Early the next morning, Danzo was startled by Hiruzen's appearance. "Did you not sleep?"
"I couldn't. The Tsuchikage and Kirigakure only want to profit from this. They don't care about the threat Uchiha Mu poses. A bunch of shortsighted fools." Hiruzen scratched his head, utterly at a loss.
"Hmph, what good does relying on them do?" Danzo snorted. He didn't believe a single word the Tsuchikage had said yesterday. He could guess why the man had said it, too: claim to have suffered tremendous losses, then, if they actually succeeded, use that as leverage to demand the biggest slice of the pie.
"But Danzo, we can't fight Uchiha Mu on our own." Hiruzen shook his head.
"Lord First was still too idealistic." Danzo sighed. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe Konoha was invincible. With Uchiha Mu keeping them firmly pinned down, it was difficult for them to do anything.
If only Lord First had taken Uchiha Mu with him. Konoha wouldn't have ended up in this situation, and they could have pocketed all the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation's industries.
"Yes, we should have realized it long ago, before Sunagakure ended up like that. We've certainly learned our lesson." Hiruzen sighed as well.
"Kagami has been changing since he went to the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation, too. I suspect the Uchiha might defect when the time comes," Danzo said quietly, leaning closer.
"They've been assigned to Sunagakure. They'll attack alongside the other shinobi villages, while their ordinary clansmen remain in Konoha. They won't be able to cause much trouble." Hiruzen had already made the necessary arrangements. What he needed to do now was bring the other shinobi villages together.
"That works." Danzo nodded. With your clan in the village, leaving wasn't easy. You couldn't just abandon your entire clan and defect. Only a