Konoha's Hokage Building.
Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to Danzo's proposal and found it troublesome as well.
"The Land of Waves is merely a weak coastal island nation. A few years ago, a trade association nearly seized control of its government. How could a powerful force possibly be occupying such an impoverished country?"
Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi was deeply skeptical of Danzo's intelligence.
At that, Danzo said bluntly, "Half a month ago, I sent eight Jonin to the Land of Waves to meet its Daimyo, hoping to arrange a maritime shipping partnership. They should have returned within five days. Yet not only did they fail to return, all eight disappeared as though they had never existed."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned at that. He didn't believe a word about this supposed partnership.
"Afterward, I sent twelve Root members to search for them. Unexpectedly, they were killed before they even left the Land of Fire."
At those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned grave.
"Is this true?"
"I would never lie to you about something like this. My subordinates followed their route and found the team's bodies."
Danzo looked solemnly at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "He didn't even dispose of the bodies. He wanted to intimidate Konoha. Hiruzen, we must take this seriously. We don't need a powerful nation on the Land of Fire Border."
"I understand, but I still believe we should consider this carefully before acting."
Hiruzen Sarutobi rose, walked to the window, and took a puff of his pipe. "These past two years haven't been peaceful. The jinchūriki of the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and those smaller nations all seem to have mysteriously disappeared during that time."
"According to our latest information, the Land of Lightning's Eight-Tails jinchūriki has already gone into hiding."
"We need to strengthen the village's