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Chapter 192: Bad News Keeps Coming
"Empty?"
The Hyuga branch Jonin stared at Nara Shikamei, the veins around his Byakugan twitching involuntarily. Rainwater slid down his forehead protector, dripping onto the muddy grass.
Nara Shikamei wiped the rain from his face. He looked utterly exhausted, yet his eyes were exceptionally clear. "That's right. Otherwise, we wouldn't have escaped so smoothly."
Just then, a sensory ninja behind them suddenly exclaimed, "Captain! Urgent messenger hawk!"
A pitch-black ninja hawk pierced through the rainstorm, landing precisely on the Hyuga ninja's arm. The bamboo tube on the hawk's leg was sealed with red wax, symbolizing top-secret clearance.
The Hyuga ninja removed the tube and unfurled the message. By the dim light, he scanned it once. His pupils contracted violently, and a look of unconcealed astonishment appeared on his usually steady face.
"What is it?" Shikamei sensed something was wrong.
The Hyuga ninja took a deep breath, crumpled the paper into a ball, and used a pulse of chakra from his palm to pulverize it.
"Full retreat."
"What?" Shikamei was stunned. "What happened?"
"This is Lord Hokage's hand-written order." The Hyuga ninja looked up, his gaze complicated as he stared toward Amegakure. "Mission canceled. All frontline troops are to retreat thirty miles immediately, construct defensive works, and are strictly forbidden from taking any offensive action."
"The reason?"
"There is no reason given. Just one word—Wait."
.....
Konohagakure, Hokage Residence.
Outside the window, a light rain fell, mirroring the mood of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen sat behind his wide desk. The pipe that usually dangled from his mouth was now clutched in his hand, the tobacco long extinguished.
On the desk lay an open letter. The texture of the paper was ordinary, even rough, like common straw paper found anywhere. But the content written on it was like a thunderclap, numbing the scalp of the "Professor of Ninjutsu."
It was an ultimatum from the "Akatsuki" organization.
There were only a few lines, the handwriting bold and powerful, exuding an undeniable dominance:
The Fire Daimyo, En'ichi, is currently a guest at our location.
Cease hostilities immediately. Withdraw all armed forces invading the Land of Rain.
Violate this, and bear the consequences.
The signature was a red cloud pattern.
There were no long-winded threats, no hysterical roaring. Just this cold, hard statement of fact.
"You must be joking..."
Hiruzen rubbed his throbbing temples. Even during the hardest moments of the Second Great Ninja War, he had never felt as powerless as he did now.
The Daimyo was captured?
The Fire Daimyo, protected within the Golden Pavilion layer by layer, guarded day and night by the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and surrounded by thousands of elite guards—he was taken away so silently?
Even for Hiruzen himself, kidnapping the Daimyo from the capital wouldn't be easy. Did that old man Hanzo do it personally?
But why? The ones besieging the Rain weren't just Konoha. Kidnapping the Fire Daimyo wouldn't threaten the other nations at all.
"No news from the Anbu yet?" Hiruzen's voice was terribly hoarse.
In the shadows, an Anbu ninja wearing a cat mask half-knelt, his voice trembling slightly. "Lord Hokage... we just received urgent intelligence from the capital."
"Read it."
"Late last night, the Daimyo's Golden Pavilion was attacked by an unknown force... Aside from the corpses of numerous guards, two of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, 'Dragon' and 'Rabbit', were killed on the spot. Lord Daimyo... is missing."
Hiruzen closed his eyes.
It was true.
Those lunatics actually did it. They bypassed the defense lines of tens of thousands of ninja on the front and stabbed straight into the heart of the Land of Fire.
"What is Danzo's reaction?" Hiruzen suddenly asked.
"Lord Danzo... is furious." The Anbu hesitated but reported truthfully, "He says this is a great humiliation and advocates disregarding the Daimyo's safety to storm Amegakure immediately to establish dominance."
"Nonsense!"
Hiruzen slammed the table. "If the Daimyo dies in Amegakure, the Fire Nation's economic system will collapse instantly! Various factions will fight for the throne, turning the Land of Fire into a pot of porridge! Forget the war; even the village's supply lines would be cut!"
Bang!
The office door was roughly pushed open, bringing in a gust of cold, damp wind and unconcealed anger.
Danzo Shimura marched in with large strides, his single eye flashing with a sinister light. His cane struck the floor heavily, making a dull thud.
"Hiruzen! What are you hesitating for?"
Danzo's voice was raspy and sharp, pointing straight at Hiruzen's face. "Why are the frontline troops retreating? This is the best time to attack! Amegakure is an empty city right now. As long as the army presses in, that so-called 'Akatsuki' organization will be annihilated instantly!"
Hiruzen slowly raised his head, looking at his old friend and political rival with bloodshot eyes, his voice utterly exhausted.
"Danzo, do you see the situation clearly?" He pointed to the letter on the desk. "The Daimyo is in their hands."
"So what?"
Danzo sneered, walking to the desk and looking down at the Hokage. "For the future of the village, necessary sacrifices are inevitable. The Daimyo? Hmph, he's just a puppet providing funds. If he dies, we support a new Daimyo. The Land of Fire lacks many things, but it does not lack people with royal blood."
"You say that so lightly!"
Hiruzen stood up abruptly, slamming his pipe onto the table, sending ash scattering everywhere. "That is the Daimyo! The symbol of the Land of Fire! If the Daimyo dies because of Konoha's attack, do you know what the consequences will be?"
He walked around the desk, standing before Danzo, his finger trembling as he pointed out the window.
"The Fire Nation's economy will collapse instantly. The feudal lords will fight until their heads are broken over the title of Daimyo. Where will Konoha's military funding come from? Where will the supplies come from? Do you want the tens of thousands of ninja on the front lines to fight on empty stomachs?"
Danzo remained unmoved; the chill in his eyes only intensified.
"You are too soft, Hiruzen. It is precisely your indecisiveness that gave that organization called 'Akatsuki' an opportunity. If you had listened to me earlier and let Root take over the Land of Rain..."
"Enough!"
Hiruzen interrupted him sternly. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the heaving of his chest. "Until the Daimyo's safety is ensured, we absolutely cannot act rashly. That is an order."
Danzo stared dead at Hiruzen, the fury in his single eye almost spilling out. After a long while, he let out a cold snort.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen. You have handed the fate of Konoha over to a group of terrorists."
With that, he turned to leave.
Just then, there was a knock on the office window. An Anbu ninja hung upside down outside, the look in his eyes behind the mask filled with extreme anxiety.
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat. More bad news?
He waved for the Anbu to enter.
"Lord Hokage, urgent intelligence!"
The Anbu ninja landed and knelt on one knee. He was soaked through, rainwater dripping from his clothes onto the floor, forming a puddle.
"Speak."
Hiruzen sat back in his chair, gripping the armrests tightly until his knuckles turned white. He had already prepared for the worst. Had the Daimyo been executed? Or was there a new move from Amegakure?
Danzo also stopped, turning sideways, his ears twitching slightly.
The Anbu ninja pulled a scroll from his chest, presenting it with both hands, his voice dry.
"This is urgent intelligence just sent back by a spy lurking in Sunagakure."
"Sand?"
Hiruzen was stunned. At a time like this, what could be happening in the Sand Village? Were they seeing Konoha's setback and trying to loot a burning house?
He took the scroll and unrolled it quickly.
After just one glance, his eyes widened into perfect circles, and the skin of his originally tense face twitched violently.
"This..."
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