Chapter 45

But surprisingly-

Hatake Sakumo was not on the list.

"Lord Hokage, why isn't Lord Sakumo on it?" Shikaku Nara asked with a frown.

"We still don't know the situation with Kirigakure and Iwagakure. We can't commit everyone to this battle against Kumogakure."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words sounded reasonable.

But they were only half the truth.

The other half was that he wanted to separate the brothers, Xuan Zhe and Hatake Sakumo.

Any reduction in the threat they posed was welcome.

Can I kill that old bastard on this trip?

Should I find a chance to finish him off once he leaves the village?

Almost identical thoughts surfaced in Xuan Zhe's and Danzo's minds at nearly the same moment.

Both wanted to use this deployment as an opportunity to get rid of the other.

After all, deaths on the battlefield were perfectly normal. They could just pin it on Kumogakure.

Xuan Zhe had already done this once with Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

And Danzo had done far more of it behind the scenes.

The Kumogakure army led by A and Killer B had already approached the Land of Fire's northern border.

Time was desperately short.

In just one day and one night, Konoha assembled five thousand troops and set out without even stopping for a breather.

"Lord Xuan Zhe, you must watch out for Shimura Danzō. My parents were..."

Beneath the large pagoda tree at the village entrance, the troops shuffled forward in a disorderly mass.

Nawaki stole a glance at the front of the column and lowered his voice. "That old fox is no pushover. Of all the scheming old bastards I've met, he ranks in at least the top five."

Xuan Zhe also glanced at Danzo up ahead, dressed in an ordinary Konoha uniform, and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Even with his omniscient perspective, the only people in Naruto who could outscheme Danzo were old monsters like Dark Obito, Madara Uchiha, and Black Zetsu.

Then he changed tack and casually added:

"But his problem is that he thinks far too highly of himself."

In the original story, Danzo always thought he was destined to reshape the Shinobi World with his own hands.

But in reality? He was just someone who took all the blame.

"You brat, are you planning to kill him outright this time?"

Catching a moment when no one else was paying attention, Hatake Sakumo asked in a low voice.

He already knew that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had died at Xuan Zhe's hands.

Heading north with Danzo this time was almost exactly like the previous situation.

That left Hatake Sakumo wondering. He did not think Xuan Zhe would behave himself.

"That old bastard probably wants to make a move too. We'll see who gets an opportunity first."

Xuan Zhe understood perfectly well.

These old men who normally stayed in the rear enjoying the easy life were suddenly volunteering to head to the battlefield. They definitely had nothing good in mind.

It was just as well. He could use this as a pretext to pull a few tricks of his own.

The five thousand reinforcements Konoha sent to the northern border moved at a sluggish pace, supposedly to accommodate the Genin.

Had it been Jonin or Kage Level fighters, they would have arrived in two or three days at most.

At their current dawdling pace, it would take at least ten days to half a month.

"Pfft-"

Xuan Zhe suddenly failed to hold back a laugh.

Beside him, Rin Nohara tilted her head and asked curiously, "Lord Xuan Zhe, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. It's just my first time seeing that Root big shot in an ordinary ninja uniform. It's quite a novelty."

A smile still lingered on Xuan Zhe's face.

His strongest impression of Danzo was that cane, the bandages wrapping him like a mummy, and his appearance as an old monster modified into something neither human nor ghost.

Otherwise, it was the gray vest worn by Anbu and Root.

This was his first time seeing him in Konoha standard equipment like today.

Rin Nohara still looked utterly confused. She had no idea what "Root" even was.

"You people in the back, stop whispering!"

Danzo, walking at the very front, suddenly shouted.

Xuan Zhe could not be bothered to respond to the old bastard.

Orochimaru had mentioned that the old bastard had remained in contact all along.

It seemed research into Hashirama cells was still ongoing.

These two are probably both planning to kill each other, aren't they?

Walking farther back, Shikaku Nara kept wondering to himself.

This scene was practically identical to the last time Xuan Zhe and Sarutobi Shinnosuke had gone on an operation together.

Shikaku would stake his word on it.

If Shimura Danzō or Xuan Zhe invited the other to go somewhere together...

Only one of them would return alive!

"Whose side are you on, Shikaku?"

Inoichi Yamanaka leaned over and lowered his voice.

"This is already beyond anything we can interfere with. Just pretend we haven't seen or heard anything... but if I really had to choose, I think Lord Xuan Zhe's side is more reliable."

Shikaku's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

"Oh? Why?"

Inoichi Yamanaka's interest was piqued.

"Lady Tsunade is more aboveboard than Lord Hokage."

In Shikaku's eyes, both Xuan Zhe and Danzo were inseparable from the word "ruthless."

He did not want to provoke either side, nor could he afford to.

But if he had to choose between the Hokage backing the two of them...

He would definitely choose Tsunade.

If nothing else, at least she acted more openly and honorably than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Following her, he could live with a little more peace of mind.

He would not end up being screwed over without even understanding what had happened, like the Senju Clan.

There was a small town serving as a Konoha outpost on the Land of Fire's northern border.

When great nations fought, the small nations caught between them were often the ones that suffered.

During the Second Shinobi World War, for instance, Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure had fought a three-way war, with the Land of Rain chosen as their battlefield.

When Konoha fought Sunagakure, their battlefield was the Land of Rivers between them.

Between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning lay the Land of Hot Water.

It was the country Hidan came from.

But Kumogakure had moved too quickly and too suddenly this time.

By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others reacted, Kumogakure had already seized firm control of the key route from the Land of Hot Water into the Land of Fire.

Konoha had been put on the back foot from the outset.

"What's the situation?"

The moment Commander-in-Chief Danzo arrived, his first act was to question the Anbu responsible for reconnaissance.

An Anbu wearing a fox mask, with a Ninja Dog crouched beside him-clearly a member of the Inuzuka Clan-dropped to one knee and reported:

"Reporting! Kumogakure's offensive is fierce! On average, they launch a large-scale frontal assault every ten days. Their commanding officers are A, the Third Raikage's son, and Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

The Inuzuka Anbu continued:

"They've also been sending small elite units nonstop, trying to slip into our Land of Fire along minor routes. Two days ago, our Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dogs picked up their scent, and we drove them back, but our casualties were considerable."

Their leader was a Magnet Release ninja with a Kekkei Genkai. According to intelligence, he was extremely powerful, at least at the level of an Elite Jonin.

"A strike team?"

Danzo's eyes suddenly lit up at those words.

A thought immediately sprang into his mind: If I send a Root unit out under the pretense of carrying out a mission and have Hatake Xuanzhe accompany them, then kill him somewhere deserted, wouldn't that settle everything once and for all?

At that thought, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on Danzo's lips.

"Lord Danzo, you're smiling so happily. Have you thought of a good way to repel the enemy?"

Xuan Zhe abruptly interjected.

As Danzo considered how to eliminate the brat, his mood had actually become quite good. Even being interrupted did not bother him much, and he nodded. "Yes, that's right. I order you to-"

"Bad news!!"

Before he could finish, Chōza Akimichi burst through the meeting room door, his flab shaking as he shouted with panic all over his face:

"We just received word from the guards! Kumogakure has launched another attack!"

"How is that possible? It hasn't even been a week since their last assault!"

The Inuzuka Anbu could hardly believe it.

"How many?"

"Not too many, around eight hundred. But A and Killer B are leading them."

Chōza Akimichi hurriedly answered.

"It looks like they learned Konoha's reinforcements had arrived and wanted to launch a surprise attack to probe our strength."

Shikaku Nara offered his analysis.

With no other choice, Danzo could only change his orders on the spot: