"Has Hidden Cloud finally lost its patience? Forget it, let Orochimaru handle it. Adding another achievement isn't bad."
The contents of the letter were simple: Hidden Cloud Village's ninja activities in the Land of Hot Water were suspicious, indicating a potential attack on the Land of Fire.
It's likely they've seen Konoha's performance on the Land of Rain battlefield and are worried that continued observation would no longer suppress Konoha's development.
The reputation of a Ninja Village, in times of peace, means being validated by clients from various countries, ensuring a more stable influx of funding.
Hidden Cloud Village has always sought to compete with Konoha for the title of the strongest ninja village, seeing the change in the battlefield situation in the Land of Rain, there's a high possibility they will attack the Land of Fire.
"Kanzo, I need to return to Konoha for a while; leave Hidden Rain to you. Hidden Sand is not to be worried about, but don't act rashly."
"Safe travels, Lord Danzo. Visit often when you have time."
Best not to come back again, Kanzo said to himself.
Danzo and the Root Ninja's figures disappeared from the observation platform under the cold rain.
◎
Back in Konoha, Danzo immediately headed to the meeting room in the Hokage Building without stopping to rest.
The Hidden Cloud attack made him realize the seriousness of the matter; it couldn't be postponed.
Peace documents must be signed with Hidden Sand quickly and then have Orochimaru take over, dealing with the Hidden Cloud troops in the Land of Hot Water.
In the meeting room, Hokage Hiruzen, Advisors Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu were all present, and the meeting seemed to have just ended.
"You've come back at the right time, Danzo. We've already made a decision here."
Hiruzen put down the smoking pipe in his mouth and smiled at the hurried Danzo.
"When will Orochimaru depart?"
Danzo nodded and directly asked about the timing of Orochimaru's deployment to the Land of Hot Water.
"Actually, we've made different arrangements for Orochimaru."
Hiruzen looked hesitant.
"Different arrangements?"
Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Danzo raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. The two of them coughed and shifted their gaze away, not daring to look Danzo in the eye.
A bad omen suddenly arose within Danzo.
"Yes, Orochimaru is a genius ninja, especially in understanding and researching techniques, he's an outstanding talent in the Ninja Realm. So we decided that Orochimaru's next destination would be entering your Root to further develop new technologies, fundamentally enhancing Konoha's strength."
Entering Root?
Due to the drastic reversal of events, Danzo didn't react for a moment.
Not only was he not sent to the Hidden Cloud battlefield, but he wasn't even placed in Anbu; instead, he entered the more secretive department — Root.
Is that a place for a Hokage candidate to enter?
Root affairs are top secret in the village to most people.
Entering it means relinquishing one's name, all fame, and any semblance of personality, becoming a nameless contributor in the shadows.
Previously, Orochimaru had joined Root, but as a supervisor, which fundamentally differs from this entry.
To be shelved! Danzo suddenly thought of this possibility.
Is his prestige too high, and are they worried about not being able to control Orochimaru? Danzo looked deeply at Hiruzen.
Danzo exerted immense restraint to not show anger and asked Advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu in a deep voice, "Did you two agree as well?"
"Y-yes, although Orochimaru showed remarkable performance on the Land of Rain battlefield, successfully making Hidden Sand concede, the means employed were not exactly above-board, and he betrayed his allies, which has a negative impact internationally."
"Nonsense! Wars aren't child's play; securing victory is what's important. Orochimaru's ability to make Hidden Sand lose over three thousand ninjas with minimal cost already proves his military prowess!"
Danzo coldly stared at his two centrist allies, feeling unprecedented disappointment towards them for the first time.
"Well... Betraying allies, in the end, isn't great for your image. We still feel that it's better for Orochimaru to calm down a bit."
Utatane Koharu expressed her opinion while under the pressure from Danzo.
"You're worried that your advisory power will, eventually, be stripped by Orochimaru, aren't you?"
Danzo stared at the two, speaking with piercing frankness, his gaze cold.
"Danzo, how can you say that? We've worked diligently for Konoha all these years."
Mitokado Homura's face darkened as indeed their actions weren't quite ethical in this matter.
Originally, they agreed for Orochimaru to directly enter Anbu, but thinking about Orochimaru's tough stance, similar to Danzo, once he held power in Anbu and became Hokage, their advisory roles might be ignored.
So, collaborating with Hiruzen, they considered letting Orochimaru become the Fourth Hokage but without transferring Anbu powers to him too early.
"Indeed, Orochimaru is too conspicuous; we're worried that ninjas from other villages might come and assassinate him."
Utatane Koharu continued to defend her unworthy actions.
"If Orochimaru could be easily assassinated, then it would be due to his lack of strength. But your actions might make him lose faith in the village."
Danzo's voice contained a trace of threat.
Seeing Danzo's firm attitude, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sighed more heavily.
It was due to the interference of these two strong military actors that they had to let Orochimaru hide in Root for some time.
"This is for his own good. The overly rigid breaks easily; he needs time to calm down."
Danzo felt immense disappointment at heart and let out a sigh.
He turned to look at Hiruzen, who silently smoked his pipe without saying a word, his expression incredibly complex.
On one hand, proud of his student's brilliant achievements, and on the other, wary of student Orochimaru's current prestige in the village. Due to these two conflicting emotions, his feelings were complex.
"Hiruzen, are you really planning to do this?"
"I have no choice. Orochimaru betrayed Hidden Rain; we must give Hidden Rain a justification. The will of the First Hokage was about valuing peace, which should be the right way to govern the village. Orochimaru lacks talent in this regard. I hope he can understand the essence of the First Hokage's will; otherwise, I'm not confident entrusting him with the village's future."
Danzo composed himself, controlling his highly agitated feelings.
"Understood, let's proceed as you say... I hope you will not regret today's decision, Hiruzen."
Danzo, with an empty expression, dropped this line and walked step by step out of the meeting room.
The meeting room fell into a deathly silence.
The three people in the meeting room all knew Danzo was genuinely angry this time.
If Danzo wore his anger on his face, they would instead feel reassured; hiding his emotions like this was truly terrifying.
Hiruzen sighed, feeling an unprecedented exhaustion of body and mind, murmured to himself while sitting in his chair:
"I have my own hardships, and the village can't withstand the turmoil from militant factions now. I hope you understand my actions, Danzo; this is also for the future of the village."