Of course, that's just what he said.
Unless it was a true life-or-death crisis, Gisei would absolutely not summon the Ninja Butterflies.
He didn't buy into the nonsense about Ninja Butterflies being his "relatives," but he also wouldn't treat them as mere cannon fodder. These creatures lived and died with his clansmen.
In the end, he still had to keep some cards close to his chest.
With the power he now held, Gisei genuinely found himself wondering: What is a Hokage, anyway?
As for Danzo, just as Eisawa had said, what does Danzo—who isn't even the Hokage—really count for?
Gisei finally understood why Danzo was so deliberate in provoking conflicts and prolonging wars. Without external wars, it would be impossible to keep the ninja clans under his thumb.
Whether someone like Gisei actually existed in Konoha's history, he didn't know. But he was living here now.
Even if Konoha really went to war, he wouldn't be foolish enough to lead those ninja clans onto the battlefield like sheep. Of course, if they wanted to march off to die themselves, he wouldn't stop them.
For every person possessed by the "Will of Fire" who died, his future path to defection became one degree safer.
Honestly, rather than letting such people die on a foreign battlefield, he felt it would be better to let them die in Konoha's internal strife. If he wasn't afraid of having his intentions exposed, he would have already incited the clans to fight a civil war against the Third and his administration.
Those ninja clans were behaving themselves now only because Gisei was in the Anbu.
Without them causing trouble, the Third's policies flowed smoothly, and his prestige grew day by day. He had now completely shaken off the shadows of the First and Second Hokage, truly becoming the leader in both name and reality.
Gisei had nothing much to say about this. The Third had pulled him out of Danzo's reach when he was weak; this was just the return on that investment.
It was a transaction. Nothing more.
So he felt no gratitude toward the Third. Even for the clans that supported him, he felt no real gratitude. Each side took what they needed. That was all.
He was just a selfish guy, after all.
If one really had to speak of gratitude, the Takamura clan made his feelings increasingly complicated.
They had money when money was needed, and manpower when manpower was needed. Whatever the Takamura clan had, they were never stingy with him.
He wasn't truly made of stone. His relationship with them had deepened over the years. He had even started considering what impact his defection would have on their clan, and whether he could handle the fallout properly.
Before he had answers to those questions, he wouldn't defect lightly.
Humans are social animals, and he had changed without realizing it. Gisei sensed this shift, but feelings weren't something you could just cut off like a loose thread.
Moreover, Eisawa's dying request for him to take care of the clansmen was something Gisei had always tried his best to honor.
Pensions for families of the fallen were delivered every year—doubled for those struggling financially. If someone urgently needed money and came to him, he would give it without question. Apart from the secret techniques, he shared whatever resources he could. Sometimes, he even personally guided the clansmen in their training.
In the eyes of others, he had already become a qualified clan leader.
Of course, doing these things couldn't change his selfish nature, nor could it change his determination to eventually leave Konoha.
The longer he stayed, the more oppressed he felt.
His defection plan had been revised again and again until it was unrecognizable, full of holes. The Will of Fire and his own will were like a spear and a shield; the conflict was becoming more serious every day.
As for a solution? He hadn't thought of one yet. He only knew it wasn't a problem that could be solved just by getting stronger.
A loud noise in the distance suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
The four of them looked at each other and stood up simultaneously.
Hanadanuki used Earth Release to erase all traces of their campsite.
Sakumo looked toward the noise, frowning. "It's very likely our people have been discovered by the Rain Ninja and are fighting. Let's go take a look."
They began to move toward the sound. Gisei released a summoning butterfly while running.
Five minutes later, the butterfly returned, and the four of them stopped in a clearing.
Gisei clicked his tongue. Speak of the devil.
"It seems to be Danzo's team. They're being hunted down. I think we'd better not go over there; the guy chasing Danzo is very likely Hanzo of the Salamander."
Sakumo looked at him sharply. "Do you plan to leave them to die?"
"That's not what I mean. I'm just saying that if we go over there, Danzo will likely use us as cannon fodder to cover his escape. Captain, the probability is quite high."
A hint of a smile flashed in Hanadanuki's eyes. "Then what do you think we should do?"
"Better a dead friend than a dead me. We can just sneak over quietly and throw a few shuriken as a gesture."
Sakumo drew the short sword from his back and stared at him expressionlessly.
Gisei instantly folded.
Sakumo was truly strong right now. Without exposing his hidden trump cards, Gisei couldn't beat him. Even with his trump cards, he couldn't guarantee a kill.
He had lost count of the number of times the White Fang's blade had been held against his neck during training.
"Fine, I get it. One mile ahead. Danzo has about a dozen people left, and there are more than forty Rain Ninja chasing them."
The four of them continued.
In a dense stretch of forest, they caught up with Danzo's team, which was now completely surrounded.
Sakumo was about to lead a charge to rendezvous with Danzo, but Gisei quickly grabbed his arm.
"Captain, there's really no need to rendezvous directly with Danzo. Just in case..."
He didn't need to finish the sentence; the others understood. Just as he said earlier, Danzo was exactly the type of person to sacrifice reinforcements to save his own skin.
Sakumo drew his short sword again and gave him that same flat stare.
Gisei: "..."
Brother Sakumo is truly a tough guy who doesn't talk much.
"I am the captain. Follow behind me and cover my charge."
Sakumo took the lead. The short sword in his hand was a blur of death; almost no Rain Ninja who stood in his way could withstand a single blow.
After he cut down five Rain Ninja in rapid succession, the disturbance on the flank finally alerted the enemy commander.
"It's Konoha reinforcements! Quick, kill them!"
Shuriken rigged with explosive tags rained down on them.
Hanadanuki began to form hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Four earth walls rose up, encasing them in a protective box. The sound of explosions outside was deafening.
When the noise subsided, a figure burst out of the smoke, wielding a short sword to create a whirlwind of death.
Shintori followed closely behind.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Hanadanuki rushed out next.
"Wind Release: Wind Scythe Technique!"
Gisei stayed at the very back, throwing shuriken with explosive tags one by one, completely phoning it in.
Their squad's combat formation was always like this; Gisei stayed in the safest position. After all, he was the "medic."
The commotion of their attack on the encirclement was soon noticed by Danzo's team. Without needing an order, the Root ninja coordinated perfectly and launched a counterattack to break out.
Three minutes later, the two teams merged.
When Gisei saw Danzo, he almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Fortunately, he was wearing a mask.
Danzo looked truly miserable. He was clutching one eye with his hand, blood soaking his face and clothes.
You had to hand it to him—Danzo was a tough bastard. He stood rock-steady despite looking like he'd been through a meat grinder.
Sakumo stepped forward. "Lord Danzo, what happened?"
"My informant in the Rain Village was exposed. We were ambushed by Hanzo."
Danzo's voice dripped with venom; he hated Hanzo to the bone.
Sakumo sighed and looked at Gisei, signaling him to treat Danzo's injuries.
Gisei shrugged, and the green glow of medical ninjutsu lit up his hand.
"Lord Danzo doesn't look too good. Do you need treatment from me, a humble medical ninja?"
He had absolutely no intention of treating Danzo, but unfortunately, Sakumo was the captain, and orders were orders.
Danzo stared at him with his only remaining eye, silent for a moment, before finally gritting out, "I'll trouble you then."
Is this really Danzo Shimura?
To actually say such polite words to him...
It seemed the injury was truly severe. That eye was likely gone for good. The bandage-wrapped version of Danzo was about to officially come online.
A hidden smile played at the corner of Gisei's mouth as he stepped forward to treat the wounds.
He deliberately slowed down the healing process. Every extra moment of pain for Danzo was a victory in his book.
After they rendezvoused, the Rain Ninja's movements turned strange. Not only did they stop attacking, but they also began to retreat, giving the Konoha group a rare chance to catch their breath.
While treating Danzo, Gisei kept one eye on the surroundings.
Suddenly, he felt the ground tremble slightly.
Moments later, the trembling became violent.
A massive salamander burst out of the earth, towering over them.
Standing on top of the beast's head was a single man.
The Demigod of the Shinobi World—Hanzo of the Salamander.