Reconnaissance

Danzo remained expressionless as he watched the Third Hokage speak with the others. From the moment the Third Hokage had released him, he had expected this outcome.

Still, he could not contain his anger. His original plan had been to reactivate several secret bases in the Land of Rain and use the chaos of war to send spies into other nations.

But going there of his own accord and being effectively banished there were two very different things.

Whenever he thought about how the Elders Council had forced him to go to the Land of Rain, his anger flared anew.

He was Danzo, a disciple of the Second Hokage and an elder of Konoha, yet he had been reduced to this. His desire to kill the members of the Elders Council only grew stronger.

"Danzo, what do you think?" Koharu asked.

"The Land of Rain is indeed the best place to train spies, but there's only so much I can do alone."

The Third Hokage nodded. "I'll assign you two ninja squads from the former Root members. They were your trusted subordinates, so they'll carry out your orders without question."

Danzo said calmly, "That still won't be enough. If we simply send the spies to their targets, we'll likely suffer heavy losses.

"I need Orochimaru as my deputy. He has a Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave, and with the giant snakes he summons, he can infiltrate almost anywhere.

"Once we find a suitable target, we can replace that person without anyone noticing and get a spy inside."

The Third Hokage considered his words. Danzo had a point. With the help of his summoned beasts, Orochimaru could make a chosen person disappear without a sound, then replace that person with a trained, disguised spy who would provide Konoha with vital intelligence.