Danzo was destined to leave this high council meeting in a sour mood.
In truth, over the past three or four decades, scenes like this had played out in this office countless times. It wasn't that Danzo was obsessed with failure; rather, he used these conflicts to make his voice heard.
After all, Danzo was what you could call a political creature.
As long as politics were involved, even actions that seemed meaningless on the surface served a specific purpose for him.
Don't let the fact that he controlled Root through the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal fool you. To be fair, there was a significant number of people within Root who were fanatically loyal to Danzo. These individuals were genuinely captivated by his personal charisma and fully subscribed to his political ideology.
For that reason alone, Danzo had to constantly use his words and actions to project the image of a strongman politician.
These repeated clashes for power were merely extensions of his philosophy and will.
Just like right now.
Danzo made no attempt to hide the sinister look in his eyes. He stared straight at Tsunade.
"Hmph. Do as you wish. But I'll say the ugly part upfront: whoever makes the decision bears the responsibility. Furthermore, my Root will proceed with the operations as originally planned. Everything is for the Hidden Leaf."
With a cold snort, Danzo stood up. He slammed his cane heavily against the floor, turned on his heel, and marched out, showing absolutely no respect for Tsunade's authority as Hokage.
He hadn't respected Hiruzen Sarutobi back in the day, so there was no way he would show respect to a junior like Tsunade now. He wouldn't even do her the courtesy of pretending.
Watching Danzo storm off, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane exchanged helpless looks.
They had been friends for decades; they knew each other inside out.
"Tsunade, just proceed according to your own ideas. We will support you. As for Danzo, don't worry. We two old bones will keep an eye on him. But please, believe us when we say that everything Danzo does is for the sake of the Leaf. He has no other agenda. His methods are just... occasionally a little extreme. We hope you can tolerate him a bit more. After all, the Leaf cannot do without Danzo."
Seeing that Tsunade looked ready to retort, Homura quickly interjected to smooth things over.
The only one among them who could truly be ruthless was Danzo.
Whether it was the late Hiruzen, or Homura and Koharu, the three of them valued their old friendship deeply and genuinely trusted Danzo's character.
If they had been as ruthless as Danzo, Hiruzen would have stripped Danzo of his duties and reclaimed all power years ago.
In the end, the reason Danzo could still swagger around as a high-ranking official was entirely due to the permission of the Third Hokage.
'Occasionally? You call that occasionally?'
Tsunade cursed internally.
But since Homura had put it that way, Tsunade couldn't keep pushing. They were, after all, her elders. And Tsunade wasn't an iron-fisted dictator; she couldn't just purge them all.
"Fine. Please rest assured, Elder Homura. I know my limits," Tsunade said slowly, taking a deep breath to suppress her dissatisfaction.
"Good. Then we won't disturb you any longer."
Homura and Koharu exchanged a glance and stood up to leave together. Now that the Hokage was officially in place, their workload had decreased significantly. Under normal circumstances, unless a major crisis arose, the two advisors knew when to step back and wouldn't actively obstruct Tsunade.
What they didn't realize, however, was that their mere existence—and their clinging to power—was already an obstruction. The scene that had just played out was the perfect proof.
"Bastard!"
Once the two advisors were gone, Tsunade furiously threw the file in her hand across the room.
Shikaku and Shizune, standing to the side, stared intently at the floor or the wall, pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
Once Tsunade had composed herself, she spoke again.
"Shikaku, issue the orders we discussed. Also, notify the Hidden Sand. Tell them to send envoys to the Hidden Leaf immediately to discuss the terms."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Shikaku bowed and accepted the order.
---
Different people, different times, but often similar results.
With Tsunade's return and the flurry of orders issued from the Hokage's office, the entire Hidden Leaf Village sprang into action. And when the Leaf moved, it triggered a chain reaction in the surrounding nations.
Specifically for the Rock and the Cloud, the Leaf's choices directly impacted their own calculations.
The Cloud had been actively manufacturing friction at the border precisely to test the Leaf's attitude.
Now, the results of that test were in.
It wasn't what the Cloud or Rock wanted to see. Or, to be more accurate, it wasn't what the Cloud wanted to see.
The Hidden Stone's ancient, undying Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, never had high hopes of doing much damage to the Leaf in the first place. Although Ohnoki was much more decisive than Hiruzen Sarutobi and wouldn't hesitate to strike when necessary, he was getting old. His priority was a smooth transition of power to the next generation.
Cultivating a successor was what Ohnoki cared about most.
War with the Leaf? Starting the Fourth Great Ninja War?
Sorry, but Ohnoki didn't have that kind of ambition right now. Instead, he was far more interested in Menma Uzumaki.
That was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!
Even if it meant taking some risks or paying a price, Ohnoki felt it was worth a shot. Unlike the stubborn Fourth Raikage, the old man's strategy from the start was to "persuade" and "recruit" Menma into the Hidden Stone.
It was just a twelve-year-old boy. What was there to be afraid of?
In Ohnoki's own words:
'Can't this old man charm a little kid?'
Therefore, the Hidden Stone didn't care much about the Leaf's response. If the Leaf wanted to play hardball, so be it. Ohnoki wasn't planning to invade the Leaf anyway.
However, the Fourth Raikage was a different story.
When he heard that Tsunade had issued orders to reinforce the front lines and had seemingly struck a new balance with the Hidden Sand...
He was so furious that he smashed the new desk in his office—the one that had only been replaced a few days ago—into smithereens.
But no matter how angry A was, a missed opportunity was a missed opportunity.
He couldn't ignore the risks. Attacking the Hidden Leaf by force without the right timing would be a decision made only by someone with water in their brain.
---