"This bunch ran pretty fast," Hanzo remarked as he looked at the now–empty Wind Country Daimyō's residence, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Looks like I went a little too big this time. Next time, I'll handle this kind of thing myself."
Hanzo turned to the two Ame ninja behind him. "Did you find anything?"
"Reporting, my lord," one of them replied. "Our preliminary assessment is that they left two days ago. With the Daimyō's resources, the chances of tracking them down now are extremely slim."
"Mm." Hanzo nodded—and the veins around his left eye bulged.
"Byakugan."
After a brief scan, every hidden vault and escape tunnel within the residence was laid bare to him. From the looks of it, the escape had been frantic; they hadn't managed to take much with them.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A puff of white smoke dispersed, and an identical Hanzo appeared beside him.
"You handle the confiscation here. I'll take people and pursue them through the tunnels."
"Understood," the clone replied, then led a group of Ame ninja into the estate.
"You—come with me," Hanzo said, beckoning several Ame ninja over. With a flick of his wrist, he sealed them inside Water Prison Jutsu bubbles. Their respirators would keep them alive for a while, even submerged.
With the tunnels as a guide—and factoring in the Daimyō's speed, meal and resupply needs, and rest periods—Hanzo could roughly pinpoint their range.
With a body like that, how far could the Daimyō really run in two days? Even carried by samurai, the jostling alone would be unbearable.
And Hanzo's speed was something those samurai couldn't even begin to comprehend.
"Let's see where you think you can hide," he muttered.
"Whether you're better at hiding—or my sensory field is better at finding."
Using Lightened Boulder Jutsu, Hanzo floated into the air, formed several spheres of water, and shot off in a single direction.
---
Konoha – Hokage Tower.
"What's wrong, Hiruzen?" Homura Mitokado asked, noticing the grim look on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
The Third Hokage took a long draw from his pipe before answering. "Kirigakure has intensified their offensive again."
"What?!" Homura exclaimed. "With Sunagakure in that state, why wouldn't the Mist seize the opportunity instead of continuing to grind against us?"
"It's worse than that," Hiruzen said, lifting a report. "They've deployed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in full—and even committed most of their Bloodline ninja."
"This trend has only escalated. After Hatake Sakumo and the others killed five of the Seven Swordsmen, I thought Kirigakure would pull back, so I recalled our elites."
He paused, eyes darkening. "Instead, they reinforced again. Their Bloodline ninja have become the main force. With our high-level deterrents gone, the front has begun to collapse."
Koharu took the report and scanned it.
"They're fighting like madmen. Nearly half of Kirigakure's total strength is concentrated there."
"What do we have that's worth this to them?" she wondered. "They're even ignoring Sunagakure—are they trying to claim the title of the strongest village, like Kumogakure?"
Hiruzen and Homura both shook their heads.
They had no way of knowing that, compared to carving up Sunagakure, the Third Mizukage was far more intent on resolving Kirigakure's internal power struggle.
No matter how much the village gained on the battlefield, as long as the clan factions dominated, they would take at least seventy percent of the spoils. The remaining thirty percent would still depend on their goodwill.
The same applied to attacking Sunagakure. The Mizukage's faction would fight to the death for scraps, effectively working for the Bloodline clans. Better not to bother.
So instead, he focused on grinding Konoha down—sending the Bloodline clans' ninja to the front lines to bleed.
On the battlefield, command authority belonged to him. He sent clan ninja to the most dangerous sectors. As for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—officially Kirigakure's pride, unofficially the Hōzuki clan's private arsenal—they had to die.
Each death meant one sword reclaimed. Ideally, the summoner with the blade contracts would die as well.
Once enough ninja had fallen, he could draft replacements from the Bloodline clans and continue the attrition. If any clan tried to withdraw—
Sorry. Withdraw, and you lose your share of previous spoils. He wouldn't even take extra; he'd redistribute it to the other clans and skim a little himself.
Objections? Take it up with the others. Orders were already issued.
The Hōzuki clan—the strongest in Kirigakure—had already committed the most troops and suffered the highest casualties. They couldn't pull out even if they wanted to. And since their losses benefited the others, no one would oppose it.
Thus the Mizukage was pleased, the clans fought harder—and Konoha paid the price.
Hiruzen sighed, feeling utterly powerless.
After all, Kirigakure was an island nation. They never had to worry about defending their homeland.
Unlike the Land of Earth—watching Konoha to the east, Sunagakure to the south, Kumogakure to the north—or the Land of Fire itself, surrounded on all sides.
Konoha couldn't afford to abandon other fronts just to deal with Kirigakure.
And yet Kirigakure was fixated on them.
"Let Hatake Sakumo and the others rest for a while, then redeploy them," Hiruzen said quietly. "That battlefield needs them."
"No."
The sharp interruption made both advisors tense. Danzō spoke up immediately.
"Hiruzen, I have a solution for Kirigakure," Danzō said, staring him down. "I can deal with their Bloodline elites."
"What?" Hiruzen and the others were stunned.
"How?" Hiruzen asked.
"These are ROOT methods," Danzō replied. "You know the people I train—they're expendable."
"Trading one for two isn't a problem."
"All forbidden jutsus?" Hiruzen thought grimly.
"You're sending them out?" he asked aloud. "Don't forget Kirigakure's numbers—you can't trade evenly forever."
"That's not your concern," Danzō said. "I can handle it. And my methods don't stop there."
Homura and Koharu exchanged looks and nodded. Danzō's methods were unsavory—but effective.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Hiruzen said. "Mobilize any village forces you need as support."
"Understood," Danzō replied. "But I must go to the Kiri front personally."
"Why?"
"These ninja all use forbidden jutsus. I placed seals in their minds to prevent accidents—they only obey me," Danzō said flatly. "So I have to be there."
"…Very well," Hiruzen agreed, to Danzō's own surprise.
"I'll make preparations."
Danzō turned and left.
ROOT did have such operatives—but the original Shimura clan death squad had already been wasted by Hiruzen at the Suna–Ame ceasefire talks.
Still, Danzō had other options. Costlier, yes—but stabilizing the front was guaranteed.
More importantly, this was a chance to pad his own war record. Any action taken by ROOT could be turned into his achievement.
Hatake Sakumo was now ANBU Commander. Letting him return to the battlefield would only hand him power and prestige.
And that Hokage seat would slip even further away.
"So long as Sakumo is untouchable… then Kato Dan," Danzō mused.
"He's just returned from the front. I can't summon him yet."
"…Let him live a few more months."
...
"Hiruzen, you know what Danzō is planning," Homura said quietly later. "What's your real intention? Are you actually going to hand him the Hokage title?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "I know. His temperament isn't suited for it."
As he spoke, he produced a file and handed it to them.
"This is… ROOT's Hashirama Cell Experiment Records?!"
After the failure of the Wood Release project, Hashirama cell research had been classified as taboo.
Yet everyone present knew ROOT continued it—with the Hokage's tacit approval.
Now that Hiruzen had brought it out…
--------------------------------///
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