The son and daughter-in-law of Chiyo, an Advisor of Hidden Sand Village, were killed on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.
That night, a flash of white light cut through the night sky, illuminating the entire border as if it were daytime, then vanished without a trace, and Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law fell within this white light.
Subsequently, the remaining scattered shinobi of Hidden Sand Village brought this news back to the Land of Wind, and immediately the entire Hidden Sand Village became agitated.
No other reason, it was simply that Chiyo's status in Hidden Sand Village was too high; there were even rumors that she was a disciple of the First Kazekage, and her seniority in Hidden Sand Village could be compared to Mito's seniority in Konoha Village, only her strength was not as great.
If it weren't for her intentional concession a few years ago to make way for the Third Kazekage, she might have become the de facto ruler of Hidden Sand Village, but even so, no one in the entire Hidden Sand Village dared to forget her.
With such a high status, Chiyo's only son died in the Land of Fire—how could Hidden Sand Village not be enraged?
Then, in a very short time, Hidden Sand Village issued three diplomatic communiqués in succession: protest, condemnation, demanding the surrender of the culprit, and reparations, all in one go.
However, the Third Hokage was not to be trifled with; not only did he not apologize, but he also issued a diplomatic communiqué in return, condemning Hidden Sand Village for sending a squad to raid the Land of Fire, violating the Five Great Nations Peace Treaty.
Konoha was merely exercising self-defense, and likewise demanded that Hidden Sand Village be responsible for the Land of Fire's losses, requiring compensation for the Land of Fire's economic losses.
In an instant, neither of the two great nations would give in, diplomatic communiqués flew everywhere, and conflicts in the border areas between the two nations escalated daily.
Recently, news even spread that Chiyo finally appeared in Hidden Sand Village, entering the Kazekage's office to have a private discussion with the Kazekage for three hours, and after this private discussion, the Kazekage dispatched reinforcements to the border one after another.
And as the protagonist of this incident, Sakumo Hatake, who killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law single-handedly, his great name also spread throughout the shinobi world, and some busybodies even called him the White Fang of Konoha, based on the flash of white light that night.
While the outside world was in an uproar, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was not in the Hokage Office at this time, but had entered an underground base in Konoha.
In the dim base, no external light entered, relying only on a few candles for meager illumination. The Third Hokage's footsteps echoed in this empty environment until a figure appeared before him.
The Third Hokage looked at the man in front of him, who was almost half-wrapped in bandages, and couldn't help but exclaim in shock. He had received news earlier that Danzo was injured, but he never expected it to be this severe.
"What? Hiruzen, does my appearance surprise you?"
Although the tone was calm, the Third Hokage seemed to hear Danzo's deeply hidden pain and anger within it. He did not immediately answer Danzo's question, but instead asked:
"How did you get injured like this?"
"I just didn't anticipate their poison. This poison is extremely potent; I only got a little on me, and it completely corroded my right arm, and I couldn't even save my eye." Danzo's tone remained the same.
"If it's poison, there's a cure. I'll summon Tsunade to help you right away." The Third Hokage was still very considerate of his old friend; knowing it was poison, he immediately thought of Tsunade.
"It's useless!" A slight ripple finally appeared in Danzo's tone:
"I've already tried. It's called poison, but it's actually more like sulfuric acid, it just spreads like poison.
Now my right arm is completely necrotic; there's no possibility of saving it. Unless I can regrow a severed limb, there's no other way."
The Third Hokage fell silent, and after a long while, he said, "Danzo, try to look on the bright side. Even if you can't go to the battlefield, as an advisor, you can still contribute to Konoha."
Danzo did not speak, but a fierce glint was revealed in his only remaining eye.
"Tell me what exactly happened this time. As the supreme commander of this incident, you still need to report the main events to me."
The Third Hokage no longer dwelled on Danzo's injuries. As a shinobi, even he was prepared to go to the battlefield or even sacrifice himself at any time. He believed that Danzo, as his old friend, would be the same as him.
"You sent me and Sakumo Hatake to lead a team to eliminate the Hidden Sand Village squad that had intruded into the Land of Fire. Under my meticulous planning, we finally cornered them into a desperate situation.
Originally, I wanted to wipe them out directly, but I inadvertently learned from a captive that two high-ranking Hidden Sand Village members were among them. Unfortunately, he died before he could reveal everything.
Later, I wrote to you, but your order to me was 'kill.' Since that was the case, I no longer concerned myself with their identities.
You already know what happened next. This Hidden Sand squad had been surrounded by me for a long time, and they had run out of supplies. I then directly led my team to try and eliminate them.
But just when I was fighting them to the very end, I didn't expect them to be hiding such a potent poison. I was careless and got injured. As for what happened afterward, I left everything to Sakumo Hatake.
Now, you should know the identities of those two high-ranking Hidden Sand Village members, right?"
The Third Hokage nodded and said, "That's right, they are the son and daughter-in-law of that old woman Chiyo from Hidden Sand Village. To be honest, this time we've really stirred up a hornet's nest."
Danzo let out a cold laugh and said, "That's something for you, the Hokage, to consider. I'm already crippled now, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much."
The Third Hokage was stunned by these words. He seemed to sense something in Danzo's tone and asked with some surprise:
"Danzo, are you blaming me?"
Danzo touched his bandaged right arm and did not speak. Seeing this, the Third Hokage sighed with emotion:
"Danzo, we both are successors entrusted with the will of fire by our teacher. It's normal for you to feel some resentment after suffering such a calamity.
However, I still believe in you. Once your injuries heal, the Root you proposed earlier should be established by you. For the next period, you should focus on recovering. I will handle the Hidden Sand Village situation."
After the Third Hokage finished speaking, he wanted to pat Danzo's shoulder, but seeing that Danzo remained silent, he sighed again and gave up, then walked out of the gloomy base.
And after the Third Hokage left, Danzo's calm expression finally broke. Fear, anger, resentment, hatred, and various other negative emotions appeared one after another on half of his face.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you are not me, and you will never be able to feel my current pain!"
Low roars echoed in the dim underground base, seemingly lowering the temperature by several degrees. It took a long time for everything to slowly return to calm.
**