Chapter 136: Winds of Change

Land of Fire, Konohagakure.

In the base of the Root.

Although the Third Hokage had long since dismissed Danzo and stripped him of his position as the leader of the Root, Danzo still secretly commanded the Root, choosing to remain in hiding.

One reason was the massive losses suffered during the last mission in the Land of Rivers, and the other was to avoid provoking the Uchiha clan. However, this did not mean Danzo was idle.

In the dimly lit room of the Root's base, Danzo, who had lost an arm and an eye, sat on his high seat. Below him, three masked Root ninja knelt on one knee.

Danzo held a scroll in his left hand, scanning it with his single eye before furrowing his brow and asking,

"When did Sunagakure become involved with the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons?"

The leading Root ninja immediately replied,

"Reporting to Danzo-sama, according to intelligence received by our comrades in the Land of Demons, the Kazekage of Sunagakure appeared in the Land of Demons three days ago, fought the demon Mōryō, and defeated it!"

"Mōryō!?"

Danzo's left eye gleamed sharply.

"That legendary demon from the myths?"

"Hai!"

"Interesting. If I recall correctly, the small country of Ryūtan, which has recently joined Sunagakure, also possesses the power of the Dragon Vein Chakra, correct?"

"Hai! We sent people to investigate, and the city is now under the control of Sunagakure."

Danzo's eyes grew even brighter. After a moment of thought, he said without hesitation,

"Send this intelligence over!"

"Understood!"

After his subordinates left, Danzo's face darkened with anger. He clutched his missing right arm, then regained his composure and slowly walked deeper into the Root's base.

This was a massive laboratory filled with the smell of disinfectant and countless glass containers, each holding a floating child. This was the Root's secret laboratory, not built by Danzo but established by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

However, it now belonged to Danzo and Orochimaru. When Danzo entered, Orochimaru was deeply engrossed in some research.

Without any pleasantries, Danzo asked,

"So, Orochimaru, when can I transplant a new arm and eye?"

For a ninja, losing an eye was a minor issue, but losing an arm significantly impacted combat ability. Danzo did not possess the ability to perform one-handed seals.

Without turning his head, Orochimaru replied,

"As for the arm, Danzo-sama, I can transplant one for you anytime. But if it's the cells of the First Hokage, without a Sharingan to suppress them, there's nothing I can do."

Danzo did not press the matter. While a normal arm could restore some of his combat abilities, he had no plans to leave the village anytime soon. Moreover, his current disabled state earned him some sympathy within the village.

Thus, Danzo casually brought up another topic, as if discussing everyday matters.

"I heard that Jiraiya and Minato are planning to take this opportunity to train at Mount Myōboku."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly upon hearing this.

"Hmm... They must be going to train in Sage Mode."

"Sage Mode... I've heard of it. Speaking of which, Ryūchi Cave is also a sacred place like Mount Myōboku. Doesn't it have its own Sage Mode?"

Orochimaru knew full well that Danzo was trying to stir up trouble between him and that fool Jiraiya, but he didn't care in the slightest.

"Ryūchi Cave does indeed have its own Sage Mode. However, the conditions for training in Sage Mode are extremely demanding."

Hearing this, Danzo emitted a mysterious smile.

"Is that so? But in my opinion, Orochimaru, your talent in ninjutsu far surpasses that of Jiraiya and Minato."

"Kukuku..."

A hint of disdain flashed in Orochimaru's eyes as he chuckled softly but didn't respond.

Seeing this, Danzo was prepared and continued,

"Just now, the Root received news that the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons will visit the Kazekage of Sunagakure in two days. The reason is that the Kazekage helped the Land of Demons eliminate the demon Mōryō."

This immediately piqued Orochimaru's interest.

"Mōryō... That terrifying demon from the myths of the Land of Demons?"

"Indeed. The Dragon Vein... Mōryō... This is no coincidence, Orochimaru. The Kazekage likely went after the power of these demons. Over the past few months, you've seen the intelligence about Sunagakure's 'Green Miracle.' The ability to alter Sunagakure's natural environment is not something an ordinary ninja could achieve. It's very likely the power of Wood Release."

"Do you have concrete evidence?"

"No, but we don't need it."

Danzo's left eye narrowed.

"I've already passed this intelligence to Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure through the Root. It seems to be working. Iwagakure and Kumogakure have halted their attacks on Konoha, which means suspicion has already taken root. Now, we just need to sit back and watch the show. Even if the intelligence about the Kazekage stealing Bloodline Limit is false, the fact that he has a survivor of the Uzumaki clan alone will be enough to make the Raikage and Tsuchikage take action. They're not the type to let others reap the benefits."

"Kukuku... It seems the shinobi world is about to become interesting again~!"

---

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

Tsuchikage's Office.

Half a year had passed since Iwagakure and Konoha went to war.

Although ninjas exist for the sake of war, a prolonged conflict lasting half a year had left the entire village of Iwagakure shrouded in exhaustion and unease. The exhaustion came from the ninjas who had been fighting in the war.

The unease came from the fact that, even after all this time, Iwagakure had been unable to secure a decisive victory.

It had to be said that Konoha, as the strongest shinobi village in the world, had an overwhelmingly deep foundation.

Despite being attacked by two major villages, Konoha's defenses had held firm, and both Iwagakure and Kumogakure could feel Konoha's growing resilience, especially with the overwhelming power displayed by that young man, Namikaze Minato.

Even Ōnoki felt a sense of dread.

What made Ōnoki even more uneasy was that while they were fighting Konoha, Sunagakure, another of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had been rapidly developing amidst the chaos.

In fact, its growth had exceeded Ōnoki's expectations. Especially after the recent wave of intelligence about Sunagakure reached his hands, he was deeply alarmed.

The cunning Ōnoki knew exactly where this intelligence came from, but even so, there was nothing he could do about it.

This was Konoha's blatant scheme.

"The cells of the First Hokage, the Sharingan, a survivor of the Uzumaki clan, the Green Miracle, Dragon Vein, the Land of Demons..."

All of this told Ōnoki that Sunagakure was no longer the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Instead, it was like a lurking beast, growing in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to devour everything in its path.

The thought of the young man he had met in the Land of Birds, the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, only deepened Ōnoki's unease. He could tolerate Konoha's existence, but he would never allow a second Konoha to emerge.

With this in mind, Ōnoki quickly made up his decision.