Bab 92: Chapter 91: Danzo's Mockery
At the Border of the Land of Rain
After leading his remnants out of the Land of Rain, Danzo lingered at the border for several days. On one hand, he was waiting for the outcome of the internal conflict in the Land of Rain; on the other hand, he was looking for any opportunities to intervene.
What disappointed Danzo was that the once-demi-god Hanzō of the Salamander seemed truly aged.
Not only did he lose the negotiations to the Akatsuki, but even his subordinates couldn't make much of a stir, allowing Amegakure to smoothly complete the power transition.
This might be good news for Jiraiya.
But for him and Konoha, it was terrible news.
The Akatsuki would certainly not be satisfied with the Land of Rain. Soon they would undoubtedly expand outward, encroaching on Konoha's interests and threatening the safety of the Land of Fire.
However, this was not the time to worry about that.
Once Amegakure stabilized, they would surely trace back to find him as the mastermind behind the scenes, putting him in grave danger.
After all, his strength was not on par with Hanzō's. If the Akatsuki could kill Hanzō, they could kill him too.
It was best to pack up and return to the safety of the rear, replenishing the personnel lost in Root during this mission.
At that moment, Ryoma Aburame rushed into the secret room, holding a scroll in his hand.
Already in a foul mood, Danzo glared at the flustered Ryoma and scolded, "As a jōnin, how can you be so careless?"
"The situation is quite urgent..." Ryoma explained cautiously.
"Don't panic in the face of problems! If the sky falls, this old man and Sarutobi will hold it up. Konoha will always have our support."
After lecturing his subordinate, Danzo asked, "Now then, Ryoma, what's the matter?"
Ryoma took a deep breath and quickly said, "Lord Danzo, it's a letter from Byakuya... It seems he's trying to contact us through a ninja hawk."
"Byakuya?"
Danzo's face darkened as he realized he had forgotten about the ninja hawk.
He cautiously glanced out the window, ready to use the Reverse Summoning Technique at any moment. His summoning beast, Dream Manta, happened to have the ability and chakra to perform the Reverse Summoning Technique.
Seeing Danzo's thoughts, Ryoma reminded, "Lord Danzo, Byakuya didn't follow us, so you should check what's written in the letter."
Fortunately, he didn't follow Danzo and the team during their retreat... Danzo breathed a sigh of relief but showed a look of regret as if he had missed an opportunity.
Carefully opening the letter, the moment it was unfolded, the explosive tag inside flashed, triggering an explosion.
Danzo and Ryoma quickly used chakra to defend themselves, but the nearby desk was blown to pieces.
Picking up the intact letter from the ground, Danzo, his face covered in soot, opened it and read it. After finishing, his expression turned extremely complex.
It wasn't a letter of accountability, but a letter of thanks.
Byakuya thanked Danzo for the supplies and advanced ninjutsu he had sent, as well as for his assistance on his path to seizing power. He claimed that without Danzo, he would not have been able to become the current leader of the Akatsuki.
Byakuya even shared his experience of the takeover in the letter.
However, Byakuya's target was not Yahiko and the others, but Hanzō of Amegakure.
At the end of the letter, Byakuya asked when Danzo would become the Hokage of Konoha, and if possible, he wanted to invite Danzo to Amegakure to exchange experiences.
Seeing the silent Danzo, Ryoma was about to speak but was frightened into silence by Danzo's glare, taking a step back.
Danzo took a deep breath and read the letter again.
Byakuya's letter was ostensibly one of thanks, but in reality, it was a blatant mockery, delivering a critical blow.
From Byakuya's address, it was clear he had long known Danzo's identity and had guessed his dream of becoming Hokage, using it to taunt him.
But what pained Danzo the most was Byakuya's success.
Regardless of who the current leader of Amegakure was, Byakuya's plan clearly won the lottery. He had risen from a high-ranking member of the Akatsuki to its leader and had even replaced Hanzō as the ruler of Amegakure.
Danzo, on the other hand, was a failure. Not only had this operation failed, but his dream of becoming Hokage was also a distant one.
The only good news was that Byakuya seemed to be a ninja who only cared about interests, just like himself. Having lost Hanzō as a collaborator, there might still be opportunities for future cooperation with Byakuya.
As for not taking this opportunity to hunt him down, it was simple: Byakuya and Yahiko shared most of their interests, but their minor interests clashed.
With the loss of a potential enemy and threat, Byakuya also lost his usefulness.
A mature ninja would cultivate enemies to justify having a group of subordinates; otherwise, they would have no voice in high-level meetings.
Thinking this, Danzo took out a blank scroll and began to craft a hypocritical reply.
After finishing the letter, Danzo handed it to Ryoma, instructing calmly, "Have the ninja hawk deliver this letter to Byakuya."
Ryoma didn't delay and immediately left the secret room.
He had just witnessed the changes in Danzo's expression firsthand. Although he didn't fully understand it, he was really stunned. Perhaps this was the kind of interaction that occurred between the major figures in the ninja villages.
After Ryoma left, a few more Root ninjas came to report.
This time, the information was about the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. In the forest near the coast, a ninja had discovered an unconscious Kakashi and the surrounding bodies of dead Mist Anbu.
The number of over thirty Mist Anbu made Danzo frown.
Dealing with that many Mist Anbu was no easy task; it required strength comparable to that of Hokage. There weren't many ninjas in Konoha who could achieve this.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sannin, Minato Namikaze, and then there was him.
If Minato Namikaze had handled it, it would be understandable, but if Kakashi had dealt with it… Danzo wasn't brave enough to continue that line of thought.
Although Kakashi's father possessed such ability, Kakashi himself was not yet fifteen.
Could there really be such a strong young prodigy in the ninja world?
Danzo suddenly thought of Byakuya, Nagato, and others, and his mood turned bitter. The ninja world not only had young prodigies but also many of them.
They weren't merely geniuses; they were young powerhouses.
After all, only ninjas who hadn't yet fully grown were considered geniuses, and Byakuya could already stand alone.
Pulling back his increasingly scattered thoughts, Danzo began to worry again about the position of Hokage.
His own hope of becoming Hokage seemed dim, and Orochimaru's chances also seemed very slim, considering Orochimaru's disciples were not as outstanding as Minato's.
Perhaps accelerating the Wood Release project was the only solution. Only by possessing Lord Hashirama's Bloodline Limit could he prove that he was more suitable to become Hokage than anyone else. Only then could he, as Hokage, could lead Konoha to rule the world!
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