"Hiruzen, is there any news from Iwagakure and Sunagakure?"
Danzo Shimura pushed open the door and walked in, asking Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his cigarette and sighed, "Because of the Uchiha Clan, they are unwilling to form an alliance with us."
Hearing this, Danzo Shimura snorted coldly, "If you had listened to me then and dealt with the Uchiha Clan earlier, it would be better than this situation now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly, "Let's not argue about the past. Let's think about what we should do next."
"I came here to talk to you about this," Danzo Shimura said in a deep voice. "Now the Land of Iron has been taken over by the Hidden Cloud Village, and the Land of Grass and the Land of Rice Fields, where the Uchiha Clan was previously stationed, also have Kumogakure Ninja stationed."
"The Land of Frost, which borders the Land of Lightning, will probably not escape a similar fate."
"Also... Hanzou lost contact with me some time ago. I suspect the Land of Rain has also fallen."
"Now, we are almost surrounded by the Hidden Cloud Village's forces."
After hearing Danzo Shimura's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Danzo, you've always been in contact with Hanzou?"
"Cough... just normal diplomatic exchanges," Danzo Shimura said vaguely.
Seeing Danzo Shimura's demeanor, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already guessed most of it.
His old friend's obsession with being Hokage was simply too deep; it wouldn't be surprising if he colluded with other Villages.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly said, "Danzo, will being Hokage truly make one happy?"
Danzo Shimura was stunned, cursing silently in his heart.
What kind of nonsense is this? Of course, being Hokage is happy. Haven't I been working so hard for so many years just to be Hokage?
You've been Hokage for so many years, don't mess with me now.
Thinking of this, Danzo Shimura couldn't help but say, "Hiruzen, I heard you're preparing to step down. Do you have a candidate for the next Hokage?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his cigarette and said indifferently, "It's not confirmed yet, why?"
"Nothing."
Danzo Shimura didn't say much, changing the subject, "Orochimaru's Edo Tensei Jutsu has improved significantly. The resurrected dead are now sufficient for actual combat."
"Why don't we launch a preemptive attack and fight the Hidden Cloud Village!"
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hiruzen Sarutobi choked on his own smoke and immediately refused, "No, Konoha absolutely cannot get involved in another war right now."
"As long as the Hidden Cloud Village doesn't attack us, we will focus on development."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sometimes truly couldn't understand what his old friend was thinking.
Konoha is lucky to be able to protect itself right now, let alone actively attack the Hidden Cloud Village?
What a joke!
"Alright, I'll listen to you," Danzo Shimura shrugged. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was finally about to step down; he had to seize this opportunity.
"Wait a moment, deliver this scroll to the Hidden Cloud Village."
Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the pre-written scroll to Danzo Shimura.
In the letter, he wrote about the Uchiha Clan's tendency to seize power and their flawed personalities, reminding the Third Raikage to treat the Uchiha with caution.
Although a few words might not be enough to make the Third Raikage break with the Uchiha Clan, even a hint of discord would be enough.
This was one of the few things he could do now.
----
----
Hidden Cloud Village.
The Third Raikage handed Hiruzen Sarutobi's letter to Uchiha Yuzuru, a disdainful expression on his face: "This Hiruzen Sarutobi, he just loves playing these schemes. He's simply a disgrace to the Kage!"
"Should we go give them a lesson now?"
Uchiha Yuzuru casually tossed the letter aside and said indifferently, "Our current focus is still on the surrounding small countries. There's no need to disrupt our already established plans for something like this."
The Third Raikage nodded and continued, "Then what do you think about the alliance between Sunagakure and Iwagakure?"
"Let them do as they please. We don't plan on causing trouble there for now anyway."
Uchiha Yuzuru's plan was to first conquer all the small countries surrounding the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire, and then attack Konoha.
After occupying the Land of Fire, he would then deal with the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Water.
The reason for this arrangement wasn't that his current strength was insufficient, but rather a matter of manpower.
Although the number of Ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village and the Uchiha Clan had significantly increased in recent years, it was still far from enough to take over the entire Ninja World.
After hearing Uchiha Yuzuru's words, the Third Raikage didn't say much.
He knew he wasn't good at strategizing, so he would just listen to whatever Uchiha Yuzuru said.
"Yuzuru, what's your next step?"
"Our next target is the Land of Hot Springs. I'll depart first; you start arranging the manpower for the subsequent takeover of the Land of Hot Springs now."
After informing the Third Raikage, Uchiha Yuzuru immediately activated Kamui and disappeared from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in the Hot Water Ninja Village in the Land of Hot Springs.
Unlike the previous small Villages, after overthrowing the Daimyo's rule, the Ninja of the Land of Hot Springs had moved to the capital of the Land of Hot Springs.
The leader of the Hot Water Ninja resided in the former Daimyo's mansion.
Outside the main hall in the center of the Daimyo's mansion, Uchiha Yuzuru's figure appeared out of thin air.
Listening to the boisterous sounds coming from inside, Uchiha Yuzuru pushed open the door and walked in.
Inside the hall, several Hot Water Ninja were kneeling on the floor, enjoying the dance of a dozen women in the center of the hall.
On the tables in front of them were fresh fruits and meat pastries for them to eat and drink.
Seeing Uchiha Yuzuru walk in, the Hot Water Ninja present were first stunned, then immediately spoke with displeasure, "Who are you?"
"Uchiha Yuzuru."
"What?!"
Upon hearing Uchiha Yuzuru's name, all the Hot Water Ninja stood up in shock, one of them even knocking over the table in front of him, spilling the food everywhere.
The Hot Water Ninja leader swallowed, trying to keep his voice calm, "You, what are you doing here?"
Uchiha Yuzuru slowly walked up to him and said, "I represent the Land of Lightning to announce something to you."
"What is it?"
"From now on, the territory of the Land of Hot Springs belongs to our Land of Lightning."
Although they had already guessed that Uchiha Yuzuru wouldn't show up for no reason, his words still made the Hot Water Ninja present's pupils contract.
Uchiha Yuzuru's tone showed no intention of negotiation, as if he was stating something that was a matter of course.
But even if the Land of Lightning was strong, to simply demand all the territory of the Land of Hot Springs with just a few words... wasn't that too unreasonable?!
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