Danzo moved quickly. A few days later, he arrived at the Former Rain Shinobi Village with an army of fifteen hundred ninja he had recently gathered.
But Sasori of the Red Sands was already gone!
The entire village was deserted!
There was no sign of the legendary hundreds of puppets, only the wreckage of Amegakure.
Danzo felt the frustration of throwing a punch that hit nothing.
Everything had gone too smoothly. He had never even gotten a chance to show what he could do.
To outsiders, it looked more like a testament to Hiruzen Sarutobi's capable leadership.
Danzo had no way to win supporters over.
He had not even obtained any of the spoils he had expected.
At that moment, he desperately wished the Iwa Shinobi or Suna Shinobi would attack and give him a chance to display his might.
That chance soon came.
In less than ten days, Sasori of the Red Sands returned.
Only this time, he did not come alone.
With him came Kakuzu, as well as—the Six Paths of Pain!
Nine days earlier.
While in Kumogakure, Chiba Shun received intelligence that Konoha had taken control of the Land of Rain. He also learned that Sasori had fled without a fight.
Naturally, the Kumogakure shinobi were unwilling to stand by and watch Konoha expand its territory.
Konoha was already wealthy. With the addition of the Land of Rain, the gap between it and the other major Shinobi Villages would grow even wider.
Yet the other major Shinobi Villages could not claim the moral high ground and condemn Konoha for taking control of the Land of Rain.
That was because the Land of Rain Danzo attacked had no Shinobi Village, only an S-rank rogue ninja.
Danzo's actions seemed righteous!
At least, they were far more righteous than the