With both witness testimony and material evidence in hand, even two small underlings had been captured by Danzō.
For the sake of the Nankumo family's continued existence in the Land of Fire, the officials of the daimyō's mansion had no choice but to agree to Danzō's request for bandit suppression.
But "bandit suppression" was, in truth, nothing more than controlling this region.
As the forces supported by the Nankumo family were uprooted one after another, Konoha's shinobi officially took over this commercial hub.
It was easy to predict that next month's accounts for Konoha would look even more beautiful.
Upon receiving Danzō's letter, Takeshi was so delighted his nose was practically dripping snot with laughter, while Hikari beside him looked on with deep disdain.
"Hokage-sama, the daimyō's office is urging us to advance again. What they mean is that only part of the shinobi need to stay behind for bandit suppression; the main force should break camp and march as soon as possible."
Takeshi was overjoyed, but the pressure weighed heavily on Nara Shikaku.
Since Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura were daimyō's faction loyalists, Takeshi was determined not to use them.
Thus, all matters of communication with the daimyō's office fell upon Shikaku alone.
"So urgent?"
Takeshi's expression grew serious, showing his doubt.
"They say that the main forces of the Land of Lightning have been defeated. However, the coalition forces in the Land of the Moon insist that they cannot advance until Konoha's people arrive."
Shikaku relayed the situation he had learned to Takeshi.
"They're afraid of us swooping in to reap the spoils."
Takeshi immediately saw through the other side's intent.
Looking back through the history of joint operations in the shinobi world, most had reignited conflict afterward due to disputes over the distribution of benefits.
"What do you think?"
Casting his gaze at Shikaku, Takeshi wanted to hear the man's opinion.
"If you wish to lay all the cards on the table now, then you can simply ignore the daimyō's urging. However, in doing so, we will end up like Kumogakure—branded by the coalition as an enemy to be crushed."
Not knowing exactly what Takeshi sought, Shikaku could only explain the consequences of the two possible decisions:
"If we continue the advance, leaving only a small force behind, it won't hinder your plan of slowly eating away at the Land of Fire. But when the time comes, we'll also have to clash with Kumogakure..."
Hearing Shikaku openly speak of "eating away at the Land of Fire," Takeshi now understood where his strategist stood. His smile grew broader.
"Advisor Shikaku's analysis makes sense. Then I'll trouble you to reply to the daimyō's office, and tell them that Advisor Danzō will set out as soon as possible."
Safe.
Hearing Takeshi's form of address toward him, Shikaku knew that he had already been accepted as one of Takeshi's own.
At the same time, he was relieved that Takeshi had not chosen to break openly with the daimyō's office.
After Shikaku left, Itachi, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke with curiosity.
"Sensei, isn't now the time to break with the daimyō's office?"
At Itachi's question, Takeshi only chuckled slyly, giving no explanation as he usually did.
"Need you even ask? This guy is definitely plotting something again."
Just one look at Takeshi's smile was enough for Hikari to know what he was scheming.
...
Having received his orders, Danzō deliberately went to see Nankumo Reizan before departing.
This noble had dared to hire assassins against his son—not once, but twice. Naturally, Danzō wanted to get a good look at him, so he would know how to "take care" of him in the future.
Nankumo Reizan, on the other hand, was forced to put on a brave face as he greeted Danzō, claiming he too had been deceived, and promising that he would let bygones be bygones regarding his previous disrespect. Only then did he nervously order his servants to see Danzō off.
With the main force marching once more, this time Danzō held nothing back. His troops pressed hard, reaching the border of the Land of the Moon within a single day.
At last, the armies of the three great nations converged.
Unwilling to waste words, Danzō passed the duty of handling appearances to Hizashi, while he himself began reviewing the intelligence gathered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Land of Lightning's offensive was not going smoothly.
In fact, though they had been the side to declare war, they were now on the defensive. And even so, they were losing territory bit by bit every day.
The daimyō's office had cut off all supplies to both sides on the very day the conflict broke out. By their calculations, Kumogakure's stockpiles should have been sufficient to support only half a year of defense.
Yet in reality, Kumogakure showed no sign of shortage—be it ninja tools or provisions. Explosive tags and kunai were thrown about like they cost nothing.
How could this be?
...
Back in Konoha.
A convoy proudly flying the banner of the Land of Fire set out grandly with the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Nominally, this convoy was transporting goods to be traded with the Land of Waterfalls. In truth, however, once it left the country, it immediately changed course, traveling through the Land of Iron toward Kumogakure.
With Konoha secretly supplying them, the Land of Lightning's army naturally could not compete with the fully equipped Kumogakure.
Seeing Kumogakure attract the entire shinobi world's attention exactly as he had anticipated, Takeshi allowed himself a faint smile. Looking at Obito, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he beckoned him to sit.
The reason Kumogakure had established a Ninja Committee was not only because some of its high-ranking members already held grievances against the Raikage, but also due in large part to Obito's genjutsu.
This great game of chess had reached such a stage that even Takeshi himself wasn't entirely sure how to play the next move.
Everything now depended on Danzō's performance.
As he mentally reviewed each of his past steps, Takeshi searched carefully for flaws.
Meanwhile, he exchanged small talk with Obito, even casually asking about his relationship with Rin.
The only response was Obito blushing furiously, stammering in embarrassment.
Beside them, Uchiha Hikari frowned deeper and deeper.
That ridiculous display... was this fool really a Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan?
...
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
On the battlefield of the Land of Lightning, Danzō personally stepped in. Just as Iwagakure was about to breach the stronghold, he unleashed a powerful Wind Release, cutting down several Kumogakure shinobi at the front.
For the Kumogakure shinobi, who were fearless in the face of guns and blades, a Wind Release expert like Danzō was their fated nemesis.
A few casual Wind Release strikes were enough to claim several shinobi lives.
"Take this!"
A jōnin named Torot, under cover of his comrades' sacrifice, rushed in with a ninja blade. With a sudden burst of speed, he leapt, bringing his sword down toward Danzō's head.
Danzō made no move to dodge. Instead, he lunged forward. Just as the blade was about to cleave into him, his elbow drove hard into Torot's stomach.
As the blow forced Torot to double over, Danzō grabbed his hair, yanking his head up. A vicious knee strike followed, forcing Torot to drop his blade in agony.
Kicking the disarmed Torot away, Danzō drew in a deep breath. His cheeks swelled before he spat out razor-sharp wind blades.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave."
Under the furious eyes of Kumogakure shinobi, before Torot could even unleash his ultimate technique, he was cleaved cleanly in two by the Wind Release.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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