Searching for something

Konoha.

Inside the Hokage Building, in a small conference room disguised as a tea room, were only the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, and Danzo Shimura, the leader of Anbu 'Root' Shimura Danzō, who had rushed back from the Land of Rain.

Danzo reading the documents, Danzo casually tossed the white folder onto the coffee table and looked up at Hiruzen.

Hiruzen was smoking his pipe, occasionally exhaling a smoke ring.

Danzo frowned; to be honest, he absolutely hated smoking.

Because this smell can easily linger on the human body, it can become a weakness that allows enemy ninjas to pinpoint a location during ninja battles.

However, despite his repeated warnings to Hiruzen, the other party always seemed unwilling to listen to reason, which gave him a real headache.

Moreover, his purpose in returning at this time was not to get Hiruzen smoking.

"To allow the entire Uzumaki Clan to be incorporated into the Land of Night, you handled this far too carelessly, Hiruzen."

After Danzo the documents regarding the settlement of the Uzumaki Clan in the Land of Night, Danzo was clearly dissatisfied with Hiruzen's handling of the Uzumaki Clan.

That was one of the most powerful ninja clans in the Ninja World, possessing unparalleled Sealing Jutsu, Barrier Jutsu, and Medical Ninjutsu Ninja World.

Even if such a family with a deep-rooted heritage suffers heavy losses, it is an immeasurable boost to any power.

In particular, Sealing Jutsu can give a general idea of the strength of a country or a ninja village by examining its depth of Sealing Jutsu.

"Easier said than done. You weren't there, so you don't know my difficulties. Besides, in terms of support, Konoha was indeed a step behind."

Hiruzen frowned. The entire Uzumaki Clan had moved to the Land of Night. As the Hokage, how could he not be troubled by this?

However, considering the conditions of Konoha and the Land of Night, as well as their speed of providing support, Konoha is naturally inferior to the Land of Night. The Uzumaki Clan is not indispensable to Konoha, so they will naturally make the choice that is most advantageous to themselves.

Then, Hiruzen glanced at Danzo, his eyes carrying a warning:

"The matter concerning the Uzumaki Clan has now been settled; you must not act rashly."

He knew that Danzo had gone too far in some things after establishing Root, but since the existence of Root was currently more beneficial than harmful, he could tolerate some of Danzo's excessive behavior.

However, once the Root sword injured his hand, he had no choice but to reclaim the power from Danzo's hand.

Regardless of the circumstances, he is the Hokage.

Disobedient Anbu must be eliminated.

I'm not that reckless.

As if he hadn't heard Hiruzen's warning, Danzo calmly replied.

He genuinely had no intention of targeting the Uzumaki Clan; Chunin regretful after seeing so many Sealing Jutsu talents being taken away by the Land of Night.

"That's good. Besides, although we didn't manage to win over the Uzumaki Clan this time, the land of the Land of Land of Whirlpool, as well as the residents of the Land of Whirlpool who were unwilling to migrate long distances and leave their homeland, have now been taken over by the Land of Fire, which can be considered a way of indirectly strengthening Konoha's power."

Hearing Hiruzen's self-deceiving words, Danzo didn't even bother to speak.

That small amount of land and population is nowhere near the value that the Uzumaki Clan can bring.

Hiruzen a long silence, Danzo looked directly at Hiruzen and continued speaking:

"The intelligence reports that the head of the Land of Night's Assault Division has mastered Teacher Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique... Is that true?"

Hiruzen nodded, a hint of seriousness in his eyes:

"This matter has been personally confirmed by the people of Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Mist Village; otherwise, the Land of Night's support for the Uzumaki Clan wouldn't have been so swift. Moreover, they have most likely improved the effectiveness of the Flying Thunder God Technique, making time-space jumps even more convenient."

"What a troublesome kid... The Third Mizukage's fate is unknown, and it's probably related to him too."

Danzo looked serious, clearly realizing that things had become extremely difficult.

He never expected that the Flying Thunder God Technique, which had been exchanged with the Land of Night, would be learned by a ninja with the Sharingan, and that this ninja was a Sharingan ninja Susanoo.

If they had known this would happen, they probably would have... well, they would probably still have exchanged Wood Release.

Thanks to the completeness of the Wood Release research data from the Land of Night, and through various improvements by Konoha's professional researchers, Konoha can now stably produce one Wood Release ninja every year. Sometimes, with good luck, one or two more Wood Release ninja can be born each year.

The target of the Wood Release ninja force planned by Konoha is getting closer and closer.

Most of these Wood Release ninja come from the Senju Clan, and as long as they are suited to the style, their strength will immediately and steadily increase to a higher level.

"The Third Mizukage... that old guy is probably dead by now."

Hiruzen began to speculate inwardly.

Whether the Third Mizukage is alive or dead is known only to those within the Land of Night.

However, based on his observations of the post-war battlefield, he believed that the Third Mizukage was likely in grave danger and had little chance of survival.

However, whether the other party lives or dies is not of much concern to Konoha; this is something that Hidden Mist Village should worry about.

"How is the situation in the Land of Rain? You didn't come back this time just to demand an explanation, did you?"

Hiruzen knew Danzo's temperament well; he wouldn't rush back from the Land of Rain just because of the Uzumaki Clan.

"The situation in Hidden Rain Village is somewhat unusual. According to my scouts, Hanzo has somehow secured a stable supply of military equipment and is currently intensifying the training of his internal ninja forces to enhance the overall strength of the Hidden Rain shinobi."

Danzo succinctly described the changes in Amegakure, without mentioning how he obtained this information or how much effort and time he spent.

Hiruzen realized that Danzo's acquisition of this information had not been easy, and that he must have lost many Root members.

"What about the Land of Night's Military Bureau in the Land of Rain? Are they acting strangely in the Land of Rain?"

Hiruzen recalled that the Land of Night Hidden Rain Village had secretly reached some kind of deal with Amegakure the previous year, thereby obtaining Hidden Rain Village's permission to officially station troops within the Land of Rain.

This signal was highly unusual. When the incident occurred, Konoha even sent people to inquire about it, but Hiruzen was not very satisfied with the reply he received from the Land of Night.

"We do not harm any of the other parties, and we regularly distribute basic living supplies every month to help the refugees in the Land of Rain. However..."

"But?"

Ignoring Hiruzen's sweeping gaze, Danzo stroked his chin, as if deep in thought, before finally raising his head to meet Hiruzen's eyes:

"In the days following the Uzumaki Clan incident, their patrol teams have suddenly become very strange. I get the feeling they're planning to search for something in the Land of Rain."

Looking for 'something'?

Hiruzen paused in his smoking, a look of confusion on his face.

"To confirm this, Orochimaru has had several brief clashes with the Aburame Clan members these past few days."

Danzo then added.

"Who are the Aburame Clan?"

Hiruzen became curious. As his disciple, Orochimaru, although only in his early twenties, was quite powerful, especially after obtaining the Summoning Contract from Ryūchi Cave, which brought about a qualitative leap in his overall strength.

Being able to fight Orochimaru several times without being killed is something not every ninja can do.

"Aburame Ryoma appeared in the previous Joint Chunin Ninja Exams."

After Danzo's reminder, Hiruzen slowly recalled the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams that Orochimaru had participated in. There was indeed such a person, who had teamed up with the Princess of the Land of Night and Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Night.

"Continue to monitor the situation of the Hidden Rain Village and the Land of Night's garrison. If necessary, I will have the Anbu and your Root mobilize together."

Hiruzen solemnly explained the tasks to be completed next.

"Leave it to me. However, your Anbu should focus more on the Land of Land of Night. After this Uzumaki Clan incident, don't you think their power is terrifying...? Teacher Tobirama is right, we must never let our guard down against this country."

Danzo finished speaking, he stood up from the sofa, turned around, and left the small conference room.

He didn't look at Hiruzen's expression until he left the meeting room.

But he was certain that Hiruzen had taken it to heart.