Countless clashes had already erupted between the ninja frogs of Mount Myoboku and the ninja snakes of Ryuchi Cave stationed in the Savage Lands.
Especially after the White Snake Sage's retreat from Shikkotsu Forest, the frequency of skirmishes skyrocketed.
The Ryuchi Cave ninja snakes, supported by overwhelming numbers and personally led by Lady Shichima, swiftly crushed the Mount Myoboku ninja frogs, leaving them so terrified they didn't dare utter even a slightly loud croak.
Even though tensions were on the verge of collapse, the Ryuchi Cave ninja snakes still refused to withdraw voluntarily from the front line.
The reason was simple—they'd lost their way back home.
After Seii Taishogun's camp was fully constructed and put into operation, the westernmost coastline of the Ninja World had been completely sealed off, cutting off the main route for the Ryuchi Cave snakes to return underground.
What's more, the other passage the Ryuchi Cave snakes used to enter the Savage Lands was located along the edge of Mount Myoboku—an old secret troop transportation tunnel established during the tug-of-war period between the two holy places. Although Ryuchi Cave had voluntarily revealed this hidden passage after both sides reached a cooperation agreement, the violent clashes that followed made it clearly impossible to use the underground passage beneath Myoboku anymore.
Lady Shichima simply lacked the courage to gamble whether Mount Myoboku would secretly strike her forces.
Therefore, although conflicts continued, Shichima carefully controlled the scale of bloodshed, trying to allow the Ryuchi Cave snakes sufficient opportunity to vent their aggression while avoiding fatal blows against the frog warriors.
After all, these snakes were isolated overseas troops who still needed some degree of support from Mount Myoboku's reinforcements.
More importantly, up until now, the White Snake Sage had remained in seclusion at the temple since returning to Ryuchi Cave. The other two guardian goddesses had yet to receive any instructions whatsoever, so Lady Shichima—leading troops abroad—dared not make independent decisions.
As for the Mount Myoboku side, although the deployed ninja frogs generally possessed stronger individual combat abilities than the snakes, lacking any Sage-level powerhouse as backup left them hesitant in battle, always needing to consider Lady Shichima's stance, thus suffering countless disadvantages.
As a result, those summoned beasts had also been stewing in their own fury for quite some time.
Therefore, when the shogunate's reconnaissance squad began stepping into the Savage Lands, neither the Mount Myoboku nor the Ryuchi Cave summoned beasts detected the arrival of these tiny insects right away.
Deep beneath Konoha, Black Zetsu remained restless and uneasy.
After informing Hiashi Hyuga about Ryuchi Cave's existence, it had started waiting for follow-up actions.
Unexpectedly, Hiashi's patience exceeded its expectations by far—in the past period, he hadn't secretly dispatched anyone to verify whether the intelligence provided was true, nor had he actively exposed Ryuchi Cave's existence. His life remained extremely routine—he lived a regular life, heading to work on schedule and spending intimate time at home every evening, dull and uneventful.
This finally made Black Zetsu—who originally possessed immense patience—unable to sit still any longer.
However, it didn't dare to reveal itself prematurely. It waited until Hyuga Soushu's group had already left Konoha before reappearing before Hiashi Hyuga.
"You finally decided to show up?"
When Hiashi saw the oozing muck seeping through the floorboards, his expression remained completely unchanged.
"I've already said it! She's absolutely not suitable!" Danzo's voice was extremely excited. "Hiruzen! You should've listened to me long ago!"
Hiashi offered no response to this.
He didn't even react with the excitement Black Zetsu had expected.
"Honorable Tennin's remains have been preserved for hundreds, even thousands of years, yet they're still intact."
Black Zetsu continued fabricating: "As long as we can obtain the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Tower, the secret jutsu within will definitely bring our ancestor Honorable Tennin back to life."
"Perhaps. But what good would that do?"
Hiashi's attitude remained completely unchanged.
It was as if he had long abandoned any hope.
"You've changed!"
A trace of emotion entered Black Zetsu's voice.
"It's not me who changed. It's the times that changed."
Hiashi shook his head helplessly. "Perhaps because you've been hiding away these past few days and couldn't learn what actually happened in the village."
"I told you, I went back to visit Honorable Tennin!"
Black Zetsu still tried to defend itself. Obviously, it couldn't directly admit it feared being discovered, which was why it had all the White Zetsus stationed in Konoha hide underground.
"Is that so? The bones haven't rotted away yet?"
Hiashi showed no further reaction. "You should just take care of yourself."
With no choice but to leave helplessly, Black Zetsu also began secretly considering whether it should risk exposing itself to meet with Hyuga Soushu directly.
After Hyuga Soushu left Konoha, Danzo confirmed that all threats had been eliminated. He immediately went to meet the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Tsunade refuses to take the position?"
His question carried clear implications.
"Yes."
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi silently reviewed increasingly trivial documents without lifting his head and replied. Watching the effortless stream of writing flowing across the pages, the towering stack of paperwork was steadily getting thinner.
"This is precisely the problem!" Danzo inwardly fumed.
Too careless!
His old friend's methods and crisis management skills were both too careless!
And too soft-hearted!
With pests like him crawling around, how could Konoha ever truly improve?
"Just leave it to me, Hiruzen! You can trust me!"
Danzo finally voiced his inner thoughts.
"What?"
This time, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi finally lifted his head.
"Give me control of the Anbu and the Nine-Tails! I promise I'll change everything!"
Danzo paused, slightly adjusting his tone.
After all, if he directly asked the old monkey to step down, he might truly turn hostile.
"You don't want to become the Fourth?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed somewhat surprised.
"Am I allowed to?!"
This time, Danzo could no longer contain his excitement.
Joy instantly lit up his face.
"Not allowed."
With just this sentence, Hiruzen froze the smile on Danzo's face.
"Oh right, go check in at the border district tomorrow. Ao has something he wants to discuss with you."
At the end, Hiruzen added softly.
"Just have him come back then!"
Danzo immediately turned pale.
"No, you go over there."
Hiruzen pulled out his pipe and began smoking silently.
Light blue smoke curled into the air, casting his face into deeper shadow.
"You want me dead!"
Furious, Danzo bared his discolored teeth, grinding them so hard they might crack.
"I don't. You're misunderstanding things."
Hiruzen quietly shook his head.
He wasn't lying—he truly didn't wish Danzo dead; it was simply that Danzo had to die. This was no longer a matter of personal will.
Because the Shogunate had secretly sent an official letter—Hyuga Soushu explicitly stated that coexistence between Konoha and the Shogunate could only happen if Danzo, the root cause of conflict, were eliminated first!
"No truce without Danzo's death!" That was their ultimatum—no more negotiation.
Although both sides tacitly kept this secret and carefully avoided leaking any word of their private communications, Hiruzen had already made his decision.
Konoha must not fall—not while it was still in his hands.
Therefore, Danzo would simply have to be sacrificed.
"We've known each other for so many years! You can't fool me!"
Danzo's voice rose sharply. "Hiruzen! Why?!"
"For Konoha! Everything is for Konoha!"
Hiruzen's tone also turned sharp. "And you? Besides manipulating minds and resorting to dirty tricks, what else are you capable of?!"
"You refuse to obey and won't even die willingly! How hard do you think this is for me?!"
...
Danzo was left utterly speechless.
At this moment, he finally understood: his seemingly kind-hearted old friend had already decided to betray him!
"Must it really be this way?"
Now that things had come to this point, there was nothing left to say.
"It must!"
Hiruzen spoke firmly.
His grip tightened on the pipe, tendons rippling beneath his knuckles as his arm trembled.
"I see."
Immediately, Danzo calmed down.
He didn't know why he could remain so calm in the face of certain death.
Perhaps because he realized that no matter how much he regretted, there was no turning back anymore—so he gave up entirely.
"Do you have anything else you'd like to say?"
Hiruzen sounded as though asking for a dying man's last words—in fact, that was exactly what it was.
After all, once Danzo left the village, his fate would merely vary by method of death.
"I regret even hesitating for a moment back then."
"Danzo said gravely.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt a sense of daze.
During the First Great Ninja War, their teacher—the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju—was on his way to Kumogakure for peace talks with the Shadow Guard Team when they were ambushed by the rogue Kumo ninja brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku. Raiga was killed instantly, while their teacher barely managed to fight his way out with his burdensome students.
When facing pursuing forces sent by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, their teacher asked who would volunteer to hold off the enemies. Danzo hesitated slightly before immediately stepping forward without hesitation.
That's exactly why he gained his teacher's trust and received the critical mission—to become the next Hokage. In subsequent wars, he gradually built his reputation, becoming Shin, the legendary ninja hero who shook the entire Ninja World.
But those glorious days have long since vanished into thin air. The once mighty ninja hero may now be nothing more than a clumsy 'ninja bear' under time's merciless assault.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, head lowered in melancholy.
Danzo gave his old friend a deep look before turning and walking away.
Inside the Hidden Rock Village, Kitsuchi was summoned once again to a clandestine meeting.
What awaited him this time left him utterly stunned!
"The village cannot go without candidates for the Fourth!"
This was the shocking proposal made by the Jonin leading the gathering.
All eyes at the secret meeting turned toward Kitsuchi, filled with eager anticipation—as if waiting for a divine proclamation from an emperor.
"Only those who master Dust Release techniques are worthy of inheriting the title of the Fourth!"
Kitsuchi immediately shook his head.
He understood perfectly—they were trying to push him into seizing power from above. But he also knew just how impossible that would be.
Strength—not bloodline or formal legitimacy—is what gives a ninja true authority!
His father Onoki had ruled as Tsuchikage for decades thanks to his unmatched Dust Release Secret Jutsu. It was powerful enough to dominate the entire Ninja World!
That is where real power comes from!
"We must reform outdated traditions! Otherwise, clinging to obsolete customs will only make Iwagakure fall further behind!"
One Iwagakure Jonin urged him: "Besides, judging from the Third's current health, he could easily serve another ten or twenty years without any issues. If that happens..."
Exactly!
How could there possibly be an heir waiting for decades without taking the throne?
Everyone understands this principle well, but whether one can—or even should—act upon it depends entirely on personal judgment.
At least Kitsuchi didn't believe these self-serving opportunists were capable of achieving anything.
"I have nothing more to say. Excuse me."
Without another word, Kitsuchi stood up directly and prepared to leave.
"Honorable Kitsuchi, please reconsider!"
The group of Iwagakure Jonins immediately stood as well, blocking his path.
"Are you threatening me?"
Kitsuchi frowned deeply.
"No, of course not!"
Though their words claimed innocence, the Jonins still refused to step aside.
"What exactly do they fear?"
Just then, the door to the secret chamber swung open forcefully.
Onoki entered boldly despite his small stature.
"Tsuchikage Lord!"
The assembly of Jonins paled instantly.
Sneaking around behind closed doors was one thing—getting caught red-handed was a totally different story!"
What's more, they had even deployed guards and set up a sealing barrier outside as protection, yet Onoki still strolled in casually without triggering any kind of alert!
This alone showed that everything was already under Onoki's control.
"At least you didn't embarrass me!"
Onoki shot his eldest son a hard glare.
Then he waved his hand. The Iwagakure Anbu filed in one by one, swiftly seizing the usually arrogant Jonin like eagles snatching chicks from the nest. One by one, they dragged them out. Not only was there no resistance, there wasn't even a hint of defiance—like the strength they once boasted about was all just hollow show.
"This is for you!"
After the Anbu took all those outwardly defiant yet hollow dissenters away, Onoki finally reached into his robe and pulled out a seal, tossing it to his eldest son.
"This… this is…"
Kitsuchi caught the seal and traced its inscription with his fingers — his heartbeat quickened in response.
"That seal makes you Deputy Tsuchikage — that will be your new role."
Onoki said, "Tomorrow, lead some people and go to Raimei Canyon!"
"I understand!"
Kitsuchi gripped the seal tightly.
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