"Shimura Danzo colluded with Shirosha Koichi of Sunagakure and dispatched twelve Konoha shinobi to infiltrate Sunagakure on an assassination mission. The mission failed, and all twelve Konoha shinobi were annihilated."
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, flew into a rage and personally pursued them."
"Shirosha Koichi and Shimura Danzo joined forces with several dozen Konoha shinobi to resist, but were utterly outmatched and easily crushed."
"Shirosha Koichi, dead."
"Shimura Danzo abandoned several dozen Konoha comrades and fled alone in a sorry state, like a stray dog—but still failed to escape."
"Afterward, he was only able to survive thanks to Namikaze Minato's timely rescue, though he lost an arm."
"Sunagakure casualties in this battle: 0."
"Konoha casualties in this battle: 46."
The Konoha shinobi gathered around the paper fell silent at once.
"The things written in this newspaper... are they real?"
"Lord Danzo planned an operation targeting Sunagakure, but not only did he fail completely, he didn't even inflict half a casualty—yet Konoha lost that many shinobi for nothing?"
"To be honest, if it's true, then this operation was a complete disaster."
"As one of the village elders, how could Lord Danzo come up with such a disastrous plan?"
One Konoha shinobi said, "I heard Lord Danzo used to be in charge of an organization called Root, but not long ago Hokage-sama stripped him of that position and handed it over to Homura Mitokado-sama."
"Maybe Lord Danzo is simply incompetent. That would explain why Hokage-sama removed him."
Another Konoha shinobi said, "If that's the case, then it makes sense."
"Lord Danzo was removed from his former position because he lacked ability, but he couldn't accept it, so he tried to carry out this kind of mission to win merit."
"In the end, his ability wasn't enough, the plan collapsed completely, and the village lost that many shinobi for nothing."
"Lord Danzo is too incompetent."
"You don't fear a bad person. You fear an idiot having a clever idea."
"If he personally selected those several dozen ninja, then they must have been village elites."
"On the battlefield, they would definitely have performed extremely well."
"But because Lord Danzo wanted to gain credit, they lost their lives."
"Both he and Hokage-sama were Tobirama-sama's disciples, but Danzo is nowhere near Hokage-sama."
"Maybe that's exactly why Hokage-sama became Hokage."
...
The Konoha shinobi had not yet verified the truth of the report.
But they felt that if Sunagakure dared to print it so openly, then the overall facts were probably not far off.
Even if there were discrepancies, they would only be in the details.
The incident itself could not be fake.
Danzo's prestige in Konoha had never been particularly high to begin with.
He operated in the shadows year-round. Some younger shinobi did not even know who he was.
So when they suddenly heard that such an obscure elder had orchestrated an operation this clumsy, their first instinct was simply to blame Danzo.
"How laughable!"
And shinobi from other villages, after reading what was in the paper, mocked Danzo even more directly.
"That Shimura Danzo is hilarious!"
"He planned an operation, spent all that manpower and all those resources, and in the end didn't even injure half a person in Sunagakure."
"Meanwhile Konoha itself lost dozens of ninja."
"He nearly died himself too."
"That's unbelievably stupid!"
Some Iwagakure ninja even used the matter to mock Konoha openly.
An Iwa shinobi looked toward a Konoha ninja on the opposite side.
"Are you one of Shimura Danzo's subordinates?"
"Has Shimura Danzo planned any operations recently?"
"Let Shimura Danzo come deal with me. I can't wait to fight him."
"Wait your turn. I was first!"
The Konoha shinobi were furious, but they had no way to refute it.
Even the ninja of Kirigakure could not help mocking the matter in their hearts. It was only because they presently needed Konoha's help that they dared not show it in public.
But when no Konoha people were around, they no longer had to be so careful.
"That Shimura Danzo is too useless."
"With a Sunagakure elder like Shirosha Koichi betraying Sunagakure for him, he still managed to fail this badly?"
"He's not even human."
"What a waste."
"If Kirigakure had gotten Shirosha Koichi instead, we would've killed at least dozens of Sunagakure elite ninja."
When Onoki saw the headline in the newspaper, he raised a brow.
"So after not crossing hands for all these years, Danzo has become this useless?"
"With conditions that favorable, he still failed that completely... that's truly unprecedented."
"And this man still covets the Hokage position? I really don't know where his confidence comes from."
Onoki shook his head.
Danzo himself did not interest him that much.
In Onoki's eyes, there was only one true opponent on the current battlefield—
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"But that Rasa does have a flexible mind."
"First he copied the little cards and even designed a game like Ninja Kill."
"The game itself is pretty good, though he made me far too weak. My win rate as a Kage is absurdly low. Ridiculous."
"There's no way I'm that weak."
"And now he's directly created something like the Shinobi World Major Events Weekly."
"The content is rich enough to attract plenty of readers."
"And Rasa's ambitions aren't small either."
"Calling it a weekly means he intends to release one every single week."
"In the future, this thing's influence across the shinobi world definitely won't be small."
Onoki sensed that keenly.
"Tsuchikage-sama, should Iwagakure also create something similar?" the elder opposite him suggested.
Onoki hesitated for a moment.
"Let's watch the situation first. The required investment won't be small, so there's no need to rush."
"We're at a critical phase in the war right now. Iwagakure must devote all its energy to crushing Konoha."
"Once Konoha falls, Iwagakure will gain tremendous benefits."
"The title of Number One Hidden Village will belong to none other than us!"
Aburame Ryoma heard the surrounding Konoha shinobi discussing the matter. As Danzo's most trusted subordinate, fiercely loyal to him, how could he possibly endure such talk? Rage surged up instantly.
He cursed inwardly.
"You people understand nothing."
"Lord Danzo's greatness is beyond your comprehension."
"If this mission failed, then Lord Danzo must have fallen into Rasa's trap."
"Lord Danzo has sacrificed far too much for Konoha."
"His contributions to the village are in no way less than Hokage-sama's."
"And on top of that, Lord Danzo is willing to remain in the darkness, yielding all glory to Hokage-sama while bearing solitude himself."
"Who else possesses that kind of breadth of spirit?"
"Lord Danzo is even greater than Hokage-sama."
Aburame Ryoma desperately wanted to rush up to those Konoha shinobi and refute them to their faces.
But he still restrained himself.
At last, news of the Shinobi World Major Events Weekly was delivered into Danzo's hands.
The instant he saw the words of the headline, his expression changed dramatically.
"Rasa, you little brat—you've gone too far!"