Danzo's Gift

In Amegakure, a secret location of Konoha, Danzo was flipping through the latest information received from the village.

Facing Hanzo's declaration of war, Danzo, who had been given the authority to start a war by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, could have directly declared war on Amegakure without waiting for the village's decision.

If it were the future Danzo, whose power and ambitions had expanded after experiencing the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, he might have initiated the war directly and seized the opportunity to strengthen his own influence.

However, now, in a close alliance with Hiruzen, and with the exceptionally talented Kizaru as the political force and ideal successor, Danzo did not hastily exercise this authority. Instead, he patiently waited for the village's orders.

It can be said that due to Kizaru's appearance, the connection between the Shimura clan and the Sarutobi clan, Danzo and Hiruzen, had become even closer.

Kizaru was not only a genius of the Shimura clan and Danzo's direct descendant, but also the personally taught disciple of Hiruzen.

He represented two families and the entire future of the Hokage faction.

As long as Kizaru became the Hokage, both Danzo and the Shimura clan, as well as Hiruzen and the Sarutobi clan, would be assured of their future interests.

Therefore, Danzo never doubted whether his genius nephew would inherit the position of Hokage in the future.

The position of Hokage undoubtedly belonged to Kizaru!

Unless all the power of the Hokage faction was sacrificed, no one would be qualified to compete with Kizaru.

Looking at the news from the village, mentioning that Iwagakure wanted to form an alliance with Konoha, and Hiruzen appointing Kizaru as the Hokage's guard for the meeting, a smile appeared on Danzo's face.

He seemed to see the dawn of his ideal realization.

Danzo's greatest ideal was not just the position of Hokage, or rather, it was more than just the position of Hokage.

To ascend to the position of Hokage, leading Konoha to unite the ninja world, was Danzo's greatest ideal.

Before, Danzo thought that only by becoming Hokage himself would he have a chance to achieve this.

But Kizaru's appearance gave Danzo a greater hope.

Shimura Kizaru, a new God of Shinobi surpassing the First Hokage Hashirama!

With Kizaru ascending to the position of Hokage, coupled with his assistance, the goal of Konoha defeating the other four nations and unifying the ninja world was not a fantasy but a great achievement that could be highly possible!

Now, in the high-level village meeting, Hiruzen appointing Kizaru as the Hokage's guard represented the subtle establishment of Kizaru's position as the future Hokage inheritor in the political aspect.

Putting down the documents in hand, a pleased Danzo began to think about how he could repay Hiruzen's thoughtful arrangement.

After pondering for a moment, Danzo made a decision.

Since Hiruzen promoted Kizaru, Danzo would take this opportunity on the battlefield to properly train and mentor the three individuals: Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

With his decision made, Danzo instructed his confidant to call Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya into the tent.

At this time, Konoha had not officially started a war with Amegakure, and the future three legendary Sannin were stationed at this base.

Hearing Danzo's notification that he wanted to discuss matters with them, the three quickly entered the tent.

"The village has received news and decided to officially go to war with Amegakure." Watching the three individuals in front of him, Danzo spoke while picking up the documents in front of him and handing them to Orochimaru, who was standing at the forefront.

After taking the documents, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya gathered together to examine the contents of the documents.

"Iwagakure actually wants to form an alliance with us." Seeing this news, Jiraiya's face showed a happy expression.

If Konoha formed an alliance with Iwagakure, it meant that there was hope for the war to end in an extremely short time.

"Elder Danzo, what are your thoughts on the battle with Amegakure?" After reading through the documents and passing them to Jiraiya by his side, Orochimaru took the initiative to speak.

"Sandaime's Chiyoda has cracked Hanzo's poison. Now, Sunagakure has stabilized its position in Amegakure and is showing signs of counterattack. Hanzo's failure was to be expected," Danzo, who emphasized information gathering, was very detailed in his understanding of the battle between Hanzo and Sunagakure.

"However, judging from this battle, Hanzo's strength should not be underestimated. Sunagakure probably won't expend too much energy and resources on Amegakure. I predict that soon, Hanzo and Sunagakure will choose to cease fire and reconcile," Danzo, who was well acquainted with Sunagakure and the Third Kazekage, made his own judgment.

The majority of the Land of Wind's territory was a desert, with scarce resources and insufficient support for Sunagakure.

The Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage, had always harbored significant ambitions.

Since taking office, he had been dedicated to developing the village's military strength and harbored aspirations towards Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Therefore, Sunagakure would not want to continually exhaust its vital forces on Hanzo and the seemingly difficult-to-conquer, yet low-value, poisoned bone.

For Sunagakure, that would be a considerable loss!

"So, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade!" Danzo, with a serious expression, surveyed the three individuals in front of him. "You must be prepared for battle at all times. Once Hanzo and Sunagakure cease fire, take advantage of their exhaustion and relaxation. You will lead the village's elite forces to launch a direct attack on Hanzo."

Making such arrangements, Danzo didn't intend to put Tsunade and the others in jeopardy. On the contrary, he was preparing to present them with an opportunity for merit.

According to Danzo's plan, Hanzo, who had just been defeated by Sunagakure and could only agree to a ceasefire and reconciliation, would be at his weakest and most fatigued.

And at this moment, Tsunade and the elite forces, taking advantage of the enemy's exhaustion, had a high chance of achieving success. They could potentially behead Hanzo, completely defeating Amegakure.

If the plan went smoothly, Tsunade and the others would become the heroes who secured victory for the village in the war against Amegakure.

This merit would be Danzo's gift in return for his old friend Hiruzen!

Considering the timing, Tsunade and the others were probably engaging with Hanzo in battle right now, and after their defeat, they might be granted the title of the Legendary Sannin by Hanzo!

Sitting in a dessert shop, enjoying dango with Nawaki, Kizaru estimated his thoughts.

Tomorrow, Kizaru would depart from the village with Hiruzen to meet with Onoki in the Kusagakure.

The Kusagakure was situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, with the Land of Iron and the Takigakure above, and the Amegakure below.

Honestly, due to its unique geographical location, the Kusagakure was not in a good position!

Because of its special geography, the Kusagakure had always served as a battleground for other nations to invade, constantly experiencing conflicts.

Basically, after the Takigakure came, then the Amegakure; after the Amegakure left, the Land of Earth came; when the Land of Earth left, Danzo came!

Facing numerous strong men around it, the Kusagakure, besides being mistakenly harmed, was merely exploited without any gaming experience.

Considering the geographical location of the Kusagakure, Kizaru, who was eating dango, contemplated whether he should run to the Amegakure after the meeting was over.

By calculating the time, after the Legendary Sannin were defeated, he could transform into a beam of light, descend from the sky, defeat Hanzo, and save Tsunade!

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One battle significantly increased the integration and friendliness levels, successfully achieving a win-win situation.