Konoha.
Hokage Tower.
Danzo Shimura made it back to the village in the dead of night, and Hiruzen Sarutobi called an emergency meeting the moment he returned.
Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Sakumo Hatake, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade…
Hiruzen sat at the head of the round table, expression hard. "Report, Advisor."
Danzo nodded and began.
"After dozens of days embedded, with the squad gathering intelligence from multiple angles, we can now confirm that Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B, is in an extremely unstable state, exactly as the Hokage predicted."
"More than once, villagers in the Hidden Cloud Village have mentioned incidents of the Eight-Tails going berserk. And in a tavern, an insider referenced it quietly. This is already the third Jinchuriki replacement in a short period."
"Blue B is the Third Raikage's nephew. His father and his uncle were both former Jinchuriki who died when the beast went out of control."
"And our agents witnessed Blue B leaking tailed beast chakra unconsciously," Danzo continued. "It caused a small wave of panic inside the Hidden Cloud Village."
Koharu's gaze stayed sharp. "How do we know this 'insider' was credible? Is it possible it was drunken venting, someone resentful of Kumogakure making noise?"
Danzo gave a cold snort. "We killed him and extracted the information from his brain. He was from Kumogakure's sealing team."
His tone made it clear he didn't appreciate being questioned.
Infiltration and assassination were his craft. He wasn't going to walk into a situation without verifying his source.
Koharu didn't react to his attitude. She simply nodded, accepting the answer.
That was her job.
An advisor's role was to hammer every uncertainty until it was nailed down, even if it sounded like nitpicking.
"The same memory also confirms Kumogakure's sealing techniques aren't strong," Danzo went on. "The seal used on the Jinchuriki is called the Steel Shell Seal. The Third Raikage has mentioned wanting to improve it multiple times."
"And during routine seal inspections, Blue B has been taking medication to stabilize his mind and prevent a rampage."
Danzo paused, then added one more line, eyes shifting to Hiruzen. "In summary, the odds of leading a strike team to successfully ambush Blue B are high. Under the Hokage's orders, we returned to the village to report in full and receive further direction."
His feelings were… complicated.
On one hand, he had to admit Hiruzen's mind was quick. From the excuse of the Kushina Uzumaki kidnapping, and data about friction between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, Hiruzen had actually inferred the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki's condition.
Danzo hadn't seen that coming.
On the other hand, he couldn't help thinking Hiruzen still wasn't decisive enough. Danzo could've taken the credit and acted immediately.
Instead they came back, and time was always the enemy.
The mix of irritation and grudging respect twisted together, and Danzo couldn't stop himself from slipping in a thin edge of sarcasm.
Hiruzen didn't react. If anything, the calm in his eyes looked almost amused.
If Danzo turned obedient after a few little pushes, Hiruzen would've trusted him less, not more.
Decades of grinding against each other didn't vanish because of one meeting.
"The intelligence matches the village's analysis," Hiruzen said at last, and he gave Danzo a small nod. "And Danzo's confirmation is detailed enough to be reliable."
Then he turned slightly toward Koharu. "Koharu, you said those two kids, Kushina and Minato, have unusual depth with sealing techniques?"
"Yes," Koharu replied. "Most jonin wouldn't reach that level. It may be related to the Uzumaki clan's inheritance."
After her visit, she'd gone home and tried to parse the techniques Kushina and Minato were studying.
She still couldn't make sense of them.
So when she reported to Hiruzen, she made sure to emphasize that point.
Hiruzen nodded once. "Anbu. Bring them here."
Danzo's eyes sharpened. "Hiruzen, they're just kids."
Hiruzen looked at him, a silent warning that shut the objection down.
Then he laid it out, voice steady. "Our retaliation plan against Kumogakure has three major principles."
"First. We answer tooth for tooth. We need a win that tightens the village together."
"Second. We keep it covert. If we leave evidence behind, we lose the narrative, and that can trigger a chain reaction that ends in war."
"Third," Hiruzen said, gaze sweeping the table, "if the situation is favorable, we expand the results."
He spoke slowly, each word meant to stick. "Blue B is family of the Third Raikage. So we can't only think about assassination."
"We need to bring his body back for research."
"The information inside his head alone is valuable."
"If we're going to strike, then we take as many layered gains as possible in one operation. This isn't a simple battlefield raid where you stab and run."
Danzo went quiet.
Hiruzen hadn't mentioned him once, but every line answered him anyway.
Orochimaru shook his head with a small laugh, like he couldn't believe it.
Danzo really thought he could argue with Sensei like that? Did he honestly think he'd win?
Orochimaru leaned forward, switching into analysis. "Sensei, if we're bringing the body back, then when we loosen the Eight-Tails, we need the Jinchuriki in a controlled state. Completely under us."
"First, we need a full breakdown of the Steel Shell Seal. We can't just tear it apart. If we do, the Eight-Tails will rampage immediately."
"Second," he continued, "it's best if we can put the Jinchuriki under genjutsu, or poison him. That helps our stealth a lot."
"If he's already taking medication," Orochimaru added, "I can assassinate and replace the doctor prescribing it. But I don't currently have the right drug. I can't guarantee development time."
"How about salamander poison?" Tsunade said, cutting in smoothly. "Back in the Second Shinobi World War, the village collected some while developing antidotes."
"Use it as a base, strengthen the paralysis effect, and I can have it done within a day."
Hiruzen nodded. "Good."
Orochimaru agreed immediately. "If it's salamander poison modified by you, it'll work."
"As for genjutsu," he said, thinking aloud, "if the Jinchuriki is already in that state, my genjutsu can take hold… Sensei, what's your view?"
"The best genjutsu for tailed beasts comes from the Uchiha," Hiruzen said, "but their Sharingan is too obvious."
He lifted his chin slightly. "Bring Genma Kurama from the Kurama clan."
The Kurama clan had been an important shinobi family since Konoha's earliest days.
Their unique Kekkei Genkai strengthened genjutsu, and at one point they were said to rival the Uchiha in the field.
They could strip away the five senses, seize control of nerves, and rumor claimed there had once been someone among them capable of "manifesting illusions into reality," a terrifying ability.
Genma Kurama was the current clan head.
Jiraiya raised a hand. "Sensei, I can help with infiltration and retreat. Toad Hiding Jutsu can extract multiple people."
"Let me go too," he added, voice rougher than he wanted it to be. "I want to do something for Kushina."
Hiruzen's mouth curved. "All right."
Then his gaze slid to Orochimaru. "And the pill project? How's it looking? I just added another burden to your shoulders. You holding up?"
"The pills are basically done," Orochimaru said with an easy smile. "Only packaging and minor adjustments left. I don't need to oversee much right now."
He tilted his head slightly. "Doing work for the village, how could I be tired?"
"Besides," he added smoothly, "even the Hokage's assistant is charging on the front line."
Danzo's eyes narrowed.
The situation wasn't the same anymore.
He and Orochimaru were rivals for the position of Fourth Hokage now, not partners like before.
Danzo's old plan had been to push Orochimaru into the seat, then reclaim it for himself in the next generation.
But now?
Now he could take the Fourth position directly. Who would still gamble on a plan like that?
No wonder Orochimaru was being so aggressive.
Developing pills, volunteering for assassination, stacking contributions like bricks.
Fine.
Let him grind.
Danzo Shimura had spent his whole life grinding until his bones ached, and he wasn't about to lose to some junior.
At that moment, Anbu returned, leading Genma Kurama, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki into the room.
"Lord Hokage," all three said together.