Chapter 50

"What a useless bastard. I really don't get why Grandpa Tobirama picked him to be a ** back then."

Nawaki watched Danzo flee in disgrace, his face full of scorn.

"Don't underestimate him. Even without a kekkei genkai, he did reach Kage Level, after all. He's just got something wrong with his head."

Xuan Zhe chuckled.

At his peak, Danzo had indeed reached the threshold of Kage Level. Even if his strength had now fallen to near-Kage Level, or even Elite Jonin level, he wasn't someone just anyone could push around.

But the man really was an idiot.

He was a lot like Uchiha Sasuke later on-not particularly capable himself, yet always picking fights with opponents far stronger than he was.

What made Danzo even more ridiculous than Uchiha Sasuke was how often he pulled utterly baffling moves.

Never mind stabbing Susanoo with a kunai or using Izanagi as a Substitution Technique. The classic example was his fight with A, when he actually tried to stab through the Lightning Release Chakra Armor with a kunai.

He had some ability, but his brain didn't work.

Worse still, he had no idea what his own role was-he was nothing but a scapegoat, yet insisted on thinking he could save the world.

"Looks like you didn't pull it off, Xuan Zhe."

Hatake Sakumo walked over, his tone knowing.

He understood that Xuan Zhe had originally intended to use the chaos of this war to kill Shimura Danzō too, just as he had killed Sarutobi Shinnosuke last time.

But now that Danzo had been recalled to the village, that plan was surely ruined.

"Who knew he'd give in so quickly?"

At the mention of it, Xuan Zhe looked speechless too.

Wasn't Danzo a little too useless?

"Old man Sarutobi's pinned all the blame for losing the first battle on Danzo. Will my sister still be able to take over as Hokage smoothly once this war ends?"

Nawaki stamped his feet anxiously.

After this incident, he finally understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi could always put up with all of Danzo's crap.

Whenever something really went wrong, he could just dump all the blame on Danzo. If he were Hokage himself, he wouldn't want to throw away such a convenient scapegoat either.

"Don't rush. We've got a long way to go, and plenty of opportunities."

Xuan Zhe didn't find it much of a pity.

Once the Third Shinobi World War broke out, Konoha would have to withstand attacks from Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure all at once.

And behind the scenes, Madara Uchiha was preparing a big move, ready to jump out and stir things up at any moment.

If he wanted to cause trouble, why worry about not having the chance?

"Our next opponents will be the Third Raikage's son A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B-the AB duo, right? We have to win this battle."

Hatake Sakumo's voice was low and grave.

"Let's show them what the strongest partnership really looks like."

The corners of Xuan Zhe's mouth lifted.

"Hiruzen! Explain yourself! What the hell is going on?!"

A week later, Danzo returned to Konoha from the northern front and stormed up to Hiruzen Sarutobi, full of anger, to demand answers.

Only after returning to the village did he discover that Xuan Zhe had been right.

Everyone in the village was cursing him behind his back, and the entire mess of their opening defeat had been laid at his feet.

Fine, he really was the one primarily responsible.

But wasn't this going too far?

They were treating him like a rat in the streets, a sinner condemned by everyone-just like Hatake Sakumo five years ago, when he had botched a mission and nearly drowned in public condemnation.

"Danzo, it seems you're not very suited to working in the open. This is a chance to change direction."

Hiruzen Sarutobi blew out a smoke ring, his tone indifferent:

"I hear Iwagakure may be making a move soon. Take Root and investigate. Also, there's a female ninja named Nonō who opened an orphanage in the Land of Fire. I hear she's quite capable. Take care of that as well."

Danzo was so furious his lungs nearly burst.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura hurried to smooth things over from beside him:

"Danzo, this is the safest arrangement available right now."

"You don't want to stand by and watch Tsunade become Hokage, do you? If things reach that point, it'll only be more troublesome than it is now."

The two took turns persuading him for a long while. After holding in his resentment all that time, Danzo finally forced it back down.

In the end, he gave a heavy snort, turned, and left.

Tsunade must never become Hokage.

But Hiruzen, don't think your position as Hokage is secure either.

I am the savior who can lead the Shinobi World toward change!

I'll make everyone see that Teacher Tobirama was wrong to choose you back then!

With that thought, Shimura Danzō strode toward his base without looking back.

Being defeated by A in just two exchanges had made him understand one thing completely-he had to obtain greater power.

The First Hokage Hashirama's cells were currently being used in human experiments.

Perhaps they could be useful. Of course, it would be ideal if he could get Tsunade to perform the transplant surgery herself.

But Danzo knew perfectly well-that was out of the question.

Still, he had a backup candidate. Even if that man had already defected from the village, he still had a way to contact him!

At this point, the old friendship between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been torn apart completely. But there was one thing they agreed on-in certain matters, it was still more reassuring to use their own people.

"Heh, that old bastard Danzo had an arm crippled by the Third Raikage's son?"

"What a shame. Why couldn't he have just died on the battlefield?"

The Land of Wind, on the western front of the conflict between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Having just finished treating Minato Namikaze's wounds and removed her medical mask, Tsunade heard the news from the northern front and made no effort to lower her voice.

"Lady Tsunade, please watch what you say..."

Minato Namikaze noticed that not only Konoha's own ninja but quite a few from Sunagakure were looking their way. Sweat beaded on his forehead in his anxiety as he hurried to stop Tsunade.

"Who gives a damn? I'd love the whole world to know. The sooner that old ** dies, the sooner we'll have some peace."

Tsunade replied with a look of disdain.

Minato Namikaze could only offer an awkward smile.

"Speaking of which, you're pretty useless too, kid. You still can't deal with that ugly old man?"

Tsunade slapped Minato Namikaze's wound, making him hiss in pain.

There was a bloody hole the size of a fist there, left by the Third Raikage's Strongest Spear-Hell Stab.

Minato Namikaze shook his head with a bitter smile. "There's really nothing I can do. I just can't ** that turtle shell of his..."

Although the two were evenly matched in speed.

The difference in their offensive power was like heaven and earth.

His most powerful attack, the Big Ball Rasengan, couldn't even break through the man's Chakra Armor.

"Lord Raikage, we just received the latest battle report from the Intelligence Department. Lord A has dealt with Konoha's frontline commander-in-chief, Shimura Danzō. Morale on our side is soaring."

At another base belonging to the Kumogakure ninja army locked in a stalemate with Sunagakure and Konoha, Dodai, the Third Raikage's assistant, was reporting:

"Meanwhile, Konoha suffered a major setback in this battle. Their morale must have hit rock bottom."

At those words, the dark-skinned, broad-shouldered Kumogakure men inside the tent all grew wildly excited.

One Jonin captain immediately proposed to the Third Raikage:

"Lord Raikage, there's no need to keep wasting time here with those paupers from Sunagakure. Let's pull back, join Lord A and Killer B, and march our entire army straight into the Land of Fire!"

Attacking Sunagakure had been a feint to begin with. Now that they had achieved their objective, there was naturally no need to keep wasting time here.

"No, we can't."

But Dodai, Kumogakure's strategist, shook his head and rejected the proposal.

Before the other Kumogakure ninja in the tent could react, Dodai spoke:

"What we need to do now is tie down Konoha and keep them from meeting up with A and B. If we turn back, Konoha's Yellow Flash and Princess Tsunade will end up meeting Black Blade too."