Could the Second Shinobi World War Be Starting?

Shimura Danzō tossed down the documents and left, washing his hands of the matter completely. Hanzō was so furious his nose nearly twisted out of shape.

Who the hell did he take me for?

Was I, Hanzō, his subordinate?

But Shimura Danzō had no intention of looking back and continued walking outside, though not very quickly.

"You have no right to refuse, unless you are willing to watch the Land of Rain become a battlefield and its people suffer the ravages of war. Besides, you do not have much time. I hope to receive good news from you."

"Damn it!!"

Hanzō wanted nothing more than to chop Shimura Danzō to pieces or poison him to death, but he did not dare make a move.

Since Shimura Danzō had dared come to Amegakure to meet him, he had his own confidence. Besides, he had made it very clear: Hanzō had no choice.

Unless Hanzō could stand by and watch his country become a battlefield, watching the people of the Land of Rain suffer because of war.

"Chief, should we take him down?"

"Get out!!"

The enraged Hanzō roared at his subordinate.

This was both a conspiracy and an open scheme. Just as Shimura Danzō had said, he had no right to choose.

Because the enemies he would face were Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha.

Caught between the three great shinobi villages, Amegakure had no room to choose at all.

"Danzo!!!"

A limited amount of intelligence, plus a verbal promise, had forced Hanzō into a corner.

"Phew~~~"

Only after quite some time did Hanzō calm down. He picked up the documents on the table and examined them carefully.

Bloodline Disease?

In the Shinobi World, Bloodline Disease was not particularly rare.

Shinobi clans with Kekkei Genkai suffered from this sort of condition to varying degrees, whether the Uchiha, the Hyuga, or shinobi clans outside Konoha.

Was one little medical shinobi really worth Shimura Danzō making such a big fuss?

Hanzō did not believe things were that simple.

If it really were that simple, Shimura Danzō would have acted himself. As for not being able to act rashly... that was all bullshit.

That old bastard had concerns, which was why he did not dare act and had come looking for him.

Trying to probe for information would be too difficult, and Shimura Danzō had no intention of explaining anything.

If Hanzō learned that Danzo had merely warned Jingyi, only to lose his position and get chewed out afterward, he would probably die laughing.

Kill someone, or stand by and watch his village and country become a battlefield, becoming sacrifices for the great nations.

What angered Hanzō most was that Shimura Danzō had given him only a verbal promise. Whether the assassination succeeded or failed, it was Hanzō's own affair and had nothing to do with Shimura Danzō.

No one would admit to having met him, much less admit to such a thing.

Being manipulated like this did not feel good.

Before his dream of standing on equal footing with the Five Kage could be realized, the Land of Rain would become a battlefield first. Hanzō could not accept that outcome.

"Danzo, you had better keep your word, or else..."

That night.

Puppet Crow flew into the camp and landed on the window of the medical room.

Jingyi opened the window to let the puppet fly inside. He removed the intelligence scroll tied to its leg, then opened it and controlled the puppet, using its vision to read the contents.

That was right. Though blindfolded, Jingyi could see through the puppet's eyes.

The intelligence scroll had been sent by Tsunade. Puppet Crow had become the messenger bird she and Tsunade used to exchange intelligence and letters.

"An emergency meeting? Why was Sunagakure provoking Konoha at a time like this?"

Could the Second Shinobi World War be starting?

No, the timing was wrong. According to the original timeline, there should still have been at least three or four years before the Second Shinobi World War broke out.

After all, war was not something that could erupt just because someone wanted it to.

Too much was involved.

Then where had Sunagakure's provocation come from?

Were they really so impatient to tear a chunk of meat from the Land of Fire?

The Land of Wind was too poor.

The Land of Fire was rich in resources and excessively wealthy.

As a result, over the same period, Konoha had developed far faster than Sunagakure, leaving it so far behind it could not even see Konoha's taillights.

Ever since the shinobi villages had been established, Sunagakure had constantly wanted to bite off a piece of the Land of Fire.

Its gradually growing military strength had stirred certain people into action, such as the Third Kazekage and Chiyo and her younger brother. They were all hardliners and warmongers within Sunagakure.

"Tsk, just as expected. People who play with schemes can never have clean hearts!"

Seeing Shikaku Nara suggest shifting the flames of war toward the Land of Rain, Jingyi could not help baring his teeth.

It was a vicious plan. It would answer Sunagakure's provocation while indirectly suppressing Amegakure's development, shattering Hanzō's dream of becoming the Rain Shadow in one blow and making him properly weigh just how much power Amegakure possessed.

As for Iwagakure... if all three great shinobi villages truly got heated and began a chaotic free-for-all in the Land of Rain, Konoha would not be at much of a disadvantage.

Sunagakure and Iwagakure could not possibly reach an agreement overnight to besiege Konoha.

And with Amegakure, a shinobi village of middling strength, in the Land of Rain, the waters would only become muddier.

Wait!

The village planned to send people into the Land of Rain, drawing Sunagakure's attention to answer its provocation?

Konoha's move was timely and crucial—crucial to the village, and also crucial to Shimura Danzō.

Given Shimura Danzō's character, he might use this matter to manipulate Hanzō.

And that demigod Hanzō... seemed to have been tricked by Shimura Danzō more than once.

Shimura Danzō really knew how to manipulate a demigod.

Jingyi did not believe Shimura Danzō would let such a good opportunity pass, unless he no longer wanted to make a move against him.

Otherwise, without borrowing the village's power or showing his face himself, Hanzō would be an extremely sharp blade. More importantly, he was easy to use. Once he was done, Shimura Danzō could simply walk away without needing to admit any responsibility.

Don't ask. If asked, it was slander. None of this had anything to do with me.

"He really knew how to pick his timing."

After destroying the scroll Tsunade had sent, Jingyi felt that he needed to make some preparations, because he was not sure whether Shimura Danzō had persuaded Hanzō.

If Hanzō had been persuaded, there was no way to predict when he might strike.

The camp was very close to the Land of Rain. With Hanzō's strength, he could drop by the camp for a stroll at any time.

That demigod's Body Flicker Technique and Taijutsu were terrifyingly powerful. Even more frightening was the poison that even Jingyi himself had to guard against. Frankly speaking, if Hanzō took a stroll through the camp, he could easily poison a whole group of people to death.

Sunagakure's provocation and the village's plan had indirectly done Shimura Danzō a huge favor, giving him an easy opportunity to manipulate Hanzō.