Konoha Year 43, July 20.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse. Inside the Hokage Office Building.
"Hiruzen, how is the Anbu investigation progressing?" asked Mitokado Homura in a deep voice.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, replied, "It's all here. You may take a look."
The other elders of Konoha each took a copy of the report and began reading.
Several days had passed since Shimizu's desperate battle with the Sand shinobi inside the Land of Fire. Konoha's upper ranks had dispatched three full Anbu divisions—over a hundred ninja—to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Now, faced with this heavy report, the five highest leaders of Konoha urgently needed to decide how to respond to this grave situation.
"So I believe Sunagakure's target in this war is our Land of Fire!" Mitokado Homura said, shock evident in his tone as he looked at the report. "I cannot understand why they would establish such an outpost if it were only to deal with the Land of Rain, which is still mired in civil strife. What does the Land of Rain even have? Their target can only be us…"
"Not only that—they openly violated our territory and caused two Anbu deaths and two serious injuries. This debt must be settled!" Utatane Koharu said heatedly. "How many years has it been since Konoha suffered such a loss? Since the Second Great Ninja War, all nations have been recuperating. There have been small moves, yes—but nothing this blatant. They actually dared to build a wartime forward base near another nation's border!"
"Sunagakure is still technically our ally," Torifu Akimichi said with a slight frown. "Could there be some hidden factor behind this?"
"The Third Kazekage is an ambitious man—hailed as the strongest Kazekage in history. How could he be content to remain confined to the southwest corner?" Mitokado Homura countered. "The Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning—even the Land of Water—they have always viewed the Land of Fire as a piece of fat meat. If given the chance, any of them would take a bite."
He turned to the Hokage. "Hiruzen, what do you think?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath.
"Based on the information we've gathered, that outpost has existed for at least a year. Which means they began planning this over a year ago… After the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Kazekage publicly emphasized economic development, greatly increasing demand for iron ore. At the same time, he restructured the Ninja Academy—replacing textbooks and instructors. He reclaimed authority from the great clans of Sunagakure and centralized power…"
He exhaled slowly and concluded:
"Iron ore—for forging weapons. Reforming the academy—to cultivate stronger ninja. Centralizing authority—so the militant faction can dominate and wage war at will. These are preparations for war. He is a man with dreams of great power—an ambitious strategist."
The Third Hokage's expression was grave.
"Danzō, what do you think?"
He turned toward Danzō Shimura, who had remained silent since the beginning of the meeting, eyes closed as if resting.
"Wait," Danzō said calmly.
"Wait?!" The other four were momentarily stunned. Had they misheard? The long-time hawkish hardliner was suggesting restraint?
"Wait for them to give us an explanation—and compensation," Danzō elaborated.
"Wouldn't that be too passive?" Mitokado Homura asked.
"If we immediately announce to the world that Sunagakure intends to wage war, we risk being counter-accused," Danzō replied steadily. "They can deny everything. All we found was an outpost. The rest is deduction based on circumstantial evidence."
"We have no direct proof that they intend to attack the Land of Fire. We didn't even find a single weapon or supply cache. The cave was completely empty."
"But if we simply wait, won't that make Konoha appear weak?" Utatane Koharu pressed. "Two Anbu dead, two severely wounded. Our territory invaded. That is clearly an act of war! If they choose to ignore this, we cannot simply let it go!"
"Of course we won't let it go," Danzō replied coldly. "Not only will we not let it go—we must extract greater benefits."
"Two dead and two wounded, plus a territorial incursion—that alone will not gain us much leverage. Some monetary compensation? What meaning would our ninja's sacrifice have then?"
"And the cave itself was discovered within Land of Rain territory—not inside the Land of Fire. Diplomatically, we cannot secure maximum advantage acting alone."
"So what exactly are you proposing?" Torifu Akimichi asked.
"On one hand, we wait for Sunagakure to give us an explanation. We can observe their reaction before deciding our next move. On the other hand, we establish a certain level of goodwill with the Hidden Rain Village—perhaps even gain a strategic ally for Konoha.
"Although everyone here understands that Sunagakure's most likely target is us, the Rain Village may not see it that way. After all, that outpost was within their borders…"
A faint, hoarse chuckle escaped Danzō Shimura.
"We only need to… adjust some of the evidence slightly before handing it to them. We don't even have to say much. They'll draw their own conclusions. When that happens, the Land of Wind will face pressure from the Land of Rain. Heh…"
"That… actually makes some sense," Torifu Akimichi said, glancing at the others. "What do you think?"
"The Hidden Rain…" Homura Mitokadokado murmured, clearly thinking deeper now.
"Though the Hidden Rain is only a small village, if we could secure the friendship of Hanzo of the Salamander…" Mitokado Homura began weighing the pros and cons.
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Hidden Rain—a minor village—had fought Konoha to a near standstill. Even if Konoha might have ultimately won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory.
All because of one man—
Hanzo of the Salamander.
The leader of Hidden Rain.
In that war, he had single-handedly crushed over a dozen Konoha ninja divisions—nearly five thousand shinobi—and forced Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade into a desperate corner.
It was he who granted them the title "Sannin."
Such a terrifying and glorious record had placed him at the pinnacle of the shinobi world—hailed as a "demigod," the closest thing to a god alive.
Anyone deemed an enemy by the "Demigod" Hanzo would think twice—even a Kage of Sunagakure.
"Danzō, that doesn't sound like something you would usually say," Hiruzen Sarutobi observed sharply.
"The clouds of war hang over us at all times. We must unite every force we can possibly win over," Danzō replied with apparent sincerity.
"In that case, we must immediately organize the evidence—both genuine and fabricated—and send someone to negotiate with the Hidden Rain," Hiruzen concluded.
"I'll handle it," Danzō volunteered. "This kind of dirty work… is precisely why Root exists."
The Third Hokage stared into Danzō's eyes, as if trying to pierce through to his true intentions.
"This matter is no small thing. There must not be the slightest mistake."
Danzō's uncharacteristic stance was impossible not to question.
"Hiruzen, you're overthinking it. I am also a shinobi of Konoha. Everything I do is ultimately for the village. Even Root… is still Konoha's root."
With that, Danzō left the Hokage's office.
The dim corridor lights cast harsh shadows over the white bandages covering half his face, making him look almost grotesque.
Once far enough from the office, he spoke quietly:
"How are the preparations?"
At some point, a Konoha Anbu had appeared behind him.
"Everything is ready. We can depart for the Hidden Rain at any time."
"Then we leave at dawn. Bring Teams Three and Four."
"Yes, sir."
"By the way—what about the investigation into Uzuki Shimizu?" Danzō asked suddenly.
"Unfortunately, Lady Tsunade personally oversaw his treatment the entire time. We had no opportunity to obtain fresh blood samples…"
"Should we have Orochimaru handle it?" Danzō hesitated. If he involved Orochimaru, appropriate compensation would be necessary. After all, confronting a patient personally treated by Tsunade was beyond Root's capabilities.
He vaguely remembered this jonin named Uzuki Shimizu.
Early-maturing. Diligent.
But with utterly ordinary talent.
He had long been just a chunin.
Yet last year he suddenly became a jonin—and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds.
Maruboshi Kosuke was skilled and had once received guidance from the Second Hokage, but even he was merely an elite jonin at best.
How could he possibly have taught a student who rose so dramatically?
Something about this—
Didn't add up.
So what exactly had happened to him?
Something must have changed. There had to be a secret hidden within Shimizu that even Danzō did not yet know.
At first, Danzō had assumed he was nothing more than an ordinary chunin who had endured for many years before naturally advancing to jonin. As for the S-rank mission in the Land of Grass earlier that year, he had believed it was simply a matter of opportunism—clever tactics and favorable terrain allowing him to defeat those twenty-odd mercenary ninja.
But now it seemed that was not the case at all.
"So what conclusions have you reached so far?" Danzō asked.
"Since no Sand shinobi corpses were recovered, we can only infer from the battlefield traces and bloodstains. There was a full battalion of thirty-six Sand shinobi—eight jonin and twenty-eight chunin. There were two large-scale engagements in total.
"The first occurred when Shimizu was surrounded by a full unit in a desert environment. He managed to escape.
"The second took place within the Land of Fire, where Shimizu ambushed the Sand forces and ultimately defeated them…"
Even as the Anbu reported the facts, he still found them difficult to believe.
"This exceeds the level of an elite jonin."
"Stronger than you?" Danzō asked coolly.
"Yes. I am ashamed to admit it. At the very least, I could not escape from—or counterattack against—a full battalion led by eight jonin."
"In just over a year, rising from chunin to surpass even you? Is that possible?" Danzō's tone carried clear sarcasm.
"If he were a genius…"
"He isn't."
Danzō cut him off.
"Shimizu Uzuki was once unanimously regarded by Konoha's higher-ups as a prodigy. Unfortunately, his actual talent proved far too ordinary. I originally believed chunin would be his ceiling.
"That he became a jonin already exceeded my expectations. But now he has even surpassed elite jonin…"
"There must have been something that happened to him. There must be a secret."
His voice left no room for doubt.
"Go speak with Orochimaru. Get what we need from Tsunade. Let him name his price."
"Yes, sir!"
With a Body Flicker Technique, the Anbu vanished.
Danzō remained standing in the dim corridor, half his face wrapped in pale bandages.
"What a pity," he muttered to himself. "An orphan. He would have been the perfect candidate for Root."
"…Did I misjudge him after all?"