Chapter 185 The battle between shadows! (4000 words)

Konoha Village, Hokage Building, small conference room, Sarutobi Hiruzen once again summoned his old buddies for a meeting.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was still wearing the Hokage robe and holding a pipe, but there was a trace of worry on his slightly older face.

"Kumogakure has been fighting with us Konoha for nearly a year and a half, and Iwagakure has been fighting with us Konoha for nearly half a year."

"Coupled with the ended war in the Uzumaki Country, Konoha has spent countless money on this, which has obviously affected Konoha's recovery of strength and economic construction."

"The current war with Kumogakure and Iwagakure has no end in sight. If this continues, our Konoha's strength will fall to the top in the world sooner or later."

"Things have to change!"

"What do you think?"

Shimura Danzo, Mito Kadoyan, and Koharu looked at each other when they went to bed.

Then Mito Kadoen said: "How about we stop sending more troops to Kumogakure's front line and secretly send some more troops?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said: "The large troops of Kumogakure are stationed in the country of Yu. Even if Kumokaku is caught off guard, Kumokaku will still have enough strength to cover up."

"We sent more troops, and Kumogakure also sent more troops. Konoha has been stuck in the quagmire of war, which is exactly what Kumogakure wants."

Xiaochun turned to bed and said: "Since Yunyin's side can't do it, send more troops to the Country of Grass."

"Orochimaru's side has achieved some results."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said, "Theoretically it's possible, but in practice it's not."

"I carefully studied the battle report from the Land of Grass and the intelligence collected below, and I was shocked to realize that Orochimaru's war style has changed from before."

"I'm afraid Orochimaru is deliberately delaying the progress of the war..."

After fighting in three battlefields, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally discovered something was wrong with Orochimaru.

It was also because Sarutobi Hiruzen had been worried about the war recently, thinking hard about ways to defeat the enemy, and he was very concerned about battle reports and intelligence, and suddenly he had a flash of inspiration.

"What?"

"impossible?"

Mito Kabuto and Koharu, who had transferred to the dormitory, exclaimed.

When Danzo heard this, he was first surprised, then delighted, and finally said seriously: "Hiruzen, Orochimaru is expressing his dissatisfaction to you."

The more serious the dispute between master and disciple is, the less likely Orochimaru will become Hokage. Hehe, then the greater his chances will be.

But no matter how small the possibility is, Orochimaru may still become Hokage, as long as he changes in the direction Hiruzen wants.

It would be nice if Orochimaru left the village like Jiraiya and Tsunade did.

"I know, Orochimaru is really becoming more and more deviant."

"There are many ways to express dissatisfaction to me, but he chose the one that hurts Konoha the most. It's really excessive!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took off the pipe from his mouth and blew out two "angry and dissatisfied" smoke from his nostrils.

Danzo smiled slightly, sowing discord and said: "It is indeed very excessive, but looking at your current appearance Hiruzen, the effect is obviously very good."

Since he wanted to express his dissatisfaction and anger, he naturally had to hit his weak point. Sarutobi Hiruzen's biggest weak point was naturally Konoha.

"Okay, stop making sarcastic remarks."

"Men Yan and Xiaochun have both spoken, what's your opinion?"

Danzo stopped after hearing what he said and said seriously: "My opinion is to send the dead soldiers to sneak into Iwagakure Village, let the spies in Iwagakure Village cooperate with their actions, wait for the opportunity to cause big things, and let Iwagakure Village have no time to take care of itself."

"For example, to assassinate the top management of Iwagakure, it would be best to assassinate Onoki."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said: "Taking a wrong approach with swords has huge risks, the results are unknown, and there is the possibility of expanding the war. It can only be used as an alternative among alternatives."

Danzo was a little unconvinced and said coldly: "Then Hiruzen, tell us what you think and let us open our eyes."

Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe in his mouth and said with a faint smile: "My idea is to send an envoy to ask Sunagakure Village to send troops."

"Sunagakure Village?"

Mito Kadoyan and Koharu, who had gone to bed, brightened up when they heard this. Danzo seemed to have thought of something, and his face became a little ugly.

"Yes, let Sand Hidden Village send troops."

"Sunagakure Village is our alliance. Although it is a forced alliance, it is still an alliance."

"The Kingdom of Earth and the Kingdom of Wind are adjacent to each other. Since the emergence of the one-country-one-village system, Iwagakure Village and Sand Hidden Village have been fighting each other all year round. The two sides have had a long-standing grudge, and their hatred is as deep as the sea."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. How can Sunagakure Village stand by and watch when our allies are in trouble?"

"Of course, empty words and white teeth will definitely not convince those extremely realistic guys in Sunagakure Village, so some benefits must be paid."

"In addition, Rasa, the fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure Village, has just ascended to the position of Kazekage. He urgently needs to make achievements to consolidate his position and gain more power."

"The benefits we have given, the benefits gained from defeating Iwagakure, this is a considerable political achievement."

"With the assistance of Sunagakure Village, the Iwagakure and Kusagakure coalition forces will be completely at a disadvantage. I don't see what excuse Orochimaru has to delay the progress of the war..."

"If you don't do your best, I will cut off Orochimaru's research funds, prohibit Orochimaru from participating in any research projects in the village, and there will be no rewards such as going to the Sealed Book to select ninjutsu."

"What do you think?"

"It's feasible." Mitomon Yan smiled.

"High." Xiaochun smiled as he turned to bed.

"That's it." Danzo said expressionlessly.

Regarding Danzo's harsh words, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't bother to argue and said with a smile: "Next, let's discuss the candidate for the envoy and the specific benefits that are most cost-effective."

…

That afternoon, Konoha secretly sent an envoy to the Sand Hidden Village in the Country of Wind.

Three days later, the Konoha envoy arrived at Sunagakure Village through the long yellow sand, and held very low-key discussions with senior officials such as the fourth generation Kazekage Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo.

After some intense bargaining, the two parties finally reached an agreement.

On the day the agreement was reached, Sunagakure's senior management held discussions in the small conference room of the Kazekage Building.

In the end, it was decided to send Jonin Maki and Jonin Yekura as the chief and deputy commanders to lead the team to the Country of Grass to fight alongside the Konoha ninjas.

After a day of preparation, early the next morning, the thousand-level Sunagakure ninjas escaped into the vast desert.

Although the actions of the Konoha envoys and Sunagakure Village were as low-key as possible, they were still detected by the Iwagakure spies lurking in Sunagakure Village.

The Iwagakure spies did not obtain the specific arrangements of Konoha and Sunagakure, but the news that Konoha's envoys came to Sunagakure Village.

Ninjas who can become spies are naturally smart people. After sensing potential risks, they immediately transmit the highest level of intelligence to the headquarters of Iwagakure Village.

In half a day, the information reached the corresponding ninjas in Iwagakure Village, and then was delivered to Onoki as quickly as possible.

Ohnoki's expression changed slightly after receiving the information, but he soon regained his composure and decisively sent people to give the front line an early warning as quickly as possible.

Then Ohnoki sat on the Tsuchikage throne and thought about countermeasures, his not-so-young brain running at full speed...

Sand Hidden Village is not far from the Country of Grass. It can be reached in one day with a normal march, and half a day with an urgent march.

Supporting Konoha was not an urgent matter, so Sunagakure naturally rushed at normal marching speed, but he only had half a day left at most.

Half a day was enough time for Iwagakure to give an early warning to the front line, but it could not change the battlefield situation.

The Sunagakure ninjas who were marching normally retained enough physical strength and chakra to launch an attack with the Konoha ninjas as soon as they arrived at the predetermined position.

It is impossible for the Iwagakure and Kusagakure coalition forces to withstand the attack of the Konoha and Sunagakure coalition forces. This is an absolute gap in strength.

If nothing else, Iwagakure was defeated.

It just happened to be an accident. Ohnoki was really not a vegetarian. It didn't take long to think of a countermeasure and quickly conveyed the order.

Onoki breathed a sigh of relief and then summoned Iwakaku's senior management for a meeting, because Onoki's countermeasures could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

Iwagakure Village, Tsuchikage Building, small conference room, Iwagakure senior executives filed in with a straight face after receiving the urgent notice, and quickly found their seats and sat down.

When everyone arrived, the door to the conference room was closed. Iwagakure Anbu were stationed outside and around the conference room to prevent spy detection.

Onoki Yan briefly and comprehensively introduced the situation, and then sought the opinions of Iwakaku's senior management.

The senior officials of Iwagakure were shocked when they learned that Sunagakure Village sent troops to join the war, and showed a different attitude.

Some high-level officials were confused, and some high-level officials were still calm and calm even though they had no idea of ​​a solution out of trust in Ohnoki.

Some senior officials actively offered suggestions and suggestions, but they were either unrealistic or too late.

Seeing the performance of Iwagakure's senior officials, Onoki secretly sighed. There was no successor to Iwagakure Village, at least these people couldn't be counted on.

"Ahem, be quiet." Ohnoki coughed twice and said in a deep voice,

The top management of Iwagakure quickly became quiet after hearing this, and looked over in unison.

Facing everyone's gaze, Onoki looked calm and calm, and said in a deep voice: "I have already made corresponding arrangements regarding the sudden incident of sending troops to Sunagakure Village."

"First, the front line was notified using the fastest communication method."

"In this way, the front line can at least be prepared to some extent and not be completely caught off guard."

Because it was a normal operation, the top management of Iwagakure was calm, so it would be strange not to notify them immediately.

"Mere notification alone cannot solve the crisis on the front line, not even temporarily, so I have made four more arrangements."

"First point, let Loess dispatch the Grass Ninja to the Kingdom of Rain to stop the Sand Ninja."

"The second point is to vent to Hanzo about Kusanagi's entry into the Land of Rain, and pay some benefits for Hanzo to send ninjas to help stop Suna Ninja."

Hanzo is not dead yet at this point in time. In fact, Hanzo is still far away from death.

Hanzo's death time should be four years from the Chunin Examination to the beginning of Shippuden, probably between Konoha 63 and Konoha 67.

In the Chunin Exam, the forehead protector mark on the head of the four-barred rain ninja sent by the Hidden Rain Village is four vertical lines.

By the time Jiraiya tortured Shibashi, a horizontal line had been drawn on Shibashi's forehead protector. It was a sign of rebellious ninja, but this kind of mark has become the mainstream of Amegakure Village.

The orthodox four-line forehead protector has become the remnants of the former Rain Ninja Village. These remnants are the ninjas who are still loyal to Hanzo.

The Rain Ninja Village is also one of Konoha's allies, and it is impossible for the Konoha Village to know anything about the allies.

That's just ordinary things. How can you still know nothing about such a major event as the leader of Yuyin Village has changed?

Jiraiya has been traveling around the ninja world all year round. In addition to looking for the Child of Destiny, he is also collecting intelligence for Konoha.

Jiraiya, who relies on Konoha and travels around, cannot be too secluded in news, but his understanding of the Rain Country is still in the midst of civil strife.

This shows that Hanzo is dead and it won't take long for Pain to take over to end the civil strife.

"Although the Rain Hidden Village is an ally of Konoha, Hanzo is also a guy who can't afford to do anything early. As long as the benefits are big enough, the Rain Ninja will not mind dressing up."

"Third point, I have allocated a sum of money to hire various ninja organizations, and they will also participate in stopping the Sand Ninja."

"A bunch of scattered grass ninjas and rain ninjas, the ninja organization will never be able to organize the sand ninjas for a long time."

"The first three points of the arrangement are all to gain time so that the reinforcements sent can rush to the front line in time."

"In order to avoid expanding the war, the number of reinforcements this time is only nine hundred."

"However, with the Kusanagi returning to the army and the original ninjas on the front line, the number and strength should not be inferior to the Konoha Sunagakure coalition."

"Don't worry about the front line for now."

Seeing Onoki talking and strategizing, the uneasy hearts of Iwagakure's senior executives finally calmed down.

The eyes of many senior officials are filled with admiration and admiration.

Some senior officials looked as if this was indeed the case, as if to say, "Look, I just said that since Lord Tsuchikage is here, there is no need to worry at all"...

"It's just that the grass ninja can't compare to the sand ninja after all, whether it's the general quality of ninjas or the mid-to-high-end combat power."

"We must find a way to deal with the Konoha Sunagakure coalition."

"Do you have any ideas?"

A die-hard senior executive of Onoki quickly said: "I think it is best to use Tsuchikage-sama's famous method of sowing discord in the ninja world to destroy the alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure."

Ohnoki: "..."

Are you praising me or hurting me?

Most of Sunagakure's senior officials nodded after hearing this and thinking for a while.

They are familiar with this matter and can do it.

Onoki's face became darker and darker, and he scolded: "The method of fanning flames and sowing dissension is not suitable for use now."

"At this moment, no matter who did it, for the sake of the overall situation, Konoha and Sunagakure will pour dirty water on us Iwagakure, and it will have no effect."

"You all have younger brains than me, why are you so stupid?"

"I don't know how to turn at all. Konoha has already shown me how to do it, but I still can't think of it..."

"What a bunch of rotten wood!"

The senior members of Iwagakure lowered their heads after being scolded by Onoki.

After a while, a senior member of Iwagakure said, "Lord Tsuchikage, do you mean to unite with Kirigakure?"

"Finally, I didn't tell Yunyin, so I still have some brains."

The Iwagakure senior executive smiled, does this require brains?

They had killed the Third Raikage of Cloud Hidden Village, and their Iwagakure Village also suffered heavy losses due to the wheel battle, and the two sides had a deep hatred.

Moreover, Kumogakure is still at war with Konoha, how can he possibly help?

"Yes, we are sending envoys to unite with Kirigakure."

"I think that baby-faced guy in Yagura is not a peaceful person, so the possibility of agreeing is not small."

"If empty words don't make sense, the worst case scenario is to provide some benefits. Don't delay, don't be stingy."

"Kirigakure was defeated by Konoha not long ago. It will be difficult for them to attack Konoha again, but they should still be confident in attacking Sunagakure."

"There is no need for them to go deep into the heart of the Kingdom of Wind, they can just attack the border of the Kingdom of Wind."

"Although it won't cause Sunagakure to withdraw its troops, Sunagakure will definitely be affected."

"In this way, the gap in combat power on the front line will be smoothed. Maybe our combat power will still have an advantage, if Kirigakure is capable."

The top executives of Iwagakure thought it made sense and agreed one after another.

Afterwards, everyone discussed the selection of the envoy and the criteria of interest. Half an hour later, the Iwagakure envoy secretly set off with his people.