Chapter 45: Open the Gates—Let Danzō Out
Nearly a week had passed since Senju Morin led his forces to the front.
The Konoha and Kumogakure camps now faced one another from afar. On the surface, everything appeared calm and restrained—but beneath that stillness, blood had already begun to flow.
Inside the temporary command center, lamplight flickered, casting unsteady shadows across Morin's face, where a faint, inscrutable smile played at the corners of his mouth.
He was carefully examining a scroll of intelligence in his hands.
With ninja squads scattered throughout the Lands of Hot Water and Frost, reports now arrived daily in overwhelming numbers. Yet this particular document stood apart from all the rest.
It was a logistics route map of Kumogakure.
Drawn up by Jōnin Shimura Danzō and his so-called Special Tactical Unit, it had been delivered to the command center earlier that morning—and ultimately placed on Morin's desk.
One had to admit it.
Danzō, in his younger years, truly was capable.
A seven-man team of jōnin was no small thing, and under his command, they had not only withdrawn safely from deep within the Land of Frost—but had also brought back intelligence of immense value.
"Hokage-sama,"
said Nara Shikayuki quietly from the side,
"the source of Danzō's intelligence is unclear. The risk is extremely high. Please… exercise caution."
Shikayuki was a jōnin of the Nara clan—and the younger brother of Nara Shikatsune. Over the past several days, he had remained at Morin's side, assisting with the analysis and processing of intelligence.
"You're right, Shikayuki."
Morin closed the scroll and let out a soft, knowing smile.
"Anything Danzō submits is, by definition, suspect. Not only would you hesitate to use it—I wouldn't dare either."
"Much less use it as the basis for a large-scale troop movement."
Morin had never let down his guard around Danzō.
Trusting his intelligence blindly was out of the question. Risking himself on its basis would be outright foolish.
He rose from his seat and walked over to the massive map hanging nearby. His finger came to rest deep within the heartland of the Land of Lightning, and the smile on his face grew brighter.
"But if we return it to Danzō…"
"…then it becomes perfect."
"As the man who personally drew this route map, Danzō himself knows better than anyone whether it is genuine intelligence—or a carefully laid trap."
Morin straightened, his voice turning crisp and decisive.
"Pass down the order—"
At Senju Morin's sharp command, a ninja immediately entered the tent and dropped to one knee.
"Order the Special Tactical Unit to carry this intelligence and infiltrate the Lands of Frost and Lightning."
"Tell them that, in order to accomplish their objective, I authorize Danzō to employ any means necessary. He is permitted to formulate and execute all sabotage plans against Kumogakure at his own discretion."
"No need to report back. No reinforcements. All actions are to be decided on the spot by the unit commander—Shimura Danzō."
Open the gates.
Release Danzō.
The risks of infiltrating deep behind enemy lines during wartime needed no explanation.
But even if Danzō and his men were all wiped out in the Land of Lightning, Morin wouldn't lose any sleep over it. At most, their names would be engraved on Konoha's Memorial Stone, in accordance with custom.
But if Danzō survived—and truly succeeded in penetrating enemy territory—
Morin was genuinely curious.
A Danzō unshackled, stripped of restraints, leading an elite jōnin unit… just how much devastation could such a monster unleash?
"Yes!"
The messenger ninja rose at once, accepted the scroll from Morin's hand, and vanished in a flash.
With Danzō's matter settled, Morin returned to his desk. His gaze grew calm once more as he addressed Nara Shikayuki and the others.
"We can't afford complacency either. Continue sorting through the intelligence and keep a close eye on Kumogakure's movements."
"They've sent out elite squads again and again, yet failed to gain any advantage—let alone fully penetrate the Land of Hot Water. I expect the Third Raikage won't be able to endure this much longer."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Shikayuki answered respectfully, opening yet another intelligence scroll and beginning to read.
---
At the same time,
southwest of the Land of Frost—within Kumogakure's main camp.
The largest tent at the camp's center housed its core command: the Third Raikage himself.
BANG—!
With a thunderous roar, the solid wooden table before Raikage A exploded into splinters. Scrolls flew everywhere, scattering across the ground in a chaotic mess.
"Those Konoha rats! Always hiding behind despicable tricks!"
The infamous short fuse—and the habit of demolishing his own office—so characteristic of the future Fourth Raikage, was clearly inherited from his far more volatile father.
A's fury was fully justified.
Morin's conservative, defensive strategy had disgusted him to no end.
He had just received word that yet another jōnin squad had gone missing in the Land of Hot Water.
Already lacking a structured sensory-ninja system, Kumogakure's elites were suffering grievous losses against traps, barriers, ambushes, and other underhanded methods the moment they entered enemy territory.
Violent chakra churned within the tent.
Only after a long while did A forcibly suppress his rage, breathing heavily as he dropped back into his seat.
This feeling—having power with nowhere to unleash it—was unbearable.
He knew one thing for certain.
This war of attrition could not continue.
"Koi! Zed!"
At A's roar, two Kumogakure jōnin appeared instantly.
"Raikage-sama."
They knelt on one knee in unison.
The man called Zed looked mature—around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, roughly the same age as A himself. His expression was solemn, a white ninja blade strapped to his back.
Koi, by contrast, appeared younger—barely twenty. He wore rimless glasses, his brown spiky hair especially eye-catching.
"There's no need to dispatch any more squads,"
A said, clenching his fist until his knuckles cracked, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"Based on the intelligence we've gathered so far, we've already pinpointed the general location of Konoha's main force."
"Relay my order. Assemble all troops. Notify every squad we can still contact."
"At dawn tomorrow—
we strike Konoha's camp head-on and settle this once and for all!"
Koi instinctively adjusted his glasses and spoke urgently:
"Raikage-sama, there's no need to wait until tomorrow. We can assemble within the hour! If we're attacking, shouldn't we strike under cover of night and catch them off guard—"
"Idiot!"
A roared, cutting him off.
"Haven't you learned anything from our earlier losses?! As long as those damn Hyūga and their Byakugan are present, Konoha cannot be ambushed!"
"There's no need for schemes or tricks anymore! The essence of war is overwhelming force!"
"As long as we crush the Hokage's army head-on tomorrow, Konoha's bloodline techniques—and the wealth of the Land of Fire—will all become Kumogakure's spoils!"
"Compensation? Apologies?"
A snorted, battle-lust blazing like fire in his eyes.
"Hmph. That Senju brat sure talks big—
but I wonder…"
"…how much strength he actually has."