For Shimura Danzō to say something like that meant he could only be speaking on behalf of himself.
And since this matter absolutely could not be allowed to leak out, Dodai no longer had the same reservations he previously held.
"That's not the point," Danzō said calmly, ignoring Dodai's sarcasm.
"This is a matter of mutual benefit. Kumogakure has no reason to refuse."
Dodai shook his head.
"Assassinating the Third Hokage of Konoha? Forgive my bluntness, but in this matter I only see risk, not the benefits you claim."
Of course, Dodai was no fool.
He could clearly see the benefits Danzō was offering. Saying this was merely a way to extract greater advantages.
But Danzō refused to take the bait and spoke directly.
"If Hiruzen Sarutobi dies, it will be a massive blow to Konoha."
"As one side weakens, the other grows stronger."
"For Kumogakure, that means increased advantage."
"Our two villages have always been enemies. If you ever had the chance, you would surely attempt to assassinate the Hokage yourselves."
"By acting now, you merely save yourselves the trouble."
After a pause, Danzō continued.
"At that time, I will create an opportunity for you to take back the Eight-Tails jinchuriki."
"Once Konoha no longer holds a hostage, your village will naturally no longer need to fulfill the previous treaty."
"This is the greatest benefit I can offer. I have nothing more to give."
To be honest, Dodai was extremely tempted by these terms.
After all, Kumogakure still owed nearly half of the promised compensation to Konoha.
That alone was an enormous amount.
Just this single condition was enough to make Dodai seriously consider accepting Danzō's proposal.
Not to mention that Danzō's request would ultimately harm Konoha itself.
But when facing a man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi World," Dodai dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest.
Feigning hesitation, Dodai waited a long time before speaking.
"But Hiruzen Sarutobi is not easy to kill. What if you go back on your word and refuse to release the Eight-Tails jinchuriki?"
Danzō replied calmly,
"If I conspire with you to assassinate the Hokage, do you think I will still have a retreat path?"
"If I refuse to release him afterward, you can simply spread the news that I conspired with you to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"You may not have evidence, but carrying the reputation of a suspected Hokage assassin—do you think I could still become the Fourth Hokage?"
"Of course," he added coldly, "if you plan to use this matter to blackmail me later, that won't work either."
"I have spent most of my life walking in the shadows."
"I have borne countless false accusations and infamy for the sake of Konoha."
"One more slanderous rumor makes little difference."
Dodai knew that Danzō's words were not empty.
Right now, Danzō needed to maintain his political image because he was competing for the position of Hokage.
But once he actually became Hokage, with Danzō's methods, he would likely quickly seize full control of Konoha.
At that point, rumors would no longer matter.
Even if the truth came out—that Danzō had killed Hiruzen Sarutobi—there would be little anyone could do.
Dodai finally spoke.
"I need time to consider this—and to ask the Raikage for approval."
"There is no time," Danzō said, shaking his head slightly.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi brought only two ANBU squads with him on his trip to the Fire Daimyō's Court."
"Our only chance is to ambush him on his return journey."
"This opportunity is once in a lifetime."
"I do not have time to wait for you to slowly report back."
"You will have to act first and report later."
"Impossible," Dodai replied firmly.
"If I do not report this matter, I simply do not have the strength to ambush Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Not only did our delegation bring very few elite shinobi, but even if we had more, it would be impossible to quietly leave Konoha under everyone's watchful eyes."
"Heh."
Danzō sneered.
"Enough pretending, Dodai."
"Don't think I don't know that although Kumogakure's army withdrew from the Land of Hot Water, you secretly left behind several elite jōnin squads lurking near the border of the Land of Fire."
"They are there to respond to the diplomatic delegation at any time."
"With those forces—combined with mine—killing Hiruzen Sarutobi will be more than enough."
Dodai's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Kumogakure's small secret arrangement to be completely exposed by Danzō.
The intelligence network of Root, the shadow behind the ANBU, truly lived up to its reputation.
After a moment of silence, Dodai realized he would gain nothing more from Danzō.
He made a decisive choice.
"Very well."
"But once the mission succeeds, you must immediately release Killer B and ensure that we return safely to the Land of Lightning."
Danzō smiled slightly.
"Rest assured. I have no desire to cause such a major incident the moment I become Hokage."
"So once the matter is finished, the Eight-Tails jinchuriki will be released immediately."
"Then it's settled," Dodai said.
Danzō stood up.
"Good. Notify your people immediately and have them move toward the Fire Daimyō's Court."
"I will send someone to inform you of the exact timing of the attack."
"Then I won't keep you any longer."
Dodai clasped his hands politely.
"I won't see you out."
Danzō said nothing further and left the room.
Once the sound of footsteps completely disappeared, Samui, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
"Lord Dodai… are we really going to cooperate with Shimura Danzō?"
"Working with him is like bargaining with a tiger."
Dodai shook his head.
"Danzō is indeed a dangerous man. Under normal circumstances, I would never cooperate with him."
"But this time is different."
"At least one thing he said was correct."
"This matter brings nothing but benefits to Kumogakure."
"In the end, this is simply Konoha's internal struggle."
"The harder they fight among themselves, the better it is for us."
He continued calmly,
"Just wait and see."
"If Konoha truly falls into Shimura Danzō's hands, then within a few years their overall strength will decline by eighty or ninety percent."
Samui's eyes flickered.
"That's not what worries me."
"What concerns me is that… for Danzō, this matter is still a potential liability."
"If it were me, I would silence everyone involved after the fact."
"And if even I would think that way, Danzō certainly would as well."
Dodai smiled.
"Do you remember the intelligence report we received recently?"
Samui paused, thinking for a moment.
"You mean the report from the Land of Rain, claiming that Shimura Danzō and Hanzō of the Salamander clashed violently and both sides suffered heavy losses?"
"But that information hasn't been verified yet…"
Dodai interrupted her.
"It seems that report was true."
"And Danzō's losses were likely far worse than we originally believed."
"Right now, he simply does not have the strength to carry out this plan on his own."
"Otherwise, he would never have come to us."
"So he doesn't have the power to silence us afterward."
Dodai's gaze turned cold.
"This time…"
"We will make sure Konoha suffers a devastating blow."
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