Could the Second Shinobi World War Be About to Begin?

Shimura Danzō tossed down the documents and left, washing his hands of the matter completely. Hanzō's nose nearly twisted with fury.

Who the hell does he think I am?

Am I, Hanzō, his subordinate?

But Shimura Danzō had no intention of looking back and continued toward the exit, 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 cut Shimura Danzō down or poison him to death, but he did not dare make a move.

Since Shimura Danzō dared come to Amegakure to meet him, he naturally had confidence in himself. 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 be harmed by war.

"Chief, should we take him down?"

"Get out!!"

The furious Hanzō roared at his subordinate.

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

Because he would be facing enemies like Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha.

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

"Danzo!!!"

With limited intelligence and a mere verbal promise, he had forced Hanzō into an impossible position.

"Phew~~~"

Only after quite a while did Hanzō calm down. He picked up the documents from the table and examined them carefully.

Bloodline Disease?

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

Shinobi clans possessing Kekkei Genkai more or less suffered from such illnesses, whether they were the Uchiha, the Hyuga, or shinobi clans outside Konoha.

Was a mere medical ninja worth Shimura Danzō making such a huge fuss over?

Hanzō did not believe it was that simple.

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

The old bastard had reservations, so he did not dare act and had come looking for him instead.

It would be too difficult to uncover the intelligence behind it, and Shimura Danzō had no intention of explaining.

If Hanzō learned that Danzo had merely warned Jingyi, only to lose his position and get thoroughly chewed out, he would probably laugh himself to death.

Kill someone, or watch his village and country become a battlefield and a sacrifice 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 would be Hanzō's own affair and have nothing to do with Shimura Danzō.

No one would admit to having met him, much less acknowledge 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. Otherwise..."

That night.

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

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

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

The intelligence scroll had been sent by Tsunade. The 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 about to begin?

No, the timing was wrong. Based on the original timeline, there should still be 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.

There was too much involved.

Then where had Sunagakure's provocation come from?

Were they really so impatient to bite off a chunk of fat from the Land of Fire?

The Land of Wind was too poor.

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

As a result, over the same span of time, Konoha developed far faster than Sunagakure, leaving them so far behind they could not even see its taillights.

Ever since the shinobi villages were founded, 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. Those few were all hardliners and warmongers in Sunagakure.

"Tsk, as expected, people who play with schemes can never have clean hearts!"

Seeing Shikaku Nara's suggestion to divert the flames of war toward the Land of Rain, Jingyi could not help baring his teeth.

It was a vicious plan. It answered Sunagakure's provocation while indirectly suppressing Amegakure's development. In one stroke, it would shatter Hanzō's dream of becoming the Rain Kage and make him properly weigh just how much power Amegakure possessed.

As for Iwagakure... if all three great shinobi villages truly fought in the Land of Rain, with a chaotic free-for-all breaking out, Konoha would not be at much of a disadvantage.

Sunagakure and Iwagakure could not possibly reach an agreement overnight to join forces against Konoha.

And with Amegakure, whose strength was neither here nor there, in the Land of Rain, the waters would only become muddier.

Wait!

The village intended to send people into the Land of Rain, drawing Sunagakure's attention there in response to 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 this demigod Hanzō... seemed to have been tricked by Shimura Danzō quite a few times.

Shimura Danzō truly knew how to manipulate a demigod.

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

Otherwise, without borrowing the village's strength or appearing in person, Hanzō would be an extremely sharp blade. Most importantly, he was easy to use. After using him, Shimura Danzō could simply pat his ass and leave without having to accept any responsibility.

Do not ask. If anyone did, it was slander. None of this had anything to do with him.

"He really knows how to pick his timing."

After destroying the scroll Tsunade had sent, Jingyi felt that he needed to make preparations. He was unsure whether Shimura Danzō had persuaded Hanzō.

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

The camp was very close to the Land of Rain. With Hanzō's strength, he could stroll into the camp whenever he wished.

This demigod's Body Flicker Technique and taijutsu were terrifyingly powerful. Even more frightening was the poison that even Jingyi himself needed to guard against. Frankly speaking, if Hanzō strolled through the camp once, 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.