Shimura Danzō pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Hiruzen, any news from Iwagakure and Sunagakure?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe and sighed. "Because of the Uchiha, they're unwilling to form an alliance with us."
Danzō snorted. "If you'd listened to me back then and dealt with the Uchiha ahead of time, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Let's not argue about the past," Hiruzen said helplessly. "We should focus on what to do next."
"That's exactly why I'm here." Danzō's tone was heavy. "The Land of Iron has already fallen under Cloud's control. Land of Grass and the Land of Rice Fields—where the Uchiha were stationed before—now have Cloud shinobi occupying them."
"Even the Land of Frost, bordering Land of Lightning, probably won't escape either."
"And… I've lost contact with Hanzō the Salamander recently. I suspect the Land of Rain has fallen as well."
"At this rate, we're close to being completely surrounded by Kumo's forces."
Hearing that, Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Danzō, you've been in contact with Hanzō?"
"Ahem… normal diplomatic exchange, that's all," Danzō muttered vaguely.
Seeing his reaction, Hiruzen already guessed most of it. His old friend's obsession with becoming Hokage was too deep; even colluding with other villages wouldn't be surprising.
"Danzō," Hiruzen asked quietly, "do you really think being Hokage brings happiness?"
Danzō froze for a moment and cursed silently.
What nonsense! Of course being Hokage is happiness! I've worked my whole life for this—don't you dare ruin it for me!
Holding back his irritation, he said, "Hiruzen, I heard you're planning to retire. Have you decided on the next Hokage?"
Hiruzen took another slow puff. "Not yet. Why?"
"No reason."
Dropping the subject, Danzō continued, "Orochimaru has made major improvements to the Impure World Reincarnation. The revived dead are strong enough for real combat."
"We should take the initiative and fight Hidden Cloud Village head-on!"
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hiruzen choked on his smoke and immediately waved him off. "Absolutely not. Konoha cannot afford another war."
"As long as they doesn't attack us, we focus on development."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sometimes truly couldn't understand what was going through Danzō's mind. Konoha was barely able to protect itself—launching an attack on the Cloud? What a joke!
"Fine, I'll listen to you." Danzō shrugged. Since Hiruzen was finally about to retire, he needed to seize this chance.
"Wait," Hiruzen said. "Take this scroll to Kumogakure."
He handed Danzō a prepared scroll. In the letter, he wrote about the Uchiha's supposed desire for power and their 'flawed personalities,' urging the Third Raikage to be cautious of them.
It probably wouldn't make the Raikage break with the Uchiha outright, but even planting a seed of distrust would be enough. It was one of the few things he could still accomplish.
—
—
Kumogakure.
The Third Raikage tossed Hiruzen's letter to Yuzuru Uchiha with a look of disdain. "That Hiruzen… always playing at schemes. He's a disgrace to the title of Kage!"
"Should we go give Konoha a little lesson?"
Yuzuru casually flicked the letter aside. "Our focus is still on the smaller nations around us. There's no need to disrupt our established plans over something this trivial."
The Third Raikage nodded and continued: "Then what do you think about the alliance between the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village?"
"Let them be. We aren't planning anything in their direction for now."
Yuzuru's plan was simple: conquer all the small nations around Land of Fire and Lightning Country first—then strike Konoha. After taking Land of Fire, he would move on to Earth, Wind, and Water.
It wasn't an issue of strength—it was manpower.
Although both Cloud and the Uchiha clan had grown significantly in recent years, they still didn't have enough forces to govern the entire ninja world.
The Raikage didn't argue. He knew strategy wasn't his strong suit; whatever Yuzuru said, he followed.
"Yuzuru, what's the next step?"
"We're taking the Land of Hot Water. I'll leave ahead of schedule. You start organizing the personnel needed for the takeover."
After that brief explanation, Yuzuru vanished with Kamui.
When he reappeared, he was already in the Hot Water Village.
Unlike before, after overthrowing the daimyo, the Hot Water shinobi had moved into the nation's capital. Their leader now resided in the former daimyo's mansion.
At the main hall of the mansion, Yuzuru appeared out of thin air.
Hearing laughter and noise inside, he pushed open the doors and entered.
Several Hot Water shinobi were seated on the floor, watching a group of dancers in the center of the hall. Fresh fruits and snacks were placed before them.
When they saw Yuzuru walk in, they froze. Their expressions quickly turned hostile.
"Who are you?"
"Yuzuru Uchiha."
"What?!"
They shot to their feet in panic—one even knocked over the table, sending food scattering across the floor.
The leader of the Hot Water shinobi swallowed hard, forcing his voice to stay steady. "W-what are you here for?"
Yuzuru approached him slowly. "I'm here on behalf of the Land of Lightning to announce something."
"What… thing?"
"The territory of the Land of Hot Water belongs to our Land of Lightning from now on."
Even though they had suspected Yuzuru wouldn't visit without reason, hearing those words made their pupils contract.
There was no negotiation in his tone—only certainty, as if he were stating an indisputable fact.
But no matter how strong Lightning Country was, trying to claim the entire Land of Hot Water with a single sentence…
How could anyone accept something so unreasonable?!