Chapter 51 — The Movement of Rock Shinobi and Cloud Shinobi
Konoha — Hokage's Tower
Early the next morning, under the orders of Acting Hokage Su Li, every shinobi in Konoha was summoned.
Su Li hadn't held office long, but he already enjoyed overwhelming support from Konoha's ninja populace. From the balcony of the Hokage building he began to reveal Danzo's dirty secrets, one by one. Not everything could be made public—many files remained classified—but the disclosures were damning enough.
As Su Li laid out the accusations, the crowd moved from disbelief to outrage. Tales spread of the White Fang's death, of coercing secret-skill users into Root, of the assassination attempt on the Third Hokage, of stealing Shisui and Kakashi's Sharingan, and of collaborating with Orochimaru to plot Konoha's downfall.
Hearing that Danzo had been behind the collapse plot made the villagers' blood boil. There is nothing more hated than a traitor—especially one so high-ranking.
Thanks to Su Li's revelations, Konoha's anger slowly shifted away from the Sand Shinobi and landed squarely on Danzo. The hostility toward Sunagakure softened; people began to see the Sand as victims of Danzo and Orochimaru's schemes. Their Kazekage had been killed by Orochimaru, after all.
That didn't mean the hurt vanished—Sand's invasion of Konoha was still unforgivable—but at least the immediate desire for revenge cooled. Su Li wasn't naive enough to think a single speech would fix decades of mistrust; improvements would take time. For now, he'd taken the first step.
Iwagakure — Tsuchikage's Office
"Lord Tsuchikage, we've received intelligence from our spy in the Land of Fire!" a Rock shinobi reported, breathless, handing over a fresh report.
Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, sat in his chair and scanned the paper. The summary was blunt: Konoha had been attacked by Sunagakure and Orochimaru, the Third Hokage had been killed, and—strangest of all—the whole village was acting as if nothing had happened, reading manga.
Ōnoki's brows knitted. "Reading… manga?" he said. "Is this a joke?"
"It's not a joke, Lord Tsuchikage. I contacted the spy myself—he's reliable." The messenger wiped sweat from his brow.
Ōnoki steepled his fingers and stayed silent for a long moment. In a world like theirs, survival meant being cautious. The careless were the first to die.
"Who's the Fifth Hokage?" he asked at last.
"Konoha hasn't selected a Fifth Hokage yet. They have an Acting Hokage—Su Li. He's Jiraiya's disciple."
Ōnoki's frown deepened. Proxy Hokage. Su Li. Jiraiya's disciple. Nothing fit together. "Do we have any more information about this Su Li?" he probed.
"No... not yet." The messenger's voice faltered. The sudden political shift in Konoha had blindsided the intelligence network.
Ōnoki thought for a moment, then gave a measured order. "Do not leak this to the Cloud intentionally. Those bosses are quick to act. If they hear Konoha is weakened, they won't be able to restrain themselves."
"But Tsuchikage-sama—what if the Cloud does try to strike Konoha?" the shinobi pressed.
Ōnoki waved a hand. "A thin camel still outweighs a horse. If the Cloud moves in fully, they'll expose their own weak points. We'll take advantage of that. For now, remain cautious and watchful."
The messenger bowed and hurried away to carry out the Tsuchikage's orders.
Unknown to Ōnoki, there was no need for deliberate leakage—because the same report had already reached Kumogakure through another "spy."
Kumogakure — Raikage's Office
Boom!
"What? Konoha was struck hard by the Sand, and the Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru?!" the Fourth Raikage—A—slammed his fist on the table.
He didn't hesitate. Under the pretext of forming an alliance, A dispatched a team of messengers to Konoha at once. If the intelligence was true and Konoha was vulnerable, the Cloud would not miss that opportunity.