Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Actually, he was confused at first. When did he send people to other countries to cause trouble?

At first, he thought that the stable development of the Land of Rain in recent years had made Hanzo of the Salamander arrogant and he was just making up an excuse to start a war with Konoha. But when his ANBU underlings brought back the situation in the Land of Rain, he had to gasp. Not only had they slaughtered the entire village, but they had also launched a sneak attack on Hanzo's headquarters. A bunch of Rain Ninja were burned alive in their dreams, leaving not even ashes.

He didn't bother sending anyone to investigate Iwagakure and Kumogakure afterwards, assuming their conditions were similar to those of the Land of Rain. However, Konoha, or rather, he himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had never issued such an order. He questioned each clan head individually, even consulting his most honest leader, fearing he might be developing dementia prematurely. The final answer was that he had indeed not issued such an order, and the other clan heads had never even heard of it.

Judging from the traces left at the scene, it was indeed the work of Konoha. However, none of the village's registered personnel were missing, and all the clan members were present. Therefore, the only person in Konoha who still had the ability to do this was his Root leader, his good buddy who was always talking about taking the moon.

Moreover, given his best friend's personality, it wouldn't be surprising if he actually did something like this, given his constant chanting of brutal slogans like "leading the village to the moon."

"Hmph! I, Shimura Danzo, have lived a life of integrity and uprightness! If I didn't do it, then I didn't. You, Sarutobi Hiruzen, are trying to use this opportunity to slander me. Let me tell you, impossible!!"

Danzo, with his upright and unyielding demeanor, didn't give his best friend any face and launched into a tirade, acting as if he had suffered a great injustice.

At this moment, Danzo was practically laughing his head off. If he knew who was behind this, he would have loved to pounce on them, grab their heads, and give them a good beating.

In his view, the only way for the ninja world to achieve true peace is to unify the ninja world, unify thought, unify currency, and achieve centralized power. Only in this way will the ninja world have a day of true peace. And their Konoha happens to be the most powerful ninja world overlord. In the first World War, they were able to defeat three other bastards by fighting them alone. Now, after twenty years of development, the strength of their Konoha is terrifying just to think about!

Konoha has plenty of manpower and money. If he were in charge, and I'm not bragging, he could definitely unify the ninja world and fulfill the vow he made to lead Konoha to the moon in a few years!

It's a pity, and a shame, that the person in charge is the cowardly Hiruzen Sarutobi!

205. As expected of a man destined to reach the moon.

The person in charge was the cowardly Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wasted Konoha's unprecedentedly powerful strength. The conflicts between villages and countries in the past two years have been intense, partly due to his underhanded tactics. However, he wouldn't do something like sending his underlings to cause trouble, since the number of people involved would be too large and the target too big. White Fang of the Anbu is not someone to be trifled with either. If he were discovered, it would be the same as being discovered by his best buddy, and then his position as the leader of Root would be taken back.

He was getting increasingly frustrated watching all the villages and countries in the ninja world prepare for war for so long without actually starting. If they didn't fight, how would Konoha ever have a chance to unify the ninja world? He knew his best friend's character all too well; getting him to initiate a war was harder than getting him to give up his lust.

Just when he was getting extremely anxious, a stroke of good luck suddenly came his way. Someone had impersonated Konoha ninjas, causing trouble in so many countries and igniting the fuse of war. Although he didn't know who did it, at that moment he truly wanted to thank that person's entire family!

"It's no use talking about this now. The Rain Village has already mobilized, and the Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure have also begun to deploy their troops. Only the situation in Kirigakure is not very clear. The most important issue now is whether to send someone to stop the Rain Village. Hanzo of the Salamander has mobilized almost the entire nation's strength this time. I suggest setting up the war in the Land of Rain and not letting the Rain Village reach their border. But who should be sent?"

When the cultured Mitokado saw that his two friends were about to start arguing, he quickly stepped in to change the subject in order to maintain the glorious image of their high-ranking family being all love and harmony.

After Mitokado Homura finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura also stopped. The village leaders present looked at each other and fell into deep thought. Although the Land of Rain claimed to be the power of the entire nation, everyone knew how weak the Rain Ninja were. They only dared to call themselves the sixth greatest ninja village because of Hanzo of the Salamander, who had reached the Kage level by sheer luck. Their overall strength was actually quite weak. If it weren't for Hanzo of the Salamander, a poisonous man covered in poison, even the leaders of the Hyuga clan would have dared to bring their bodyguards.

But the key point now lies with Hanzo, the poison man from the Salamander. Why are the puppeteers from Sunagakure so invincible in team battles, even the well-equipped and burly Konoha ninjas have to be careful around them? It's all because of the random poisons on their puppets.

While poison isn't fatal if treated promptly—after all, ninjas have excellent physical abilities—it's still quite troublesome. Once poisoned, one immediately loses combat ability, and if not treated in time, the poison can attack the heart, which can be fatal.

The poison of Hanzo the Salamander is a highly potent neurotoxin. According to Tsunade, if there is no antidote within half an hour of being poisoned, one will truly die. Moreover, Hanzo the Salamander is inherently poisonous, meaning that his poisoning is completely different from that of a puppeteer. It is silent and stealthy, and if one is not careful, one will not know when they are poisoned, which makes them quite uncomfortable.

Everyone admitted that they didn't have the ability to fight Hanzo the Salamander while also being wary of his poison attacks. Just facing him was already incredibly difficult! After all, he was a Kage-level shikigami.

Thinking of this, everyone's eyes turned to the white-haired man to Hiruzen Sarutobi's right. After looking at him for a while, they all shook their heads and sighed. Sakumo was originally the most suitable candidate. It's not that he's not afraid of poison, but his fighting style is a natural counter to great mages like Hanzo the Salamander. Hanzo the Salamander probably wouldn't even have a chance to make a move in front of him.

But the crucial question is, if Sakumo goes to the Land of Rain, who will stop him in the Sand Village?

That Golden Lion is a ruthless man who can wipe out an entire village with a single sword strike, and he's also considered an ominous figure. Almost everyone from outside the village who was close to him is still alive, except for Sakumo...

The Sand Village definitely needs him to be the Grand Shogun; no one dares to compete with him for that position, nor can they possibly compete with him.

"........"

Hatake Sakumo rolled his eyes at everyone's reactions. They were all on the same salary, and now that guy was sending him to the Golden Lion, he wanted him to go to the Land of Rain. That was a bit much.

Even an iron man couldn't withstand that, let alone someone from the Hatake clan who's notoriously short-lived...

"...Let me go to the Land of Rain! But the Uchiha clan must go with our Shimura clan."

At this moment, the upright Danzo almost burst out laughing when he saw a bunch of idiots who didn't realize that the Land of Rain was a den of dragons and tigers. In his opinion, none of the villages that had declared war on him, whether it was the Raikage, Onoki, or the Golden Lion of Sunagakure, were easy to deal with. Moreover, the fighting strength of those villages was not weak either. The Raikage's chakra mode was rock hard, Onoki could fly and had area-of-effect attacks, and the Golden Lion was even more of a combination of the Raikage and Onoki. Only White Fang could handle him. Neither the muscle men of the Cloud Village nor the Iwa Village were easy to deal with. On the other hand, the Rain Village was much easier to deal with. They were fewer in number and had lower fighting strength. The only one who could be considered a threat was Hanzo of the Salamander. Once Hanzo of the Salamander was dealt with, the other Rain Village ninjas would be easy targets.

However, Danzo had his own ideas on how to deal with Hanzo the Salamander. Hanzo the Salamander was indeed very strong, but he was not as strong as the Raikage or Shiki the Golden Lion. He could not fly, and if one person could not defeat him in a one-on-one fight, then a group of people could not defeat him.

The Uchiha clan is known as a family that can take on five opponents at once. If I bring the Uchiha clan along, a few three-tomoe wisps will be enough to take down Hanzo of the Salamander.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has been Hokage for twenty years, several times longer than the First and Second Hokage. If he had killed Hanzo of the Salamander and ended the war in the Land of Rain ahead of time, with his achievements and the support of the villagers who have supported him in his attempt to reach the moon for so many years, he could have easily been elected Hokage again. At that time, with his great achievements, seniority, and the support of so many villagers, he would have been able to be elected Hokage again.

He's the one and only choice to become the next Hokage!

"What...! Σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Danzo's words shocked everyone present. This Danzo advisor really has guts! No wonder he's the man who wants to take the moon!

"Danzo, this is no joke. Hanzo the Salamander is not easy to deal with."

When Sarutobi Hiruzen heard his best friend Mo Cui recommend himself, he was so touched!

Sure enough, his best friend was reliable in crucial moments. However, he was also worried that his best friend's strength was indeed too weak. At his peak, he was only a quasi-Kage, and his decline over the years was even more serious than his own as Hokage. At least he would go to the park to practice gymnastics every day, but his best friend had never gone. Asking him to face Hanzo of the Salamander was just asking him a lot of trouble.

"Don't worry, I'm not fighting alone. When the time comes, please ask the Uchiha clan leader to join me in resisting Hanzo of the Salamander."

Seeing his best friend's worried expression warmed Danzo's heart, as he recalled their childhood friendship.

206. This is Danzo's first battle.

Seeing his best friend so enthusiastic in helping him solve his problems, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't bear to dampen his enthusiasm. Besides, the Land of Rain was the weakest of the villages that had declared war, and with the Uchiha clan also going, there shouldn't be any problems. If all else failed, he could send more people to his best friend; the entire Land of Rain only had a few thousand ninjas, so he could give his best friend 10,000... no! 15,000! Three times the enemy's strength should be no problem, especially with the Uchiha clan involved.

After the troops and leaders of the Land of Rain came out, the high-ranking officials of Konoha began to study the leaders of the other teams. At this time, the role of Konoha's strategist Nara became apparent. While the others studied for a long time and came up with nothing, Nara rubbed his eyes, stretched, took a nap, sipped half a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and coughed twice to attract attention and quiet the surroundings.

"We don't need to worry about the Sand Village. Sakumo will lead the team, with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the Inuzuka clan assisting. Because Shiki's sword aura is too destructive, we must set off tomorrow to reach the border and prevent the Sand Village ninja from entering the Land of Fire's border. Otherwise, once Shiki draws his sword, the damage to the surrounding environment will be too great. Oh, and if possible, Princess Tsunade should come along too... The Sand Village puppeteers' poison is very troublesome."

The remaining Cloud Ninja can be left to the Hyuga, Aburame, and Senju clans. We'll leave the rest to the Hyuga clan head. Although the Raikage's Chakra Mode is very strong, the Gentle Fist of the Nobles is specifically designed to target pressure points. If we can seal one or two of his pressure points before he activates Chakra Mode, it shouldn't be a big problem.

As for the Iwa ninja, that will be handled by the Hokage, the Sarutobi clan, and the Utatane clan. The rest will be on standby to defend the village and guard against the Kirigakure ninja.

After Nara the Big Head finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement. Smart people are just different. All their arguing here couldn't compare to his few words of advice, and they were all highly targeted.

Leaving aside the situation in Sunagakure, it's definitely Sakumo who will go. However, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Inuzuka's support are chosen because Sakumo is straightforward, while the cases of Shiki in the past twenty years all point to him being a cunning and manipulative individual. There's a fear that the straightforward Sakumo might not be able to outmaneuver Shiki. Therefore, the Nara clan will definitely go. And if the Nara clan goes, Akimichi and Yamanaka will naturally have to go too. Furthermore, the Sunagakure puppeteers are known as war machines, and the Inuzuka clan, known for their ability to outmaneuver even in a one-on-one fight, isn't exaggerating. Besides, dogs are indeed more agile than humans, making them better suited to fighting puppeteers...

As for Princess Tsunade... whether she goes to restrain Shiki or develop an antidote is a matter of opinion, or perhaps both. Shiki is indeed ruthless, but he is also a romantic. His nephew has already been born, and he is still single. Isn't he just waiting for his princess Tsunade? He can't just cut down his dream girl, can he?

As for the Hyuga and Aburame clans, the Hyuga's Gentle Fist targets pressure points, while the Aburame's insects can enter the opponent's body and devour chakra. Both are more effective against the Cloud Ninja's chakra patterns, making it easier to deal with those muscular men. As for the Senju clan... Thinking of this, everyone sighed slightly. The Senju clan was just there to gain some prestige. In recent years, the Senju clan, one of Konoha's top clans, had completely declined, with only a little over a hundred members left. Taking them with the Hyuga and Aburame clans was just to let them gain some achievements, after all, they were once Konoha's top clans.

Needless to say, it's a given that the Hokage went to ambush the Iwa ninja. Everyone in the ninja world knows that Onoki can fly, and there are very few people who can defeat him. Even their White Fang could only look up at the sky and weep. Only the Hokage's stick, which can grow bigger and thicker, can pierce him. If anyone else went to the ninja world, Onoki's map attack could wipe out the entire field.

As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. The day after Konoha finalized its plan, Konoha's chief advisor, Shimura Danzo, led a massive 15,000-strong force, including the Shimura clan, the Uchiha clan, and 10,000 civilian ninja, to the Land of Rain. The spirited chief advisor, Danzo, stood at the center, drawing attention from the cheering crowd. Danzo's die-hard fans were especially jubilant, as this was their advisor's first battle on the moon!

Meanwhile, the army of Konoha's White Fang, consisting of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Inuzuka clan, and civilian ninjas, totaling over 20,000 men, marched towards the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. The rest of the army remained inactive, waiting for the movements of the Cloud Ninja, the Rock Ninja, and the Mist Ninja.

This shows that Hiruzen Sarutobi truly loved his best friend. His right-hand man only brought 20,000 men to blockade the Sand Village with the Golden Lion, while his best friend brought 15,000 men to blockade a small Amegakure village. The number of heads was three times that of Amegakure. It's true that having connections in the government makes things easier!

.....

"Brother Hanzo, the Konoha ninjas have really gone too far this time! Everyone in the ninja world knows that the people of the Land of Rain are friendly and peace-loving, but they actually dared to attack even your Land of Rain... and they call themselves a loving family? Bah! You wait, this time I'll definitely avenge you. How many of your people did those bastards from Konoha kill? I'll cut them down twice as many! Ah! Hey? Brother Hanzo, this kind of wine from your Land of Rain is quite delicious. Give me a few pounds to take back with me later..."

Half a month after Konoha set off, Shinto had already secretly flown to the Land of Rain with his Sunagakure fleet. The Float-Float Fruit was useless in one-on-one battles with experts, but it would be very convenient to take flying people. A group of people could sit in a row on a raft, and as long as he could endure it long enough, he could take more than 10,000 people on a round-the-world trip without any problem.

After arriving in the Land of Rain, Hanzo the Salamander was incredibly enthusiastic. He had over ten thousand Sand Ninjas completely under his control. Shinto, who had once asked Kakuzu to scheme against him, felt deeply ashamed. After downing two cups of horse urine, he patted his chest and promised to kill as many Konoha ninja as possible to avenge him.

"Good brother! This wine is nothing, a few pounds won't be enough, I'll have someone send it to Sunagakure tomorrow!"

At the banquet, Hanzo, who had also downed several cups of wine, was moved to tears by his good brother's camaraderie. He felt he could die without regrets for having such a good brother in his life!

"Pfft! Cough cough...!"

The Sunagakure clan leaders who were also being hosted by Hanzo the Salamander below were not so shameless. Seeing the brotherly affection between their leader and the other clan leader, one of them almost choked to death with a mouthful of phlegm and alcohol stuck in his throat, and silently mourned for Hanzo the Salamander.

I don't know what wicked thing this guy did in his past life to be brothers with such a cunning old fox in this life...ヽ(ー_ー)ノ.

207. Everyone's coming to pass.

"Lord Hanzo, Iwa ninja have appeared at our border and wish to pass through..."

"Lord Hanzo, the Cloud Ninja have appeared at our border and wish to pass through..."

"puff!"

"What the heck? The Cloud Ninja and Iwa Ninja are here too? Brother Hanzo, is this place some kind of feng shui treasure?! (⊙_⊙)?"

Just as Shinto was rambling on to Hanzo the Salamander after a few drinks, two rain ninjas, soaking wet, ran in to report to Hanzo, who was wiping away tears.

Shinto sprayed Hanzo, the salamander next door, all over his face and said in a daze.

They went to the Land of Rain because their younger brother had offended several smaller ninja villages due to his lack of experience. To avoid those smaller ninja villages teaming up and causing trouble for them when war broke out, although it could catch Konoha off guard, the plan was like, "You lead a team to block my border? I'm not going there." Even Nara, the big boss, would never have thought of this plan. After all, going to another country is a sensitive matter, and no country is really willing to give you passage. If things go wrong, they might even start a fight with you first. After all, the atmosphere in the ninja world is so volatile right now, and it's normal for smaller ninja villages to be fed up with the oppression of larger ninja villages and want to turn the tables and become the masters.

It's precisely because he has a good relationship with Hanzo the Salamander, like brothers, that Hanzo would have given him such a grand welcome and feast in any other country...

But now even the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village are coming to ask for passage. It's understandable that the Hidden Stone Village is passing by since it's on their way, so asking for passage is plausible.

But damn it, from Kumogakure to the Land of Rain and then to the Land of Fire... that's at least a detour through most of the Land of Fire, and this passage is quite far.

If they just wanted to catch Konoha off guard, they wouldn't have needed to go all the way to the Land of Rain to borrow a passage, right? They must have offended some small ninja villages like them and didn't want those guys to team up and cause trouble at a crucial moment, so they came to the Land of Rain to team up.

Hmm...that seems quite possible. Given the Cloud Ninja's personality—the kind who'd tear down someone's shop just for drinking wine—it's not surprising they'd offend them terribly...

"...Who are the commanders of Iwagakure and Kumogakure?"

After a long silence, Hanzo of the Salamander asked his two underlings with a cold face. Of course, he was unwilling. It was alright with Sunagakure, but Shiki was his good brother. It was no big deal to let his good brother pass through. Moreover, his good brother was an upright person and he was sure that his brother would not cause any trouble on his turf.

But he wasn't familiar with the Iwa ninja and the Kumo ninja, especially that cunning old fox Onoki; no wonder he couldn't trust them.

But now he has no choice but to agree. Both Iwagakure and Kumogakure are large villages, and their armies are already pressing in. If he doesn't want to lend them the money, there's nothing he can do. They're preparing to go to war with Konoha, and they're still teammates. They can't let it affect team harmony, right?

"The commander of Kumogakure is Tsuchidai, and the commander of Iwagakure is their high-ranking official, Kuraichi."

The younger brother replied.

"...I'm fairly familiar with the earthen platform, but who is this high-ranking official, Kuraichi...(⊙_⊙)?"

The war has only just begun, so it's impossible for the leaders of each village to enter the fray right away. It's a matter of prestige. However, Tsuchidae is quite famous in the ninja world. After all, he's a ninja with a bloodline limit and the Raikage's top henchman. He's a face of Kumogakure. But he really hadn't heard of Kuraichi, the high-ranking member of Iwagakure. Iwagakure hasn't had many talented people in recent years. Apart from Onoki, who has Dust Release, the most famous one is Mizuki, who is rumored to have an intelligence of 95 and was promoted by Onoki at the age of 18. He does have some skills, at least he was able to imitate Sakumo Hatake's killing method without losing his hand.

"Big brother, his name isn't Kuraichi, he's a high-ranking member of Iwagakure. His name is just Kuraichi. It's said that after the Second Tsuchikage died, when Onoki returned to Iwagakure, he was the first to stand up and support Onoki's ascension to the position of Tsuchikage. But... if I remember correctly, this guy should be in his sixties now! Onoki actually made him the commander? (⊙_⊙)"

After the handsome and academically gifted Sasori's father quietly explained Kuraichi's information to Shinto, he was also a little confused. Fighting is something that young people do, and unless the village is really out of people or this person is really awesome, they would let someone over fifty years old lead a team to kill people. But Iwagakure can't be without talent. This Kuraichi is completely unrelated to awesome. If he is not a high-ranking member of Iwagakure, there is no file for him in the village.

"It's hard to guess what that cunning old man Onoki is thinking. Who knows what he's up to? Brother Hanzo, whether you lend me the money or not, just say the word. Given our relationship, I'll definitely support you!"

Shinto stroked his chin, also unable to understand why Onoki would send an old guy to be the vanguard. Shouldn't the first battle be the one to set the tone? At least the Raikage sent out his top fighter.

However, none of this concerns them. Although they are teammates, they each act independently. Who Iwagakure sends and what Onoki wants to do are none of their business. But now, including Sunagakure, all three clans are simultaneously requesting passage through the Land of Rain. This is quite a coincidence. They wonder who from Konoha will come. The battle will be quite exciting... 1v4. Unless Madara returns, even the Uchiha clan, which can take on five opponents without Madara, cannot withstand it. ヾ(^Д^*)/

"...Inform them that they can pass through, but it cannot affect our people."

After careful consideration, Hanzo of the Salamander said to his two henchmen, "These are extraordinary times. In my opinion, everyone should unite in the fight against Konoha. As long as it doesn't affect the people of the Land of Rain, just passing through is fine. It's not like the fighting is happening in our Land of Rain..."

"...Brother Hanzo is truly a man of great virtue. If the ninja world had more people like you, what great things couldn't be accomplished!"

Shinto patted Hanzo of the Salamander on the shoulder sincerely and said with heartfelt emotion.

"..."

The leaders of Sunagakure below were twitching their eyebrows, especially when they looked at Hanzo of the Salamander, who was also their close brother. They really didn't know how this guy could become the leader of the Land of Rain with his simple mind. Was the Land of Rain so lacking in talent that any Kage could become the leader?