Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

To deal with this tactic, we should naturally listen to the opinions of Shimura Danzo, an expert here.

After all, snakes have their ways and rats have theirs; Danzo was experienced in dealing with such underhanded tactics.

Danzo Shimura did not disappoint Hiruzen Sarutobi's "trust," and quickly offered a series of solutions, including but not limited to muddying the waters and using feints.

While firmly denying these rumors, they quickly fabricated arguments such as "the threat of the Cloud Cave" and "the threat of the Sand Cave," which were nothing more than alarmist rhetoric.

Such claims include: 100,000 Jonin from Kumogakure have returned from overseas, vowing to wipe out the ninja world; a gold mine has been discovered in the Land of Earth, and Iwagakure's military budget will reach 500 billion next year; Sunagakure has invented a new secret technique that hypnotizes anyone who gets close; and the successive Mizukage of Kirigakure have faked their deaths and are plotting a conspiracy to overthrow the ninja world.

In short, all these ninja villages are corrupt and have the power to launch a ninja world war. Konoha, as a peace-loving village, is fighting against these evil elements in the ninja world and is willing to bear the infamy in order to protect the peace of the ninja world.

The most prominent aspect is the role of a tragic hero.

At the same time, some rumors were spread, such as why the Land of Water closed itself off because the remains of the Sage of Six Paths' death were discovered; after the recent earthquake in the Land of Earth, the ninjutsu lineage of the Koga clan, a top ninja clan from the Warring States period, was discovered in the mountain wall; and there was gold dust in the Devil's Desert of the Land of Wind, and those who knew about it were making a fortune, etc., in order to distract people, especially the idle nobles.

All I can say is that Danzo Shimura was quite capable; even if he didn't become Hokage's assistant and switched to writing novels, he wouldn't starve.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this, and was about to sign the authorization for Danzo to carry out the task when he noticed that his old friend was lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

"Danzo, Danzo!"

Danzo only snapped out of his daze after being reminded by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"You're not plotting something again, are you?"

Seeing his old friend like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who knew his temperament well, seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes narrowed.

"...How could that be! What right do you have to slander me!"

"You were thinking about it after all!"

Just kidding. Just as he was familiar with Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi also knew his old teammate's personality very well. After all, their relationship had long since reached the point where Hiruzen knew exactly when to slap Danzo the moment he made a move.

Danzo's reaction precisely proves this point.

In fact, Danzo was indeed thinking about something. He was wondering why, since the momentum of the slander against Konoha was already so great, they should waste the momentum that the enemy had worked so hard to create for Konoha?

Why not turn this charade into reality, using this storm to secretly intimidate those small ninja villages and make them submit?

Even more far-reachingly, this opportunity could be used to intimidate the daimyo with war.

Look at our reputation, how the outside world is slandering us now!

Why are outsiders slandering us? It's because we are too strong, so they want to unite and suppress us. This incident is just a rehearsal.

If we were to give in now and cut Konoha's military spending, wouldn't that please our enemies and hurt our friends?

In my opinion, we should not only not cut military spending, but should significantly increase it!

When Konoha's strength increases significantly, let's see who dares to step forward!

Even if the enemy unites, there will be a clear order. When the time comes, as long as we eliminate the instigator with a swift and decisive strike, no one will criticize us anymore. This way, the dilemma will be resolved. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

However, Danzo knew that this approach would be useless against his old friend.

He has always prioritized stability and has been able to lead Konoha to the top of the ninja world in a safe and secure manner. How could he possibly resort to such a risky move?

After all, this measure is too risky.

If the four nations were to truly commit significant resources to attacking Konoha, they could immediately form a coalition to encircle Konoha the day after Konoha announced its increased military spending. Konoha, whose massive military expenditure has yet to translate into actual strength, would be 100% unable to defeat them.

Even if Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, were still alive, they still wouldn't be able to defeat him.

In addition, he was also afraid of arousing the daimyo's suspicion.

After all, the current Daimyo has personally witnessed the power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. If they were to push too hard and sow unnecessary seeds of suspicion in the Daimyo's mind, it would be a disaster for Konoha, which is currently in a stable situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not gamble, nor did he want to. He only wanted to walk the steady, righteous path; he would not, and was unwilling to, take the crooked path.

However, there is no doubt that the benefits brought by this crooked path are also enormous.

"And isn't this the meaning of my existence... Hiruzen. You are the leaf bathed in sunlight, while I am the root buried deep in the ground."

Thinking of this, Shimura Danzo's heart was filled with the feeling of a tragic hero who had lived a life of petty scheming and wasting his time, while Konoha Village enjoyed peace and tranquility, and he alone carried the burden of Konoha forward.

He even rekindled a longing for the Hokage position that might have originally belonged to him.

"If I had stepped forward to stay behind and cover the retreat, would the teacher have chosen me?"

This thought flashed through his mind and was quickly suppressed by Danzo Shimura, as if it had never existed.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still warning Danzo not to act without permission, but Danzo shut him down with a retort.

"Oh, Sarutobi, you know me. If I really wanted to do something, it would be too late for you to say all this now."

"you……"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's flushed face, Danzo quickly changed the subject to avoid further upsetting his old teammate.

Knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, he knew that as long as he brought up this topic, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely forget his previous unpleasantness.

"I wasn't planning anything just now, I was just thinking about the Uchiha problem."

As this was the most heated topic of their debate, he believed that as long as he could draw Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention to it, he would inevitably be drawn into his own discussion and forget what had just happened.

However, he didn't expect that his plan would backfire. Upon hearing the name Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi became even more certain of his suspicions.

"Uchiha? You still say you didn't plan anything?"

"..."

Danzo was speechless. Damn it, he was so focused on arguing that he forgot about this.

But am I being too obvious?

I think I've hidden my hostility towards the Uchiha quite well!

Somewhat annoyed, Danzo simply skipped the middle part of arguing with Hiruzen and went straight to the usual closing part where they disagreed.

"Sarutobi, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

boom!

"How many times have I told you! Close the door properly!"

As we all know, the timeline of the Naruto world, especially the timeline concerning Tobirama Senju, is actually very chaotic. Although Kishimoto clearly stated in the manga that Tobirama Senju should have died around Konoha 36 during the Second Shinobi World War, and then Hiruzen Sarutobi took over, this obviously conflicts with some of the earlier settings in Naruto and is a kind of "retcon." Therefore, based on popular knowledge and some ideas in the later part of the book, this book sets the time of Tobirama Senju's death during the First Shinobi World War.

Chapter 12 My Hidden Cloud Village must lend a hand!

Since Hozuki Shingetsu spread the theory of the Konoha threat through various means, the other ninja villages were the first to receive the news, compared to the slow-moving Konoha.

There's no way around it; as the undisputed leader of the ninja world, anything that has even the slightest connection to Konoha makes these ninja villages extremely sensitive.

In today's ninja world, any news related to Konoha that doesn't reach the desks of the village kage within three days is considered a serious dereliction of duty.

Not to mention, Hozuki Shingetsu took advantage of his new position as Minister of Foreign Affairs to write a long letter to each village's shadow, in which he not only loudly proclaimed that they were friendly neighbors separated only by a strip of water, but also casually mentioned this matter.

In the letter, Hozuki Shingetsu angrily called Konoha a disgrace to the ninja world, saying that if Kirigakure hadn't closed itself off from the world, they would have sent troops to fight it.

At the end of the letter, Hozuki Shingetsu creatively proposed that, in order to prevent Konoha from launching a war, the Lightning, Earth, and Wind factions should form an alliance to firmly lock Konoha in the center of the continent.

As for the position of leader of this alliance... of course it should be held by a man from a family that has served as a high-ranking official for four generations, or rather, by the Raikage of the second-ranking village in the ninja world, Kumogakure.

To demonstrate the legitimacy of the alliance, Hozuki Shingetsu even proposed calling the "Raikage" the "Thunder Emperor" to highlight his authority in leading the four countries.

Hmm, combined with Konoha's "Fire Emperor," what is this about two emperors dividing the Warring States period equally?

"This kid from Kirigakure is quite the troublemaker!"

After carefully reading the letter sent by Hozuki Shingetsu, the Third Raikage, A, lay on the large office sofa, his tone somewhat inexplicable.

"What a pity! If he thinks that this little temptation can lure my Hidden Cloud Village into making a move, then he is seriously underestimating me!"

"Dad, are we just going to do nothing and just stand by and watch?"

Ai's son, the future Fourth Raikage who is the same age as Hozuki Shingetsu, Yozuki Rai looked at his father with resentment.

"How could we remain indifferent! No matter who is attacking Konoha, our Hidden Cloud Village must lend a hand!"

"Alright! Dad, you tell me, who do you want me to do!"

For the future Fourth Raikage, Yoruichiro, his upbringing was to defeat Konoha and prove who truly reigned supreme in the ninja world. Unfortunately, he never had that opportunity from birth. Therefore, when he saw a chance to harm Konoha, he was eager to act.

Although he didn't know what to do, how to do it, or where to start, it didn't matter; he was already bursting with excitement!

Hey!

The Hidden Cloud Village will never be enslaved!

"All you ever do is work! Go eat your meal first!"

The Third Raikage, A, glanced disdainfully at his hot-blooded son, truly wondering how someone as intelligent as him could have fathered such a simpleton.

Look at Hozuki Shingetsu from Kirigakure, he's the same age as my son and he's already playing these kinds of high-difficulty schemes, while my son is still just babbling on and on. It's really embarrassing.

However, he is still his own son, and in the ninja world, strength is always the most important factor. Although his son is not very bright, he has excellent talent for training. According to his current training progress, it is very likely that he will master the clan's secret Lightning Release Chakra Mode before the age of twenty.

What you lose in your brain can be recovered from the battlefield. I doubt that little guy from Kirigakure will be able to do anything about it.

So he was amazed that Hozuki Shingetsu could defeat a Konoha team at such a young age, but he never worried that his own team would be left without someone to deal with him.

In fact, with Yoruichi's current strength, he could not only defeat the same Konoha team, but also achieve an instant kill. After all, the key to Lightning Release ninjutsu lies in speed and power, and as long as it is done unexpectedly, it can be done to kill instantly.

Seeing his son, in a fit of enthusiasm, recklessly grabbing equipment and starting to train in Raikage's office, Ai shook his head and turned his attention back to the current public opinion incident.