Chapter 497: The Radical Danzō
"Unify the shinobi world?" Akino Atsumi was so shocked by Ishiro's words that her mind went blank.
Ishiro smiled. "You heard me right. If I had the Flying Thunder God Technique like Minato Namikaze, I could single-handedly assassinate all the Kage of the other four great nations, excluding us and the Akatsuki."
"After that, it would be simple. Your seniors, like Kawakita and the others, could each lead an army and wipe out a great village."
"The war to unify the world might take some time, but it certainly wouldn't be too long."
"At that point, my worries wouldn't be Konoha, Suna, or Kumo, but how to govern this new world."
"Now, Akino, which do you think is more useful: researching the teleportation array, or researching the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Akino was stunned for a long moment. "Teacher Ishiro, if you learned the Flying Thunder God, could you really defeat all four of the other villages' Kage combined?"
Ishiro shook his head with a smile. "Not quite. If they were all gathered together, I naturally wouldn't be able to do anything. But if they were scattered in their respective villages, like they are now, it wouldn't take much effort for me to pick them off one by one. If I had the Third provide a finishing blow from the shadows during my ambushes, it would be even easier."
Akino's worldview was somewhat shattered. The Flying Thunder God was that powerful?
Ishiro continued, "Right, do you remember the two times Obito Uchiha invaded?"
"Although we drove him off both times and the village suffered no losses, we also had a premeditated advantage, using the power of the entire village against him alone."
"But do you know the outcome of his invasion of Konoha back then? He was soundly put in his place by Minato Namikaze, all by himself."
"So, researching the teleportation array can make up for our shortcomings in this field. But researching the Flying Thunder God can turn this field into the enemy's shortcoming."
Akino thought for a moment. "Then Teacher Ishiro, why didn't you have me focus on practicing the Flying Thunder God before?"
Ishiro shook his head. "You don't have my level of strength. Even if you practiced the technique to Minato's level, it would be of no use. Instead of that, it's better to research the teleportation array, add another trump card for the village, and increase our chances of victory in a future war."
Akino was struck by his blunt words.
Ishiro patted her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. You've never been a combat-type ninja; you're a research-type. If you can research and develop space-time ninjutsu that others in the village can also learn, then your contribution will be immense."
Akino nodded listlessly.
But Ishiro added more fuel to the fire. "The Flying Thunder God is actually a very advanced space-time jutsu. Logically, there should be many that are lower-level. But in the entire shinobi world, it's the only one of its kind. Obito's is a dōjutsu, which is another matter. If you can develop some lower-level space-time ninjutsu that are easier for us laymen to master, then Iwagakure's strength can rise to another level."
Hearing this, a glimmer of light finally returned to Akino's eyes.
"And," Ishiro continued, "if your research is realized, I might even be able to use these techniques to launch a war and catch Konoha and the others completely by surprise. So, keep it up. You have a heavy task, and the village has high expectations for you."
Akino nodded vigorously. She understood now. Since she wasn't a combat genius like Minato, she would focus on research behind the scenes and provide support for the front lines.
Afterward, Ishiro gave her another task: not to touch the existing Heavenly Transfer Technique system, but to create a new, separate teleportation array between the village and its various secret bases. This would all be done in secret, with as few people involved as possible, and all participants would be subject to the strictest confidentiality measures.
The matter of Iwagakure, Konoha's Root, and Kirigakure cooperating to destroy the Cult of Jashin and annex the Land of Hot Water was not over.
The Fourth Raikage publicly condemned the three parties and sternly demanded they withdraw their troops.
On Konoha's side, Tsunade, in an awkward position, could only respond with vague diplomatic rhetoric. At the same time, she put some pressure on Danzō.
But Danzō ignored her completely. Not only that, his actions became more and more high-profile.
He began to step out from the shadows more frequently, giving public speeches to promote his ideology. He blatantly tried to win over the heads of Konoha's various important departments. He even interfered in the Ninja Academy, giving a speech that only a Kage was permitted to give, without permission.
While many were repulsed by his actions and found him hypocritical, the fact remained that he had just achieved a victory in an external military operation. Konoha needed such a victory to boost its confidence; the villagers and ninja had been waiting for it for a long time.
So, his radical actions were quite successful.
Especially when, during one speech, he publicly displayed the Wood Release of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The entire village erupted.
Wood Release! The technique the First Hokage had used to conquer the world!
Danzō claimed he had learned it from his teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who had naturally learned it from Hashirama. He said Tobirama himself had not mastered it, but had passed the method on to him, his favorite disciple.
Danzō even claimed that Tobirama had originally wanted him to be the Third Hokage. But, considering he had the talent for Wood Release, Tobirama feared that the trivial matters of being Hokage would delay his training. So, the position was temporarily given to the character-flawed Hiruzen Sarutobi. Tobirama's plan was that once Danzō had mastered Wood Release, Hiruzen would return the position to him, and he would, like the First Hokage, lead everyone to a new era of glory with Wood Release.
Such a story wouldn't normally withstand scrutiny. But in the face of Wood Release, no one could think logically. After all, Danzō hadn't made his Wood Release's limitation—that it was only good for "greening projects"—widely known, like Yamato in the original story. Everyone assumed his Wood Release was like the First's, capable of catching the Nine-Tails like a chicken and creating anything with a clap of his hands.
Thus, Danzō's prestige in Konoha reached its peak. He now had the qualifications to contend for the seat of Hokage.
It was against this backdrop that Ishiro once again received a message from Kajiyama Ri.
This time, it was just an urgent intelligence report forwarded from the Iwa spy embedded in Konoha. To obtain this information, the spy, who had been in place for many years, had been exposed.
Ishiro, who had been sitting at the training ground practicing Light Release while watching his disciples, shot to his feet the moment he received the report.
"Someone, tell Advisor Saka I have urgent business and am going to Konoha," he said to the Anbu hidden in the shadows as he walked away.
"You three, train hard!" His voice reached his disciples' ears just as he was about to disappear from sight.
He rushed to the Anbu base at top speed and went directly to the room where Akino's newly completed teleportation array was located. Without any hesitation, he stepped onto the array.
The next moment, he appeared in the northwest region of the former Land of Fire that had been ceded to the Land of Earth. A new Iwa branch was being built here. He emerged from its underground teleportation array and, without stopping, rushed straight for Konoha Village.
Although the array had saved him a lot of time, by the time he reached Konoha, a long time had passed since the incident. He wasn't sure if he was too late.
It turned out that just this morning, having accumulated enough prestige, Danzō had finally made his move against Shisui Uchiha.
Shisui was no longer his subordinate and could refuse his orders. Especially with Tsunade wary of him, Danzō had no authority over Shisui.
But Danzō took advantage of his recent surge in popularity and suddenly sent someone to "invite" Shisui to Root for a discussion.
Considering Danzō's current influence, Shisui didn't dare to offend him and went.
What followed was similar to the original story. Shisui lost an eye and was pursued by Root.
Living up to his name as a genius, he activated his Susanoo with a single eye. But this scene was witnessed by the Iwa spy.
And that led to the present moment.
Ishiro, using the Camouflage Technique to hide his form, scanned a wide area inside and outside Konoha with his senjutsu-enhanced Mind's Eye. This large-scale scan quickly alerted Konoha's barrier squad, and the village's alarms soon sounded.
But Ishiro couldn't be bothered with that now. He had found his target.
Similar to the original story, Shisui and Itachi had met at a cliff.
Ishiro arrived at top speed, just in time to see Shisui pluck out his remaining eye and jump off the cliff to his death.
"I made it," Ishiro sighed in relief.
In that instant, he sensed Itachi's chakra fluctuating violently. At the same time, his own Mind's Eye was undergoing a change.
His main purpose in rushing here had been to allow his Mind's Eye, an ability that was almost impossible to upgrade through normal means, to evolve again.
Sure enough, faced with Shisui's choice, Itachi, just as in the original story, successfully awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.
And Ishiro had once again hitched a ride on the opportunity.
But people are never easily satisfied. With his goal achieved, Ishiro began to consider other things.
Itachi was helpless as Shisui fell into the abyss, but for Ishiro, it was not difficult.
Thus, Itachi's newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly captured a large amount of chakra rushing from the sky down into the chasm.
Looking closely, he blurted out, "Porcelain Release?! The Tsuchikage!"
Itachi was vigilant. Even though he was emotionally unstable because of Shisui, he still made an immediate judgment. He drew his weapon and stood on guard.
Soon, he spotted Ishiro in the sky.
But they were too far apart, and Ishiro showed no sign of attacking, so Itachi also stood his ground. The two of them faced each other in silence, neither making a rash move.
After a while, the porcelain mud that had rushed down the cliff returned. With it was a sealed ninja.
It was the now-eyeless Shisui Uchiha.
Itachi was both shocked and overjoyed. He could sense that Shisui was still alive. But this also meant that Ishiro now had another piece of leverage over him.
Knowing Ishiro, he felt that the "Fox of Iwagakure" would never pass up such an opportunity to threaten him.
Sure enough, Ishiro smiled faintly. "Itachi Uchiha. Your father and I have cooperated a few times. We could be considered friends. Shall we talk?"
Itachi did not deactivate his Mangekyo. He first lowered his gaze to Shisui, then nodded wearily.
He looked up at Ishiro. "What does Lord Tsuchikage wish to talk about?"
His voice was flat, with a faint, deathly air, as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.
But the next moment, a line of blood trickled from his right Mangekyo.
At the same time, black flames erupted on Ishiro's body.
"Incredible!" Ishiro praised, using his Porcelain Release to seal the Amaterasu flames.
Itachi was truly incredible. He was younger than Sōkai and Izumi had been when they awakened their Mangekyo, yet he could already use its dōjutsu. And there had been no sign before he cast it.
It turned out that while he had seemed to be standing still, he had actually been exploring the new power he had just obtained.
He knew very well that even with the Mangekyo, he was no match for Ishiro.
Never mind the fact that Ishiro had nearly annihilated the entire Suna army by himself; just the way he had played with a Susanoo-clad Shisui back then was enough to prove that his strength was far beyond what a single pair of Mangekyo could match.
If Itachi wanted to defeat him, or rather, to fight for a sliver of a chance to survive, he had to rely on his dōjutsu. Anything else—kunai, Fire Release—was a joke in front of the Tsuchikage.
But when Itachi heard Ishiro's calm voice, his heart sank.
Sure enough, he then watched as Ishiro easily sealed his inextinguishable Amaterasu flames with a porcelain seal.
What made him despair even more was that the Ishiro who had been momentarily burned by the flames suddenly crumbled into a pile of rubble.
A porcelain clone? Itachi's heart went cold. Did my all-out attack not even touch the corner of his clothes?
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