Chapter 175: Six Paths Ninja Tools
At the moment, he was in the Land of Hot Springs, and the only ones he could reach were——
Several faces flashed quickly through Danzo's mind.
As the number one intelligence chief of Konoha and the black glove for the Third Hokage to handle dark matters internally, Danzo had a general and broad understanding of intelligence both inside and outside the village, so that he could quickly mobilize relevant intelligence files when needed.
"After I return, I must investigate which of these people have easily exploitable weaknesses."
Danzo glanced at Uchiha Gen calmly, silently pulling back his thoughts.
This kind of thing would have to be delayed a bit.
After all, he was trying to poach Uchiha Gen's people; he not only had to do it secretly but also had to be prepared for both sides to have a falling out.
Currently, Uchiha Gen was the only high-level medical-nin here, and the other medical-nins were all his subordinates. If his, Danzo's, subordinates were seriously injured, what if Uchiha Gen and his team didn't put in full effort during treatment?
However, for now, this was not the most important thing.
Danzo looked at Orochimaru, who was sitting in a chair as steady as Mount Tai, toying with a small white-scaled snake, and said in a deep voice: "Orochimaru, if you don't cooperate with me and join forces, I'm afraid you'll face disaster!"
Uchiha Gen cleaned and wiped the tweezers, listening to Danzo's words, and felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Those ancient lobbyists, even when they were the weaker party seeking help, would never speak of their own difficulties when lobbying the opposing monarch. Instead, they would feign empathy for the other side, exaggerate, seize the initiative, and take control of the conversation.
"Heh, Danzo, we don't need this outdated rhetoric. When it comes to insight into the situation and strategic grasp, you are not as good as me. If you only think about maintaining the status quo, with Kumogakure holding the initiative, if I don't want to win, I will absolutely not lose. I only need to start from other directions and achieve some small merits, and I will never be removed."
Orochimaru said to Danzo, full of confidence.
"If I don't want to win, I will absolutely not lose."
This meant that as long as Orochimaru didn't take risks to seek victory, given his talent and the composition of his team, there would be no possibility of being defeated by Kumogakure, and at the very least, he could maintain the current situation.
Orochimaru had this confidence.
He only needed to make some noise from time to time to tell the Third Hokage that he was working seriously and had some achievements, then Orochimaru would have merit without fault.
The front line failing to advance was Danzo's fault.
The one who lost territory was you, and the one who suffered losses in troops and officers was also you.
With Danzo as a comparison, even if Orochimaru performed more mediocrely than usual, he would still appear outstanding.
And Danzo also knew that with Orochimaru's talent, if he wanted to remain invincible, it would require intervention from other aspects, such as some muddled order from the Third Hokage to withdraw troops; then Orochimaru could really stay pinned here for a long time.
But Danzo was not someone who would admit defeat verbally.
Even though he had suffered losses and the Root elite had suffered heavy casualties, the main force of his two thousand-plus subordinates remained, and he still had the confidence to strive for some initiative.
Moreover, he still had cards to play in his hand.
"Orochimaru, you are thinking about this too simply. The Root's intelligence network spans the Five Great Nations, and there are people inside Kumogakure; there are already sleeper agents who have climbed to a certain position.
According to the intelligence sent back by the secret line there, Kumogakure has decided to temporarily activate a portion of the Six Paths Ninja Tools to deal with us.
Orochimaru, even if your strength is impressive and your schemes are plentiful, how do you compare to Master Tobirama? Even he perished at the hands of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who used the Six Paths Ninja Tools back then; it is not impossible for you to meet the same fate.
Just imagine, if I hadn't warned you this time, and they had set a trap for you using the Six Paths Ninja Tools, what do you think the result would be?"
"Six Paths Ninja Tools?"
Hearing these four words, Orochimaru couldn't help but show a hint of curiosity.
Legend has it that the several powerful ninja tools left behind by the Sage of Six Paths each possess miraculous power, and they are fundamentally different from the ninja tools circulating in the Shinobi World.
Anything that can be associated with the Sage of Six Paths is no simple item.
"I will arrange for my subordinates to continue investigating information about the Six Paths Ninja Tools, and the intelligence gathered by the Root will continue to be shared with you. I will also do my best to cooperate with your command and whatever you need to do."
"Then what do you want?"
"The primary merit!"
Danzo said bluntly.
The Flying Bird Fortress was lost by him; if he didn't take it back, his responsibility would always remain.
Only by taking the primary merit in this battle could he wash away the stain of previously losing the city and territory.
According to his initial plan, after Orochimaru arrived here, he only needed to use some slight means to integrate the power of the two teams, retake the Flying Bird Fortress, then drive back Kumogakure again, achieve great merit in one fell swoop, and build momentum for his future bid for the position of Hokage.
Yes, Danzo always had this confusing, mysterious self-confidence, even declaring at occasions like the Five Kage Summit that he would emulate the First Hokage, merge all clans and villages, and unify the Shinobi World. He overestimated his own abilities excessively, believing that he was only one step away from all that—attaining the position of Konoha's Hokage—and that as long as he controlled the power of Konoha, he could achieve it.
A few months ago, he also had this mysterious self-confidence, believing that as long as Orochimaru was willing to cooperate, they could quickly retake the fortress.
Of course, Orochimaru had no intention of being Danzo's subordinate, and the existence of Uchiha Gen had changed the situation to a great extent, causing the two sides to be independent from each other from the beginning and unable to consolidate their forces.
This meant that the overall combat power of the Konoha side was actually not bad, holding the situation was no problem, and they could often have small successes. Under Orochimaru's command, they were also cautious, pushing the war pattern to the current situation, but they were always unable to achieve decisive results that could truly rewrite the situation.
Until now.
The situation had reached a point under Orochimaru's leadership where, without a fight, no change could be brought about.
Orochimaru was seeking change, and Danzo hoped for change even more.
"Fine, but during this period, I want your Root personnel, as well as the two thousand men under your command, to unconditionally follow my instructions, including the spies you have deployed within Kumogakure. I can ensure that you get what you want."
Orochimaru said, his eyes calm as he stared at Danzo.
Without the full cooperation of Danzo's forces, even Orochimaru did not have the confidence to win this battle.
During this period, he at least needed temporary authority over the mobilization of all Konoha Shinobis within the Land of Hot Springs to be able to give it a try.
"I agree to your terms."
Danzo knew that he actually had no choice but to agree.