"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

  Shimura Danzo took a deep breath and exhaled a high-pressure wind bullet from his mouth aimed at Bck Zetsu's limbs, kig up a cloud of dust.

  He started with his signature ninjutsu. There's no doubt that if it hit, it would leave some serious bruises.

  "Well, well, it seems we have nothing to discuss..." Bck Zetsu shook his head in disappoi. g his hands together, two thick vines sprouted from under his feet, blog the unstoppable Vacuum Great Sphere.

  The wi cutting into the Wood Release vines but couldn't break through.

  The force of the Vacuum Great Sphere diminished over time, eventually dissipating as if swallowed by the Wood Release.

  Seeing the androgynous figure before him use the Wood Release he had long coveted, Danzo's pupils shrank in shock. "Wood Release?! How... how is this possible? Who are you?"

  "Isn't it a bit te to ask such questions, Lord Danzo? Also, aren't you curious why your subordinates haven't e out to protect you yet?"

  "Kakuzu, Sasori, Jūzō, it's about time~"

  Swish, swish, swish—

  Three ninjas in bck cloaks with red clouds appeared on the surrounding branches, f a triangur formation that trapped Danzo in the ter.

  No exaggeration to say, all escape routes were blocked.

  Danzo looked straight ahead and saw a ninja wearing a Takigakure headband with a scratch, ed in bck threads, pying with Aburame Ryoma's head.

  On the side, a red-haired ninja with a Sunagakure headband scratched out had five of Danzo's subordinates, including Yamanaka Fū, hanging from chakra puppet striending from his fingers, swaying in the air.

  The st one was a Kirigakure rogue ninja carrying the Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Bde), with the heads of the remaining Root members pced steadily on the bde.

  Seeing this, Danzo's heart sank to the bottom.

  This was an anized, premeditated ambush targeting Root.

  And his subordinates... though not absolute elites, were at least selected Jōni in such a short time, they had been wiped out?!

  His most trusted and powerful subordinates, Aburame Ryoma and Yamanaka Fū, hadn't eve out a distress or warning signal.

  This group ue ninjas from various vilges, wearing this uniform... what are they?

  Danzo quickly searched his mind for reted information, eliminating all impossibilities, finally log onto—

  "You are from Amegakure, the Akatsuki anization."

  "Is it that Hanzo?"

  "Heh, I should have led Root to turn Amegakure upside down back then."

  Danzo's expression was grim, speaking with rese.

  He had mas in his life. Not having the resolve to elimihe Uchiha was one; but now it seemed... not destroying Hanzo and the Akatsuki was the biggest mistake.

  Not only was he going to die here today, but Konoha might also bee targeted by this group.

  If he could be ambushed despite having ten Root ninjas guarding him, who in Konoha could truly be safe?

  'I must get this information back to the vilge.'

  'Otherwise... Konoha will be in danger.'

  Danzo couldn't utter any more words. He tightened his grip on his kunai, adjusted his colr, and his eyes revealed extreme ruthlessness aermination:

  "If you want to kill me, go ahead and try."

  "Sigh... why did it have to e to this? We could have bee partners," Bck Zetsu sighed in disappoi. "Well the's do it~ Sasori, Kakuzu, Jūzō, attack together, don't hold back."

  "After all, he's the Darkness of the Shinobi World, not an oppoo be taken lightly."

  As his words fell, the three figures instantly disappeared from the branches, each using their unique skills to attack the surrounded Shimura Danzo.

  "Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

  "Ninja Art: Fme Prison Formation!"

  "Ninja Art: Tentacle Fist!"

  "Kubikiribōchō—!!"

  The battle of encirclemeed instantly!

  Soon, Danzo despairingly realized he was no match for this group.

  Even in a one-ouation, only the rogue ninja from Kirigakure wielding the Kubikiribōchō was someone he could handle.

  As for the other two...

  Danzo felt a sense of powerlessness remi of sparring with Hiruzen Sarutobi in his youth, being firmly suppressed by not just one level, but perhaps two.

  Undoubtedly, these two possessed Kage-level strength.

  Even in his younger days, he might not have been a match, let alone now when his skills had deed from years of office work.

  'If only... I had elimihe Uchiha earlier and seized the power of the Sharingan.'

  'If only Hiruzen were here, back-to-back with me against these damned assassins...'

  In a moment of distra, Danzo failed to notice the enemy attag from behind.

  Bck threads shot out from Kakuzu's body like spears, pierg through Danzo's back.

  "Urgh—"

  Already struggling like a dle in the wind, Danzo coughed up blood, his body swaying, and his vision began to blur.

  Struggling, he staggered to raise his hands, seemingly wanting to use ninjutsu to leave some mark on his enemies.

  Seeing that the target had lost mobility, Sasori stopped his attad silently retreated to the side.

  Kakuzu showed no mercy. Having succeeded irike, he pressed the advantage, shooting out five more bck-threaded spears, turning Danzo into a human pincushion.

  Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—

  Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—

  Danzo colpsed face-first onto the ground, his body twitg slightly, uo rise again, his gaze growing increasingly dim.

  Shimura Danzo's sciousness began to blur, and past memories fshed before him like a revolving ntern.

  Was the tale of the Darkness of the Shinobi World ing to an end like this?

  Danzo couldn't help but refle his life...

  'What a failure.'

  A ninja's value is determined by their death; they should die as a great ninja. But what was this?

  He couldn't save his most respected teacher, lost the Hokage position to his lifelong friend, his disciples died meaninglessly in the ninja wars, his fought till only he remained, his attempt to suppress the Uchiha failed, and his pn to gather political power outside the vilge for a future Konoha also failed...

  Even at the moment of death, he was all alone, uo see any of his three dear friends from Konoha.

  Failure seemed to permeate his entire life.

  'What a meaningless life.'

  "Well, well, is it over?"

  Bck Zetsu, who had been hiding in the shadows, emerged from behind a tree trunk. "Jūzō, go and take Shimura Danzo's head."

  "The t specified that we he head to settle the payment. We'll have to up afterward; if Konoha ninjas find out, things could get troublesome."

  "Don't damage the body; we still have use for it."

  "Tch—" Jūzō clicked his tongue. Such dirty work always fell to his Kubikiribōchō.

  Jūzō hefted his bde and walked toward the fallen, barely alive Shimura Danzo, holding the sword horizontally and aiming it at Danzo's neck.

  "Hehe... ha ha ha ha..."

  Uedly, Danzo, with bck threads pierg his back, suddenly struggled to stand up as if experieng a final burst of energy.

  He ughed maniacally, chakra light fshing in his hands.

  Kakuzu and Sasori, who were , were somewhat surprised. They didn't uand... logically, Danzo's heart should have stopped beating by now. What was sustaining him?

  "Not good!"

  Kakuzu, the maniputor of the bck threads, seemed to sense something through the chakra transmission ihreads, and his expression ged dramatically.

  He immediately retreated while shouting a warning: "Get away from Shimura Danzo!"

  Snap—

  Using all his strength, Danzo smmed his chakra-infused hand onto the ground—

  [Beware of Amegakure]

  The message, carrying all of Danzo's will, transformed into tless seals flowing from his palm into the ground, peing deep beh the earth.

  "Even ih, you won't get any information from me that could harm Konoha."

  "For Konoha, you all... will die here!"

  Danzo tore open his shirt, revealing the terrifying Reverse Four Symbols Sealing formu on his chest.

  "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, activate—!!!"

  Danzo shouted fiercely, and in the sed, a terrifying bergy wave spread out, engulfing everything around.

  Jūzō, uo dodge in time, was instantly enveloped by the bergy. He didn't even have time to scream before his flesh, bones, and even the Kubikiribōchō were pletely ed.

  The ground, dust, trees—everything that came into tact with the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing vanished in an instant.

  As if... they had never existed in the ninja world.

  After expanding to a certain limit, the bck spherical wave began to retract, flowing back toward Danzo.

  Danzo turned his head toward Konoha, quietly feeling his body being ed.

  'In this way... perhaps my life isn't a plete failure.'

  'This time, I finally went ahead of you... Hiruzen.'

  Whoosh—

  A gentle breeze passed by, bringing a touch of life to the silent air.

  The surviving Kakuzu, Sasori, and Bck Zetsu stood on distant tree trunks, staring bnkly at the massive crater on the ground, and at the sealing script etched into it that even the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing couldn't erase.

  "Beware of Kirigakure..."

  "What a terrifying madman, pnting a Reverse Four Symbols Sealing in his own body, ready to take the enemy down with him at any time."

  Bck Zetsu wiped ent sweat (sap) from his forehead, still shaken.

  Despite living for thousands of years, he had no means against sealing teiques. If Kakuzu hadn't warned him in time, he might have been caught. If touched by the bck chakra wave of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing... he would die all the same.

  Sealing teiques are just too unreasonable!

  Bck Zetsu felt indignant.

  There are many ways in the ninja world for the weak to defeat the strong, but sealing teiques are among the most disgusting.

  Ign turies of cultivation, ign the abilities of Kekkei Genkai, regardless of how much chakra you have, or how strong it is, or how glorious you were in life—if you get touched by a sealing teique, it's over.

  His mother was sealed away by the stro sealing teique, and he had almost followed in her footsteps just now.

  "Tch... that Jūzō guy."

  Kakuzu jumped down from the tree. The spot where Jūzō and Danzo had been was now nothing but a rge crater with sealing script.

  "The Kubikiribōchō was a nice on; it could've fetched a good price. What a pity."

  Kakuzu showed ional fluctuatiohe loss of his rade. To him, only money was a loyal partner.

  The three gathered around the crater. Sasori spoke first: "What about the script in the crater? Should we destroy it? It could be troublesome if Konoha sees it."

  Hearing this, Bck Zetsu crouched down and cpped his hands.

  The script in the crater began to distort until it transformed into—[Beware of Kirigakure]

  Though he wao lead Konoha ninjas directly to Amegakure so that Nagato could elimihem, he realized that could make the situation untrolble, possibly leading to the Five Great Nations uniting against them. So he gave up on that idea.

  Looking at the message Danzo had left with his life but which he had altered, Bck Zetsu cpped his hands in satisfa. "Well, with Shimura Danzo dead, our payment might be halved."

  Indeed, attag Shimura Danzo was one of his own desires, hoping to recruit more useful ninjas into the Akatsuki. But the direct faotivating them to risk infiltrating Konoha was the bounty from the underground exge.

  The underground exge doesn't ask for the t's name, only about the mission.

  It was clear that the t who issued the bounty on Shimura Danzo was quite angry~ Konoha had just pleted a military operation against Kusagakure, and immediately such a bounty osted, specifying that they wahe head.

  Iurbulent times, carrying out assassination missions would undoubtedly increase the iy of flict between ninja vilges.

  Great! The more chaotic, the better! Not only would it make the ninja world more unstable, but it would als reveo the Akatsuki. Bck Zetsu admired the t's sense of the bigger picture.

  "I probably guess who the t issuing this bounty is."

  "Not ied; as long as they pay."

  "Kakuzu, with the reward halved, don't you feel it's a pity?"

  "Pity?"

  Bck threads extended from Kakuzu's body, twisting and revealing Shimura Danzo's head, lifelike.

  "When I pierced Danzo with my threads, I took a piece of his flesh. Though it's fake, it looks pretty real."

  Soon, the fake head of Danzo appeared in Kakuzu's hand. "Also, I don't uand; what do they want his flesh for?"

  "Heh, as expected of you, Kakuzu."

  "As for why they want his flesh... it's for anization's new member."

  Bck Zetsu took the flesh handed over by Kakuzu and casually expined, "In short, the new member has been ordered by the leader to researd develop ypes of ninjutsu. anization will iure."

  As they versed, Sasori used his puppet strings to lift the bodies of the Root ninjas, except for Danzo. "For the mission, only the heads are needed, right?"

  "That's correct. Why?"

  "Then... I'll use these bodies to make puppets. They were all fairly strong ninjas."

  "Feel free."

  Sasori nodded a without looking back, carrying the bodies.

  One of the best things about the Akatsuki is that it allue ninjas, who have vioted taboos and are unwele in their vilges, to fully utilize their talents.

  Getting ten Jōnin corpses at once, including Kekkei Genkai users... that's impossible in a normal ninja vilge.

  But in the Akatsuki, they just did it!

  Fue ninjas like Sasori, they might ck loyalty but not i.

  Unlike Kakuzu, Sasori wasn't ied in money. He wouldn't have bothered with this bounty if the targets weren't high-level ninjas; he preferred to stay in his base improving his puppets.

  After Sasori left, Kakuzu strung together the heads of the ten Root ninjas with bck threads and curiously asked, "Zetsu, which vilge is the new member from?"

  "Konoha Vilge... you'll meet him soon wheurn to the base."

  "What's his ability?"

  "An excellent grasp of ninja sd... some astounding forbidden teiques."

  "Tch—so secretive. Fine, I'm off to cash in."

  Seeing Bck Zetsu being mysterious, Kakuzu lost i and turo head for the exge to collect the bounty.

  Behind him, Bck Zetsu reminded, "Don't fet, after cashing iill o utilize the heads."

  "Got it."

  Bck Zetsu remained alone, surveying the surroundings. After firming that no one was secretly , his body slowly sank into the ground.

  The members of the Akatsuki were driven by is and hatred toward its predetermined goal; he couldn't fall behind~

  To achieve his objective as soon as possible, the Akatsuki needed ample funds and members starting at the elite Jōnin level... Currently, the Akatsuki's membership was too low.

  Nagato, Konan, Sasori, Kakuzu, Jūzō, and the newly joined member.

  Now that Jūzō was dead, they barely had Sasori and Kakuzu left... Not even enough for an anization; in a ninja vilge, they couldn't even form a three-man genin team—what a joke!

  The pnned member didates had either fled or disappeared.

  Obito Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Orochimaru... oer ahey deviated from his pns, which was extremely rare in Bck Zetsu's long life.

  Especially Obito Uchiha; the final implementation of the pn would have to be residered.

  "I need more manpower..."

  "Where to go first?"

  "Blood Prison? Land of Snow? Or... Sky try."

  Finally, Bck Zetsu's body pletely sank into the ground, disappearing into the vast night.

  Leaving behind only traces of blood, telling the tale of tonight's fierce battle.

  Far away, in the Sarutobi residen Konoha.

  Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt a pang of unease. He sat up from his bed, looked at the bright moon outside the window, took out his pipe, and began to smoke heavily.

  "What's happened now? Why do I feel so restless?"

  In the Hokage Building.

  ", we'll discuss the resettlement of the Uzumaki ."

  In the ference hall, Nara Shikaku, who was still ag as Advisor secretary-general, stood up to report.

  Until Danzo returo the vilge to plete the handover, he still had to work in the Hokage Building, enduring Gojo Kaigetsu's exploitation.

  The resettlement of the Uzumaki .

  This sensitive issue, a legacy of the times, was finally ba Konoha's agenda.

  Topics that were oouchable were now being freely addressed one by one by Gojo Kaigetsu; freedom of speech was increasing.

  "Iki" never deceives.

  Having started the topiara Shikaku tinued: Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Momohime, Uzumaki Karin.

  These are the three Uzumaki currently living in Konoha.

  o mention Kushina—she's the Hokage's wife and the ails Jinchūriki, famous throughout the nd.

  As for the other two, one is an ordinary person, and the other is an infant... How to promote and attract the wandering Uzumaki survivors back to the vilge has bee Konoha's top priority.

  Gojo Kaigetsu spoke first: "We'll allocate a portion of the Senju 's nd to the Uzumaki as their new residence."

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  The political stance was clear. Except for not ging his suro Senju, Gojo Kaigetsu was essentially managing all matters reted to the Senju .

  From initially using the Senju 's property deeds to develop new ercial streets to now allog d.

  Now that the territory was set, it was time to sider the issue of expanding the .

  Gojo Kaigetsu looked at the names written on Shikaku's whiteboard: Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Momohime, Uzumaki Karin...

  o mention Kushina; in two or three months, she'll probably give birth to the future "prince."

  Given Minato's personality, he might still name him Uzumaki Naruto... As for having a sed or third child in respoo the "More Children, More Happiness" policy, that's their family matter; Gojo Kaigetsu wouldn't ent.

  'As for the leader, it's best if a male ninja takes the role. Uzumaki Momohime is just an ordinary persoer not involve her in the ninja world's flicts.'

  'We first firm the d; this has political significe. As for the leader, we'll wait for other Uzumaki survivors to e.'

  From the perspective of the Hokage's liheory and respeg individual wishes, Gojo Kaigetsu hoped that Uzumaki Momohime could remarry.

  The target families are just two—the Uchiha and the Hyuga.

  The bination of Senju and Uzumaki didn't produ exceptional bloodline. After two geions, by the time of Tsunade, aside from extraordinary physical strength and vitality, none of the advantages were passed down. It was a waste of two powerful Senju bloodlines.

  Moreover, the Senju o longer had any male heirs. So, the Senju bloodline route is a pass!

  As for the other Senju bloodlihe Kaguya ... The only male heir, Kimimaro, is still in the orphanage receiving education. Iure, perhaps he could be paired with the grown-up Karin.

  So, after sidering, only the Uchiha and Hyuga remain.

  bining the Senju body and the Sage's eyes formu, from the ter performance of the "prince," it seems that bining Uzumaki and Hyuga bloodlines produce the Tenseigan. As for the abilities of the Tenseigan... Gojo Kaigetsu felt they were somewhat underwhelming pared to other overpowered eye teiques.

  As for the Uchiha...

  There are no known instances of the Uchiha marrying outside the , partly to prevent bloodline leakage and partly to keep the Sharingan's power pure.

  For this reason, the Uchiha mostly married within the or with civilian ninjas, never sidering merging bloodlio create more powerful abilities.

  But... owing to the debt of gratitude that ever be repaid, as long as Gojo Kaigetsu asks, the Uchiha will agree to a marriage alliah the Uzumaki .

  This trivial request, Gojo Kaigetsu believes the Uchiha will give him face.

  As distaives of the Senju, the Uzumaki naturally possess immeality and chakra... bining with the Uchiha 't be bad.

  However... Mikoto Uchiha is about to give birth soon. If he tries to pair up Braku with Uzumaki Momohime now, wouldn't that be a bit too insiderate?

  'As a Advisor, I'm in a difficult position~'

  Gojo Kaigetsu tapped his fingers on the fereable:

  "The Uzumaki has always been an inseparable part of Konoha. Even after establishing Uzushiogakure, the brotherhood remains."

  "We o build a new era of Konoha-Uzushiogakure friendship, calling back the wandering Uzumaki survivors to the vilge, properly resettling them. We must do both and do both well..."

  Gojo Kaigetsu spouted some bureaucratic rhetoric, then waved his hand: "Adjourned. Fugaku Uchiha, please stay. We'll revene in ten minutes."

  In the empty feren, only Gojo Kaigetsu and Fugaku Uchiha remained.

  Gojo Kaigetsu rubbed his hands together, grinning slyly: "Fugaku~ What do you think of Lady Momohime?"

  Unaware that he was being targeted, Fugaku replied truthfully: "She's quite pitiful. Perhaps her experiences in Kusagakure left her in despair."

  "Last night, I arranged for her to stay in the Uchiha pound. I tested the waters; she's not very ied in rebuilding the Uzumaki , just wants to live peacefully."

  "Uandable, since she's not a ninja."

  If she doesn't want to rebuild, so be it. But the Uzumaki 's name must still be promoted.

  Given the Uzumaki 's natural advantages as ninjas and their historical ties with Konoha... If they gather the Uzumaki survivors and earn their loyalty, Konoha will gain a source of "good family" recruits.

  [One Konoha, One Gover, One Hokage]

  Power es from the barrel of a gun; Konoha needs a force absolutely loyal to the Hokage and the Advisor to eability and unite all ninja s.

  Civilian ninjas are the best, but without ied ninjutsu or Kekkei Genkai, it's hard for them to stand out, and their strength might be g.

  The Uchiha could be used, but sihey owe a debt of gratitude that 't be repaid. But Konoha already has the Police Force, and it's not good to make them the bad guys again after w hard to improve their reputation.

  Otherwise, followers of the Sed and Third Hokage or Danzo might attempt a "Root Restoration."

  Therefojo Kaigetsu's ideal direit is a pletely ninja with no ties to Konoha's existing s. Trained from scratch, bound to the Gojo family's is through gratitude...

  Alternatively, individual ninjas like Mei Terumi, Pakura, and Yugito Nii, who have been captivated by Gojo Kaigetsu's mase charm and driven by personal will.

  Besides the above purposes, there's another reason Gojo Kaigetsu wants to promote the Uzumaki ...

  Though the ces are slim, what if? What if Nagato Uzumaki lets go of his anger and doesn't bee a "rice mover"?

  Ninjas value bonds the most. The friendship between Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko is a bond, his teacher-studeionship with Jiraiya is a bond, and his familial ties with the Uzumaki , though distant, are also bonds... right?

  They're all red-haired Uzumaki with Sage bodies; Nagato, are you going to be the odd o?

  That's what Gojo Kaigetsu thought. By gathering more Uzumaki members, perhaps when Nagato flies over Konoha preparing to unleash Chibaku Tensei, he'll hesitate.

  So, promoting the Uzumaki is imperative!

  As for how to maximize the visibility of "Konoha's Uzumaki "?

  Writing stories in "Iki" is one way, and another is to pair them quickly with high-profile ninja s! Hmm... The Uchiha are quite suitable.

  Gojo Kaigetsu had even thought of the headlines:

  "Love in the Ninja World: The tury-Long Union of Uchiha and Uzumaki!", "Sky-High Dowry: The Uzumaki 's Dowry is aire Vilge", and other attention-grabbing phrases.

  Gojo Kaigetsu said: "So~ Fugaku, what's Lady Mikoto's attitude toward Lady Momohime?"

  "Mikoto? She probably feels sorry for her." Fugaku recalled, a happy smile appearing: "Mikoto even helped take care of little Karin for a while."

  "Oh, so she doesn't object?"

  "She doesn't object. Why?"

  Fugaku was a bit puzzled, feeling that the Advisor was ag straoday.

  A familiar feeling, as if he was about to be shielded again.

  Snap—

  Gojo Kaigetsu pced his hands on Fugaku's shoulders, his unseen eyes full of siy: "Fugaku~ Would you like a Mistress?"

  "Huh?"

  "Cough—"

  "Regarding the resettlement of the Uzumaki , I've discussed it with Police Chief Fugaku... He's goo ha. Let's tihe meeting," Gojo Kaigetsu cleared his throat and announced, moving to the agenda item: "What's the situation with the Daimyō?"

  Upon hearing this, Nara Shikaku smiled wryly and began to expiuation.

  Someone from the Nara works in the Daimyō's pace. Although the Daimyō's envoys were still on their way to Konoha, the Nara had already reyed the message.

  The message was simple and clear, o words: [The Daimyō is furious, may strip the Kage of power]

  Such a special military operation, carried out without the Daimyō's approval or even notification, had indeed incurred his wrath.

  Moreover, the target wasn't a longtime enemy but the Land of Grass, whinually paid tribute to the Daimyō with rare treasures!

  Konoha's as were tantamount to giving the Daimyō a loud sp in front of the entire ninja world. How dare the military bypass the civil administration to mobilize ninja forces?

  If he didn't severely reprimand them this time, tomorrow the Land of Fire might ge its o Namikaze!

  That's why the Daimyō was so angry, even sending envoys intending to strip Minato Namikaze of his Hokage title.

  Even more extremely, he might abolish the Hokage position and have the Daimyō's bureaucratistitutions govern directly.

  If they couldn't give the Daimyō a satisfactory answer, Konoha might lose its political legitimacy.

  This matter is both big and small.

  After all, it's not aernal invasion; the Daimyō and his envoys are political leaders in most, they could strip some legitimacy, but they couldn't threaten the lives of Konoha's ninjas.

  If it were during the Third Hokage or Danzo's time, they might have paid more attention to the Daimyō, but now...

  Nara Shikaku g Gojo Kaigetsu, who yawned boredly: "There's nothing to worry about. Konoha's stance remains unged. Let the Daimyō scold us all he wants, but we won't accept even a penny less in funding."

  "Otherwise, hmph hmph~"

  To deal with the Daimyō's envoys, Gojo Kaigetsu had already reached an "Agreement on Non-Aggressioween Ninja Vilges and Specifi National Aggression" with ōnoki.

  "Also, the military factories we started building during Kirigakure's period of free a are almost plete. Let's take this opportunity to leak some information."

  "Tell the ninja world and the Daimyō that Konoha's military budget has increased!"

  Strike first to avoid a hurikes ter. Gojo Kaigetsu decided to take this opportunity to y his cards oable with the Daimyō, letting him restrain himself and st to extend his influeo Konoha.

  To prevent him from ag up ter and sending envoys to Konoha to piedly. If he behaves, Gojo Kaigetsu has no iiarding the Daimyō's position. But if he doesn't, iure, the Land of Fire will be named Gojond, and Konoha Vilge will be Namikaze!

  Advisojo's patience has its limits~

  Nara Shikaku smiled awkwardly. After all, someone from his worked for the Daimyō, and seeing Advisojo's attitude, he felt a bit flicted.

  He decided to skip this segment:

  "What's strange is that there's ion from Kumogakure... The grandson of their Elder cil died during the special operation, and their Jinchūriki publicly announced her defe, yet Kumogakure acts as if nothing happened."

  "It's unusually calm."

  "Our intelligence department hasn't rexed, but indeed hasn't detected any military movements."

  "Hmm..."

  Gojo Kaigetsu he situation was roughly so. He had subtly hio Samui, and intercepted informatio night; Kumogakure indeed hadn't taken a.

  However, "no a" refers to no official a. After all, Samui was in tact with the Raikage.

  Gojo Kaigetsu was worried that Kumogakure wasn't monolithid that the militaristic fa within, possibly led by the Raikage A, might be secretly mobilizing troops against Konoha.

  Ha, the ninja world is truly crazy when even Raikage A be sidered a moderate servative.

  Gojo Kaigetsu spoke, defining the matter: "This doesn't align with Kumogakure's usual behavior. I'm afraid their militaristic fa has started preparing against Konoha, possibly pnning military as."

  "It could be a special military operation or an assassination attempt, but a full-scale ninja war is unlikely. In any case, strengthen defenses around Konoha these days; better safe than sorry."

  At this point, the Konoha meeting was about to clude.

  But at that moment, messenger ninja Kakashi Hatake hurriedly burst into the feren—

  "Gojo-sama, something terrible has happened!"

  "Elder Danzo, he..."

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