After an extremely difficult retreat, Konoha's shinobi finally managed to put enough distance between themselves and the battlefield.
Even though Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Three Sannin, had remained in the rear to protect the withdrawing troops, it had not been enough to prevent all casualties. Every Tailed Beast Ball fired by the Two-Tails was either redirected or partially contained by Jiraiya's defensive techniques, but even the remaining energy and shockwaves were still powerful enough to seriously injure anyone caught too close to the explosions.
The ones who suffered the most were the shinobi who were already wounded, those who could barely walk, and the ones who had fallen behind during the retreat. Some survived thanks to their comrades, while others were struck by the remnants of the blasts and died before they could reach safety.
Even so, Konoha had managed to withdraw.
It was difficult to call the battle a victory, but it could not be considered a complete defeat either. They had lost many men and had been forced to abandon the battlefield, but they had also come within moments of capturing the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Because of that, many began to see the result as a painful kind of stalemate.
Kumogakure had kept Killer B.
Konoha had proven that they could defeat him and temporarily suppress his connection with the Eight-Tails.
Both sides had suffered enormous losses.
Several hours later, inside the command room where the leaders of the major clans and some of the army's strongest shinobi gathered, the atmosphere felt heavier than ever.
There were fewer people in the room now.
Some had died.
Others were too badly injured to attend.
A few were still missing.
Every empty seat served as a silent reminder of the losses Konoha had suffered since the beginning of the war.
The army's morale had fallen considerably over the past few days. However, Jiraiya's arrival had managed to improve the situation slightly.
He was not just any shinobi.
He was one of the Three Sannin.
A name recognized throughout the shinobi world.
His mere presence on the front lines had restored a small amount of confidence among soldiers who had begun to lose hope.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Then Danzō, still exhausted and covered in visible injuries, slowly rose from his seat.
Several Root members watched him with concern, but he ignored them.
He looked around the room.
"Even though we were forced to retreat and failed to capture the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki, this battle was not a complete defeat."
Several people turned toward him.
Danzō continued.
"We pushed the Eight-Tails to its limit, suppressed its power, and came within moments of capturing it. Kumogakure now knows that their greatest weapon is not invincible."
Those words managed to lift the morale of some of the people in the room.
It had not been a victory.
But it was still better than accepting that all of their sacrifices had been meaningless.
In reality, Danzō was far more furious than he allowed himself to show.
Part of him wanted to blame everyone who had failed during the capture. He wanted to point out every mistake, every failure in coordination, and every opportunity that had been wasted.
But he knew perfectly well that this was not the time.
Punishing or humiliating the commanders after a battle like this would only destroy the army's morale even further.
Besides, the war could still become useful to him.
By personally standing on the front lines, Danzō could gain prestige among the shinobi.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in Konoha, Danzō could present himself as the man willing to risk his own life alongside the troops.
And that was exactly the image he wanted to create.
For some time now, several Root members had been quietly spreading carefully prepared rumors throughout the army and among certain groups inside the village.
Rumors about the Third Hokage.
That Hiruzen had become too old to stand on the battlefield himself.
That he sent younger shinobi to die while he remained safely inside Konoha.
That something similar had already happened during the Third Shinobi World War.
Danzō did not need everyone to completely believe those stories.
He only needed to plant doubt.
Hiruzen was already in a much weaker political position than he had been years ago.
After the Third Shinobi World War, he had been forced to step down as Hokage because of the enormous political pressure created by the decisions made during the war.
Minato Namikaze had taken his place.
For many people, especially younger shinobi, that had represented the beginning of a new era.
But that new era had barely begun.
Minato died suddenly during the Nine-Tails' attack.
And almost immediately after his death, Hiruzen returned to the position.
That had created a great deal of dissatisfaction.
Some people began to believe that Hiruzen had never truly surrendered power.
Others thought Minato had merely been placed in the position as a young and popular figure while the former Hokage continued influencing the village from behind the scenes.
Danzō knew that interpretation was not entirely true.
But he also knew it did not need to be.
Rumors did not work because they were completely true.
They worked because they sounded possible.
And Minato's sudden death had caused many people to begin asking questions.
Hiruzen still had enough support to remain Hokage, especially from several families that had stood beside him since the early years of his rule and from a large number of clanless shinobi.
Among the traditional clans, however, the situation was very different.
Many of them simply tolerated the Third Hokage.
They did not fully trust him.
During the decades Hiruzen had ruled, several clans had lost power, important members, or had disappeared entirely. Even those that had managed to survive still remembered the decisions made during the wars and the constant pressure placed upon them to provide shinobi for the front lines.
That did not mean they supported Danzō.
In fact, Danzō knew perfectly well that many clans despised him even more than they disliked Hiruzen.
The difference was that Danzō had never tried to be loved.
He only needed to be necessary.
Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the clan leaders gathered inside the room.
If Hiruzen ever completely lost control of the village, Danzō seriously doubted that many of those clans would risk much to protect him.
Perhaps they would formally fulfill their obligations.
Perhaps they would send a few men.
But they would hardly sacrifice everything for him.
And if the day ever came when Hiruzen himself was directly attacked, Danzō suspected that more than one clan would prefer to remain on the sidelines.
Some might even quietly make sure that help arrived too late.
It was a dangerous situation for any Hokage.
But for Danzō, it was also an opportunity.
He was still far from achieving what he truly wanted.
But every battle, every mistake made by Hiruzen, and every rumor Root managed to spread slowly brought him closer to that goal.
The position of Hokage.