Jiraiya walked out of the Hokage's office with a heavy expression, gently closing the door behind him. He let out a deep sigh.
In just a short time, this was already his second heated argument with Danzo. This time, Danzo refused to listen to him at all, fully intent on forming an alliance with Amegakure.
Only now did Jiraiya truly understand the importance of power. Back when his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was Hokage, Jiraiya had lived like a carefree wanderer. Yet, whenever he wanted to, he could still exert significant influence on the village, giving him the illusion that having or not having an official position didn't make much of a difference.
But now, reality was teaching him otherwise. Without an official position or power, no matter how high his reputation or how strong his abilities were, he was ultimately just a lone wolf.
A fleeting image crossed his mind—a man with white hair, carrying a short blade on his back, whose mastery of kenjutsu once struck fear throughout the ninja world.
The contributions made by Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, far surpassed those of the Sannin at the time, yet he was still easily driven to death by the village.
Jiraiya, oh Jiraiya, how naive you were back then!
Inside the office, Shikaku Nara cautiously spoke, "Lord Hokage, it seems Jiraiya-sama's concerns are not without merit."
"Putting aside whether Amegakure was involved in the Konoha Crush incident, the fact that they've gathered so many S-rank rogue ninjas makes forming an alliance with them extremely dangerous."
Danzo waved his hand irritably, signaling Shikaku to stop talking.
Why did people always assume they were smarter than him? Did they think he hadn't considered these things?
But it was precisely because Amegakure was strong that they were worth using. Just watch—this time, he would use Amegakure's forces as the vanguard to accomplish feats that Hiruzen Sarutobi could never achieve in his lifetime.
One day, even Tobirama-sensei would recognize that Shimura Danzo was the most suitable choice for Hokage. Back then, he had only lost the position because he hesitated for a moment.
Danzo turned to his deputy. "Ryoma, inform the people from Amegakure to meet tonight at the Root base to discuss the specifics."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Danzo nodded in satisfaction. His subordinates, bound by the Tongue-Cursing Seal, were far more reliable.
That evening.
While Zabuza and Haku, the nominal leaders of the Amegakure delegation, rested, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame made their way to the Root base.
The atmosphere was eerie, the silence unsettling.
The sound of their footsteps echoed crisply in the empty base. It seemed Danzo was trying to intimidate them by not sending anyone to greet or guide them.
But such petty tricks were laughable to the trio. In the ninja world, strength was what truly mattered. If Konoha didn't currently need a self-destructive expert like Danzo, who did he think he was?
At the end of the corridor, Danzo sat in an elevated seat, flanked by two Root operatives on either side, with more stationed around the room.
It was as if they were trying to surround the trio.
"Lord Hokage, this is the alliance agreement." Deidara pulled out a scroll, which Aburame Ryoma stepped forward to retrieve and handed to Danzo.
Danzo unrolled the scroll and skimmed through it. "Hmm, not bad."
"I approve of this alliance," Danzo said.
"However, Amegakure needs to show some sincerity."
"Of course. What kind of sincerity does Lord Hokage have in mind?" Deidara asked with a nod.
Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke softly, "The Land of Wind."
"The Land of Wind?"
"I thought Lord Hokage might aim for the wealthier Land of Lightning or Land of Water," Deidara remarked.
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly.
"The cowards in the Land of Wind always cause trouble behind our backs whenever Konoha makes a move. If we don't deal with them first, and Konoha ends up at war with the Land of Lightning or the Land of Water, the Sand Village could attack us from behind, leaving Konoha fighting on two fronts."
"I absolutely will not allow that to happen."
Deidara nodded in understanding. For someone called the "Darkness of the Shinobi World," Danzo's intelligence was not lacking.
The Land of Wind was to Konoha what the southern barbarians were to Shu Han—always harassing from behind whenever Konoha made a move. Until this problem was resolved, Konoha couldn't expand outward.
"What's your plan, Lord Hokage?" Deidara asked curiously. If it was a direct assault, that was fine, but he wouldn't lift a finger to reduce Konoha's casualties.
"Decapitation tactics!" Danzo's deputy, Aburame Ryoma, answered.
"Decapitation tactics?" Kisame grinned excitedly. "Facing strong opponents—that's not a bad plan."
"Perhaps the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, is a target worth taking down."
"We'll use the pretext of renegotiating the alliance agreement and discussing further cooperation to invite the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, to a meeting in the Land of Rivers," Ryoma explained.
"Once there, you three will disguise yourselves, and we'll deploy elite Root and ANBU operatives to eliminate Rasa right at the meeting!"
The plan wasn't particularly sophisticated, but it was practical. With their overwhelming strength, once Rasa was killed, the Sand Village would be leaderless. Konoha's army could then invade, and conquering the Sand Village would be within reach.
"Agreed!"
"However, as payment, Amegakure will require the northeastern part of the Land of Wind, including Kazama City," Deidara said, pulling out a map and marking a circle that encompassed about a quarter of the Land of Wind's territory.
This area was several times larger than Amegakure's original territory.
In truth, Deidara didn't care much about land. The demand was merely a smokescreen to conceal their real objective. After all, if they asked for nothing, Konoha would definitely become suspicious. The Akatsuki's true goal was to ignite a new round of wars among the Five Great Shinobi Nations. And if they attacked the Sand Village, they could also capture Shukaku, the One-Tail.
"Impossible! You're asking for too much," Danzo objected. Giving such a large territory to rogue ninjas was unacceptable.
"Then what does Lord Hokage propose?"
"You can have the area around Doulu City," Danzo said, marking a much smaller area on the map—about a third of what Deidara had requested.
Deidara sneered inwardly. Danzo really thought he was in charge here, didn't he?
"That's too little!"
After some back-and-forth bargaining, they finally settled on a compromise.
A few days later, the Sand Village sent their reply, agreeing to the meeting but insisting it be held within the Land of Wind.
Their reasoning was their distrust of Danzo, the former "Darkness of the Shinobi World." It was a reasonable precaution.
Given their overwhelming strength, conducting the meeting within the Land of Wind was no issue.
What could the weakest Kazekage in history possibly do?
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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