[Konohagakure, Hokage's Office]
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe trembled in his grip as the intel scroll crumbled to ash in his hearth.
The smoke curled into shapes he'd seen before.
Danzo's shadowed grin, the ruthless calculus of a man who once was his friend and rival, now a cold and ruthless leader who shaped a village by his ideals of machiavellan pragmatism.
"A hidden village… erased in a day," he muttered, the weight of the hat heavier than ever.
Chinpoku Nara, the new patriarch of the noble shinobi family Nara, stood silently by the door, his sharp mind already dissecting the implications.
As the commander of Konohagakure's shinobi army, the growth of Otogakure and destruction of Takigakure was a massive threat, and despite his inherent laziness, this time, Chinpoku voiced his opinion:
"Danzo didn't just conquer. He consumed them. Their techniques, their resources…their very identity. Even though the Shimura clan managed to gather clans, Otogakure's prosperity was dimmed by its lack of legacy. But now? Otogakure can train shinobi of water and earth elements too. Jonins will be able to learn high-level techniques, secret hidden arts of the Taki shinobi..."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened. Danzo's "field" now stretched far beyond Rice Country. Konoha's debt-ridden coffers and war-weary shinobi paled against Oto's surgically efficient ascendance. Ever since the end of the Second Shinobi War three years ago, Konohagakure had never returned to its past glory.
The losses of geniuses had caused the talent pool of Konoha to decrease, and in three years, though there were promising genins, there was yet to be shinobi capable of taking back the mantle of the elites that guarded Konoha's borders.
It was a vicious circle. With Konoha's failure rate in missions rising, the Fire Country nobles were starting to sway, hiring foreign swords. In the end, it was Sunagakure, Otogakure and Kirigakure profitting the most from Konoha's downfall.
What happens when his gaze turns here? The thought slithered, unbidden.
"Double surveillance on the Rice border", Hiruzen ordered, "And summon Sakumo Hatake. If Danzo's eyes are set on Konoha, we need… contingencies."
[Kumogakure, Raikage's War Room]
A's fist cratered the stone table.
"DAMN IT ALL!" Lightning crackled across his scars as his advisors flinched, "First Suna crawls into bed with them, now Takigakure is gone, the Waterfall Daimyo accepting their ultimatum, joining the Rice Daimyo as a mere vassal?!"
An elder, ever calm, scanned the reports. "Their shinobi are enhanced, Lord Raikage. Raiton-resistant armor, Chakra blades that outclass those of the land of Iron...Rumours have it they have been collecting jutsu and creating them in batches. Their individual strength far outclasses any standard of the other hidden village"
The Third Raikage snarled. Kumo's mountains had never felt so vulnerable. "Mobilize the Black Lightning Division. Fortify the Cloudspire Pass. And send word to Iwa—Onoki's pride won't stomach this insult. If we must ally with that stone-faced midget to crush Oto, so be it."
[Kirigakure, Mizukage's Sanctum]
The Third Mizukage's fingers traced the empty space in the vault where Hiramekarei once rested, before it was handed to Fuguko Suikazan to be guarded and wielded by a master swordsman. The blade's twin-tailed silhouette now haunted Kiri like an insult, wielded by the First Otokage himself.
"So that's where it went," he hissed, "The Seven Swordsmen's recent failures—the slaughter at Bloodpond Pass, the defection of the Kubikiribōchō's wielder—suddenly made grotesque sense. "Danzo didn't just steal a sword. He stole our legacy."
His ANBU commander, cloaked in mist, materialized. "The Hunter-Nin Corps stand ready, Lord Mizukage. We can retrieve it—"
"No", The Mizukage's Sharingan—a secret trophy stolen from the Second Shinobi World War—flickered crimson, "Let Oto hoard their stolen treasures. When they're drowning in their own ambition… we'll take everything back; one day."
[Sunagakure, Kazekage's Solar]
The Third Kazekage's smirk was a knife in the desert night. Oto's glass trade had filled Suna's coffers; their joint drills had honed his puppeteers into terrors. As for their laboratory, Oto's expertise had allowed Suna poisons to become so much more potent and complex, rendering the most versatile and proficient medical nins helpless against it.
Now, with Takigakure's annihilation, the Land of Wind's borders stretched unchallenged.
"Send Danzo another crate of black sand, and one hundred vials of black mantle locust's poison" he ordered his council, "And remind him our alliance includes first rights to Taki's old river routes"
His advisors shifted uneasily, "The Raikage and Tsuchikage will retaliate. If we're seen in an alliance, the peace treaty might be broken"
"Let them. I would rather face all villages alongside Oto, than face Oto itself. Everything happened too fast. Takigakure vanished into thin air, but the truth is that Otogakure did not even lose many. It was not even close, in spite of the Hero Water being in their possession" The Kazekage's iron sand shimmered, forming a map of the continent, "In every conflict, Suna has been growing. The Otokage has a blessing. He never misses, he never loses. Allying with him made us one of the strongest hidden village. Showing loyalty in desperate times...It could help use dominate the continent"
[Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Summit]
Onoki's teacup exploded in a shower of dust. "ALLIES?!" The word scorched the air. "Takigakure was a thorn in Oto's side! A buffer!"
His son, Kitsuchi, grimaced. "The Daimyo's refusing to fund another mobilization. After the Second War, the villages…Father, you did manage to get the village's elders on your side, but the Daimyo's trust in Iwa has fallen greatly..."
"Silence!" Onoki's voice shook the cavern. Weightless, he hovered like a vengeful spirit. "I'll grind Oto to gravel myself..."
"Father—"
"Summon the Explosion Corps. And contact Kumo's brute. If A wants a war, he'll have one… after we burn Oto's marsh to bedrock. Contact that monkey, too. Worst to pass, he will see it as an opportunity to get rid of its debts. At this rate, Otogakure will eat us whole. I'd rather see Konohagakure return to its past glory than witness Oto's rise..."
A melody of change was played in the continent.