At this point, Minato had completely figured out how things were going, but he didn't return to the Land of Demons right away. After understanding the whole story, Minato was a little stunned himself.
"Why does it look like a perfectly coordinated three-way deal, but...".
Minato couldn't help but doubt it. Are these three really allies?
You say they're allies, but they don't know what each other are doing.
If you say they aren't allies, how can they cooperate so perfectly without knowing what's going on?
That's how it looked from Minato's point of view, extremely strange, beyond what they could have imagined.
"...".
"But, it makes sense, I guess. The world has changed so much after all these years.
Yeah, I'm still having trouble getting used to it.".
Minato squatted on the ground, scratching his head in annoyance. It had been a long time since he had experienced such an off-the-wall situation. He couldn't figure it out, not at all.
"It looks like the leaders set things up a long time ago, without even going into detail. That's why we didn't know what the others were doing or even which side they were on when we put it into action.".
"But... there's no actual plan at all!!".
Just thinking about it gave Minato a headache.
He had discovered some things, but could such a plan really be carried out, and so seamlessly?
It wasn't just cooperation between the three sides. All the reactions of the World Government had been factored into the plan.
From Minato's perspective as an "insider," the plan was flawless, completely without any weaknesses.
Now, the uprising had broken out completely, and the World Government would realize it sooner or later. But by the time they did, it would be too late.
Because even Kabuto and Gato didn't know the specifics of the plan, so there was no way the World Government could know.
The arrangement for White Zetsu was made by Chiriku, who only contacted one White Zetsu. After it completed its task, it vanished completely, truly vanished.
Chiriku wouldn't leave any trace of himself, and White Zetsu had to pay the price if it wanted to get the status it deserved. To earn Chiriku's trust, it had to die.
Plus, the defense plan Chiriku arranged had no problems at all. How could anyone suspect anything?
And Gato's situation? Gato's situation was much more complicated, a complete accident. Because of that accident, the World Government got involved and kicked Gato, "Shanks' right-hand man," out of the World Government's circle of nobles.
The charges were all laid out clearly.
Gato's appearance was closely tied to the World Government. You can't just say there's a traitor in the World Government, can you?
Minato thought to himself, he really didn't believe there was a traitor in the World Government.
And it wasn't just Minato who didn't believe it, Shikamaru didn't either.
Shikamaru, as the smartest of Konoha's younger generation, and having gained so much experience on the battlefield, was already very skilled.
Plus Shikamaru's determination to abandon his family meant he would definitely become a top strategist, without a doubt.
So after Shikamaru discovered the problem, he reported it immediately. And the top person in charge in the Land of Demons was Sandai Tsuchikata.
Sandai Tsuchikata didn't belong to the Land of Demons, nor to the World Government. In other words, he was a wandering immortal.
But he ended up with Sage of Six Paths. Master Genichi caught him, and later he became responsible for this.
Sandai Tsuchikata wasn't especially good at strategy. His intelligence was fine, his problem was his personality.
The most important reason he was put in charge of this mission was because he had the power to kill everyone.
Master Genichi didn't need Sandai Tsuchikata to command anything. He just needed him to keep an eye on Kabuto and eliminate him if something unexpected happened.
Simple, violent... but effective.
Don't be fooled by Sandai Tsuchikata's calm personality. He has fought Shanks and has a blood feud with Fukuda Kiyomu. When necessary, he would definitely kill without hesitation.
Shikamaru didn't know Sandai Tsuchikata's identity or status, but since he was the top commander, he needed to explain things to him.
"Gato has completely spread out his forces. These pirates aren't targeting the Land of Demons, nor the mythical monster Moryo, but the rebel forces in the ninja world.".
"Large numbers of pirates are attacking the border, joining forces with White Zetsu's rebel army. Then all the major and minor wars in the ninja world will focus on the Land of Demons.".
"And judging by Gato's reaction, he has discovered our informants. Even our top intelligence officers don't know this.
Everything just happened so suddenly, as if the two sides were ready for it.".
"But in the beginning, all the decisions, including the attack on the Land of Demons and the arrangements for Gato, were made by the government.
You could say that this outcome, which seems to have been long planned, looks more like a conspiracy planned by someone... or rather, a public scheme.".
Shikamaru's eyes were sharp. He was trying to stay calm, but beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.
Shikamaru made it clear that they, including the World Government's initial decisions, had all been tricked by Shanks.
Only that man could pull off such a scheme in this world.
What? Can't understand Shanks' moves? That's how it should be. Only Shanks would do something like that.
From the time Shanks appeared until now, no one has ever really understood Shanks' actions. But everyone in the ninja world agrees that Shanks is a top strategist.
"Impossible, how could he have planned things so carefully? I've met Shanks. He wouldn't do something like this...".
Sandai Tsuchikata shook his head. Just mentioning Shanks made him sweat.
He couldn't handle that guy either.
But Sandai Tsuchikata's words surprised Shikamaru, and he looked at Sandai Tsuchikata with a little more respect.
Anyone who could fight Shanks and live to tell the tale was a top-level fighter.
"It doesn't really seem like Shanks' style, but considering that someone else might be involved...".
"And Gato's situation looks a lot like Shanks' work. Using power to scheme, everything is going according to our plans, but all the results are what Shanks wants.".
"Of course, it's also possible...".
"It's possible for what?"
Sandai Tsuchikata looked at Shikamaru with a question.
Shikamaru was speechless and spread his hands.
"It's also possible that there is a traitor among the people making decisions inside the World Government.".
Shikamaru was speechless after he said that. How could there be a traitor among the immortals? Those are the world nobles hidden in the shadows of history.
But when Shikamaru said that, Sandai Tsuchikata's expression changed immediately.
Because there might be one, an "immortal" who was unknown to most, Danzo!
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