Starting with the troublemakers of Konoha, the pressure extends throughout the entire ninja world.

"Hiruzen, if you don't trust me, don't you trust your disciple's information?"

Danzo Shimura slammed his hand on the desk, making the ashes in the ashtray jump up.

"The Rain Kingdom's wolfish ambitions are now crystal clear! Now is the time to strike hard!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer immediately, but simply picked up his pipe and took a puff.

Let the smoke create a thin barrier between the two of them.

Danzo was like that when he was young: if he discovered a threat, he would immediately retaliate without leaving any room for maneuver.

At that time, he admired that decisiveness.

But now that he's Hokage, he needs to consider not just "whether to fight or not," but "what to do after the fight."

Who else is behind the Land of Rain?

Hanzo dared to provoke five major powers simultaneously.

Is he really insane, or is someone handing him a knife?

"Enough! Danzo, you shouldn't be talking about other countries' leaders like that."

"What does the leader of a small country matter? Everything is for Konoha!"

Danzo responded without the slightest hesitation.

What Hiruzen Sarutobi heard from that sentence was inertia.

Danzo divided everyone into those from Konoha and those from outside Konoha throughout his life.

Those outside of Konoha are not considered people, but merely pawns, obstacles, or targets.

He doesn't think it's wrong.

The biggest problem is that even the people of Konoha are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to protect Konoha.

He tapped his hand lightly on the table.

"For Konoha!"

These four words, when spoken by Danzo, always carry an unquestionable tone.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew better than anyone what lay beneath those four words.

For decades, from assassination lists to humane extermination, Danzo's reputation has been accurately pinned on "enemy countries."

boom!

Danzo's response was to slam the door shut.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

The door frame was still shaking.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't look up. In the past, Danzo slammed the door and left to find a way to prove that he was right.

Danzo stormed out now to find a way to make others acknowledge that he was right.

Danzo's interpretation is far from accurate.

root base.

Danzo sat on the hard wooden chair without armrests.

As if possessed, I clutched a piece of writing paper that had been repeatedly folded and unfolded.

Upon opening it, one could see Qingyu's neat handwriting on the yellowed paper.

"It's not that you become Hokage and are recognized by the villagers, but rather that you become Hokage because you are recognized."

He read the sentence aloud, then gave a cold laugh.

"Hmph! Bullshit! Only those who are recognized are the Hokage."

Danzo slammed the paper on the table, the sound bouncing back and forth in the empty, secret room.

"Back when Hiruzen rose to power, without our protection, he wouldn't be where he is today."

"Now that they've secured their positions, they're starting to talk about being recognized."

He closed his eyes.

That scene from back then resurfaced.

Tobirama Senju stood in the center of the encirclement, with the six of them surrounding their teacher.

Tobirama said, "I'll cover the rear. Who among you is willing to take over as Hokage?"

He remembered his own hesitation, and he also remembered Hiruzen's determination.

I also remember Tobirama patting Hiruzen on the shoulder at the end.

He always felt that the pat on the shoulder should have landed on his own shoulder.

Inside the secret chamber at the root, Danzo's eyes suddenly opened, a glint of light flashing within them.

"That's it! Konoha needs a war, a war to prove who the true hero is."

He raised his hand and pointed to a Root ninja kneeling in the shadows beside him.

"I command you to eliminate Hanzo."

The Root ninja bowed his head and accepted the order, then vanished into the darkness in a flash.

Countless Root ninjas infiltrated the Land of Rain.

They disguised themselves as merchants and ninja, blending into the muddy streets of the Land of Rain after the rain.

With Danzo's order, the Root forces, who had been lying in ambush in the Land of Rain, launched a frenzied attack on Hanzo.

The land of rain.

Hanzo was sitting in the main seat of the council hall, with a map covered in dense markings spread out in front of him.

His staff sat on either side, each with a tense expression like a fully drawn bowstring.

Why did Hanzo launch the war?

There are three reasons.

Firstly, he was confident that he was no less capable than the First Hokage.

Hashirama Senju was able to quell chaos and establish order in a country and a village; Hanzo of the Salamander could similarly reshape the map of the ninja world.

Secondly, his desire for territory.

As a demigod in the ninja world, he was unwilling to accept that he only possessed such a small, barren piece of land that was rained on all year round.

Thirdly, the internal conflicts within the Land of Rain.

Frequent rainfall has led to a severe shortage of grain production, with some areas suffering from drought and others from floods.

Public discontent has reached a critical point, and foreign wars are the oldest way to release that pressure.

After the First Shinobi World War, the five great nations shifted the cost of their defeat onto the smaller nations caught in the middle.

Trade barriers have dried up buffer zones like the Land of Rain and various small countries.

Now only a tiny ember remains on the dry firewood, and Hanzo intends to light it himself.

An aide held the drafted declaration of war in both hands, his fingers trembling.

The ink on the paper was still fresh, and the names of five countries were clearly listed:

Declare war on the Land of Fire!

Declare war on the Land of Wind!

Declare war on the Land of Lightning!

Declare war on the Land of Earth!

Declare war on the Land of Water!

"Lord Hanzo, is declaring war like this really acceptable?"

A cold glint flashed in Hanzo's eyes.

At this moment, he was in his prime, and his aura was like a long sword that had just been tempered, allowing no room for doubt.

He even felt that if he wanted to, reshaping the ninja world would be as easy as waving his hand.

"What, you lack confidence?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the aide knelt down with a thud, his forehead almost touching the ground.

"I wouldn't dare! I only meant to say that the Land of Thunder is a bunch of black barbarians, the Land of Water is just a tiny place, and the Land of Earth is ruled by an old man..."

"Even if you conquer these remote and impoverished areas, it will only tarnish your reputation!"

The council chamber fell silent for a moment.

Hanzo closed his eyes and pondered.

The Land of Lightning doesn't really have many resources worth conquering, and the Land of Water is isolated overseas and would be difficult to defend if conquered.

That old fox Onoki from the Land of Earth, flying around on a levitation rock every day, is just annoying to think about.

After some thought, Hanzo seemed to reluctantly agree.

It seems that conquering these major powers was a very shameful thing for him.

"Alright."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cold glint appeared from the side.

"There's an assassin!"

"Bold assassin!"

"Guards! Seize him!"

A ninja disguised as a servant suddenly sprang up, thrusting his kunai straight at Hanzo's throat.

The movements were clean and crisp, and the timing was so precise that it seemed as if they had rehearsed countless times.

He waited until Hanzo nodded before making his move, because people are least vigilant at the moment of making a decision.

Assassins trained at the Root even incorporate the target's breathing rhythm into their attack schedule.

The tip of the knife was still half an arm's length away from Hanzo's throat.

"snort!"

Hanzo simply snorted and flicked his wrist slightly.

The kusarigama had somehow appeared in his hand.

The sickle slices across from the side.

He cut the assassin in two, along with the lamp stand a few steps behind him.

Before the body even fell to the ground, Hanzo had already sheathed his weapon. He didn't ask who had sent the assassin.

There's no need to ask.

A country that can plant assassins in its council chambers.

It's just the same few.

Which one it is exactly is not important.

The important thing is that once someone makes the first move, he has a reason to respond.

"Declare war on the Land of Fire!"

Declare war on the Land of Wind!

"Declare war on the Land of Iron!"

Hanzo stood up, his tall figure casting a deep shadow in the candlelight.

All three countries bordered his territory, and his choice was to draw his sword in three directions at the same time.

Since those so-called great powers don't take him seriously...

Then let the ninja world burn!