That night, near the inn where the Kumogakure diplomatic delegation was staying, Root shinobi took over the surveillance duties from the ANBU, citing a routine shift rotation.
Although the ANBU were dissatisfied, both the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the ANBU Commander were currently away from the village. With no one else to oppose the order, they had no choice but to accept the directive issued by the Konoha Council of Elders.
Not long after the ANBU withdrew, Shimura Danzō, leader of Root, appeared alone outside the room of the delegation leader, Dodai, and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Dodai's voice sounded from inside, and Danzō pushed the door open.
"So it's Advisor Danzō."
Dodai quickly stood up to greet him, though a hint of surprise flashed deep within his eyes.
Dodai was extremely wary of this hawkish elder of Konoha.
During the recent peace negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure, Danzō had caused the Cloud Village quite a few problems.
However, the treaty had already been finalized and was only waiting for the final transfer of materials. Dodai could not understand why Danzō would suddenly appear at this time.
Danzō did not speak immediately.
Instead, his gaze shifted toward another person in the room—a fair-skinned young woman with short blond hair.
The girl was named Samui, Dodai's assistant.
Seeing this, Dodai immediately understood Danzō's intention. Nevertheless, he spoke calmly.
"Advisor Danzō, you may speak freely. Samui is the deputy envoy of this Kumogakure delegation and also my future successor."
Samui said nothing. She simply watched Danzō quietly.
After a long silence, Danzō finally spoke.
"Kumogakure truly produces talented people. Allow me to congratulate Elder Dodai on having such a capable successor."
"You flatter us," Dodai replied with a polite smile. "Kumogakure is merely a remote village—nothing compared to the great Konohagakure."
Then he asked directly,
"May I ask why Advisor Danzō has come so late at night? According to our agreement, the next material transfer is still some time away. There shouldn't be any issues with that, correct?"
According to the ceasefire treaty signed between Kumogakure and Konoha:
Kumogakure acknowledged defeat.They agreed to compensate Konoha for the damage caused during the war.They would also pay a ransom to redeem A and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki, Killer B.
At the same time:
Both sides would withdraw their armies from the Land of Hot Water, returning sovereignty to Yugakure.
Because the compensation and ransom were enormous, Kumogakure was allowed to deliver payment in equivalent mineral resources in multiple installments.
In addition, A had already been released early so he could return to Kumogakure and assume the position of the Fourth Raikage, making it easier to raise funds.
So far, Kumogakure had delivered three batches of mineral resources and some funds, with nearly half the total amount remaining. The final delivery was scheduled to occur in half a month.
Dodai's diplomatic delegation would remain in Konoha until the payment was completed. Only then would they return to Kumogakure together with Killer B.
Given the circumstances, the Kumogakure delegation had kept an extremely low profile during their stay in Konoha.
They rarely left the inn, avoiding trouble as much as possible.
Yet despite doing nothing, trouble had still come knocking on their door.
"Since the treaty has already been agreed upon, there will naturally be no issues as long as both sides follow it," Danzō said calmly, reassuring Dodai.
Then he suddenly asked,
"Elder Dodai, you have been staying in Konoha these past days. What do you think about Konoha's current situation?"
Dodai was momentarily stunned.
He did not understand why Danzō would ask such a question—and it was not an easy one to answer.
Officially, the Kumogakure delegation had done nothing during their stay.
But secretly, they had still gathered as much intelligence about Konoha as possible within reasonable limits.
Moreover, the situation in Konoha had been extremely turbulent lately. Naturally, they had heard some of the rumors.
In fact, the reason Samui was still in Dodai's room so late at night was because the two of them had just been discussing these very matters.
But of course, they could never admit that openly.
After choosing his words carefully, Dodai said,
"I have only heard that your village is preparing to select the Fourth Hokage."
"But we are outsiders, so it would not be appropriate for us to comment on your village's internal affairs."
Danzō shook his head and stopped beating around the bush.
"I will speak plainly."
"Elder Dodai, I have come tonight to seek cooperation with Kumogakure."
"Cooperation?"
Dodai's eyes flickered.
"May I ask whether Advisor Danzō speaks on behalf of Konoha, or merely for himself?"
Danzō replied calmly,
"Both."
"I represent myself—and I represent Konoha."
"Because I am Konoha."
Dodai narrowed his eyes.
"Those are rather premature words, Advisor Danzō. As far as I know, you are merely a candidate for the Fourth Hokage, not the Hokage himself."
"That is only a matter of time," Danzō said.
Dodai chuckled.
"Advisor Danzō certainly has confidence."
"So what exactly does this 'cooperation' entail?"
Danzō spoke slowly.
"To be honest, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, departed earlier today for the Fire Daimyō's Court to report his duties."
"At the moment, Konoha's defenses are unusually thin."
"In such circumstances, it would not be surprising if the ANBU made a careless mistake…"
"And several important prisoners escaped from Konoha's prison."
Dodai's eyes widened.
He immediately understood Danzō's implication.
Suppressing his excitement, Dodai said carefully,
"In any village, ANBU are the elite among elites. Careless mistakes like that should be extremely rare."
"Normally, yes," Danzō replied calmly.
"But if something major happened—something that threw them into chaos—then mistakes could occur."
"For example…"
"If the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, died outside the village."
Dodai's eyes widened in shock.
He stared at Danzō, momentarily speechless.
Danzō merely said coldly,
"Don't look at me like that."
"Compared to what Kumogakure once did, this is merely following an old precedent."
After all, assassinating one's own Kage was not unheard of in the shinobi world.
The first to do it had been Kumogakure's militant faction, led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Not only had they successfully assassinated the Second Raikage, they had also dragged the Second Hokage of Konoha, Tobirama Senju, into death along with him.
Danzō himself had been one of the survivors of that incident.
Dodai shook his head and looked at Danzō with open sarcasm.
"What happened in our village was merely an internal power struggle."
"But conspiring with outsiders to murder one's own Kage?"
"That is something we would never do."
"The nature of the two situations is completely different."
"Samui."
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