The Jōnin Platoon meeting concluded, and the group of higher-ups entered the Hokage's office.
As Danzo entered the office, he saw Mitokado Homura take out several scrolls containing official letters from Daimyō.
Mitokado Homura said, "The news of Konoha's Guardian Ninja's insufficient strength is spreading among the Land of Fire's vassal states.
Not only the Land of Grass Daimyō, but also the Daimyō of the Land of Rivers, Land of Hot Water, and Land of Whirlpools have written to both the Land of Fire capital and Konoha, expressing concern about the events in the Land of Grass.
My son, Mitokado Koe, serves as the Guardian Ninja Captain in the Land of Rivers. The Land of Rivers Daimyō demands he have at least 6 Guardian Ninja with him.
Working in two shifts is too exhausting for the Guardian Ninja, yet they cannot refuse the Daimyō's demand."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Mission share is extremely important for the village.
The Land of Fire's missions account for 60% of Konoha's missions, while the four smaller countries combined account for 40%.
Homura, you lead a team to visit the capitals of the various vassal states.
Start from the Land of Whirlpools, then the Land of Hot Water, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers. Meet the Daimyō in order and give them confidence.
Konoha is still the strongest in the shinobi world.
The main reason for the frequent deaths of the Land of Grass Daimyō's Guardian Ninja in the past year or two is the renewed activity of the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara.
Persuade the various Daimyō that Uchiha Madara is already over 70 years old. He's in his final flare-up. Given the average lifespan of shinobi, he won't live much longer."
Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "Uchiha Madara holds a deep-seated hatred for Konoha. He won't let this go.
Surveillance on Uchiha Madara cannot stop, to prevent him from summoning the Nine-Tails at Konoha's gates and attacking the village, as he did before."
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't mention the possibility of killing Uchiha Madara, only surveillance.
Subconsciously, Sarutobi Hiruzen feared the top-tier powerhouse of the village he had once looked up to decades ago.
His father, Sarutobi Sasuke, a powerhouse of the Warring States era, personally admitted to Sarutobi Hiruzen that he could last, at most, five minutes against Uchiha Madara.
If no strong reinforcements arrived within five minutes, he would also die.
Back when Uchiha Madara summoned the Nine-Tails at the village gates, the Nine-Tails shattered the Konoha gates with one slap, announcing his return.
If not for the First Hokage, the newly founded Konoha would have been flattened by the Nine-Tails.
Uchiha Madara, standing on the Nine-Tails' head, had terrified Sarutobi Hiruzen back then; it was a height he could never reach in his lifetime.
Mitokado Homura said, "I will set off immediately, first to the Land of Whirlpools to stabilize our rear.
I hope Hatake Sakumo can succeed in the Land of Grass; that will make my persuasion more convincing."
The Third Hokage nodded and said, "Hatake Sakumo is currently studying the intelligence. He was previously excluded from the intelligence system; analyzing and digesting the information will take two or three days.
Once Hatake Sakumo has mastered the intelligence on Uchiha Madara's rogue ninja organization, he will immediately set off with his team."
After the two finished discussing the matter of appeasing the various Daimyō, Danzo said:
"We must track Uchiha Madara's movements. We have to guard against the possibility of Uchiha Madara going mad and attacking Konoha.
Give Fox a mission: have him enter the Land of Rain to investigate the movements of Uchiha Madara and his subordinates.
Emphasize to him that if he encounters Tobi acting alone, he must not kill him, but notify me immediately. I will deal with Tobi myself."
He said he would deal with Tobi, but in reality, it was to retrieve the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, understanding that Danzo was still holding a grudge.
Fox disobeyed Danzo's orders during the battle, insisting on killing Uchiha Mahiru.
Later, during the pursuit of Uchiha Kirika, he failed to bring back the Mangekyō Sharingan.
When Danzo mentioned Fox, the disgust was written all over his face; he wanted Fox out of the village.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Fox is indeed the most suitable candidate. Let him go to the Land of Rain to monitor Uchiha Madara's movements."
With his goal achieved, Danzo stood up and left.
Yōkō was outside Konoha Hospital, carrying out the mission of monitoring Tsunade and the Senju clan.
In reality, he was focused on a specific room in the maternity ward.
Yamanaka Ryuu had also taken leave because her sister, Yamanaka Ruri, was giving birth today.
In the room, Yamanaka Ryuu carefully held a soft little baby, chatting and smiling with her sister Yamanaka Ruri on the hospital bed.
It was a girl, named Yamanaka Yae.
This daughter, Yamanaka Yae, inherited the Senju Bloodline, so there was no need to worry about the bloodline being exposed.
The Senju bloodline mainly manifests as a strong physique and larger chakra reserves than ordinary people, without any obvious distinctive features.
The two sisters were exceptionally excited.
A new life had joined their family.
Yōkō, hidden in the tree canopy outside the ward, pondered the safety of the people close to him.
To prevent Danzo from obtaining the Mangekyō, he had provoked Danzo several times recently.
Danzo was a man without bottom lines. Who knew if he might take Yōkō's loved ones hostage to threaten him?
It was necessary to guard against others, especially since Yōkō had indeed killed many of Danzo's clansmen and subordinates.
There was no rule saying only Yōkō could kill, and Danzo couldn't.
Fortunately, he also had some influence and the ability to make arrangements.
He planned to have the White Ram Squad, under the pretext of monitoring Yōkō himself, protect Kyōi and Yozora, and under the pretext of monitoring the Yamanaka sisters, protect them.
He frowned, looking towards the Hokage Building.
I only have one squad as trusted subordinates; manpower is a bit tight.
Yellow Dog, when are you going to make a move? I'm getting anxious on your behalf.
If you make a move, whether you become a higher-up advisor or get killed, then I can replace you as ANBU Chief.
At that time, aside from the Black Ant Squad, I could manage the remaining three squads as my trusted subordinates, and I could do much more.
Just as Yōkō was growing impatient for Yellow Dog, an ANBU found him.
"Vice Minister! The Chief wishes to see you!"
Arriving at Yellow Dog's location, Yōkō received a mission: to monitor Uchiha Madara's movements.
Reading between the lines of Yellow Dog's words, Yellow Dog didn't really want him to leave the village. It was Danzo's doing; Danzo didn't want to see him in the village.
Yōkō thought, Leaving the village isn't so bad either. More freedom, and I can help Hatake Sakumo get through his difficulties.
I've had enough of these higher-ups in the village. We must change the guard.
I can't step into the spotlight myself. Hatake Sakumo is a good choice; his moral standards are high, so he wouldn't let Konoha become a mess.
It's time for Hatake Sakumo to move up too, preferably taking a higher-up position, not continuing just as a senior enforcer like now.
Yōkō, leading the Leaf Monkey Squad, left Konoha.
With White Ram staying in the village, Yōkō felt a bit more at ease.
--
In a certain courtyard within Konoha Village.
Shinma fiddled with his short sword. Flames danced on the blade, illuminating his face.
His sword, like Lord Sakumo's, was a precious Chakra Blade.
He wanted to make a name for himself with a Chakra Blade, just like Lord Sakumo.
He had mastered the Fire Release Sword Technique and honed this skill, believing that one day the village would have no choice but to promote him to Jōnin.
His fire blade was a mid-range attack; a single slash sent an arc of blade flame several meters away.
After practicing intensely for three hours, Shinma was already panting heavily.
Just as he sheathed his sword, a hand suddenly appeared, clutching Shinma's throat!
Shinma hurriedly grabbed the enemy's wrist with both hands. However, the difference in strength between him and the enemy was immense; he couldn't budge it at all.
Seeing the visitor's appearance, Shinma's terror reached its peak.
His last bit of will to resist vanished, leaving only despair.
The right eye was a Four White Eye, the pupil extremely small, most of the eyeball filled with bloodshot white.
The left eye was wrapped in bandages, hiding who knew what secret beneath.
An X-shaped scar marked his chin.
The grip on his throat was very precise; it didn't choke Shinma to death, but he could not resist.
Danzo produced a scroll with his other hand.
Unfurling the scroll revealed several lines of text and many curse marks and seals.
"Sealing Technique: Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal!"
After completing the seal, a curse mark appeared on the tongue inside Shinma's mouth, which was open due to breathing difficulty.
Looking down at Shinma, who had fallen to the ground, Danzo said:
"Shinma, in my capacity as Hokage Advisor, I order you to complete a mission."
Clutching his throat, Shinma insisted, "Cough... I... cough... refuse!"
Danzo waved towards the back door of the courtyard.
The door opened, and a Root ninja brought out a child.
"Nep... cough... nephew!"
Danzo said, "That is your brother Shinna's child. If you do not complete my mission, I will..."
"Dan..." Shinma tried to say Danzo's name but found his whole body paralyzed, nearly collapsing. For some reason, he couldn't say Danzo's name:
"How can you target an orphan! My brother was a shinobi who died for Konoha!"
"Of course I would not target an orphan," Danzo said.
"If you do not complete the mission I assign, I will recruit this child into Root.
Shinobi who die for Konoha are all shinobi with a spirit of sacrifice. Surely their children share the same spirit.
If you complete the mission, this child will grow up peacefully like other children and enter the Ninja Academy."
Danzo couldn't be bothered to waste words on Shinma. He turned and left.
Before leaving, Danzo said, "Don't think about revealing the content of the intelligence to anyone. You are under a seal; you cannot utter a single word about tonight's events."
Only then did Shinma draw his Chakra Ninja Sword, pointing it towards Danzo.
Danzo looked back with utter contempt in his eyes, then vanished in a Body Flicker.
Shinma was weaker than he had imagined, not daring to strike at the Hokage Advisor, watching Danzo disappear in despair.
He turned and ran to his nephew. Finding the child unconscious, he checked him carefully; there were no injuries on his body.
Sweat poured from his forehead. His nephew might be fine now, but being targeted by a Konoha higher-up, both he and his nephew could be crushed to pieces.
Shinma looked towards the Kage Rock.
The massive head of the Third Hokage seemed to press down on the entire Konoha Village.
In the face of Konoha's terrifying machinery, he and his nephew were too weak.
Then... could he rely on Lord Sakumo?
But Lord Sakumo was also struggling hard...
Hatake Sakumo led a team to the Land of Grass, Mitokado Homura led a team to the Land of Whirlpools, and ANBU Vice Minister Fox led a team to the Land of Rain.
Three Kage-level combat forces dispatched simultaneously. The Jōnin who knew the intelligence felt a chilling cold.
The war has been over for so long. Why is Konoha's situation still so severe?
--
It was the night of the full moon again.
Yōkō, leading the Leaf Monkey Squad, traveled through the Land of Rain.
Yōkō looked north, wondering how Hatake Sakumo's mission in the Land of Grass was going.
***
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