Fortunately, Root Ninja all have the Tongue Curse Eradication Seal, so they wouldn't leak information. Danzo believed he hadn't been exposed yet and could proceed with a second operation.
The enemy is strong and highly vigilant. What to do?
Danzo couldn't act himself, and the strength of Fu Yamanaka, Aburame Torune, and Sai was far inferior.
Should he forcibly control Ino, then have Ino and Kashin Koji fight to the death, and he would reap the benefits from behind?
This thought could only remain in his mind. If he were to implement it, the Ninja of the Yamanaka Clan within Root would immediately rebel. The Tongue Curse Eradication Seal wasn't brainwashing. For Ninja in the current world, clan interests outweighed Village interests. Danzo's power came from the Village; it was impossible for a clan Ninja to betray their clan for the Village.
If he dared to do that, his right-hand man, Fu Yamanaka, would stand against him, and might even pull his good friend Aburame Torune over. At that point, Danzo would be deserted by all.
Furthermore, Ino was not like Shisui, whose combat power significantly decreased after his eyes were removed. The vitality of Wood Release was extremely strong. Without Kotoamatsukami, even if he wanted to launch a sneak attack, he wouldn't know how.
Ino was not an option.
What about Sasuke? Sasuke had Itachi behind him. If Danzo were to harm Sasuke, Itachi would use his last breath to take Danzo down. This path was also blocked.
Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Also not an option.
If Danzo dared to harm Naruto, Jiraiya would immediately lead ANBU Ninja to legitimately encircle and suppress him.
If they simply placed blame on him, under the righteous banner of the Hokage, he would have little room to resist.
Danzo could only think of other methods.
Major Ninja Villages weren't without countermeasures for such Kage-level experts; everyone had a few trump cards up their sleeves.
Danzo considered various methods, but many were unsuitable.
Fu Yamanaka and Aburame Torune each offered him two solutions, but he was inherently suspicious and only trusted his own judgment, so he adopted none of them.
He was a seventy-year-old man, and his thinking speed was far inferior to that of younger people. He needed to think carefully.
Danzo's favorite thing to do was write in his diary. Even if he did nothing all day, just sat in a chair, he would make sure to record it.
Writing every day meant he went through notebooks quickly.
That day, he walked with a cane to a bookstore to buy a notebook, like any ordinary old man.
He unexpectedly found several copies of [Ninshu Journey to the West] on the bookshelf.
This book had always existed, telling the story of the legendary Six Paths Sage leading his disciples to the West to spread the ideas of Ninshu.
Later generations embellished it more and more, and two hundred years ago, this book had already become children's favorite storybook.
Danzo asked the bookstore owner, "Why are these books on the shelves?"
The bookstore owner only knew he was a big shot in the Village, but how big? He wasn't sure. At this moment, he humbly replied, "This book has been selling very well recently; many children enjoy reading it."
He cautiously observed Danzo's expression: "Does the Ninja-sama find it inappropriate?"
Danzo didn't speak. He felt a thought flash through his mind, but he didn't grasp it. He stood still for a while, and indeed, he saw children from the Village coming to buy the book. Only when a child asked, "How many girlfriends did the Six Paths Sage have?" did he shake his head, pay, and leave with his notebook.
It wasn't until he returned to Root that he finally grasped the earlier inspiration.
That's right! He couldn't act rashly. He couldn't defeat that "bastard" and couldn't find a master of that level to help, but he could use tools!
His teacher, the Second Hokage, died at the hands of the Gold and Silver Brothers, who wielded the Six Paths Sage's treasures. He had studied these treasures for a long time. The Rope of Shimmering Gold, the seven-star sword, the Crimson Gourd, and the Bashosen had all gone to the Pure Land with the Gold and Silver Brothers as soul sealing objects after their deaths. But the last treasure, and the most powerful of the Six Paths Sage's treasures, the amber purifying pot, remained. Now, this item was in the Hidden Cloud Village.
It was a treasure that, once the target responded to the holder of the amber purifying pot, would be sucked in and completely sealed.
If the Eight-Tails could be firmly sealed, wouldn't a "bastard" be easy to capture?
Steal this bottle, then seal the "bastard" to control Jiraiya, and finally Intimidate the entire Ninja World!
Danzo thought through the entire plan and deemed it perfect.
With explosive initiative, he immediately activated his connections to facilitate certain events, and then, using these events as cover, he would go to the Hidden Cloud Village to forcibly seize the Six Paths Sage's treasures.
The Hidden Cloud Village was a bunch of madmen who rejoiced in battle. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't want to provoke these guys. Those madmen didn't understand what "prioritizing the big picture" meant, nor what "enduring for the country" meant. In his eyes, the people of Hidden Cloud Village lacked any Ninja spirit.
But now was not a normal time. Konoha's high command had already determined that the future enemies were the Hidden Cloud Village and Iwagakure. Danzo felt that his current action would also serve to weaken the Hidden Cloud Village in advance, and he carried it out with righteous indignation.
The following evening, Sai quietly arrived at the Hidden Cloud Village and secretly met with several Ninja clans of the Hidden Cloud Village.
Hidden Cloud Village, Land of Lightning.
The Fourth Raikage was looking at a report.
Beside him was Darui, a Jonin praised by the Third Raikage, who had the marks of "Lightning" and "Water" on his left and right shoulders respectively. It's worth noting that the Fourth Raikage, as the Third Raikage's biological son, didn't have these two characters on his arms.
Darui appeared to have a lazy personality, but he was actually meticulous, outwardly rough but inwardly delicate, and possessed a strong sense of the bigger picture. The Fourth Raikage called him his "second right hand."
To the Fourth Raikage's right was the laid-back Darui, and to his left was Shi, a Jonin strategist who possessed three rare abilities: genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and sensory perception.
These two were the Fourth Raikage's left and right hands, assisting him in managing the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Fourth Raikage appeared crude, but he could quickly analyze much information about Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique in battle. His intelligence was by no means low; he was just impatient and often too lazy to think.
The Shinobi World War was imminent, and Iwagakure was sharpening its swords, constantly increasing its troops along the border. What was the Third Tsuchikage waiting for? He was waiting for the impatient Fourth Raikage to make the first move. If he moved, Konoha's main forces would go to fight the Cloud Ninja, and Iwagakure could then reap the benefits from behind.
The Third Tsuchikage thought this way and acted accordingly. The Fourth Raikage knew his intentions, but due to his personality, he was truly having trouble holding back now.
Shi and Darui had been advising him to wait; the timing was not right.
"Look at this! Do these obstructive fellows have any brains at all! They actually want to form a marriage alliance with Konoha at this time, isn't that a joke?!" The Fourth Raikage roared with his raspy voice, slamming the document in his hand onto the table.
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