The dazzling white light, like a meteor streaking across the starry sky, illuminated the deep night of Konoha!
As the massive body of the Seven-Tails crashed to the ground, raising a terrifying cloud of dust, all the villagers of Konoha knew that the nightmare of this night had finally come to an end!
The figure who had wielded a long sword in the darkness, cutting through the night, was deeply etched into the hearts of everyone.
He was like the legendary dragon-slaying samurai of the Warring States period, once again saving Konoha from disaster!
At this moment, Danzo, who was regarded as a hero by everyone, felt only emptiness.
Seeing that the village's crisis had been resolved, he could no longer resist the overwhelming tide of exhaustion.
The intense fatigue caused him to lose control and fall into a deep sleep.
His entire body plummeted from the sky!!
Seeing this, almost everyone reacted in the same way.
They shouted "Lord Danzo!" and rushed toward his landing point at their fastest speed.
Finally, they caught him just before he hit the ground.
As more and more people gathered, they formed a lively sea of celebration.
They lifted Danzo high into the air, celebrating this great victory!
It wasn't until Shisui shouted, "Lord Danzo seems to have fainted!" that they stopped their celebrations and hurriedly sent Danzo to the hospital.
In addition, Minato Namikaze, the current Hokage, quickly organized the remaining forces to restore order in the village.
First, there was the issue of the Seven-Tails.
He immediately summoned the sealing and barrier teams.
After sealing the Seven-Tails, they transported it to the Forest of Death, where the barrier team set up a barrier to temporarily confine it to a designated area.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally guarded it!
Furthermore, Minato mobilized a large number of sensory-type ninja to survey the battlefield.
They worked as quickly as possible to locate the injured and send them to the hospital for treatment by the medical team.
Additionally, some ninja were assigned to maintain vigilance and investigate potential safety hazards within the village.
In short, after this terrifying attack, Konoha had a lot of work to do.
This was definitely not something that could be completed in a short time.
Fortunately, the greatest threat had been eliminated, and the rest could be handled step by step.
Watching Konoha gradually return to order, Obito Uchiha, hidden in the shadows, looked as if he had eaten something disgusting.
This operation of his could be said to have ended in complete failure.
In terms of tailed beasts, they not only failed to capture the Nine-Tails but also lost the Seven-Tails.
In terms of personnel, although Konoha suffered heavy losses, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were unharmed.
On their side, not only was Orochimaru killed, but Hanzo was also captured...
Most importantly, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan that Danzo had displayed during the battle filled Obito with a deep sense of crisis.
The space-time ocular techniques hidden within those eyes made him extremely wary.
Seeing Obito's gloomy expression, Black Zetsu couldn't help but complain:
"I told you, now wasn't the right time to reveal ourselves."
"Now we've lost both the battle and the spoils. Not only did we gain nothing, but we also lost a lot."
Hearing Black Zetsu's words, Obito, already furious over the failure, glared at him.
"Watch your tone, Black Zetsu!"
"This isn't over yet. Who says we've lost?"
As he spoke, it seemed as if flames were about to shoot out from between his teeth.
"Send someone to inform Kumogakure immediately. Tell them..."
"The Nine-Tails went on a rampage, Konoha suffered heavy losses, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is incapacitated, and Danzo is severely injured and unconscious!"
"I don't believe the Third Raikage can resist such a temptation!"
Hearing this, Black Zetsu slowly narrowed his eyes.
At this point, it seemed this was the only option.
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Soon, news of Konoha's horrific attack shocked the entire ninja world.
No one could have imagined that the current top village in the ninja world would suffer such heavy losses in this battle.
Not only was the jinchūriki nearly killed, but one of Konoha's most iconic figures, the legendary "Darkness of the Shinobi," Danzo Shimura, had also fallen into a coma.
For the other villages, while this was shocking, it also presented an...
Opportunity.
Konoha's heavy losses made many villages smell a chance.
In Sunagakure, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was reviewing the intelligence that had been urgently delivered that morning.
His elite jonin and right-hand man, Baki, was also present.
"Lord Kazekage, should we take this opportunity to act?"
"Konoha has suffered heavy losses and is in disarray. Perhaps we can take back those mining areas."
Baki asked with clear interest.
Ceding some mining areas to Konoha had always been a great humiliation for Sunagakure.
If they could take them back now, Rasa's reputation as Kazekage would undoubtedly soar!
Hearing his subordinate's suggestion, Rasa felt tempted.
If things were as Baki said, reclaiming the mining areas would not only solidify his position as Kazekage but also greatly alleviate Sunagakure's dire economic situation.
But...
His mind suddenly recalled Danzo's face.
A deep sense of fear instantly overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.
His gaze turned serious as he hesitated:
"Baki, do you think Danzo's injuries might be fake?"
This question left Baki speechless.
Logically, a high-ranking member of a village shouldn't do such a thing.
But this was Danzo we're talking about!
So, it wasn't impossible.
"Let's wait and see what the other villages do. After all, it's not Sunagakure that wants to be the top village in the ninja world."
After much consideration, Rasa finally made his decision.
In fact, his reasoning wasn't without merit.
After all, the most urgent village wasn't Sunagakure—it was Kumogakure.
They had already stationed troops at the border. If they didn't attack now, when would they? Even if they didn't, there was still Kirigakure.
They had lost just as many resources as Sunagakure.
The same dilemma appeared in Iwagakure.
The Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, also received the news of Konoha's attack as soon as possible.
However, being someone who prided himself on his understanding of Danzo, Ōnoki was much more decisive than Rasa.
He immediately believed this was all a trap set by Danzo!
He didn't believe it at all!
But just in case, he still organized a force of one thousand ninja.
They were stationed at the border of the Land of Grass.
If an opportunity arose, they could quickly pass through the Land of Grass and launch a deep raid into the Land of Fire!
As for Kirigakure, there wasn't much to say.
The village was still under Obito Uchiha's control.
If there was an opportunity, he would undoubtedly ignite a new ninja war.
Thus, the key point now lay with the Kumogakure troops stationed at the border of the Land of Fire.
To be precise, it lay with the Third Raikage.
"Are you sure Danzo Shimura is severely injured and unconscious?"
The Third Raikage scrutinized the spy who had been embedded in Konoha for many years, repeatedly confirming the intelligence.
The spy nodded firmly:
"That 'Darkness of the Shinobi' defeated Madara Uchiha and two tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails and the Seven-Tails."
"He is currently receiving emergency treatment at Konoha Hospital and likely won't wake up anytime soon!"
Receiving such a definitive answer, the one-armed Third Raikage was visibly excited.
He even couldn't help but punch the air, creating a series of sonic booms.
"Good! As long as Danzo is temporarily out of action, that's enough!"
For the Raikage, the only enemy he truly feared was that damned Danzo.
In his eyes, Danzo was the only one in Konoha capable of breaking through his defenses.
Everyone else was nothing more than cannon fodder!
"In that case, we'll strike while he's down!"
"Pass down the order: all spies within Konoha are to gather as much intelligence on Danzo as possible and carry out assassination attempts with all their might!"
"Meanwhile, I will lead a rapid strike force into the Land of Fire to put pressure on Konoha!"
"Also, have the diplomatic department notify Konoha."
"If they don't want war, they must pay Kumogakure one billion ryō in reparations within two days!"
"And hand over two members of the Hyūga clan's main family to us!"
"Otherwise, they can wait for the iron hooves of Kumogakure to crush their Hokage Monument!"
The Third Raikage's declaration was met with cheers and support from everyone.
These muscle-brained individuals greatly welcomed such a hardline approach!
At the same time, the entire Kumogakure force began to mobilize, preparing for a full-scale invasion.
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