Those who dwell in the darkness understand the darkness better.
As the leader of Konoha's 'Root', the dark side of the village, Danzo understood the shadowy aspects of Shinobi.
He firmly believed that Shinobi from different factions could never achieve true trust... Whether in the past as clans or now as villages, Shinobi often clashed with those from other factions during missions.
The longer it went on, the deeper the grudges accumulated.
It had been nearly forty years since the establishment of the Shinobi Villages. In such a long time, who hadn't developed hatred for whom?
If they met under normal circumstances, they'd wish to kill the other's mother.
Even if they temporarily set aside grievances for the greater good and cooperated, true mutual trust was impossible.
They would inevitably remain wary of each other while cooperating.
And Danzo intended to exploit this mutual distrust within the allied forces to dismantle the alliance.
'Crisis and opportunity coexist. While the joint attack of the four great villages on Konoha is the greatest crisis in history, with proper manipulation, it can also be an opportunity to swallow the enemy and strengthen ourselves.'
On his way to Hanzo's quarters, Danzo's mind raced, contemplating how to persuade Hanzo.
"Danzo-sama, we've arrived."
The voice interrupted his thoughts. Danzo frowned slightly.
He looked up at the Amegakure's Shinobi who had stopped at the door, gesturing inside, his expression calm. "Hmm."
With a slight nod, Danzo removed his shoes and entered unhurriedly.
Due to climatic reasons, the Land of Rain was unsuitable for agriculture, so they heavily valued technological development, especially in industrial manufacturing.
Consequently, the country's architecture was relatively advanced.
But Hanzo was a nostalgic person; his private quarters maintained an old-fashioned style.
Paper sliding doors, tatami mats, low and cramped space, dim lighting...
Hanzo had removed his Shinobi uniform and mantle, wearing only a diving suit and a breathing mask, sitting casually inside.
Before him was a low table with prepared tea.
"Sit."
Hanzo gestured to the seat opposite, indicating they should talk.
Danzo wasn't polite either. He went to sit opposite Hanzo, kneeling. The guiding Amegakure's Shinobi tactfully withdrew and closed the door.
Hanzo personally poured tea for Danzo, pretending to ask casually, "Danzo, what brings you to visit me on behalf of Konoha this time?"
Danzo raised a hand, indicating he would do it himself, then took the teapot from Hanzo and filled both cups.
Afterward, he slowly said, "The purpose of my visit, Hanzo-dono, you must have already guessed."
"I have some ideas," Hanzo glanced at the tea in his cup, rippling like a pond after a stone is thrown, then returned his gaze to the person opposite. "Our operation is easy to guess. You're here to persuade me to withdraw from the joint operation, right?"
"No..." Danzo shook his head lightly, took a small sip from his teacup, then continued, "I am here to save Amegakure."
"Hmm?"
Hanzo's eyes narrowed, emitting a sharp gleam. An invisible aura spread out, stirring up chaotic gusts of wind.
Hair flew, and the low table trembled incessantly.
At this time, the Demigod of the Shinobi World had not yet lost his original intent. His strength topped the Shinobi World; the legendary Sannin together were not his match.
Although he hadn't made a move, merely the aura he emitted was enough to intimidate ordinary Shinobi.
But Danzo was no ordinary Shinobi.
Although he felt the suffocating pressure and was grave about his opponent's strength, his expression remained calm and unperturbed.
Hanzo frowned slightly, retracting his aura, and questioned, "Should I take this as a threat?"
"I am merely stating facts out of goodwill for a friend."
"Hah!" Hanzo sneered. "Are you implying that Konoha will win against the combined forces of four villages?"
"Or do you think Konoha will lose?"
Danzo remained as steady as a mountain. He took a small sip from his teacup and continued, "Although your Allied Forces' strength is more than triple Konoha's, can you truly deploy all that strength on the battlefield to fight Konoha's Shinobi?"
"Why not?"
"I trust in Hanzo-dono's character, but would everyone else act as you would?"
Hearing this, Hanzo's expression changed slightly.
Danzo had hit upon his concern.
Due to Kumogakure's actions during the last operation, the Allied Forces distrusted each other and would inevitably remain wary.
And once one party remained wary and held back reserves, others wouldn't dare to exert their full strength, fearing a stab in the back.
Take the simplest example.
Suppose Amegakure launched a full-scale attack on Konoha, but Iwagakure held back some forces in reserve to prevent a repeat of last time.
Then Hanzo would worry whether Iwagakure might take the opportunity to ambush his village, thus diverting part of his forces to defend the village.
After all, wars between Amegakure and Iwagakure weren't rare, and Onoki's character wasn't the trustworthy kind.
This way, everyone held back, drastically reducing the Allied Forces' strength, possibly even halving it.
After all, everyone had self-interest; everyone wanted the other side to contribute more.
However...
"Even so, the Allied Forces' strength is far superior to Konoha's," Hanzo said with determined eyes.
Danzo seemed completely unfazed.
He smiled lightly, refilled his empty teacup, held it in his hand, a mysterious smile on his lips. "What if someone among you betrays the alliance?"
"What if?" Hanzo couldn't help but scoff. "Then why don't you suppose the Allied Forces trust and cooperate seamlessly to annihilate Konoha? If everything is based on assumptions, then nothing can be discussed."
"Naturally."
At this point, Danzo took a deep breath and continued, "But my assumption is based on a high probability of occurrence."
"Oh?"
"Everything is driven by interests. If Konoha transfers one-tenth of its annual mission commissions to Iwagakure to make them withdraw, do you think they would?"
'They would, absolutely.'
Hanzo's expression turned grim.
As Danzo said, everyone came for interests.
If they could gain that share of benefits without suffering losses, why would they risk fighting for an uncertain share?
Danzo raised his eyelids slightly, taking in every nuance of Hanzo's changing expression. Then he chuckled lightly, "With Hanzo-dono's wisdom, you must have already thought of the correct answer.
If Iwagakure withdraws, although the combined forces of Kumo, Ame, and Kusa are still stronger than Konoha, victory is no longer assured.
Once the battle reaches a stalemate, or if Amegakure suffers excessive losses in this war, what will Onoki do?"
'He'll invade Amegakure!'
Hanzo's expression turned very unpleasant.
What kind of person Onoki was, the entire Shinobi World knew.
Although not as aggressive as Kumogakure, his ambitions were no less, never missing any opportunity to gain benefits.
If the situation truly developed as Danzo described, the intact, well-rested Iwagakure's Shinobi would absolutely invade at the first opportunity.
By then, perhaps even the village might cease to exist.
Seeing this, Danzo smiled inwardly.
'Checkmate.'
"Hanzo-dono, do you still think my earlier words were a threat?"
Looking at this familiar, 'kindly' face, Hanzo couldn't help but feel regret for his earlier words.
"I was too abrupt."
"So, what will Hanzo-dono do afterward?"
"Of course..." The apologetic expression on Hanzo's face turned into a cold smile, "Continue the alliance with Kumo, Kusa, and Iwa, and jointly attack Konoha!"
"..."
Danzo's body trembled. His lowered eyelids suddenly opened wide, as if in disbelief.
"Danzo-dono's words are truly persuasive. I almost believed you," Hanzo said with a cold smile.
Hearing this, Danzo fell silent.
He didn't know where things went wrong. The conversation had been following his rhythm, yet suddenly this reversal occurred.
After a moment of silence, Danzo decided to probe further. "Why does Hanzo-dono say that?"
"Although everything you said seems reasonable, and I can't find flaws for the moment, if things were truly as simple as you say, Konoha wouldn't have sent you to contact me."
Hearing this, Danzo fell silent again.
Only when one needs something from others does one actively seek them out.
This wasn't some deep truth, just an experience everyone encounters many times.
As the leader of Amegakure, sandwiched between three great nations, Hanzo often encountered such situations.
He knew well that Danzo was no saint, not kind enough to do good deeds when it involved the interests of both their villages.
Their relationship wasn't close enough to disregard village interests and warn each other.
Therefore, no matter how eloquently Danzo spoke, Hanzo knew one thing… this guy came to negotiate because he needed something from him.
Then, thinking deeper along this line, it was easy to guess the other party's purpose.
The other party wasn't kindly enlightening him to think of that bad situation; he wanted him to think of that situation.
Or rather, he wanted the situation to develop that way.
In other words, the situation originally wouldn't develop that way.
However, Hanzo couldn't be sure if his guess was correct because he couldn't find flaws in Danzo's words.
Whether it was Konoha making Iwagakure withdraw from the Allied Forces by offering benefits before the war or Iwagakure taking advantage of the situation later if the war reached a stalemate... these were events with a high probability of occurring.
Therefore, Hanzo's current attitude was feigned. His real purpose was to trick Danzo, wanting to confirm his true intentions.
But against Hanzo's probing, Danzo remained as steady as an old dog.
His expression showed no change. He took small sips of tea, his mind racing, but his movements showed no pause.
Hanzo couldn't tell if he was pondering the issue, nor could he judge from his reaction whether his words had hit the mark. He couldn't help but think deeply: Am I judging a gentleman with a petty mind, or has the old fox Danzo seen through my intention and deliberately put on this act?
In fact, Hanzo's guess was correct. All of this was just Danzo bluffing, merely his negotiation tactic.
As the leader of the Root in the darkness, Danzo was accustomed to human ugliness and shadows. He knew well that in negotiations, the weaker party would become passive... The Allied Forces' strength far surpassed Konoha's. Trying to make Hanzo withdraw from the alliance through normal negotiation was simply impossible.
So, Danzo used rhetoric to position himself actively in the negotiation… changing it from begging you to withdraw from attacking Konoha to doing you a favor, wanting to save you, making you withdraw voluntarily.
Danzo's words in the negotiation weren't baseless; they were facts with a high probability of occurring. Even if the other party doubted, after rational judgment, they would be convinced.
But the truth was Danzo had no intention of using one-tenth of Konoha's mission commissions to make Iwagakure withdraw.
On his way to the Land of Rain, Danzo had pondered much and considered many problems.
In this crisis, to prevent Sunagakure from participating, Konoha would have to pay a heavy price.
If they then gave one-tenth of their mission commissions to Iwagakure to make them withdraw, Konoha would suffer heavy losses even before the war began.
And afterward, in case they successfully persuaded Amegakure to withdraw, they would still face the combined forces of Kumo and Kusa, inevitably leading to a bloody battle.
Regardless of victory or defeat, Konoha would suffer heavy losses, completely losing its qualification to contend for supremacy in the Shinobi World.
If Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure seized this opportunity to invade, Konoha would be utterly destroyed.
So, facing this crisis, merely surviving wasn't enough for Konoha; they needed to win beautifully, crippling the Allied Forces.
But with such a disparity in strength between enemy and ally, the only plan for a great victory was to divide the enemy's forces, turning some of the enemy into allies.
The enemy was a coalition, offering an opportunity to achieve this.
As Danzo said at the beginning, everyone came for interests. With sufficient benefits, nothing was impossible.
However, these benefits couldn't come from Konoha.
...
"Hanzo-dono worries too much."
Placing the teacup on the low table, Danzo said with lowered eyelids, "I believe Hanzo-dono, with your foresight, can distinguish the truth of my words."
"Precisely because I cannot distinguish, that's why I ask so."
"Hanzo-dono jests."
Looking at the other's indifferent expression, Danzo smiled slightly and changed the topic. "Then let's look at the problem from another angle. Everyone comes for interests. Instead of joining the Allied Forces to attack Konoha, wouldn't it be more beneficial for Amegakure to do something else while other villages are preoccupied?"
"Is there anything more beneficial now than joining the Allied Forces to attack Konoha?"
"Of course there is."
Danzo leisurely took out a map of the Shinobi World, spread it on the table, and pointed to a country.
Hanzo leaned over to look, his eyes widening slightly, exclaiming, "The Land of Iron!?"
"Correct, the Land of Iron."
The Land of Iron was a permanently neutral country. This country had no Shinobi Village but also no mission commissions for other Shinobi Villages.
Because this was the country of samurai.
This country had many samurai, their strength not inferior to Shinobi.
These samurai were forces directly under the official government of the Land of Iron, unlike Shinobi who were long-term mercenaries cooperating with the country.
Hence, samurai didn't accept mission commissions and had no conflict of interest with Shinobi.
Coupled with the Land of Iron's neutral stance, no Shinobi Village had ever provoked them.
And now Danzo was suggesting that Hanzo invade the Land of Iron while other Shinobi Villages were at war. How could he not be shocked?