo Mountain, and Danzo recaptured it.

Sand Village took Kikyo Mountain again, and Danzo recaptured it again.

Sand Village took it a second time, and Danzo recaptured it a third time.

The two sides were locked in a bloody stalemate here.

With such immense achievements right before him, Rasa could no longer restrain himself and committed all of the village's elite forces to this major battle.

If Kikyo Mountain fell, Sand Village would march on Konoha. Danzo could forget about becoming Hokage—he might even have to die to atone for his crimes. He did not dare care about the losses at all.

He even deployed the unofficial personnel he had kept hidden in Root for so long.

Among them was a spy known as the Walking Witch, Nonō Yakushi. The useful intelligence she gathered again and again allowed Danzo to retake lost ground several times.

"Rasa! Are you determined to make things difficult for me?"

Danzo personally entered the battlefield and fought Rasa several times. Both sides won and lost battles.

"Danzo, if you withdraw your troops, wouldn't I stop fighting you?" Rasa laughed down at Danzo from the sky, floating atop gold dust.

"What a joke!"

June.

Kikyo Mountain fell again.

Over the past few months, Masaichi had gone through one teammate after another. Every one of them had died on missions.

Danzo was extremely stubborn and refused to relinquish command even if it killed him. Because of his clumsy operations, Konoha's ninjas suffered badly.

In truth, defeating Sand Village with Konoha's strength was not difficult. The problem was that Danzo loved micromanaging.

For example, while Masaichi was carrying out a mission once, he watched helplessly as the squad assigned to the mission alongside them vanished. How could they complete the mission while short-handed? Masaichi anxiously led his two Genin subordinates everywhere in search of their trail.

After all his teammates had died, Masaichi struggled to complete the mission and returned only to learn that the squad had been urgently reassigned by Danzo.

Sigh...

Masaichi was so angry that he laughed.

No wonder not a single person in Konoha openly supported Danzo becoming Hokage later on.

July.

Danzo recaptured Kikyo Mountain for who knew what number time.

This time, he led his men in a difficult resistance against the enemy's fierce advance. Relying on the defenders' advantage, he stubbornly withstood wave after wave of enemy assaults.

The pressure was truly immense.

Left with no choice, he could only request reinforcements from Konoha.

By the time Masaichi heard the news, Danzo's people had more or less broken out of the encirclement and fled back to Konoha to report.

At this point, Konoha had no idle manpower left.

Konoha was fighting on three fronts against Hidden Rock Village, Sand Village, and Hidden Mist Village. It also had to constantly guard against the Hidden Cloud Village, which might attack at any moment, as well as small villages like Hidden Rain Village.

At a time like this, Orochimaru should have been deployed.

As long as Orochimaru joined forces with Danzo along with his subordinates, there was no reason Sand Village would not obediently collapse and flee.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi did not do that.

He issued Danzo an order: hold on for another half month. In half a month, I will definitely send ninjas to support you.

Danzo had no idea how many times he cursed Hiruzen in private.

On Kikyo Mountain, Konoha's ninja army was surrounded for seven days and seven nights. The weather was scorching hot, and with their water cut off in such heat, they could not even mix protein powder.

Those damned Sand ninjas. They had seen people rob money and people rob antiques, but this was the first time they had seen people rob water. They drained all the rivers around Kikyo Mountain and sent the water back to Sand Village.

The morale of Konoha's ninjas rose and fell wildly.

At a time like this, whoever descended like a divine soldier and saved them would hold a position in their hearts no less than their own parents.

"Is Minato really going to become Hokage?" Masaichi shed helpless tears.

He...

Sob, sob, sob...

He was only a twelve-year-old child.

Why did he have to go through so much?

I'm surrounded right at our doorstep, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi won't come. He has to wait until Minato is free, then send Minato here.

His life had been far too unlucky.

This wave would truly send Minato soaring into the heavens. No one could stop his rise anymore.

The matchmaking system was unfair!

What kind of awful teammates had it matched him with?

At the end of July, Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Rock Village were fighting each other with particular savagery.

As soon as the pressure on Konoha's Hidden Rock Village front eased, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the mission of supporting Kikyo Mountain to Minato.

The moment Minato appeared behind the enemy with the reinforcements.

Rasa knew the tide had turned against him.

Was this Konoha Village?!

Even while caught in internal strife, even while fighting on several fronts, it could still display such strength.

Anything it had swallowed would have to be spat back out.

The Sand ninjas suffered devastating losses. Not only were they forced out of the Land of Fire, their domestic situation worsened further.

They had been poor to begin with.

This Ninja World War had not secured any effective resources or international influence for the Land of Wind.

The nobles were cruel. When the Sand ninjas fought their way to Kikyo Mountain, the Land of Wind's daimyo had said they would be rewarded. Now, forget rewards—the military budget was cut by a quarter.

"Oh vast heavens, why are you so unfair to me?"

Rasa could only shed tears of regret. If he had known, he would have stopped while he was ahead.

Minato!

It was all because of that Minato Namikaze!!

He hated him!

Rasa returned to the village to sift sand, and he was even forced to sign an alliance treaty with Konoha.

At some point, Sand Village issued an order: anyone who saw someone connected to Minato and killed them could return to claim gold.

One night in early August.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stripped Danzo of his military command for ineffective combat.

No matter how unwilling Danzo was, he had to bear the main responsibility for the heavy manpower losses in the battle of Kikyo Mountain.

However, he was not removed from his position as Root's leader.

"Masaichi! Perhaps... you were right." Before leaving, Danzo summoned Masaichi alone, regretting that he had not listened to Masaichi's advice back then.

Masaichi occasionally complained in his heart, but he had a good temper and liked encouraging people.

He could even encourage Danzo with a few words:

"Sigh, Uncle Danzo, the green hills remain; how many times has the setting sun glowed red? In the long river of history, an individual's success, failure, honor, and disgrace are all insignificant. The green hills endure forever, so there is no need to dwell on temporary gains and losses."

"The green hills remain; how many times has the setting sun glowed red. Is that for me?" Danzo was stunned. This was the first time someone had comforted him like this.

"Yes. I believe you can fulfill your dream of becoming Hokage, Uncle Danzo."

"You... you don't blame me for my command mistakes? It was because I didn't listen to your opinion." Danzo had already heard the rumors criticizing him.

"Who would mock someone with a dream? Uncle Danzo, for someone who persists to the end for their dream, who has the right to laugh at them?"

Anyway, the Konoha of this moment belonged neither to him nor to his teacher. What did he care? Even if everyone died, it did not matter, as long as Danzo was happy.

Masaichi gave him a gentle smile, and Danzo felt something loosen within him.

"I don't need your comfort."

"I'm leaving."