Just as Kizaru had begun following Tsunade and learning those unusual abilities, Kakuzu, who had already accepted the bounty, also began to move.
The Land of Rivers, where Kakuzu had previously been staying, bordered the Land of Fire. Because of that, it took him only half a day to slip into the Land of Fire unnoticed.
After hiding himself in a town near Konohagakure, Kakuzu soon discovered a troublesome problem.
His target—Shimura Kizaru—had never accepted a mission.
If Kizaru did not take on missions, then he would not leave the village, and Kakuzu would naturally have no chance to strike.
Although he was once a dangerous shinobi who had attempted to assassinate the First Hokage and still managed to escape alive, Kakuzu did not believe he could successfully kill his target inside Konohagakure itself.
After all, the information from the black market made it clear that the target was no weakling.
Kizaru already had a record of killing jōnin, while the matter involving his ambush of the Raikage had been suppressed by the three great shinobi villages. Based on that alone, Kakuzu judged that defeating him quickly would be difficult.
And if he failed to kill the target in a short amount of time, then carrying out an assassination inside Konoha would only leave him surrounded, with little hope of escape.
Seven hundred and fifty million ryō was certainly tempting, but Kakuzu had always preferred to stay alive long enough to spend the money he earned.
Because of that, he remained hidden in the town with remarkable patience, waiting for the right opportunity.
An opportunity for Kizaru to leave the village.
At the same time, through one of the underground bounty exchange stations in the Land of Fire, Kakuzu also passed a message to the client behind the enormous bounty.
He needed their help to lure Shimura Kizaru out of the village.
Only then would it be easy for him to act.
As for Kakuzu's request, the three great shinobi villages that had placed the bounty understood it very well.
After all, across the entire shinobi world, how many ninja could truly infiltrate one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and assassinate a genius-level shinobi at their very base of operations?
On that matter, Kumogakure had the most right to speak.
After all, their own genius shinobi, Dodai, had been killed by Shimura Kizaru right in the heart of their base.
And it had not even been an assassination.
It had been a one-sided kill, carried out in front of hundreds of shinobi.
The more the Third Raikage thought about it, the more furious he became.
During this period, under the Third Raikage's leadership, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure had been in frequent contact, and there were already signs of the three villages joining forces to suppress Konoha.
There was no helping it.
Kizaru's performance during his raid on Kumogakure had been far too amazing.
Konoha was naturally aware of the changes among the three great villages as well. Danzō had stepped up Root's external intelligence work, while the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had even reduced the number of missions the village accepted.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only Kirigakure, with its isolationist policy, seemed detached. The others had all begun to sense the approach of war.
The shinobi world still looked calm on the surface, but in truth, it had already become a massive powder keg.
All it lacked was a single spark.
"Hanzo-sama, everything is ready!"
Inside a large chamber in Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander sat at the head seat, wearing his breathing mask as always. Below him stood Amegakure's elite shinobi.
Every ninja in the room looked up at him with eyes full of reverence and fanaticism.
At that moment, in their eyes, Hanzo was no longer merely a powerful shinobi.
He was a great leader.
A god. (PS: A fodder.)
The Land of Rain had been poor and weak for far too many years. More than anything, its people longed for the appearance of a hero—someone who could lead them out of their stagnant fate and change the country's future.
Now, Hanzo had become that hope.
They all believed that under his leadership, the Land of Rain would one day rise to become the sixth great power, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Five Great Nations.
Rising from his seat, Hanzo stepped forward and looked down at the massive sand table in front of him.
Upon it lay the full outline of both his ambition and Amegakure's.
Strike the Land of Iron.
Cripple the Land of Wind.
Break the Land of Fire.
With those three wars, they would seize new territory, expand their borders, and elevate the Land of Rain into a true great power in one decisive stroke.
Hanzo lifted his gaze from the sand table and swept it across the fanatical men standing below.
At this moment, his chest swelled with pride.
For the first time in many years, he felt that the dream he had pursued for so long was finally within reach.
Under the countless expectant eyes fixed upon him, Hanzo spoke with absolute confidence.
"Tomorrow morning, we launch a surprise attack on the Land of Iron."
"Yes!"
The shinobi below answered in unison, their voices filled with excitement and joy.
With Hanzo's command, the spark that would ignite the powder keg of the shinobi world was lit in the Land of Rain—a country of endless downpours and sprawling swamps.
At six o'clock the next morning, Danzō had only just woken up when he received urgent intelligence from his subordinates.
The Land of Rain had declared war on the Land of Iron.
Hanzo himself had personally led Amegakure's forces in a surprise assault.
Without wasting a single moment, Danzō left his residence and headed straight for Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Before departing, he gave one order to the clan members nearby.
"Wake Kizaru up and send him to the Hokage Building to await orders."
"Yes, sir!"
Not long after Danzō left, Kizaru, dragged out of sleep, put on his clothes with half-lidded, drowsy eyes and left the Shimura compound.
By the time he arrived at Hiruzen's office, several people were already gathered inside the room.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat in the main seat. Beside him stood Hokage Advisor Danzō, while the other two advisors, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, sat on either side.
ANBU Commander Sarutobi Shinnosuke was also present, along with Hatake Sakumo, both standing by on the side.
After entering, Kizaru glanced around the room, then quietly walked over to stand beside Sarutobi Shinnosuke without saying a word.
Not long after Kizaru arrived, Tsunade entered as the representative of Konoha Hospital.
Soon after that, Jiraiya and Orochimaru also hurried into the office.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his pipe and turned his gaze toward Danzō beside him.
Understanding his old friend's meaning, Danzō gave a light cough and began to speak.
"According to Root's intelligence, at three o'clock this morning, Hanzo of the Land of Rain personally led Amegakure's forces in a raid on the Land of Iron. The current state of the battle is still unknown, and I have already ordered our people to intensify reconnaissance."
Danzō's words instantly shattered the room's brief calm.
"The Land of Iron is no match for Hanzo," Homura Mitokado said at once.
"We absolutely cannot allow Hanzo to swallow up the Land of Iron," Koharu Utatane added.
"Hanzo's ambition is exactly what I warned about before," Danzō said firmly. "We cannot sit back and watch the Land of Rain rise. My opinion is simple—send troops into the Land of Rain."
The moment Danzō finished speaking, Jiraiya, who was standing beside Orochimaru behind Tsunade, parted his lips as if he wanted to say something.
But Orochimaru, who understood Jiraiya's temperament all too well, immediately noticed.
He stretched out a hand to stop him, then gave Jiraiya a subtle shake of the head.
Jiraiya's mouth slowly closed again, and though reluctance lingered on his face, he remained silent.
"If we send troops into the Land of Rain, I'm worried Kumogakure may make a move," said Sarutobi Shinnosuke. As the head of ANBU, he had recently been tasked with closely monitoring Kumogakure's movements, and his concern was not without basis.
"What Shinnosuke says makes sense. We must remain on guard against Kumogakure," Homura said in agreement.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a slow nod, clearly agreeing with both of them.
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