The war had lasted for nearly two years. The Four Great Shinobi Villages realized that Konoha, which had remained largely inactive, was not only overwhelmed with requests but also that many requests that should have gone to their Villages were now going to Konoha.
Perceiving that if they continued fighting, Konoha's threat to them would grow, the Four Great Shinobi Villages tacitly scaled down the war, transitioning from large-scale conflict to small-scale attrition warfare.
Land of Fire, Konoha.
The previously dim Root base was now brightly lit.
On Danzo Shimura's desk sat a custom-made lamp secretly ordered from the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company, shaped like Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen bowing his head in apology. It was a touch-sensitive lamp.
Judging by the amount of paint chipped from its head, the lamp was likely used (and patted) frequently.
"Hiruzen-sensei, you've worked hard…" Orochimaru looked at the lamp on Danzo Shimura's desk and almost couldn't keep a straight face. Every time she saw it, she couldn't help but want to laugh.
Who would have thought that a serious and stern person like Danzo Shimura would privately use such a method to vent his stress and resentment towards Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"Orochimaru, this is intelligence gathered by Root's intelligence Ninja. The Four Great Shinobi Villages have scaled down the war. I suspect they might be planning to attack Konoha."
Danzo Shimura placed the intelligence scrolls gathered by Root's intelligence Ninja on his desk.
"Scaled down the war, huh…"
Orochimaru picked up the scroll, looked at the intelligence within, and agreed, "Danzo-sama, your guess is correct. The Four Great Shinobi Villages have noticed that Konoha has remained out of the conflict. If they continue a large-scale war, Konoha, doing nothing, will only grow stronger. That's why they scaled down the war, shifting from large-scale offensives to small-scale wars of attrition…"
"So, Orochimaru, which Shinobi Village do you think Konoha should actively attack?"
Danzo Shimura was eager for a big fight. He still remembered the First Shinobi World War when the Four Great Shinobi Villages jointly attacked Konoha.
"Danzo-sama, unless Konoha has the strength to fight one against four, no matter which Shinobi Village we actively attack, other Shinobi Villages might attack us. Other Shinobi Villages will not give up the chance to weaken Konoha's strength."
Orochimaru considered the operating styles of each Shinobi Village. Once Konoha attacked one village, the other villages might secretly look for an opportunity to attack Konoha.
Konoha had an absolute advantage in a one-on-one fight, could manage a one-on-two, and could also fight a one-on-three, though with heavy losses. A one-on-four… that would mean being prepared to fight to the death, using every means available.
"Does that mean Konoha can only wait for the enemy to attack now?"
Danzo Shimura angrily slapped the lamp, a completely habitual action.
You're really too skilled at that… Orochimaru pretended not to see Danzo Shimura's action, cleared her throat, and said, "Danzo-sama, unless we have a legitimate excuse, for example, our Ninja went missing in another country, or our treasures and Forbidden Technique were stolen by Ninja from another Shinobi Village…"
"Excuse?"
"Exactly. The war between the Four Great Shinobi Villages had a cause. Their elite Ninja sent to attack Uzushiogakure all died in Uzushiogakure. They all suspected each other, and that was the cause of the war."
Konoha currently had no reason to intervene in the war. Under the pretext of revenge, who would they seek revenge against?
It was the Four Great Shinobi Villages that jointly attacked Konoha in the First Shinobi World War. Kumogakure also had something to say about the death of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju; their Second Raikage, Ay, was ambushed and killed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
If Konoha seeks revenge, are you going to seek revenge against all Four Great Shinobi Villages?
Wouldn't that just give the Four Great Shinobi Villages an excuse to unite?
Currently, Konoha was already the strongest. They would be more than happy to unite again to attack Konoha and reduce Konoha from the strongest to the weakest.
There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Orochimaru knew very well that as long as the Four Great Shinobi Villages were given an excuse to unite, they would definitely put aside their past grievances and attack Konoha.
"Danzo-sama, Konoha is currently not involved in the war. To participate, we need a sufficiently legitimate reason, a reason that prevents the Four Great Shinobi Villages from uniting against Konoha. As for what kind of reason, isn't that up to us? If we say something was lost, then it was lost. Even if it wasn't lost, it was lost. Are the Four Great Shinobi Villages going to send envoys to investigate? And even if they did, what then? We'd just show them what we want them to see, wouldn't we?"
Orochimaru felt that whether the methods were insidious or not was unimportant; what mattered was whether the goal could be achieved. Attacking any Shinobi Village was simple; just find any excuse to send multiple Ninja squads into that country. Then, if conflicts arose with Ninja from other villages, there would be an excuse to shift the blame onto them.
"Wouldn't that be a bit…"
Danzo Shimura looked at Orochimaru with an expression of "you can do that?" He had never expected Orochimaru to come up with such insidious methods.
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