Returning to Konoha Village, everything was peaceful and quiet.
Yōkō went up to a rooftop and looked in the direction of the Shimura clan.
Those who hold a kunai must be prepared to be killed by one.
Since Danzo started this internal strife without any bottom line, he should be prepared to become a victim of it himself.
The destruction of the Uzumaki clan; the Konoha higher-ups standing by indifferently was already heartless enough, but Danzo directly participated by selling out intelligence. This is his first great sin.
The recommendation system for ninja positions, where the Five Noble Clans are disgustingly greedy, leaving only scraps and foul soup for others. This is the second great sin.
There are countless other major and minor bad behaviors by the higher-ups, both known and unknown to Yōkō.
These Konoha elders, old yet refusing to die, not only occupying their positions without contributing but also smearing filth on other Konoha members, are utterly detestable.
Time to turn up the pressure on that old thief Danzo.
The Shimura clan occupied the position of Captain of the Land of Grass Daimyō's Guardian Ninja, giving them priority in selecting missions from the Land of Grass.
Just the missions from the Land of Grass alone allowed the Shimura clan to live in extreme luxury.
Any commission from the Land of Grass Daimyō counted as a national-level mission, an S-rank mission.
Recently, the Shimura clan's method of accumulating S-rank missions relied entirely on the Land of Grass.
A conservative estimate placed the annual income the Land of Grass brought to the Shimura clan at at least 60 million Ryo.
Do you even have the capability to protect the Land of Grass Daimyō?
The Sarutobi clan with the Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu with the Land of Rivers, the Ino–Shika–Chō trio with the Land of Whirlpools – the most lucrative positions are all held by the Five Noble Clans.
Do you even have the capability to monopolize so many benefits?
The next day, while training new recruits at Root, Yōkō carefully observed Hei and Ki.
Being a thief made him feel somewhat guilty; he didn't know when Danzo would notice something abnormal.
Based on the speed of a messenger hawk, it would take roughly two or three days to travel from the Land of Grass to Konoha Village.
At noon on the third day, an Anbu hurriedly entered the Root training ground.
"Fox Jōnin! The Hokage summons you to the Hokage Building!"
It's here!
When Yōkō arrived at the Hokage's office, he found Hatake Sakumo was also there, along with the Third Hokage, Orochimaru, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Yellow Dog – so many important figures.
He quietly stood behind the sofa, listening to the high-level meeting.
After listening for a while, Yōkō was very disappointed. It wasn't that news of Shimura Kōhi's death had reached the village.
Danzo sat on the sofa, steady as Mount Tai, not a hint of sorrow, which made Yōkō somewhat sorrowful.
Today's topic was Kumogakure, which was why Hatake Sakumo was also present.
Kumogakure's two Jinchūriki, Ryūjin and B, had been attacked one after the other.
Konoha's White Fang and Orochimaru, each more high-profile than the last.
White Fang, at the port, in front of so many watching ships, sliced a Tailed Beast Ball with his sword, making Ryūjin doubt whether his Tailed Beast Ball was malfunctioning.
Orochimaru, within Kumogakure itself, directly caused the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki B to rampage and die.
The two were like they were competing, which in fact they were.
Mitokado Homura said: "Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru! You've gone too far!
You were sent to gather intelligence. While killing B could severely damage Kumogakure, it will inevitably provoke a fierce retaliation from them.
A large number of Kumo-nin have already appeared on the border of the Land of Hot Water.
If handled improperly, it could easily trigger a war!"
No wonder Yōkō was asked to observe; the aftermath of the Jinchūriki incidents was still unfolding.
Hatake Sakumo's actions weren't particularly out of line; he was there to gather intelligence on the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
Orochimaru, however, had indeed gone a bit far.
But the higher-ups wouldn't criticize Orochimaru alone; they criticized them both together.
Orochimaru said: "The initial intelligence you provided talked about a perfect Jinchūriki, large-scale Tailed Beast Balls... I thought B was incredibly powerful. I didn't expect him to die after just one secret drug."
"Orochimaru!" The Third Hokage quickly stopped Orochimaru's nonsense.
The effect of the genjutsu secret drug far exceeded expectations, but Kumogakure doesn't only have Jinchūriki; their regular ninja are also very strong.
Fighting Kumogakure is the most headache-inducing.
The basic quality of Kumo-nin Chūnin and Genin is superior to Konoha's.
Once war breaks out, even if the command level and Jōnin can fight evenly, the heavy casualties among Chūnin and Genin would force Konoha to continuously retreat, even yielding the Land of Hot Water.
Hatake Sakumo said: "Hokage-sama, esteemed elders, Kumo-nin have already appeared on the Land of Hot Water border.
Please allow me to lead a team to the Land of Hot Water border to deal with the Kumo-nin harassment.
I am proficient in Lightning Release, I understand Kumo-nin, I have the ability to hold them back!"
Yōkō inwardly agreed.
After his setback in the Jōnin recommendation, Hatake Sakumo didn't become despondent at all; instead, he was becoming more and more proactive.
Proactively completing dangerous missions, proactively applying to go to difficult places.
If he could take charge of the defense of the northern border of the Land of Hot Water this time, Hatake Sakumo's prestige would undoubtedly increase significantly.
The key point was, Hatake Sakumo could use this opportunity to promote the Jutsu Assessment System on the front lines, gradually changing the mindset of Konoha ninja.
Through war, he could also cultivate followers like Hayama.
Yōkō looked at the Third Hokage.
What a pity. After hearing Hatake Sakumo's voluntary request, the Third Hokage remained unmoved.
The Third turned to Danzo and asked: "During the Second Great Ninja War, Kumogakure fought both us and Iwagakure successively. Their casualties were also heavy.
Additionally, Kumogakure follows an elite troop policy; their ninja numbers are low.
How many people have they sent to the Land of Hot Water this time?"
Danzo said: "My spy reported that Kumogakure has sent at least 300 people out of the village in the first batch.
They headed south out of the Land of Lightning and have reached the border between the Land of the Moon and the Land of Hot Water.
The leader is Kumogakure's Elite Jōnin, the Storm Release user, Darui."
"Storm Release Darui..." The Third Hokage pondered the intelligence on this person.
Darui had performed excellently in the war against Iwagakure, killing several renowned Iwa-nin on multiple occasions. His Kekkei Genkai abilities were extremely powerful.
Just as the Third Hokage was hesitating about how to suppress Hatake Sakumo and prevent him from going to the front lines, a sudden knock came from the door.
At a high-level meeting of this level, how could anyone rashly knock on the door?
Yōkō went to open the door and saw it was Root's Hei.
Beneath his mask, he felt a bit excited. Is it here? Is it really here this time?
Hei hurriedly entered the office and whispered something into Danzo's ear.
Yōkō closed the door.
So urgent that Hei would interrupt a high-level meeting... Could it be that something major happened in the Land of Grass?
After listening, Danzo only narrowed his pupils, his gaze turning fierce, but he didn't lose his composure otherwise.
Yōkō quietly walked back behind the sofa, not looking at Danzo, but observing the flustered Hei.
Compared to Danzo, Hei's performance was quite poor.
He was slightly bent at the waist, facing Danzo on the sofa, his body swaying slightly from time to time.
The Third Hokage asked: "What is it? Danzo?"
Danzo slowly closed his single eye, then opened it again and said:
"A messenger hawk just brought back intelligence. The Land of Grass Daimyō was attacked. Four Guardian Ninja, including Captain Shimura Kōhi, died in the assault."
"What!" Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly asked: "What about the Land of Grass Daimyō?"
Danzo said: "The four sacrificed Guardian Ninja were all from my Shimura clan. The Daimyō, under their protection, is completely unharmed..."
Yōkō calculated in his mind. With such a major event happening in the Land of Grass, and Konoha facing pressure from two fronts, surely they couldn't stop Hatake Sakumo from going to the Land of Hot Water as commander anymore, could they?
***
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(End of Chapter)