Danzo turned back to glance at the tent and muttered to himself.
That's why the Land of Grass has been constantly suppressed by the Hidden Rock, unable to break through.
On the Hidden Sand front, Orochimaru's unrelenting efforts have pushed them to the extreme, making it impossible for the Hidden Sand ninjas to take a step into the Land of Rain, thereby eliminating any concerns for the upper ranks.
If it continues to shrink like this, the defense line here will eventually be breached by the Hidden Rock.
"It seems the position of the Fourth Hokage can only be filled by Lord Orochimaru."
A Root Jonin next to Danzo also spoke softly.
"Hmph, becoming Hokage is not so easy. Just hope he won't adopt Hiruzen's 'balance' policies at that time."
Danzo snorted disapprovingly, while subconsciously acknowledging the Fourth Hokage position was indisputable.
With the death of Konoha White Fang, one of the Sannin, Princess Tsunade, is unable to take up the role due to certain issues, and Jiraiya is too merciful, lacking the stature of the Five Kage.
The remaining candidate is only Orochimaru, who can undertake this weighty responsibility.
The achievements accumulated during the Second Great Ninja War and this Ninja War have left him unrivaled in Konoha, firmly seated in the Fourth Hokage's position.
This way, he can further cooperate with Orochimaru.
◎
"Are we just going to keep shrinking away like this? It's just like the Hidden Sand at the start."
Ayane, who was traversing the forested mountains in the Land of Grass, had not seen a single Konoha Ninja out patrolling for several days and realized Konoha was once again planning to adopt a 'shrinking' strategy, abandoning this line of defense to let Hidden Rock advance.
Ayane remembered this strategy clearly, as it mirrored the one Hidden Sand used during the Second Great Ninja War.
Due to the severe losses of the patrol teams, they eventually had to shrink their patrol range, falling into a dilemma.
"How disappointing, I thought ninjas bestowed with the name of Sannin by the Demigod could bring some gaming challenge, but they only reached this level."
She was severely dissatisfied with Konoha's 'shrinking' strategy.
This was completely different from the battle she envisaged.
Standing up to leave, in Byakugan's view, she suddenly saw multiple chakra reactions.
"Found them, it's the Root ninjas. Four people, a total of twenty million ryo, don't even think about running."
As soon as she saw this squad, Ayane sprinted directly toward the location of the Root squad.
A distance of ten kilometers, for Ayane with high endurance, was merely the length of a warm-up exercise just ended.
"So fast!"
The Root Ninja responsible for perception, who had already sensed Ayane was rushing in, subconsciously uttered.
"Appeared?"
"Yeah, about within a ten-kilometer range."
The Perception Ninja stated.
"Ten kilometers?"
Upon hearing the Perception Ninja's words, the other three exclaimed softly.
"Isn't Byakugan's maximum observation range supposed to be only between five kilometers and six kilometers?"
"That's why Lord Danzo said this is a Byakugan beyond the Hyuga Byakugan, not to be judged by common sense."
"What a monster. If these eyes were used by the village, they'd be a perfect war weapon."
The others fell silent, running quietly among the mountains and forests.
The four members of the Root squad were within reach, and Ayane instantly launched her attack.
From within the Byakugan, an invisible pressure was released, piercing through the air, causing the four Root ninjas in motion to immediately feel their shoulders and bodies sink, slowing down slightly.
Their minds seemingly suffered some kind of terrifying shock, experiencing a momentary lapse in consciousness.
"Watch out!"
The fastest-reacting Root Ninja shouted.
"Too late."
Ayane dashed to one, gently took a breath, her elbow slightly bent backward, then punched out.
As the fist contacted human flesh, a terrifying explosion sound immediately rang out, bursting in the air.
Accompanied by a shrill scream, blood was scattered in mid-air, and a large chunk of flesh at the chest was blurred, resulting in instant death.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Explosion Array!"
Turning around, Ayane saw another Root Ninja retreat and seal a huge water dragon that rose from the ground, its body wrapped in numerous explosive tags, falling from mid-air towards her.
Ayane jumped backward, her arms crossed in front of her body, dodging the water dragon's attack, the flash of the explosive tag's explosion appeared, blasting the entire ground apart.
The impact was undoubtedly substantial, and Ayane's clothes were dusted, giving her a somewhat ragged appearance, though she remained unharmed.
"This guy... is she a human-shaped Tyrannosaurus?"
Seeing this scene, the remaining Root ninjas were somewhat astonished.
The impact of the exploding mass of explosive tags was easily endured by her, safely landing on the ground.
"Is it really okay to make such comments about a lady?"
As the voice sounded, Ayane's figure had already flashed before him, her right index and middle fingers thrust like dagger points.
With exquisite taijutsu, she instantly dodged and leaped into the air, her long sleeves fluttered, inside dispersing numerous shurikens rolled with explosive tags.
"Shuriken Detonation Array!"
Yet another series of explosions.
Ayane dashed out from the smoke, then slightly bowed her head as a ninja blade slashed over her head.
Seeing his attack miss, the Root ninja quickly withdrew his blade without hesitation, retreating backward.
"One more escaped, huh."
Having killed the one at the start, there were only two remaining here, with the last one breaking away from the battlefield, probably intending to go back and report.