Konoha Village.
Nobuhiko returned to the village with the wounded on the front line.
Also coming back together were the remains of those fallen ninjas.
Under the auspices of the Third Hokage, everyone gathered at the Konoha Cemetery to mourn the dead ninja.
Although Kumogakure was defeated, he rejected the peace treaty recently sent by Konoha, so it was inevitable to fight again. Hatake Sakumo still guarded the northeastern border.
To say that Konoha's three consecutive victories in Kamikawa Island, Platycodon Castle, and Tano Kuni Plains should have boosted morale.
But on the battlefield of Grass Country, Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya came to the Kumogakure battlefield to support them. The Konoha Jonin who was responsible for commanding the counterattack against the Iwagakure army fell into the scheme of Loess and the Eastern Dead. Although Namikaze Minato They arrived to the rescue in time, but Konoha still suffered heavy losses, with over a thousand ninja casualties.
According to Nobuhiko's original expectation, Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya only needed one person to come, so it would be best if they both came together.
It was just that the original plan was for the Konoha defenders of the Land of Grass to launch a feint attack on Iwagakure, with enough momentum that the opponent would not be able to maintain contact with Ohnoki on the Kumogakure battlefield in time.
However, after the initial victory was achieved, the jounin responsible for the command was greedy for success and rushed forward, and was trapped in a tight siege.
However, in terms of losses, there were over a thousand casualties among Konoha ninjas, but the number of casualties among Iwagakure ninjas was more than twice that of Konoha.
In the end, the commanding Jonin committed suicide to apologize after being seriously injured and breaking through the siege.
Can't help but feel sad.
...
After the memorial service, the Third Hokage chaired a high-level meeting.
Although Nobuhiko had just been promoted to Jonin, he had made great achievements in two consecutive major battles.
In terms of strength, he is already among the top experts in Konoha, so he is naturally qualified to participate in high-level meetings.
The Third Hokage glanced at the first vacant seat on the right and said, "Everyone is here, let the meeting begin."
At this time, Xiaochun was about to speak when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the conference room.
Everyone's eyes gathered outside the door.
Listening to the familiar pace, Sandai's eyes lit up.
After going to bed, Koharu and Mito Kadoyan couldn't help but look at each other.
An old man with a bandage on his right eye pushed open the door and walked into the conference room.
"Danzo."
"Lord Danzo."
Danzo came to the third Hokage's starting position and said: "It seems that I came at the right time."
With that said, Danzo sat down.
Looking at the newly wrapped bandage on Danzo's right arm, the Third Hokage frowned slightly and said, "Duanzo, are you injured?"
Danzo glanced at the bandaged forearm and said calmly: "It's just a small injury."
"Duanzo, it seems your plan was successful?!" Koharu, who was sleeping next to him, asked.
Danzo looked around, finally looked at the Third Hokage, and said:
“Hanzo has promised not to send troops against Konoha.
In other words, now he has no experience of sending troops to Konoha! "
After hearing Danzo's explanation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Konoha has won three consecutive victories, among the four ninja villages, Iwagakure and Kumogakure have deep foundations and will not be defeated by the outcome of one or two battles like Sunagakure and Kirigakure.
Now both Kirigakure and Sunagakure signed armistice agreements with Konoha shortly after their defeat.
But Iwagakure and Kumogakure clearly have the intention to fight Konoha again.
At this time, if Yuyin Village gets involved, the situation of the battle will become more variable.
Although Amegakure Village is only a small and medium-sized ninja village with not many ninjas, its leader Sansho Hanzo is a top powerhouse known as a 'demigod'. Konoha may not have the power to deal with him now.
Once Amegakure joins the war, only the Third Hokage can be dispatched in Konoha.
But whether the Third Hokage can defeat Hanzo is still unknown.
Now turning the unknown into the known is naturally the best situation.
Danzo did not elaborate on what he was doing in Amegakure.
Everyone was very conscious and didn't ask any more questions.
After all, most of the time, Danzo does things that are necessary but not worthy of publicity.
"Currently, on the east and west fronts, Sunagakure Village and Kirigakure Village have signed an armistice agreement with the village. The first enemy to deal with now is the Iwagakure army of Grass Country." Seeing that Danzo also rushed back, the meeting officially started and moved to bed. Xiaochun said directly.
Mito Kadoyan on the side added: "In addition, Kumogakure not only refused to cease war with the village, but also drove out the envoy who delivered the message. It seems that he still wants to fight Konoha.
On Sakumo's side, not only could they not be allowed to withdraw, but they had to send more troops. "
"In order to maintain the most basic operation of the village, our current strength is insufficient. In this battle, nearly one-third of the ninjas in Konoha were killed, and half of the ninjas were injured to varying degrees.
It seems that only a new generation of ninjas can be allowed to take to the battlefield. "Xiaochun frowned as he went to bed.
She knew that the losses of various ninja clans in the village were considerable in this war. If they were directly asked to send troops, many ninja clans would be reluctant, and now they could only think about the next generation.
"I hope Iwagakure can agree to peace talks with Konoha, so that we can concentrate on dealing with Kumogakure." The Third Hokage sighed.
"Hmph!" Danzo heard this and snorted coldly: "Hiruzhan, you are too naive! If Konoha can't fight, can Iwagakure and Kumogakure be able to fight?
Only by defeating other villages in our time can the next generation enjoy true peace! "
The Third Hokage did not respond, but Mito Kadenen retorted: "Danzo, you should consider the current reality of Konoha. We have already sent the next generation of ninjas to the battlefield."
"If it hadn't been for this wrong command, the village would not have suffered heavy losses in the Land of Grass." Danzo changed the subject and said pointedly.
Hearing this, the Third Hokage shook his head and said: "Danzo, you can't say that. Without the correct command of Sakumo and Nobuhiko this time, the Northeast Territory would definitely be lost.
As for the battle in the Country of Grass, it was an unexpected situation that no one expected. "
Danzo frowned and said in a deep voice: "I'm even close to convincing Hanzo to join forces with Konoha, but the defeat of the Grass Country will definitely make him start to adopt a wait-and-see attitude again."
Nobuhiko saw that Danzo was always acting strangely, so he said:
"Danzo-sama, do you think the total loss of the Eastern Front is more serious, or is the defeat of the Land of Grass more serious?
If you want to deceive Ohnoki, you must have the cooperation of the defenders in the Country of Grass.
Moreover, the Jonin Sosuke-kun who was commanding the battle at this time killed twice as many Iwagakure ninjas even though he was under heavy siege.
Why bother holding on to local mistakes? "
After hearing Nobuhiko's rebuttal, many jounin present could not help but sigh inwardly.
Nobuhiko said something fair.
This is actually what they think.
It would be unkind to dump the blame on a dead man who committed suicide to apologize.
But they didn't dare to confront Danzo head-on.
After all, the name 'Darkness of the Ninja World' is not called for nothing.
When Danzo heard someone contradicting him, Danzo narrowed his eyes. When he saw it was Nobuhiko, his eyes flickered slightly and he said calmly: "I'm just analyzing the situation."
Although Nobuhiko is Sakumo's disciple, he is also Orochimaru's disciple.
What Danzo said just now was naturally to suppress Sakumo's arrogance a little. After all, Sakumo deserved the first victory in this battle against Kumogakure.
In this battle, Nobuhiko's military exploits were second only to Sakumo.
As for Orochimaru, he was successful in regaining Platycodon Castle, but it caused heavy losses to the jounin in the village. Especially in the last battle, the jounin was used as a bait, which caused dissatisfaction among some ninjas.
The original mid-level ninja clan, the Moonlight Clan, had more than 300 ninjas, but now only single digits were left dead.
In particular, several Jonin of the Moonlight Clan were all killed in the Battle of Platycodon Castle.
There are many small and medium-sized ninja clans like this.
If Nobuhiko's achievements are counted together with Orochimaru's, it would be the best. It would greatly increase Orochimaru's bargaining chip to become the Fourth Hokage.
But once it was counted on Sakumo's head, he completely turned over.
It is very likely that he will compete for the position of the Fourth Hokage again.
This is something Danzo definitely doesn't want to see.
So he just deliberately used the defeat of Grass Country to make a fuss, just to point the finger at Sakumo, because it was Sakumo who asked Jiraiya to take the initiative to attack the Iwagakure ninjas.
If someone must be held accountable for this defeat, Sakumo still has some responsibility.
At the same time, Danzo wanted to test who Nobuhiko preferred.
Today, Nobuhiko is not only the top expert in Konoha, he is also the strongest person in the Hyuga clan. Although he is only a member of the branch family, the prophecy of the Hyuga ancestor has spread to the top.
Danzo was still very concerned about Ryota Hyuga. After all, he was a man known as the 'Three Pillars of the Village' along with the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha.
If Nobuhiko can really reach the level of Hyuga Ryota in the future, then he will be the biggest stumbling block for Danzo to become Hokage.
And the current Nobuhiko is likely to affect the attitude of the Hyuga clan, which Danzo is very concerned about.
Danzo knew that the possibility of directly becoming Hokage was very slim, and most jounin would not support him, but if he pushed Orochimaru to the top, it would be different.
As long as Orochimaru can become the Fourth Hokage, his power will be maintained and further enhanced, so that he can prepare for his future attempt to seize the Fifth Hokage.
In particular, Orochimaru is gradually immersed in the research of forbidden arts. Danzo only needs to provide Orochimaru with materials continuously and let Orochimaru focus on experiments.
Then Danzo is the Fourth Hokage in a substantial sense.
"Danzo-sama, I am just analyzing the situation. Who has a better way to solve the crisis of Iwagakure and Kumogakure joining forces when their forces are at an absolute disadvantage?" Nobuhiko retorted, "If we talk about decision-making If I really made a mistake, it’s my problem, and I proposed it to Sakumo-sensei!”
Nobuhiko doesn't care about taking the blame, or it's not the so-called blame at all.
His pattern is different from that of Danzo!
What’s the use of having more so-called military exploits?
They are all illusory and unrealistic things.
Everything Nobuhiko got today was planned by him and was given to him, not the village.
The village couldn't take anything from him.
"Nobuhiko, how can you talk to Danzo-sama with such an attitude?!" Hinata Shinichi on the side looked gloomy. He didn't want to conflict with the powerful Hokage advisor, especially since Nobuhiko had just established his military exploits and was easily misunderstood. It’s time to take credit and be arrogant.
On the other hand, the newly appointed clan leader, Hinata Hizashi, remained silent.
Nobuhiko raised his eyebrows slightly but did not continue speaking.
It seems that internal problems must be resolved as soon as possible.
A perfect infiltration must be done without anyone noticing, or all the people who find one's traces must be killed.
And a perfect seizure of power will either leave the person who has been seized power at a loss or kill all those in power.
Nobuhiko had already asked Hinata Mio about some things. She didn't have much feelings for Hinata now, and the same was true for Hinata Shinichi.
The third fetal movement of the reincarnated eye is about to end, and the caged bird curse mark on his forehead was automatically broken some time ago by the operation of powerful pupil power.
"We will discuss merits, demerits, rewards and punishments later. The most important thing now is to win the war." The Third Hokage tried to smooth things over.
Some jounin and clan leaders of small and medium-sized ninja clans remained silent.
They are on the verge of annihilation.
After turning to bed, Xiaochun suddenly said: "I have an idea..."
****
Sand Hidden Village.
Kazekage advisors Chiyo and Ebizo had some headaches.
Sunagakure is defeated!
In fact, after Platycodon Castle was captured, Sunagakure was not without the strength to fight.
But because the Daimyos of the Country of Wind have cut their funding drastically, they have actually lost the chance to fight a protracted war.
This battle is also to decide the candidate for the Fourth Kazekage.
But Ye Cang, Luo Sha, and Menzuo Shamen are all very good.
For a moment, Chiyo didn't know how to choose.
Originally, Chiyo and Ebizo were more interested in Rasa, because in addition to having the qualities of a leader, he also had magnetic escape, which allowed him to pan for gold in the desert, which greatly solved the village's financial difficulties.
However, this time Platycodon Castle was defeated, and Ye Cang and Menzuo Shamon went to sea to capture the three tails, which reduced their top combat power.
One of Chiyo and Luo Sa must take the blame, and Chiyo chose to take the responsibility.
However, Ye Cang's reputation among jounin is also very high now, so it is not easy for Chiyo to choose.
At this time, Sunagakure Village received a commission from a daimyo from the Land of Fire.
The commission from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was not given to Konoha, but to Sunagakure Village. This was an unprecedented thing.
Sand Hidden Village, high-level meeting.
Chiyo's face darkened and he said nothing.
Ebizo was the first to speak: "What do you think of the commission from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire? Do you want to accept it?"
The [Secondary Consciousness·Menzuo Samana] sitting in the lower hand position looked at his nose with his eyes, and his nose with his heart, without saying a word.
From the perspective of rational thinking, he knew that this meeting was actually just a formality.
The village is currently short of funds, but there are many ninjas to raise, and the next generation of ninjas is still being trained.
Although it is cruel, the village wants to reduce the number of ninjas.
"I think the reason why the Fire Country Daimyo entrusted this task is because Konoha is empty inside and lacks troops, so we need to use our strength to fight against Iwagakure to relieve the pressure on the main force on the Kumogakure battlefield." Luo Sha responded. road.
It's all nonsense!
"I agree to accept the commission!" Ye Cang raised his hand in agreement, "The daimyo no longer gives us financial support, and now we have signed an armistice agreement with Konoha. Why not take this opportunity to complete this task and replenish the village's funds. After all, it is 500 million taels. !”
As soon as Ye Cang finished speaking, nearly one-third of the jounin raised their hands in agreement.
It is impossible for Sunagakure to refuse the 500 million ryo mission reward from the Fire Country Daimyo.
In addition, it is a good opportunity to take revenge on Iwagakure.
Chiyo glanced at Ye Cang, then looked at the other jounin, with a somewhat ugly look on his face.
Because Hatake Sakumo killed his son and daughter-in-law, his grandson Xia was traumatized and defected from the village.
He wished that White Fang would die on the Cloud Hidden battlefield.
Helping Konoha fight against Iwagakure was actually indirectly helping White Fang reduce the pressure on the Kumogakure battlefield. Chiyo felt extremely unwilling to do so.
"agree!"
"I agree."
After a while, most of the jounin agreed.
Only a few people who chatted did not raise their hands.
Among them were Luosha, Menzuo Samana, Chiyo and others.
But it no longer affects the overall situation.
"In that case, let's decide to accept Konoha's commission..." Ebizo made the decision.
"The Kirigakure side also needs to send troops to resist." Chiyo suddenly spoke up, interrupting Ebizo's words.
The reason why Kikyo Castle was defeated this time was because Sunagakure wanted to capture the three tails that appeared in the distant West Sea.
As a result, they met the Kirigakure team who also captured the Three-Tails. Hayakura and Menzasamon also confronted the Third Mizukage, resulting in the death of the Third Mizukage.
Now the Fourth Mizukage Yagura has declared war on Sunagakure.
If you go straight east from the mainland of the Kingdom of Water, you can reach the West Sea, the farthest point from the Kingdom of Wind.
Recently, Sunagakure Village just drove away the first batch of Kirigakure ninjas who landed.
"Yakura's Burning Release can restrain Water Release, so let her lead the team to deal with Kirigakure." Chiyo continued.
"Yes! Chiyo-sama." Ye Cang said respectfully and accepted the order. In her opinion, it was all serving the village, no matter where she went. Moreover, her Burning Style could indeed restrain Water Style.
Chiyo turned and looked to the other side, "Rasa, you and Shamon can lead an army to bypass the Rain Country, use the Bird Country, and harass Iwagakure itself."
"yes!"
"As you command!"
Some more sensitive ninjas noticed the problem.
It's obviously hard to predict the outcome against Kirigakure.
But to deal with Iwagakure, with Konoha fighting against Iwagakure's main force, the probability of failure of this mission is very small.
This kind of super S-level mission is of great significance to the village.
Obviously, Elder Chiyo is more inclined to Rasa and Shamon to succeed the fourth Kazekage because of Ye Cang's performance just now.
It's just that Chiyo's actions are understandable. Rasa and Samana are equally excellent, and they will become the Fourth Kazekage, and the jounin will not object.
"It seems that we need to contact the main body." Menzuo Shamen thought to himself.
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