After watching Fox leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately summoned Danzo.
He handed Fox's scroll over to him.
"Danzo, Fox is preparing to make a trip to the Land of Rain to search for Uchiha Madara and eliminate this rogue ninja for the village. Take a look at his plan and tell me what you think."
Danzo gave the scroll a brief glance and thought to himself:
This was what I wanted from the beginning.
As long as the Forbidden Scroll is dangled in front of him, he'll naturally risk his life for it.
Danzo said aloud, "The matter of the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara truly does need to be brought to an end. We cannot allow him to continue running rampant."
"The hidden dangers left behind by the First and Second Hokage must be completely resolved in our generation."
"We must hand a clean, untainted Konoha over to the next generation."
Hiruzen nodded perfunctorily.
The next generation?
Shinnosuke was already dead—who exactly was Hiruzen planning to hand the village to?
The Sannin? Strong enough, yes, but each had their own problems.
Shikakaku? Not powerful enough.
Danzo continued:
"As far as I know, one of the surviving Uzumaki remnants—Nagato Uzumaki—has gathered a group around him. They've been developing rapidly, and it's giving Hanzo a serious headache."
"Hanzo took the initiative to contact me and asked for information regarding the Uzumaki remnants."
"Uchiha Madara and his followers are hiding in the Land of Rain. To Hanzo, they are like a bone stuck in his throat—an intolerable threat that keeps him from resting easy."
"I believe we can cooperate with Hanzo. We'll borrow his strength. Fox can engage Uchiha Madara head-on, while Hanzo and I deal with the Uzumaki remnants."
Danzo was already calculating ahead.
He couldn't trust Fox completely.
That man was suspicious enough that even an idiot could see it.
Hanzo had to be brought in—used as a weapon against both Madara and Fox.
Madara was merciless toward Konoha, yes, but to Hanzo, he was equally intolerable.
Hanzo styled himself the "Demigod of the Shinobi World," yet Madara was entrenched on his territory and he didn't dare drive him out.
That alone was a crushing blow to his prestige.
When the time came, he would let the tiger and wolf devour each other.
Hanzo would charge at the front.
Danzo would wait for the perfect moment—
And seize the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hiruzen asked, "Will Hanzo really move against the Uzumaki remnants?"
"He will," Danzo replied with certainty.
"The Uzumaki remnants have formed an organization called the Akatsuki."
"They claim they intend to bring dawn to the Land of Rain—and to the entire shinobi world."
"They believe the Land of Rain is currently shrouded in darkness, and that Hanzo's rule has caused both Amegakure and the country itself to steadily weaken."
"Their goal is to overthrow Hanzo and rebuild Amegakure and the Land of Rain according to their own ideals."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Very well. Since you've thought it through, then you and Fox should make the trip to the Land of Rain together."
"No," Danzo said. "We'll move separately."
Hiruzen understood at once.
Danzo was wary of Fox.
With Shinnosuke gone, the most important intermediary between them and Fox had vanished as well.
Fox had only been allowed to become ANBU Commander for one reason:
He was too powerful not to be given the position.
"Fox is uncontrollable. He isn't truly one of ours," Hiruzen said. "But we can still bind him with the righteousness of Konoha."
"I'll convene a jonin council meeting and announce publicly that Fox has volunteered to handle Uchiha Madara for the sake of the village."
Danzo nodded in agreement.
Fox wasn't one of their direct people, but based on his actions so far, he had risked himself for Konoha several times.
At the very least, he still seemed loyal to the village.
In Year 43 of Konoha, the village held its first jonin council meeting of the year.
When Yako stepped into the conference room, he immediately noticed Danzo was absent.
On the main platform sat only Sarutobi Hiruzen, Nara Shikakaku, Tsunade—
And himself.
Once the jonin had quieted down, Hiruzen began to speak.
"Year 42 of Konoha has passed, and Year 43 has begun."
"Over the past year, Konoha has endured numerous upheavals."
"The rogue ninja Uchiha Madara launched an assault on the village, causing grievous casualties."
"After that, our newly appointed Foreign Affairs Advisor, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, gave his life while trying to preserve Konoha's mission share in the Land of Hot Water."
"The root cause behind all of these disasters lies with Uchiha Madara and his followers."
"Konoha cannot allow such a powerful rogue ninja to continue roaming free."
"ANBU Commander Fox has voluntarily requested permission to eliminate the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara for the village."
"He has mastered the First Hokage's secret Wood Release techniques and possesses the strength necessary to confront Uchiha Madara."
"As of this moment, I appoint Fox as the captain of the Rogue Ninja Suppression Force."
"He will lead a team to thoroughly eliminate Uchiha Madara once and for all."
All eyes in the room turned toward the ANBU Commander.
Yako rose to his feet and declared in a clear voice:
"Please rest assured, Hokage-sama."
"I will avenge Konoha."
"I will make Uchiha Madara pay the price."
Hiruzen nodded repeatedly.
Once Fox had been hoisted onto that stage, he would have no choice but to take the mission seriously in order to uphold Konoha's reputation.
That would also make things far more convenient for whatever Danzo intended to do on his end.
The next topic of discussion was Konoha's plans for the new year.
After Mitokado Homura, Hatake Sakumo, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Konoha had found itself unable to appoint a new Foreign Affairs Advisor.
Either the candidates lacked sufficient strength, or they lacked the will to take the role.
In the end, the high-ranking position remained vacant.
As for the daimyōs' Guardian Shinobi, Sarutobi Hiruzen would personally appoint and direct them for the time being.
After the meeting ended, Yako led the White Ram squad out of Konoha.
Land of Rain.
Yahiko had just led the Akatsuki out of the capital of the Land of Rain.
"There's no need to be discouraged," Yahiko said, encouraging his companions.
"The nobles in the capital have worked with Hanzo for over a decade. It was always going to be difficult to win their support."
"If we truly want to become leaders of the shinobi world and bring peace to it, then this path was always going to be long and difficult."
"This little setback..."
"It's nothing more than a minor test at the very beginning of our journey."
Behind Yahiko walked Nagato, Konan, and four wandering shinobi they had rescued.
There was also one newly joined youth—
A boy wearing a spiral-patterned mask: Obito.
At Obito's age, if he had belonged to one of the great villages, he should still have been attending the Academy.
But in the Land of Rain, he had to find his own way to survive—
Even if that meant fighting wandering shinobi for his life.
Madara had arranged for him to come here.
Madara wanted Obito to grow by following the Akatsuki.
Yahiko continued:
"Let's go. We'll head to a town in the southeast of the Land of Rain."
"The nobles there conduct a great deal of trade with the neighboring country."
"Maybe they'll be willing to support us and provide operating funds for the Akatsuki."
Once the Akatsuki members had left, an Amegakure shinobi slowly emerged from a patch of mud on the ground.
He had overheard every word of the Akatsuki's conversation.
Without wasting a moment, he hurried toward Amegakure to report the latest intelligence on the Akatsuki to Lord Hanzo.
Only after the rain shinobi had departed did Zetsu emerge from the darkness.
"That Ame shinobi finally left. If he'd stayed any longer, I was worried he'd blow his cover."
Like some grotesque pitcher plant, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu began muttering to each other in their usual strange, self-answering conversation.
"Nagato's been staying with Yahiko and Konan too long. He's starting to drift off course."
"Madara-sama didn't give Nagato the Rinnegan so he could go chasing some ridiculous dream of peace in the shinobi world."
"Peace?" one of them scoffed. "That word is laughable."
"Why create a concept that can never truly be realized?"
"Originally, we were planning to have Obito make their move and get rid of the other Akatsuki members."
"But Konoha has started moving as well. Better to wait and see."
"Maybe Konoha will do the job for us."
"There are plenty of forces keeping an eye on Nagato."
"Us."
"Amegakure."
"And Konoha."
"Let Nagato experience the darkness of the shinobi world for himself."