Danzo's massive army was advancing at an abnormally slow pace.
This made Hizashi, who was well familiar with his style of command, sense a dangerous undertone.
On the other side, Kumogakure, after receiving Konoha's declaration of war, showed no real intention of actively preparing for battle. Other than deploying more shinobi to the outer strongholds of the village, most of their focus remained on domestic affairs.
Since the two sides had already torn off all pretense, Kumogakure saw no further need to maintain its façade with the daimyo.
The council directly proposed a plan for ninja autonomy, demanding that the daimyo recognize Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning as partners rather than subjects.
With unanimous approval, they nominated Dodai as the Fifth Raikage.
With both sides openly severing ties, the daimyo's mansion, infuriated, dispatched his own samurai and shinobi, and fierce fighting broke out across the nation.
"Iron cannon squad, fire!"
With the commander's order, rows of matchlocks erupted in roaring fire as the gunners unleashed a volley toward the charging Kumogakure shinobi.
The bullets pierced through the bodies of genin without obstruction, but when they struck jōnin wreathed in crackling lightning, they were easily deflected.
"Note this down—if the body is fully protected by chakra, it's possible to nullify gunfire."
In the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, two Konoha Internal Affairs shinobi observed the battle, assessing the abilities of both sides.
Seeing the matchlocks fail, the commander barked at the samurai in front to hold their ground while ordering the cannons to be readied.
"That thing… must be a cannon."
Watching the daimyo's soldiers pushing the massive object forward, one of the Internal Affairs shinobi muttered.
Its caliber was indeed enormous—the shells it fired would likely inflict damage comparable to Earth Release: Rockfall.
...
"In the end, we're the only ones who arrived at the front line on time, as agreed."
Within the Land of the Moon, the unit led by the Explosion Release shinobi Gari, serving as overall commander, arrived at the border between the Land of the Moon and the Land of Lightning according to the prearranged schedule.
Sitting in a special room prepared for commanders at the stronghold, Gari wore a deeply displeased expression as he waited for shinobi from other villages to arrive.
"Konoha and Kirigakure aren't bad—at least both responded to the daimyo's summons. But Sunagakure refused to send troops, citing insufficient military funds."
A shinobi named Kira, seated beside Gari, voiced his doubts about Sunagakure's stance.
As the two were speaking, they suddenly heard hurried apologies, followed by a Mist shinobi rushing into the room.
"Sorry, sorry. The weather at sea hasn't been good lately, so we're late."
"You…"
Seeing the man's face clearly, Gari immediately rose to his feet, scrutinizing the Mist shinobi before him.
"Unbelievable—Kirigakure actually sent the infamous freak, Kisame."
All Seven Swordsmen of the Mist had perished in the Third Great Ninja War, leaving Yagura with no choice but to rapidly promote Hoshigaki Kisame.
Now, not only was he the captain of the ANBU, but also a trusted bodyguard at the side of the Fourth Mizukage.
"Captain, that man beside Kisame… if I'm not mistaken, he should be Chūnichi."
Kira's eyes had already locked onto the slightly chubby shinobi behind Kisame.
"Dark Release Chūnichi—Kirigakure's most skilled sensory shinobi?"
Gari grinned, spreading his arms wide.
"Looks like this war will be an easy one."
"Let's hope so."
Kisame bared his sharp teeth in a wide grin.
"My apologies for disturbing you at this moment."
Just as the two sides officially met and were about to continue discussions, an official from the Land of the Moon carefully pushed the door open.
In the past, he would never have acted with such deference. But with recent ninja uprisings fresh in everyone's mind, even against his will, he had to prioritize his own life.
"The allied forces from Kusagakure, Hoshigakure, Takumi, and Yukigakure have arrived at the stronghold. Would you like to meet their commanders?"
Kira shook his head.
"A bunch of rabble, that's all."
In the eyes of shinobi from the great villages, that group wasn't even qualified to be called cannon fodder.
Gari, however, tested Kisame with his words:
"Personally, I think meeting them or not makes little difference. What do you think, Kisame-dono?"
"Heh, let's go with Gari-san's suggestion."
Kisame agreed with the proposal.
"Still, what I'm more curious about is this: Konoha's forces had clear passage by land—so why haven't they arrived yet?"
Kisame, who thought his own side would be the last to reach the battlefield, hadn't expected there to be an even more sluggish contingent.
"Who knows? Perhaps Konoha has had a change of heart. They've been going through frequent reforms lately, after all."
Gari said this with obvious malice, then laughed loudly as he returned to his seat.
So, what was Danzo busy with?
He was busy suppressing bandits.
And on Nankumo's territory, no less.
According to Takeshi's original plan, the Nankumo clan should have already been dealt with by Internal Affairs the moment he returned to the village with Uchiha Hikari.
But upon receiving a message from Kakuzu, he immediately changed his mind.
Who would have thought that Nankumo Reizan had gone so far as to hire the foreigners to assassinate him?
After all, the banner waved within the Land of Fire was "expel the nobility, abolish privilege."
Takeshi seriously doubted whether the man's sanity was intact.
When he saw that Nankumo Reizan was practically begging for death, Takeshi immediately called off Aburame Tatsuma's operation and signaled Kakuzu that he was free to make contact with him.
...
Following Takeshi's orders, Kakuzu accepted the mission to assassinate the Hokage.
Even Kakuzu felt nostalgic—the last time he attempted to assassinate a Hokage had been decades ago.
However, he didn't act right away. Instead, he insisted on the need for meticulous planning, offering in the meantime to provide Nankumo Reizan with free protection.
This moved Reizan immensely and deepened his hatred for the useless Prajñā Group.
See? This was professionalism—careful planning, calculated operations—not rushing recklessly with a mob, only to be wiped out.
Thus, nearly a year passed before Kakuzu finally received the signal to move.
But before they could even act, Danzo's army just so happened to pass through the area—and Kakuzu, by coincidence, mistook Danzo for Takeshi. The two sides clashed.
Soon after, the daimyo's mansion received a strongly worded letter from Danzo.
In it, he accused Nankumo Reizan of colluding with the foreigners in an attempt to assassinate the Fifth Hokage, declaring the area unsafe. Therefore, Danzo requested the daimyo's approval to delay his advance in order to conduct anti-bandit operations.
Naturally, the daimyo would not take Danzo's words at face value. But when officials were dispatched to investigate, they found Nankumo Reizan and his family alive and well—and freely admitting to everything.
"This foolish son… at least he's finally showing some sense."
Seeing his son's schemes becoming more and more like his own, Danzo glanced at the nearby official, whose face twisted as though he had swallowed something bitter, and nodded in satisfaction.