After seeing Fox leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately summoned Danzō.
He handed Danzō Fox's scroll.
"Danzō, Fox plans to go to the Land of Rain to find Uchiha Madara and resolve the issue of this rogue ninja for the village. Look at his plan and tell me your thoughts."
Danzō glanced at the scroll, thinking to himself: This was my doing in the first place.
Dangle the Scroll of Seals in front of Fox, and he will naturally go all out.
Danzō spoke: "The matter of the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara indeed needs a conclusion. We cannot let him continue his rampant ways.
The hidden dangers left by the First and Second Hokage must be completely resolved in our hands.
We must pass on a clean Konoha to the next generation."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded perfunctorily.
Next generation?
Shinnosuke is dead. Who can Sarutobi Hiruzen find to be the next generation?
The Sannin? Their strength is sufficient, but each has their own issues.
Rokaku? Rokaku's strength is insufficient.
Danzō continued:
"From what I know, an organization has appeared around the Uzumaki remnant—Uzumaki Nagato. It's developing rapidly, giving Hanzo quite a headache.
Hanzo proactively contacted me, asking me for information about the Uzumaki clan.
Uchiha Madara and his subordinates hiding in the Land of Rain are like a bone stuck in Hanzo's throat, making him restless.
I believe we can cooperate with Hanzo, use his power to have Fox confront Uchiha Madara head-on, while Hanzo and I deal with the Uzumaki remnants."
Danzō calculated inwardly, I cannot fully trust Fox. That guy's issues are obvious even to a fool.
I must bring in Hanzo and use him to deal with both Uchiha Madara and Fox.
While Uchiha Madara is ruthless towards Konoha, he is also a major nuisance for Hanzo.
Hanzo styles himself the 'Demigod of the Shinobi World'. Having Uchiha Madara entrenched in his territory, yet not daring to expel him, is a heavy blow to his prestige.
When the time comes, I'll drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, let Hanzo take the lead, and I will seize the opportunity to take the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked: "Will Hanzo deal with the Uzumaki remnants?"
"He will," Danzō affirmed,
"The Uzumaki remnants have formed an organization called 'Akatsuki', claiming they will bring dawn to the Land of Rain and the entire shinobi world.
They believe the Land of Rain is currently in darkness, and Hanzo's rule has led to the continuous decline of Amegakure and the Land of Rain.
Their goal is to overthrow Hanzo and rebuild Amegakure and the Land of Rain according to their own ideals."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded: "Good. Since you have considered this thoroughly, then go to the Land of Rain with Fox."
"No, we will act separately."
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood: Danzō is being wary of Fox.
Having lost Shinnosuke, the most important intermediary between them and Fox no longer exists.
The only reason Fox could hold the position of Anbu Commander was purely because his strength was too great, and they had no choice but to give him the post.
"Fox is uncontrollable, not one of us, but we can use 'Konoha's greater good' to bind him," Sarutobi Hiruzen said:
"I will convene a Jonin Commander meeting. At the meeting, I will announce that Fox, for the sake of Konoha, is proactively going to deal with Uchiha Madara."
Danzō nodded in agreement. Although Fox was not part of their inner circle, judging by his current performance—having risked himself for Konoha several times—he still seemed loyal to the village.
Year 43 of Konoha. The first Jonin Commander meeting of the year was held in Konoha Village.
Yōkō entered the conference room and noticed Danzō was absent.
On the podium sat only Sarutobi Hiruzen, Nara Rokaku, Tsunade, and himself.
After the jonin quieted down, Sarutobi Hiruzen began to speak:
"Year 42 of Konoha has passed, and Year 43 has arrived. In the past year, Konoha Village has experienced many upheavals.
The rogue ninja Uchiha Madara attacked Konoha, causing grievous casualties. Subsequently, the new Foreign Affairs Advisor, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, sacrificed himself to protect the mission share in the Land of Hot Water.
The root of so many disasters befalling Konoha Village lies with the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara and his followers.
Konoha absolutely cannot tolerate such a powerful rogue ninja remaining at large.
The Anbu Commander, Fox, has volunteered to eradicate the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara for the village.
He has mastered the First Hokage's Wood Release secret techniques and has the ability to deal with Uchiha Madara.
I now appoint Fox as the Captain of the Rogue Ninja Pursuit Force, leading a team to completely eliminate the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara!"
Everyone's gaze turned towards the Anbu Commander, Fox.
Yōkō stood up and said clearly: "Please rest assured, Lord Hokage! I will definitely take revenge for Konoha and make Uchiha Madara pay the price!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen repeatedly.
By putting Fox in this position, he will take dealing with Uchiha Madara seriously to uphold Konoha's reputation, and it will also make things more convenient for Danzō's side.
The next topics concerned Konoha's plans for the new year.
After Mitokado Homura, Hatake Sakumo, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Konoha Village actually couldn't select a new Foreign Affairs Advisor.
Either their strength was insufficient, or their willingness was lacking. In short, this high-ranking position remained vacant.
The Guardian Ninja for the various Daimyō were now personally appointed and commanded by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After the meeting, Yōkō led the White Ram Squad and left Konoha Village.
—
Land of Rain.
Yahiko had just led the Akatsuki organization away from the Land of Rain Capital.
"Don't be discouraged," Yahiko encouraged his companions:
"The nobles in the Capital have cooperated with Hanzo for over a decade. It was expected they wouldn't support us.
We aim to become the leaders of the shinobi world, to bring peace to it. This path was always incredibly difficult and long from the start. A setback like this is merely a small test at the beginning of our journey."
Following behind Yahiko were Nagato, Konan, and four wandering ninja they had rescued.
Additionally, there was a newly joined youth—Obito, wearing a swirl-patterned mask.
At his age, if he were in a major village, Obito should be studying at the Ninja Academy. But in the Land of Rain, he had to fend for himself, even fight against wandering ninja.
He was arranged here by Lord Madara. Lord Madara wanted Obito to grow alongside the Akatsuki organization.
Yahiko continued: "Let's go. We'll head to the towns in the southeast of the Land of Rain. The nobles there have extensive trade with the Land of Rivers. Perhaps they will support us and provide funds for the Akatsuki organization's activities."
After the Akatsuki members left, an Ame-nin slowly emerged from the mud on the ground.
He had heard the entire conversation of the Akatsuki organization and couldn't wait to rush back to Amegakure to report the latest intelligence on Akatsuki to Lord Hanzo.
After the Ame-nin left, Zetsu emerged from the darkness.
"That Ame-nin is finally gone. If he hadn't left soon, I was really afraid he'd be exposed."
The pitcher plant-like Black Zetsu and White Zetsu began their self-conversational dialogue.
"Nagato, following Yahiko and Konan, seems to be deviating from the path."
"Lord Madara bestowed the Rinnegan upon Nagato, not for him to pursue some 'shinobi world peace'."
"Peace? That term is so laughable. Why create a concept destined to be unattainable?"
"Originally, we planned to have Tobi and Obito take action, to eliminate the other members of Akatsuki. But Konoha Village is making moves, so it's better to wait and see."
"Perhaps Konoha will do the job for us. There are quite a few forces watching Nagato: us, Amegakure, and Konoha Village."
"Let Nagato experience the darkness of the shinobi world for himself."
***
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(End of Chapter)