Kumogakure, Land of Lightning.
Fourth Raikage A had also received word that Gengetsu had slaughtered Kumogakure's delegation in Konoha.
"What?! Damn Konoha! Damn that Uchiha Gengetsu!"
The furious Fourth Raikage slammed his fist into the desk before him.
Bang!!!
With a deafening crash, the desk shattered into countless pieces.
The Fourth Raikage was furious now. Absolutely furious.
After all, Kumogakure's delegation represented the dignity of the entire village, as well as him, the Fourth Raikage.
But now, according to intelligence sent back from Konoha, not only had Konoha ninja killed every last member of their delegation, they had even hung the bodies high above Konoha's gate.
A humiliation!
An utter disgrace!
How could A, the Fourth Raikage, possibly swallow such an insult?!
In his fury, Fourth Raikage A's muscles instantly bulged, countless arcs of lightning crackling over his body.
It was not just the Raikage. The Kumogakure ninja gathered around the office were all equally furious after seeing the news.
"Those damned Konoha ninja!"
"Damn Konoha! How dare they!"
"Lord Raikage! We absolutely cannot let Konoha get away with this!"
"Kill the Konoha ninja! Avenge our fallen comrades! Honor them with the blood of Konoha's ninja!"
"Raze Konoha! Show them what happens when they offend Kumogakure! ..."
Their eyes blazing, the Kumogakure ninja roared in outrage, their voices so loud they nearly blew the roof off the Raikage's building.
To these Kumogakure ninja, Konoha's treatment of their delegation showed a complete disregard for their village. It belittled and insulted them.
As Kumogakure ninja, how could they not be angry, not be furious?
To wash away this disgrace, they had to show Konoha Kumogakure's might!
Of course, amid the cries for blood, a few more levelheaded senior Kumogakure ninja could not help trying to dissuade him.
"Lord Raikage, please calm down! Rashly starting a shinobi war would be very unfavorable for Kumogakure too!"
"That's right! If Konoha dared treat our delegation this way, that newly appointed Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Gengetsu, must have something to rely on!"
"Konoha is the greatest ninja village, after all. Shouldn't we contact Iwagakure or Kirigakure first and launch a joint attack? That would be much safer!"
But before these voices of reason could finish, the furious roars around them drowned them out.
"What is there to fear?! What's so frightening about Konoha?!"
"Exactly! Konoha just suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Even the Fourth Hokage died in battle, and they lost huge numbers of elite ninja! Even the Land of Fire's daimyo was killed not long ago! Their forces must be utterly depleted, and they must be in complete chaos!"
"That Uchiha Gengetsu is just a brat who got lucky and became Hokage. What does he know? Now is the perfect time for Kumogakure to attack Konoha!"
"Lord Raikage, stop hesitating and attack! This time, we won't just teach Konoha a harsh lesson. We'll seize the Land of Fire's most fertile territory in one stroke and take their Byakugan and Sharingan!"
Looking at the Kumogakure ninja around him, brimming with fighting spirit, Fourth Raikage A took a deep breath and pondered for a moment.
Then the Fourth Raikage swept his hand forcefully and shouted.
"Hear my orders!!!"
"Assemble all of Kumogakure's elite forces!"
"I will personally raze Konoha and twist Uchiha Gengetsu's head off with my own hands! We will avenge our fallen ninja!"
Clearly, the Fourth Raikage had ultimately decided to attack.
The Fourth Raikage had long coveted the Land of Fire's fertile lands.
Kumogakure had attacked Konoha many times before.
Unfortunately, every attempt had failed.
Now, Konoha had suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage, was embroiled in severe internal political struggles, and the Land of Fire's Daimyō's Residence had been destroyed.
This was a perfect opportunity to declare war on Konoha and seize the Land of Fire's fertile lands. How could the Fourth Raikage let it pass?!
"Yes, Lord Raikage!"
Hearing the Raikage's orders, the Kumogakure ninja answered excitedly in unison.
Soon, every ninja in Kumogakure sprang into action.
Word of Kumogakure's massive mobilization soon spread throughout the shinobi world, drawing the attention of every ninja village.
The leaders of the major ninja villages all dispatched scouts, secretly watching this impending shinobi war to see whether they could gain something for themselves from the clash between Konoha and Kumogakure.
In a dark, damp, hidden cave on the Land of Fire's border.
This was Root's temporary base.
Ever since defecting from Konoha, Danzo had been scurrying from hiding place to hiding place like a rat.
Yet he had never abandoned the idea of returning to Konoha and seizing the Hokage position.
Just then, a Root member wearing an animal mask appeared and respectfully presented an intelligence scroll to Danzo with both hands.
"Lord Danzo, this is the latest top-secret intelligence from Kumogakure!"
Seated in the shadows, Danzo accepted the scroll and slowly opened it.
When he read its contents, surprise appeared on his face.
"That madman Uchiha Gengetsu... actually slaughtered the entire Kumogakure delegation?!"
"He even hung their bodies at the Konoha Gate for public display?!"
"Now, the Fourth Raikage is utterly enraged and has personally led Kumogakure's elite army in an all-out assault on Konoha!"
After his brief surprise, Danzo's gaze suddenly turned feverish, and a sinister smile curled his lips.
"Good! Well killed!"
"Uchiha Gengetsu, you arrogant brat who doesn't know his own limits, you're finally paying the price for your stupidity!"
"This is a heaven-sent opportunity! This may be the best chance for me, Shimura Danzō, to regain control of Konoha!"
An exceptionally vicious idea immediately took shape in Danzo's mind.
Danzo abruptly stood, struck the ground heavily with his cane, and loudly ordered the Root members before him.
"Someone! Contact the Fourth Raikage immediately!"
"Doesn't he want to attack Konoha?! Konoha's border defenses aren't so easily breached!"
"Tell him I know a secret route that bypasses all of Konoha's frontline sensory barriers and leads straight into the heart of the Land of Fire!"
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
Hearing Danzo's orders, the Root members below immediately bowed their heads in acknowledgment.
Watching his subordinates leave, Danzo could not help letting out a cold laugh.
"Gengetsu, you'll soon die in this war!"
"The Hokage's seat belongs to me!"
In Danzo's view, no matter how powerful Uchiha Gengetsu was individually, he could never stand against Kumogakure's entire ninja army.
As long as he gave the secret route to the Raikage, allowing Kumogakure's army to march straight into the Land of Fire, he could definitely weaken Gengetsu's forces considerably.
Once Uchiha Gengetsu and the Raikage had both suffered grievous losses and Konoha was in dire straits, he would appear as its savior, seize the opportunity to defeat Gengetsu, and drive out the Kumogakure ninja!
Then he could rightfully become the new Hokage!
Elsewhere.
Within the Sarutobi Clan's compound in Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura had also received word that the Raikage was leading Kumogakure's army in an attack on Konoha.
"That young Uchiha Gengetsu has no idea what he's dealing with. He's far too impulsive, far too reckless!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with an expression of bitter anguish.
"I said long ago that we absolutely could not kill Kumogakure's delegation! Not only did he ignore my advice, he killed them and even hung their bodies at the gate!"
"Now look! He's completely enraged the Fourth Raikage and triggered a shinobi war between two great nations!"
"If he'd followed our approach of keeping the peace and used a single Hizashi Hyuga to appease Kumogakure's anger, this shinobi war would never have happened!"
"Now that war has broken out, it will surely inflict enormous, irreparable losses on Konoha! ..."
"Uchiha Gengetsu will go down as Konoha's eternal sinner!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's furious denunciation, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, seated beside him, repeatedly nodded in agreement.
"Sarutobi is right! That brat Uchiha Gengetsu knows nothing about politics. He isn't qualified to be Hokage at all!"
"Exactly! Leaving him in the Hokage's seat will only bring Konoha endless disaster and destruction!"
"The facts prove that only experienced elders like us can save Konoha!"
After the three had thoroughly berated Gengetsu, Utatane Koharu turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi and could not help asking a question.
"Sarutobi, now that a shinobi war between Konoha and Kumogakure is about to break out, what should we do next?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of smoke, a calculating gleam flashing in his eyes, then spoke.
"Don't panic. With war about to break out, Uchiha Gengetsu, as Hokage, will surely go to the front lines himself to face the enemy."
"There's no denying that Gengetsu has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and is indeed extremely powerful."
"But..."
"War isn't a children's game of make-believe! However powerful one person is, his chakra is limited! He can't possibly determine the outcome of a shinobi war! Against Kumogakure's ferocious elite army, Gengetsu is certain to lose!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's analysis, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura could not help nodding.
In their view, a shinobi war meant thousands upon thousands of ninja fighting to the death.
No matter how powerful a ninja was, he could not fight a hundred opponents alone or determine victory or defeat on the battlefield.
Then Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "What we need to do is secretly build our strength and wait for an opportunity!"
"Once Gengetsu is routed by Kumogakure on the front lines and his prestige is utterly destroyed..."
"Konoha will surely fall into panic, left leaderless, and we can naturally step forward to take charge!"
"As long as we take over the defensive lines at the critical moment, we can immediately regain control of Konoha and bring its supreme authority back into our hands!"
"Understood!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's perfect plan to seize power, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura hurriedly answered in excitement.
They could almost see themselves holding power over Konoha once more.
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