The Uchiha Clan's Sun

"The remaining two thousand-plus Iwagakure ninja have been divided into more than a dozen groups. The plan is to use a 'wolf pack' tactic to gradually reduce the Iwagakure ninja's strength during the pursuit, and finally annihilate them all at the Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass..."

Danzo Shimura narrowed his one eye and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "There's nothing wrong with the plan to deal with the Iwagakure ninjas, but why isn't there a plan targeting the Sunagakure and Kumogakure villages?"

"The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure is seriously injured and escaped with a few dozen remaining men! The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure is also missing, with only the old woman Chiyo escaping with a little over a thousand Sunagakure ninja!"

"Now is the best opportunity to deal with them!"

"What is Nara Shikaku trying to do? Is he letting the ninjas from Kumogakure and Sunagakure leave?"

As Shimura Danzo spoke, he grew increasingly angry and began to question Nara Shikaku's motives for making such a decision.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze remained calm and unwavering, seemingly unaffected by Danzo Shimura's words.

However, Danzo Shimura sensed the chilling aura hidden in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, and his heart tightened as he calmed down.

Danzo Shimura understood that after the series of events—assassinating the Hokage, betraying the village, and starting a war—Hiruzen Sarutobi's tolerance for him had probably reached its limit!

He and Hiruzen Sarutobi have completely broken off relations and can no longer be as close as they used to be!

He no longer had the right to be arrogant and domineering in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, to slam the table, or to give him the cold shoulder!

He has lost Hiruzen Sarutobi's indulgence!

Danzo Shimura kept his mouth shut and did not offer any further comments.

Mitomon Homura took the documents from Shimura Danzo's hands, glanced at them, and said, "Danzo, didn't you see the casualty figures reported by Nara Shikaku?"

"There are less than three thousand Konoha ninja who can move around Kikyo Mountain now. They are only pursuing the Iwagakure ninjas because of their great victory. How can they possibly pursue the Sunagakure and Kumogakure ninjas?"

"If they split their forces again, even if they win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory. How many of those three thousand ninjas will be left then?"

Koharu Utatane took the document, glanced at it, and said, "Furthermore, this only accounts for the casualties of one battle at Kikyo Mountain Fortress! If we start counting from a few days ago, there was the Cloud Village delegation's rampage in Konoha, the pursuit of the Cloud Village delegation, the blocking of the Cloud Village army at Kikyo Mountain Fortress, and the rout of the Grass Country and Rain Country border troops..."

"All these casualties add up to more than a thousand casualties in Konoha. Add to that the more than three thousand casualties in the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, and that brings the total to nearly five thousand ninja casualties!"

"If the remaining three thousand ninjas of Kikyo Mountain are all killed or wounded, then that would be eight thousand ninja casualties!"

"Even if we win, what then? After this battle, Konoha will fall from being the number one village in the ninja world to the bottom of the five great villages!"

As Xiaochun turned to her new room, she shook her head and sighed.

On the surface, it seems like Konoha Village's victory against three enemies, annihilating 6,000 and crushing the three-village coalition, was a resounding triumph!

But the other side is a coalition of three villages. After the losses are shared, even if they have to exchange two lives for one of yours, it's still a win for them!

Mitokado Homura concluded, "Nara Shikaku's decision was correct. Sunagakure's foundation was the weakest among the five great villages. The loss of three thousand people this time has already crippled them. Even if we send the remaining one thousand back, it won't be a big problem!"

"Although the Cloud Village suffered fewer troop losses than the Sand Village, they lost more of their high-end combat power. The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is still in our hands, and after this battle, he will be completely at our mercy!"

"As long as we can wipe out the two thousand or so remnants of Iwagakure, it will be difficult for Iwagakure to launch another large-scale war in the short term!"

After a pause, Mitokado Homura said, "Hiruzen, give orders to the border defense forces of the Land of Rivers. Tell them to keep an eye on the remnants of the Sand Village army and be wary of any surprise attacks from the Sand Village border troops!"

"Let them out as long as Sunagakure doesn't cause trouble!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring, nodded, and said, "That's what I think too. We need to be more vigilant towards Sunagakure."

“We currently only have 500 border guards on the border of the Land of Rivers, while Sunagakure already had 500 men holding us back. Add to that the 1,000 who were routed, and that makes 1,500 men!”

"This doesn't rule out the possibility that Sunagakure might send more reinforcements!"

"With such a numerical advantage, it's hard to guarantee that the Sand Village won't come up with some wicked ideas again!"

"Therefore, I have decided to send another powerful expert with two hundred men to the border of the Land of Rivers to oversee the war until it is completely over!"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, his gaze turned to Danzo Shimura.

Chapter 226 Sacrificing the pawn to save the king!

Danzo Shimura frowned as he sensed Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze.

Based on what Hiruzen Sarutobi had just said, the meaning behind his look was self-evident.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wants Danzo Shimura to take two hundred men to the border of the Land of Rivers to oversee the situation!

In the past, Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision would have been perfectly reasonable! Hiruzen Sarutobi often sent Danzo Shimura out of the village on similar missions!

However, at this point in time, there are many intricacies involved in this task!

If it weren't for the unexpected incident at Mount Kikyo, Konoha would probably be running for the Fourth Hokage right now!

After the exceptionally brutal battle at Kikyo Mountain Fortress, Konoha Village needed to elect a new Hokage to boost morale!

Therefore, the process of electing the Fourth Hokage in Konoha will not stop and will likely continue after the Konoha ninjas from Kikyo Mountain return!

At this time, transferring Shimura Danzo away from Konoha Village would undoubtedly cut off Shimura Danzo's chance to run for the Fourth Hokage!

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had said that Danzo Shimura would remain stationed on the border of the Land of Rivers until the war was completely over, which meant that Danzo Shimura could not return until at least after Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure signed a ceasefire agreement.

By then, the election for the Fourth Hokage will probably be over long ago, and it will be too late!

Shimura Danzo's face immediately darkened, and he said, "Hiruzen, do you want me to lead the team?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "Now, almost all the well-known ninjas in the village are outside the village. Even the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, has left the village to participate in the war. There are only the four of us old guys left in the village!"

"And I am currently seriously injured, yet I still have to oversee the overall situation in the village. Yan is also busy with logistical coordination across the various defense lines and cannot leave her post. As for Xiaochun, she is the head of the medical department and will be very busy in the coming days."

"After all is said and done, only you can now stand guard on the border of the River Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo fell silent. Hiruzen Sarutobi's words left him speechless. It seemed that he really was the most idle and powerful person in the entire Hidden Leaf Village!

After pondering for a long time, Shimura Danzo shook his head and said, "Why should I personally oversee a mere Sand Village? Just send two elite ninjas!"

"If the village is short-handed, I can transfer an experienced elite Jonin from Root to oversee things!"

In reality, the chances of Sunagakure escalating the war are slim. After all, Konoha suffered a great loss this time and is still furious. If the other villages were to intervene, Konoha might reconsider. But if it were Sunagakure, the weakest of the five great villages, Konoha could grit its teeth and completely crush Sunagakure!

Therefore, it's highly unlikely that Sunagakure will provoke Konoha!

Hiruzen Sarutobi probably just wanted to find an excuse to transfer Danzo Shimura away from the village!

Unable to decipher Hiruzen Sarutobi's scheme, Danzo Shimura had no choice but to lay things out and make his stance clear.

Although this is a bad move, it will not only label him as arrogant and conceited, but if something really happens on the border of the Land of Rivers, Danzo Shimura will be the first to take the blame. But at least he will not miss the election for the Fourth Hokage!

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Danzo Shimura a meaningful look and said, "Danzo, I have no objection to transferring people from your Root to the border of the Land of Rivers to oversee things. But you must understand that this time they are guarding a region. Once they leave, they certainly can't hide anymore, and they can't return to your Root in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo frowned, realizing that Sarutobi Hiruzen was resorting to weakening Hiruzen's power after failing to achieve his goal of transferring him away!

Even knowing that Shimura Danzo could only compromise, he said coldly, "I understand. This time, I'll let..."

"In that case, let your Tianzang from the Root Sect lead the team!"

Before Shimura Danzo could finish speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke first, not giving Shimura Danzo the chance to choose his own people.

Upon hearing the name Tenzo, Shimura Danzo's pupils contracted, finally realizing that Hiruzen Sarutobi's target from beginning to end was not him, but Tenzo!

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Danzo, transfer Tenzo's file from Root to Anbu, remove all restrictions on him, and forgive all his past transgressions... Do you understand what I mean?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately emphasized the words "forgive and forget," causing Danzo Shimura to swallow back the rebuttal that was about to come out!

Shimura Danzo naturally knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi's words about not holding a grudge referred to his collaboration with Kumogakure to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi. Although Shimura Danzo had made thorough preparations for this matter and was confident that he could extricate himself from it, the exposure of this matter would still cause him a lot of trouble and have a significant impact on his candidacy for the Fourth Hokage!

It would be best if we could resolve this matter privately with Hiruzen Sarutobi!

After a moment of silence and weighing the pros and cons, Shimura Danzo spoke up: "No problem, I will transfer Tenzo from Root to Anbu after the meeting!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, but a barely perceptible hint of disdain for Danzo Shimura also flashed deep in his eyes.

His old friend is still too naive; he's probably still dreaming of becoming the Fourth Hokage.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was already prepared, and in a few days he would completely wake Danzo Shimura from this beautiful dream!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath to bring his slightly wandering thoughts back, and then said, "There is another matter I have to say."

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu all looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment before speaking in a deep voice, "I didn't mention this matter before because the situation at the front was urgent. Now that the war has stabilized, there's nothing wrong with talking about it."

"As you all know, my main purpose in going to Daming Prefecture this time is to request a sum of money."

"But something unexpected happened. Although the Daimyo allocated a sum of 3 billion ryo to Konoha, I did not receive the money!"

Shimura Danzo, Mito Kadeni, and Koharu: "???"

When they first heard about the 3 billion ryo, all three of them were shocked by the number. But when they heard Hiruzen Sarutobi say that he hadn't received the money, they were stunned again. Before they could even be happy, they were completely dumbfounded!

Mitokado Homura frowned and said, "Hiruzen, what do you mean by that? What do you mean you didn't get the money?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a serious expression, "I don't know when, but the Uchiha clan and the Daimyo made contact. The Daimyo not only allocated this 3 billion ryo to the Uchiha clan, but also said that all future funding will be directly allocated to the Uchiha clan!"

Chapter 227 We can't exactly go and kill the Daimyo, can we?

"What?! Why is this happening?! What on earth happened?!"

"Why the Uchiha clan? Hiruzen, what's going on here?"

The two who reacted the most after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were naturally Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

They are the Konoha Elders who are in charge of Konoha's political affairs, and also the Minister and Deputy Minister of Konoha's Finance Department. The funds of the Fire Country Daimyo are a major source of income for the Finance Department and an important part of the power they wield!

If the funding for the Fire Country Daimyo is handled by other people or departments in the future, it's hard to say whether their Ministry of Finance will still be worthy of its name!

Danzo Shimura, standing to the side, also frowned deeply, but his concerns differed somewhat from those of Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

Danzo Shimura remembered that the agreement he reached with King Uchiha included a clause about dividing the funds that Konoha Village had applied for from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!

At the time, Uchiha Jin had disagreements with him about how to allocate the funds, but now, in the blink of an eye, the Uchiha clan has quietly pocketed all of the funds. So what were the conditions they agreed to back then?

This made Shimura Danzo think a lot!

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and sighed, "I don't know the specifics of what happened yet. After all, I was attacked as soon as I left the daimyo's residence, and the war broke out as soon as I returned to the village. I had no time to investigate this matter."

"Right now, all I know is that the Uchiha clan has made contact with the Daimyo. I know nothing about how they made contact or what specific terms they agreed on!"

After a pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to remember something and added, "By the way, in addition to the fact that all the funds from the Daimyo's side will be directly transferred to the Uchiha clan, the Uchiha clan has also sent elite ninjas to join the Daimyo's Twelve Guardian Ninjas!"

"Right now, Uchiha Shisui, known as the Shisui of the Body Flicker, is staying by the Daimyo's side!"

Mitokado Homura frowned and said, "Hiruzen, didn't you try to negotiate with the daimyo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled bitterly, “Strive? How can I strive? Should I tell the Daimyo that the Uchiha clan is dangerous? That the Uchiha clan is at odds with the village? Or that the Uchiha clan are arrogant and unruly?”

"How could such divisive words come from the mouth of a Hokage like me?"

Both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were taken aback upon hearing this. Indeed, these words should not have come out of Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth, otherwise, even though Sarutobi Hiruzen was no longer the Hokage, the nature of the situation would have changed!

“You certainly can’t say these things, but that doesn’t mean the Daimyo doesn’t know!” Shimura Danzo suddenly said quietly, “Our good Daimyo may have chosen the Uchiha clan precisely because he saw that the Uchiha clan and the village were at odds!”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Hokage's office fell silent, realizing that Danzo Shimura was right!

Shimura Danzo looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and pressed, "Hiruzen, I think even if you didn't argue with the Daimyo, the Daimyo should have given you a reason to choose the Uchiha clan, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, "The Daimyo said that Konoha was founded by the Uchiha and Senju clans together, and the Uchiha clan is undoubtedly the elder of Konoha!"

"The Daimyo Prefecture used to transfer funds directly to the Senju clan. Now that the Senju clan is gone, transferring funds to the Uchiha clan is the same and perfectly reasonable!"

Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura scoffed, "Heh, what a joke! Can the Uchiha clan be compared to the Senju clan? Of the three Hokage since the founding of Konoha, two were from the Senju clan. Even you, the Third Hokage, were a direct disciple of the Second Hokage. And what about the Uchiha clan?"

"The Uchiha and Senju clans were sworn enemies even before the village was founded. Although their relationship eased somewhat after the village was established, they were still at odds and neither of them looked down on the other!"

"The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was known for his suppression of the Uchiha clan. During his tenure, he even instigated an armed coup d'état by the Uchiha clan!"

"I refuse to believe that the Daimyo lineage, which has been related to the Senju clan by marriage for generations, is unaware of these matters!"

After a pause, Shimura Danzo said with a sneer, "Ever since Hiruzen took over, our daimyo has never trusted us and has been very wary of the village. This time, he clearly wants to support the Uchiha clan to oppose us!"

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado both looked very grim upon hearing this. They understood the logic, but the important thing was that they didn't have any effective countermeasures!

We can't exactly kill the daimyo, can we?

If they really did that, Konoha would definitely become the target of the entire ninja world!

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe again, took a deep drag, and said, "In my opinion, the key to this matter is not the Daimyo, but the Uchiha clan!"

"Although the daimyo doesn't trust us, within the framework of the one country, one village system, the daimyo can't do without us!"

"The Land of Fire's fertile land and its reputation as the greatest ninja nation still need us to protect it!"

"Therefore, we have maintained a delicate balance with the Daimyo over the past two decades!"

"We won't actively disrupt this balance, and neither will the Daimyo!"

"The only variable in this matter is the Uchiha clan!"