Chapter 13

**Temporary Camp of Konohagakure Village.**

After a long trek, Danzo led the three young ones to the outskirts of the camp.

"Lord Danzo."

With his Sharingan activated, Uchiha Koyuki sensed Danzo's presence from a distance and hurried over to greet him.

"Hmm, Koyuki, how's it going? Is that little brat I asked you to keep an eye on doing alright?" 

Upon seeing Uchiha Koyuki approach, Danzo affectionately patted her shoulder, signaling a sense of closeness.

The three young ones hung back, curiously observing the camp of Konohagakure.

"Shinju is fine, Lord Danzo. Are you here to provide support?" 

As Koyuki led Danzo into the camp, she inquired along the way. Upon seeing his arrival, she thought Danzo was here to deal with Hanzo of the Salamander.

"What are you talking about? I'm here to provide support?" 

Danzo paused, realizing that all the faces visible within the camp were merely chunin and genin; aside from Uchiha Koyuki, there were no other jonin present.

"Isn't that why you're here, Lord Danzo?" 

Seeing Danzo's reaction, Uchiha Koyuki understood that he wasn't here for support at all. 

She then informed him about how Mito Menka, along with the elite from their unit, had gone to hunt down the scattered forces of Amegakure and encountered Hanzo in battle.

From what she had learned from Orochimaru, Mito Menka, who possessed jonin-level strength, was preparing to include Koyuki in the pursuit unit as well. 

However, she had directly declined, citing her involvement in a special task assigned by Danzo.

That boy, Shinju, was far too careless; he had almost triggered explosive tags several times. Thanks to Danzo's earlier reminders, Koyuki had been particularly cautious.

As a member of the Uchiha clan, she truly wanted to contribute to the war effort. Yet, fearing that leaving the boy might lead to something happening to him, she had no choice but to stay at the camp.

And what of Mito Menka? Seeing Uchiha Koyuki dare to invoke Danzo to intimidate him made it seem like he was afraid of Danzo; he held his anger in check at that moment.

After hearing Uchiha Koyuki's account, Danzo stopped in his tracks and began to ponder.

He recalled from the anime that only Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were able to fight Hanzo to a standstill. 

Now that Mito Menka had entered the fray, surely they could beat that scoundrel Hanzo into submission. 

Based on the memories of the original Danzo, Mito Menka's strength was second only to Danzo himself and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. 

What a pity, Danzo had misjudged Mito Menka's capabilities. 

He overlooked that after assuming the role of an advisor in Konoha, he had spent his days idling, either stirring up trouble or lining his own pockets, leading to a serious decline in strength during his middle age. 

Thus, Danzo never even considered that the once powerful Mito Menka, from the original Danzo's memories, was now not only poisoned but also had been beaten up so badly by Hanzo that he didn't even know where his glasses had gone. 

He looked like he was on the verge of meeting the Sage of the Six Paths in the Pure Land.

---

**Konoha, Hokage's Office Building.**

Currently seated in his chair, Hiruzen Sarutobi was frantically reviewing documents, tears streaming down his face as he reminisced about his friends like never before.

It must be said that even though they often contradicted him in their usual banter, he had never had to pull an all-nighter due to reviewing documents when they were all around.

Now, with all three of them gone to the frontlines, everything had come crashing down on Hiruzen's shoulders.

From trivial matters like fixing a clogged toilet and finding a lost cat to serious issues like theft and brawls, the list was endless.

Coincidentally, it also happened to be the birth of Hiruzen's second son. Fortunately, Biwako was not someone who lacked understanding.

She hadn't complained at all, quietly managing the household so that Hiruzen could focus solely on fulfilling his responsibilities.

"Report to the Hokage! There are the latest battle reports from the front lines." 

A member of the Anbu suddenly appeared, kneeling on one knee with both hands holding a scroll.

"Hmm? Hurry and bring it here." 

Upon receiving permission from Hiruzen, the Anbu member stood up respectfully, handing over the scroll before vanishing again.

"Let me see... hmm? Hmm, oh? Hahaha, so we've already pushed back Hanzo? Not bad, not bad." 

The battle report detailed the engagement with Hanzo of the Salamander, mentioning Mito Menka's serious injuries and Danzo's arrival at the camp.

At the end of the scroll, it outlined the casualty situation for Konoha's ninjas during this battle.

Konoha had lost a total of 14 jonin, 56 chunin, and 74 genin; there were also 3 jonin, 12 chunin, and 11 genin missing, with countless others injured.

If it weren't for Tsunade's antidote that countered Hanzo's poison, the casualties would have been even greater.

Fortunately, most of the casualties were from among the civilian ninjas, which Konoha found acceptable.

On the other hand, Hanzo's side had proactively sent a message, hinting at a desire for a ceasefire.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, pulling out a pipe from somewhere, lighting it and taking a couple of puffs.

With his eyes slightly squinted, he recalled the plan devised by Danzo and began to calculate the remaining viable fighting forces in the Land of Rain.

"Three disciples can still fight; Mito Menka is on his way back to Konoha with the severely injured troops, and the remaining jonin with combat capability are mostly from the various ninja clans. Danzo has reached the battlefield."

After savoring a few puffs of his pipe, the swirling smoke enveloped him as Hiruzen stared at the ceiling in deep thought.

According to Danzo's plan, the forces in the Land of Rain should currently be riding the wave of victory, planning to launch a surprise attack into the Land of Wind.

But now that Mito Menka was seriously injured, their morale wasn't great.

*sigh*… Mito Menka really stood in stark contrast to the troops led by Kurenai Yuhi over there.

In the Land of River, Kurenai's forces had already engaged with the ninjas from Sunagakure.

Leading the charge was a jonin named Sharo, reputed to be one of the top experts from Sunagakure.

Additionally, Kurenai had sent a piece of intelligence indicating that Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had gathered some elite Sand ninjas, seemingly preparing to stir up trouble.

Following Danzo's suggestions before he left, they had dispatched Kakashi Hatake, and there should be no major issues.

Hiruzen had high hopes for Danzo's good friends.

Speaking of Danzo, he couldn't help but miss him a little… I wonder how he's doing over there…

Putting away his pipe, Hiruzen took out a blank scroll and began to write on it.

"Someone!" 

After rolling up the scroll, as soon as Hiruzen's words fell, an Anbu member quickly appeared in the room.

"Deliver this to Danzo. Also, tell him that in the name of the Hokage, I hereby order him to take command of the forces in the Land of Rain." 

"As for how to proceed from here, let him decide for himself!" 

"Deliver this to Danzo. Also, tell him that in the name of the Hokage, I hereby order him to take command of the forces in the Land of Rain." 

"As for how to proceed from here, let him decide for himself!"