"Brilliantly done! Lord Kazekage is truly mighty!"
Rasa flicked the telegram in his hand with his finger, excitement overflowing across his face.
"Let me see, let me see."
Karuke took the telegram and read it carefully, while Yura also leaned in to look.
"Great victory at Lishi! Over 8,600 enemies annihilated! Elite jōnin commanders like Chikaze Akimichi, Shōchō Aburame, Hinata Rōji, and over ten others killed... Whoa! What a massive achievement! Only Lord Kazekage could pull this off!"
Karuke was so excited that snot bubbles popped from his nose.
"With this battle, Lord Kazekage has completely shattered Konoha's Eastern Army. Danzō's Northern Army will definitely have to retreat to Konoha now. I think we should seize this opportunity..."
Before Yura could finish, Rasa interrupted with a smile.
"You haven't changed—always rushing. Did you finish reading the telegram?"
Yura turned back to continue reading:
"Hope you'll quickly contact the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Stone, seize the moment, and drive out Konoha's Northern Army entrenched in Amegakure."
"Do you understand now?" Rasa asked with a grin.
"The meaning isn't very clear to me. Is there some other implication?" Karuke asked.
Yura pondered for a moment. "Lord Kazekage means... to drive Danzō back?"
"Exactly! Karuke, learn from him more—you need to think with the big picture in mind."
Rasa smiled as he ruffled his brother-in-law's hair.
"But why? With our current strength, completely destroying Danzō's Northern Army is totally possible!"
Hearing this, Rasa couldn't help but sigh. His brother-in-law was straightforward and decisive, with high administrative efficiency, but he lacked strategic vision. This came from always serving in local positions—his thinking wasn't nearly as far-reaching as his other brother-in-law Yashamaru, who'd worked at the Hourglass Group. He needed to give him a proper lesson, or he'd never advance beyond his current level. (One's a real brother, one's a cousin—let's just leave it at that.)
"The second half of Lord Kazekage's telegram has at least two layers of meaning. First is contacting the Akatsuki remnants. Akatsuki has considerable influence in Amegakure, so acting in their name makes it easier to gain support from the local people. This essentially creates a barrier in our north, allowing us to deploy more forces eastward to assist Lord Kazekage.
"Second, the reason it's 'drive out' rather than 'destroy'—there's real strategy behind that."
Rasa sat down and carefully explained to Karuke.
"In the Battle of Moon Lake, we eliminated four thousand of Danzō's troops, but now that he's pulled back, he still commands five thousand. Amegakure has convenient supply lines, so he doesn't worry about logistics. After accounting for the ninja guarding the new Moon Lake area, we have at most six thousand troops. Taking down Danzō would cost us dearly. Now that Konoha has suffered crushing defeat at Lishi and faces manpower shortages, Hiruzen Sarutobi will inevitably pressure Danzō to return. So driving him out is more cost-effective than destroying him."
"But wouldn't that increase the pressure on Lord Kazekage's offensive?" Karuke asked, confused.
"That involves another issue—the factional struggle within Konoha's leadership."
Rasa gestured for both to sit down.
"You both know something about this. Konoha's leadership is divided into factions, with the strongest being Hiruzen Sarutobi's direct Hokage faction and Danzō Shimura's Intelligence faction.
"Lord Kazekage's victory at Lishi eliminated most of the Hokage faction. With this shift in power, the two factions are now mysteriously balanced. After such a crushing defeat, Hiruzen probably doesn't have the face to remain in the Hokage position, making Danzō a strong contender for the next Hokage. Of course, these are post-war concerns.
"If we completely wipe out Danzō's forces, what would he have left to compete with Hiruzen? Wouldn't that just benefit that old monkey Hiruzen?"
This explanation left Karuke half-understanding—the twists and turns were too complex, making his brain hurt. Ah, if he couldn't figure it out, he simply wouldn't think about it. He'd just follow his brother-in-law's instructions.
Seeing Karuke's expression, Rasa couldn't help but sigh. Actually, this kid seemed to do quite well in local administration.
"Yura, send a telegram to Aotu Tailuo in the Land of Stone. Tell them to gather their forces and meet us at Night-Howling Sand Sea. Let them know—the horn of counterattack has sounded!"
"I never expected... Hiruzen Sarutobi lost even worse than we did."
Danzō Shimura held his forehead, his face full of worry. Though he didn't get along with Hiruzen, the casualties were still the village's strength. As someone who deeply loved the village in his bones, he still felt tremendous pain.
"Sir, now isn't the time for grief. We need to seriously consider where the Northern Army goes from here."
Fugaku Uchiha calmly poured Danzō a cup of tea.
"Yes, we do need to think carefully."
Danzō picked up the tea and took a light sip.
"We definitely have to return. The village is now short on manpower and can't afford any losses."
"Are you worried about Rasa pursuing and ambushing us?" Fugaku asked.
"Exactly. Rasa's six thousand troops have been watching us like tigers from Night-Howling Sand Sea. The reason they haven't attacked yet is probably because they fear heavy losses in urban combat. Once we leave Amegakure, they'll have no such concerns, and we'll be the ones at a disadvantage."
"I heard that Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure announced herself as the Fifth Tsuchikage and issued a general mobilization order. Don't you have some connections with her?" Fugaku asked.
Danzō smiled and nodded.
"Why don't you ask Lady Kurotsuchi to move her forces south? That way we could retreat safely.
"With Sunagakure's prestige soaring, their old enemy Iwagakure is naturally wary. Joining forces with us now would definitely benefit Iwagakure—I'm sure Kurotsuchi won't refuse."
"I already sent someone to Iwagakure yesterday with a message—pretty much what you just suggested," Danzō replied.
"Brilliant as always, sir."
"I'm actually more worried about something else."
Danzō stood up and looked out the window.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi's political control is beyond anything you can imagine. I dare predict that the day our Northern Army returns to Konoha will be the day I'm stripped of military command. He won't allow a force equal to his own to exist—especially in times like these."
"But after such a crushing defeat at Lishi Fortress, does Lord Hokage even have the face to remain in that position?" Fugaku asked.
"Face? Hah, what's that worth? Besides, this situation isn't impossible to manipulate."
Danzō sneered.
"Let me give you the simplest example."
Danzō then hunched his back slightly and mimed holding a pipe, clearly imitating Hiruzen Sarutobi's mannerisms.
"This crushing defeat weighs heavily on me as Hokage—the responsibility is mine alone, and I should resign. However, with the situation so tense and Sunagakure's forces at our gates, in this moment of crisis, I must shoulder the Hokage's final responsibility and lead everyone to resist the enemy together. After we repel Sunagakure, I will naturally step down and yield to someone more worthy."
After finishing, Danzō returned to normal.
The seamless transition left Fugaku utterly amazed.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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