For the current Konoha, there were two major external threats.
The first was the allied forces of Sunagakure and Iwagakure watching hungrily from Kikyo Pass. As for these enemies on the surface, although the Third Hokage was concerned, he was not overly worried.
Because Konoha still had many outstanding shinobi fighting on the Kikyo Pass front: Orochimaru, Minato, Uchiha Fugaku, and a series of young shinobi who had risen and grown throughout this war.
The other major hidden danger was Uchiha Madara, the one who could keep the Third Hokage from sleeping peacefully.
Uchiha Madara.
That name seemed to possess a kind of magic, enough to make people tremble.
The strength he had displayed more than a year ago, suppressing everyone present, was truly terrifying.
Although according to Shimizu, Madara had aged again, which meant he could no longer possess the same terrifying strength he had shown back then.
But still…
He was Uchiha Madara, the man once spoken of in the same breath as the First Hokage.
Now, he was hiding in the Land of Rain. He even had close ties with the Akatsuki, and there was another companion at his side who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
That was simply…
So if Hanzō fell, the Land of Rain would fall into complete chaos, and the Akatsuki would take the opportunity to seize control of all of Amegakure.
At that point, would Konoha still be able to use peaceful diplomatic means to send shinobi into the Land of Rain to search for Madara's traces?
The answer was obvious.
The enemies Konoha would have to face then would likely not be limited to Madara and the Akatsuki, but the entire Amegakure.
Therefore, Konoha could not possibly refuse Hanzō's request for aid.
After a long while, the Third Hokage, who had originally been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
"Danzō, since you came to see me alone, I assume you already have an answer in mind."
"Yes."
Danzō did not avoid it and openly admitted it.
The Third Hokage fixed his sharp gaze on Danzō.
"Then what do you want to discuss with me?"
"This mission to the Land of Rain will be led by me personally."
The crushing defeat in the Land of Rain more than four years ago was still vivid even today. Nearly two hundred elite Anbu and Root shinobi had been almost completely wiped out. It had been a disastrous price.
No matter how great the justification, Danzō, the commander of that operation, bore an inescapable responsibility.
Under the shadow of that painful defeat, if Danzō once again requested command over a mission to the Land of Rain, he would inevitably be rejected by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
So in order to secure absolute command authority for this mission, Danzō had come to the Third Hokage in advance, hoping to persuade him.
The Third Hokage did not speak.
He was waiting for Danzō's reasoning.
"The defeat four years ago was indeed my responsibility, and I cannot evade it."
Danzō began by admitting his fault.
"But four years have passed since the war began. Now, it can be said that we have reached the most critical moment. You know this, and so do I…"
Recently, Sunagakure and Iwagakure had quieted down and stopped making moves. Clearly, they were preparing for a new battle on a major scale.
The final outcome of the Battle of Kikyo Pass was directly tied to whether Konoha could continue occupying this richest stretch of land.
Now, both sides had pushed themselves to the limit and were fighting with bloodshot eyes. Because of that, everyone regarded this battle as the final one.
"The front line simply has no extra strength that can be redeployed, while the village still needs a certain number of shinobi stationed here to guard against possible changes from Kumogakure and Kirigakure. On top of that, your body is no longer what it once was…"
At present, it could truly be said that Konoha had no one left to send.
They lacked ordinary combat strength, and at the same time, they could not find many shinobi qualified to lead this mission.
Everyone was fighting on the front line.
Aside from Danzō and the Third Hokage, there truly was no second choice.
And ever since the Third Hokage's battle with Madara, he had been left with hidden injuries.
"When Konoha was attacked last time, even I nearly died."
Danzō gently brushed the fatal scar on his neck with his remaining left hand, then glanced at his empty sleeve.
"Heh. All of this was caused by Madara."
"Among us old relics, every death leaves one fewer behind. Now even Torifu has followed Kagami."
"I will… find Madara myself and kill him!"
A brief silence followed.
"Madara will not show himself so easily and let us find him," the Third Hokage said, still unmoved.
"Then we will first help Hanzō suppress the internal unrest in Amegakure."
Danzō's voice gradually turned cold.
"Also, there is no need for us to continue treating Hanzō as an equal the way we did before. What we need to do this time is turn Hanzō completely into our puppet, then make the Land of Rain a vassal state of the Land of Fire!"
Bring the Land of Rain into the Land of Fire's sphere of influence?
It had to be said, the proposal was very tempting.
The Land of Rain's geographical position was extremely important. It could serve as a forward springboard for the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, or the Land of Fire to invade another country.
So if Konoha truly succeeded, the enemies at Kikyo Pass would face an extremely awkward situation as well.
Konoha might at any time dispatch a small force of elites straight toward another nation's shinobi village.
After all, Konoha already had a record in that regard.
Twice.
Seeing that the Third Hokage's attitude had loosened slightly, Danzō immediately struck while the iron was hot.
"I will lead two battalions of Root and two battalions of Anbu shinobi. In addition, have Orochimaru withdraw from the front line for a while and carry out this mission with me."
"As long as I can complete this mission, not only can we resolve the hidden threat that is Madara, we can also bring about a certain reversal in the war situation at Kikyo Pass."
"Let me think about it."
In the end, the Third Hokage still did not immediately agree to Danzō's request.
"Before the meeting tonight, I will give you my answer."
"…Very well."
Although the Third Hokage had not directly agreed to Danzō's request, he had not rejected it either.
The final decision was left for the evening.
…
Root Headquarters.
Danzō sat upright at the head of the room and asked in a deep voice, "Orochimaru still refuses to tell me how he integrated Wood Release?"
"Yes. This subordinate has already followed your instructions, my lord… but Lord Orochimaru's attitude was extremely firm."
A clear female voice answered from within the darkness.
"That bastard Orochimaru…"
Danzō's gaze had already turned cold.
"Does he truly think that without my support, simply having Wood Release and achievements will allow him to become the Fourth Hokage?"
"What exactly is he thinking?"
"But it does not matter. These questions can be clarified in person…"
"My lord, will the Third Hokage definitely agree to your request?"
"He has no choice but to agree."
Danzō was utterly confident about this.
"In addition, tell Orochimaru that I will gather the materials again and have him create another Sharingan arm for me. Let him name his conditions."
"Yes!"
Danzō pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Miko, I hear your orphanage has taken in quite a few war orphans?"
Hearing this, Miko's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
"Yes, my lord."
"Are there any promising seedlings? Are they all clean?"
Danzō then smiled darkly.
"Even if there are some small problems, that is fine. They can all be solved."
"My lord, you said before that you would not interfere with the orphanage's operation…"
"That was before."
Danzō's tone gradually turned icy.
"Over these past few years, Root has suffered considerable losses, yet we have not replenished much new blood."
"The progress of the Wood Release experiments has also been extremely slow, and Orochimaru actually hid the most crucial technique from me…"
"If this continues, once Root disappears, how will the great tree attached to it survive?"
"This subordinate… understands."