Chapter 49

Chōza Akimichi sat nearby with his shirt open while a nurse wrapped bandages around his back. A's Lightning Release had torn his back to shreds, but fortunately, his thick fat had kept his internal organs unharmed. A thinner man would probably have lost half a lung.

Shikaku Nara had been relatively lucky. He had only taken a few blade wounds, and after some stitches and an IV, he was mostly fine.

A logistics ninja approached with a casualty ledger. Seeing that Danzo was still in surgery, he could only turn to Shikaku Nara to report.

Shikaku raised a hand, signaling him to speak.

"Six hundred and fifty-seven killed. Four hundred and eighty-two from civilian backgrounds, forty-eight from the Hyuga Clan, thirty-one from the Nara Clan, the Yamanaka Clan... Nineteen critically wounded are currently in surgery. Whether they'll survive is still uncertain."

Smack!

Shikaku Nara slammed his palm onto the table, the explosive sound shaking the entire tent.

Chōza Akimichi startled beside him. In all their years as partners, he had never seen Shikaku lose control like this.

Rin Nohara hurriedly steadied the swaying IV bottle. "Lord Shikaku, careful."

"Bring me a brush and ink."

Shikaku turned his head, his teeth grinding as he forced out each word.

A row of Shimura Clan ninja guarded a tent at the other end of the stronghold town. There was no need to guess who was undergoing surgery inside.

As Xuan Zhe passed by, the Shimura ninja at the entrance all bowed their heads. "Lord Xuan Zhe."

None of them was stupid enough to look down on him like a security guard in a third-rate novel. Not unless they had a death wish.

Xuan Zhe glanced at the tent and murmured, "What a shame Tsunade isn't here."

It was unclear whether he was speaking to those Shimura ninja or to himself.

But the Shimura Clan members failed to understand. They thought Xuan Zhe regretted that Tsunade could not come treat Danzo's injuries.

Three people sat in the elders' conference room in Konoha's Administration Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi occupied the head seat, with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura beside him.

There should have been four occupied chairs, but one was now empty.

"This is an urgent dispatch Shikaku Nara just sent back from the northern front."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was dark, his mood clearly poor.

He passed over the small scroll in his hand.

Utatane Koharu accepted it and read it with Mitokado Homura. Their expressions changed immediately.

"What is he getting at? Does he think there's something wrong with the Elders Council's decisions?"

Utatane Koharu spoke with a sneer.

In his handwritten letter, Shikaku Nara had not quite subjected the Elders Council to a vicious tongue-lashing.

But his tone was hardly polite.

He had explained to Sarutobi Nicheng, in full detail, the circumstances of how Konoha's first battle against Kumogakure had become its worst defeat in history under Danzo's command.

The casualty rate was absurdly high. Nothing like it had ever happened during the First's or the Second's tenure.

And he had spared them no dignity, pointing out directly-

If A had not beaten their commander-in-chief, Danzo, into such a pathetic state, Konoha would not have lost so disgracefully.

He had all but pointed at the four old members of the Elders Council and shouted, "You made a useless fool like Shimura Danzō commander-in-chief. How could we possibly not lose?"

Such disrespect naturally infuriated Utatane Koharu, who had grown accustomed to her lofty position.

"Danzo's injuries are serious. It seems he's no longer fit to remain on the front line."

Mitokado Homura was somewhat calmer than Utatane Koharu. He turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Shall we recall him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer immediately.

More precisely, he had not heard him at all.

He was lost in thought.

The war had barely begun, and he had already suffered two major setbacks-

First, he had failed to see through Kumogakure's covert tactics, allowing their main force to advance straight to the Land of Fire's border.

Second, he had made the mistake of appointing Danzo, costing Konoha dearly in the very first battle.

He knew perfectly well that Xuan Zhe and Tsunade most likely had their eyes on the Fourth Hokage's position and could seize an opportunity to challenge him at any moment.

They would not pass up this chance to use the matter against him.

The thought left Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply irritated.

"Hiruzen, Hiruzen!"

"Huh?!"

Only after Mitokado Homura called several times did he pull Hiruzen Sarutobi out of his reverie.

With no other choice, he asked again:

"With Danzo's body in that state, he can't handle being commander-in-chief at the front anymore. Let's replace him."

"With whom?"

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Utatane Koharu shot back.

The question left Mitokado Homura speechless.

The strongest fighter still in the village was clearly Hatake Sakumo. There was no disputing that.

But the Elders Council had specifically pushed Danzo onto the front line to separate the two brothers.

If they could take advantage of the chaos to get that troublemaker Hatake Xuanzhe killed on the battlefield, all the better.

Instead, Danzo had gone down the moment he left camp. Hadn't he disgraced himself a little too quickly?

"Hiruzen, well..."

Mitokado Homura looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, his gaze wavering.

He did not finish, but his meaning was written all over his face.

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi met his eyes, he understood perfectly.

He wanted him to go to the front himself!

The old man instinctively pressed a hand to his chest. His body had become increasingly unreliable over the past few years. Age had caught up with him.

Go head-to-head with the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, both in their prime?

After hesitating for quite some time, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally made his decision:

"Have Sakumo take Danzo's place. Send orders for him to leave immediately."

In the end, he still lacked the courage to take the field himself.

With two major setbacks right at the start of the war, the situation certainly looked bad.

But it was nowhere near beyond salvaging.

As long as he made no further mistakes, Xuan Zhe and Tsunade could forget about taking the Hokage's position from him.

As for who would take the blame for those two mistakes...

Danzo, time to do what you do best!

A few days later, Danzo woke up on the operating table, his right sleeve hanging empty.

Orders from his old friend Hiruzen Sarutobi in the rear had also arrived: he was to return to Konoha immediately, and Hatake Sakumo would replace him as commander-in-chief.

Danzo had mixed feelings upon receiving those orders.

A, the Third Raikage's son, had cut off his arm with such ease. That scene had tormented him repeatedly in his dreams over the past few days.

Being able to leave this nightmarish place was certainly a good thing.

But he had fought just one battle after reaching the battlefield, lost an arm to the enemy in two exchanges, and been recalled in less than a month.

Was he, Shimura Danzō, the shortest-serving commander-in-chief in Konoha's history-no, in the history of the entire Shinobi World?

What an utter disgrace!

"Lord Danzo, thank you for your efforts. I'll take over from here."

At that moment, Hatake Sakumo approached Danzo with the transfer orders bearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's handwritten signature.

To Danzo, the man holding those papers was practically humiliating him to his face.

Damn it!

Danzo ground his teeth.

But looking at his battered, one-armed body, he simply had no face left to go after Kumogakure again.

As soon as Hatake Sakumo led his men away, Danzo could no longer bear the humiliation. He could only drag a few subordinates along and leave in disgrace.

"Doing work that can't stand the light of day really does suit Lord Danzo."

Nawaki stood behind Hatake Sakumo, having come from Konoha as part of the reinforcements. He watched Danzo pass with a smile on his face, but his words were full of barbs.

Danzo whipped his head around and shot him a vicious glare.

Nawaki was not intimidated. He met that gaze with a beaming smile, looking as if to say, "What can you do about it?"

"If you have time to stand here glaring, why not hurry back to Konoha and get your arm reattached?"

Xuan Zhe sauntered over, his words laced with mockery.

Forced to avert his gaze first, Danzo looked utterly thunderous.

"Word just came from Konoha. The whole village is in an uproar. Because of your mistake, Lord Danzo, Konoha suffered terrible casualties. The families of the dead... oh, no, the entire village is cursing you."

Xuan Zhe smiled breezily.

Danzo's pupils abruptly contracted as he understood-Hiruzen Sarutobi was making him take the blame!

His teeth ground audibly. He forced two words through them, then hurried away with his subordinates.