"A mercenary organization?" The elder advisors looked puzzled, finding it hard to believe.
Mercenary organizations that worked for bounties were hardly uncommon in the shinobi world. Most consisted of rogue ninja who had lost their villages and missing-nin, and could be hired to carry out unsavory missions.
They served as fronts for the major shinobi villages. Konoha had hired such mercenaries before, too.
But even a jonin was an exceedingly rare sight among rogue ninja, let alone a renowned powerhouse like Orochimaru, accompanied by the Sunagakure puppeteer who had killed the Third Kazekage.
The more the Third thought about it, the more worried he became.
If this mercenary organization could kill a hundred-strong Cloud Ninja unit this time, it could attack Konoha next time. As far as money went, Konoha certainly had no shortage.
But what role did Orochimaru play in all this?
Having privately made his decision, the Third said, "I intend to suppress the information about Orochimaru and the puppeteer's appearance in this war. Does anyone object?"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had little objection. Only Danzo spoke with a grim expression. "Hiruzen, once you've suppressed that information, how do you intend to handle the Uchiha?"
The Third's expression darkened, but then he waved a hand and said, "The Uchiha are part of the village, too..."
As Hokage, the Third understood what Danzo meant. Suppressing the information about Orochimaru would leave the reports of the Uchiha repelling the Cloud Ninja at the border to spread, indirectly earning them prestige.
Uniting the small and medium-sized ninja clans and civilian ninja to suppress the Uchiha was their policy for maintaining control of the village.
But his old friend Danzo seemed to have forgotten that, even as they undermined the Uchiha, the clan remained part of the village. The village needed