Chapter 221: Danzō Shimura's Suppression
A knock sounded at the door.
Hoshikawa looked at Tsunade. She was lounging on the sofa without any concern for appearances, her legs propped up, her left foot swinging loosely, causing the ankle chain to make a faint jingling sound.
"Master," Hoshikawa reminded her, "if a stranger were to see you like this, your…"
"Stop nagging!" Tsunade interrupted him with great displeasure.
But her body was honest; she sat up and put her feet down.
Hoshikawa couldn't help but smile and went to open the door.
"Hoshikawa," standing outside was Shikaku Nara, holding a stack of documents. "These are the details of the three thousand ninja."
"Come on in," Hoshikawa held out his hand and took the documents from him.
"Thank you." Shikaku Nara followed him into the living room.
Hoshikawa walked over and placed the documents on the coffee table.
"Tsunade-sama," Shikaku Nara bowed slightly. "Please take a look and see if there are any personnel changes required."
"Hoshikawa, you look over a section for me," Tsunade said, casually picking up a document.
"Yes." Hoshikawa took a section and opened a document.
The contents provided an introduction to the ninja organized in squad formations, including ninja from various large and small clans, from the Uchiha Clan to the Inuzuka Clan. Of course, the number of non-clan ninja was the highest.
Hoshikawa suddenly let out a small sound of surprise. He had spotted an unexpected name: Itachi Uchiha.
A little brat who was still two months shy of his fourth birthday.
Hoshikawa twitched his lips. Fugaku Uchiha was truly a good father, sending his son to the battlefield at such a young age.
In the original story, it was the same. A four-year-old Itachi Uchiha participated in the Third Great Ninja War, which had a profound impact on him. Hoshikawa thought that due to his butterfly effect, this event would no longer happen, but he had underestimated Fugaku Uchiha.
But the present was different from the past; he had the authority to refuse.
"Master," Hoshikawa placed the document in front of Tsunade. "Itachi Uchiha is too young; let's remove him."
"Itachi Uchiha? Who put him in there?" Tsunade asked with a frown.
"It was a request from the Uchiha Clan," Shikaku Nara quickly explained, afraid he would be stuck with the blame if he didn't speak up immediately. After all, he was the one who performed the allocation, and any problem would naturally fall to him.
"A child under four years old will only cause trouble on the battlefield," Tsunade shook her head and said sternly. "The Uchiha Clan can act recklessly, but I cannot join them in their recklessness. Tell them to send a replacement."
"Understood!" Shikaku Nara immediately replied. He was afraid of offending the Uchiha Clan, so he hadn't dared to say anything.
But Tsunade was different; she wasn't afraid to offend them. More accurately, the Uchiha Clan wouldn't dare to offend her, whether because of her medical ninjutsu or her current status.
Hoshikawa took the documents back and continued reviewing them. Other than Itachi Uchiha, the rest of the ninja seemed perfectly normal.
"That's everything then," Tsunade closed the documents.
"Yes," Shikaku Nara gathered the documents. "I will notify them now to prepare."
"Mhm." Tsunade nodded.
Shikaku Nara turned and left. Once outside, he pondered for a moment before heading to the Uchiha Clan compound.
Fugaku Uchiha was on the Land of Frost battlefield, so Mikoto Uchiha received him.
"Mikoto-sama," Shikaku Nara said straightforwardly. "We need you to replace Itachi Uchiha."
"Why?" Mikoto Uchiha asked with some surprise.
"It is Tsunade-sama's instruction," Shikaku Nara chose his words carefully. "She believes Itachi Uchiha is too young."
"Is that so?" Mikoto Uchiha was slightly taken aback.
Sending Itachi Uchiha to the Land of Frost was Fugaku Uchiha's arrangement. But she hadn't expected Tsunade to refuse.
Should I go talk to her? Mikoto Uchiha thought, then mentally told herself this was a good thing. She had actually felt that sending Itachi Uchiha to the battlefield at such a young age was unnecessary. Since Fugaku Uchiha was not only her husband but also the clan head, she couldn't refuse him, but Tsunade could. Mikoto Uchiha knew that Fugaku Uchiha always wanted to improve the Uchiha Clan's position in Konoha. Therefore, he would not offend Tsunade.
"I understand. I will replace him with a genin immediately," Mikoto Uchiha replied.
Shikaku Nara breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Ino-Shika-Chō alliance was strong, both Tsunade and the Uchiha Clan were powers that were best not messed with.
Konoha Village main camp in the Land of Frost.
Danzō Shimura walked into the main tent, his face grave.
"What is it?" Orochimaru glanced at him, asking coolly.
"I just received word from Konoha. Tsunade will be leading three thousand ninja to reinforce us tomorrow," Danzō Shimura said with a heavy tone.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Orochimaru asked with a faint smile in response.
"What good thing are you talking about?" Danzō Shimura said with annoyance. "She's coming to steal the credit!"
Although Tsunade was riding high in popularity, Orochimaru still had a chance. If he defeated Kumogakure and captured the Fourth Raikage or the jinchūriki, he could close the gap. Now that Tsunade was rushing over, it would be difficult to say whose credit it was.
"I am the commander," Orochimaru said dismissively.
"That is true." Danzō Shimura's eyes lit up. "You could assign Tsunade a logistics mission, keeping her off the battlefield!"
"That is not a long-term solution," Orochimaru shook his head. "And knowing her personality, she won't let you have your way."
"Since you are the commander, we might as well just set a trap to lure her into a Kumogakure ambush!" Danzō Shimura paced a few steps, then a look of murderous intent flashed across his face. In the original story, in order to become Hokage, he was willing to send Yamato to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi, so Tsunade was naturally no exception.
"Do you know the consequences if you are discovered?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes when he heard this.
"I know, of course," Danzō Shimura said, his face darkening. "But if you become Hokage, it will all be worth it!"
Orochimaru frowned. Emotionally and logically, he didn't want to harm Tsunade. After all, they were teammates, and there was the connection through Nawaki.
"Orochimaru, this is not the time to hesitate!" Danzō Shimura urged. "Don't forget our previous agreement!"
"It is not easy to ambush her," Orochimaru said slowly. "And there is also Hoshikawa, who defeated the Four-Tails Jinchūriki Rōshi and killed the Third Mizukage."
Danzō Shimura fell silent. Mentioning Hoshikawa caused him grief. That genius should have belonged to his Root, but he missed his chance, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade snatched him away. Now, he had become the most troublesome existence for Danzō.
If he wanted to kill Tsunade, he couldn't avoid Hoshikawa. Given the strength of the teacher and student, for Kumogakure to kill them, the Fourth Raikage, A, or the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer B, would likely have to intervene.
"Leave this matter to me," Danzō Shimura said gravely. No matter how difficult, he had to try. And he might not be unsuccessful. Although Root had been disbanded, its members still obeyed him. Coupled with Orochimaru's cooperation, the chances of success were high.
Orochimaru watched Danzō Shimura's contemplation and shook his head internally. He seemed to have forgotten that Tsunade and Hoshikawa both possessed the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Killing them was practically impossible; the most they could achieve was severe injury. However, none of this concerned him much. If Danzō Shimura wanted to go crazy, he was free to do so.
Kumogakure Village main camp in the Land of Frost.
The Fourth Raikage A, Killer B, Dodai, Mabui, Yugito Nii, and other ninja were gathered in the main tent. The movement of Konoha's three thousand ninja was too significant to hide from them.
"We have confirmed it; Tsunade is leading the team," Dodai said with a serious expression.
"It seems Konoha wants to have a final showdown with us," Mabui instantly discerned Hiruzen Sarutobi's intention. It was quite obvious.
"Mabui, after this meeting, use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send me back to Kumogakure," A said.
The Heavenly Transfer Technique could instantly transfer a target to a specified location through high-speed movement. However, unlike the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, it wasn't a Space-Time ninjutsu. It was more like a super-enhanced Body Flicker Jutsu. Due to the extreme speed, the target would experience severe friction with the air. Ordinary ninja couldn't withstand this friction, which would cause their bodies to be torn apart. In the entire Ninja World, only the Fourth Raikage A could endure this friction. Aside from him, it was mainly used to transport inanimate objects.
"Understood," Mabui nodded. She knew A was going back to summon reinforcements. Tsunade plus three thousand ninja was enough to give Konoha a decisive advantage, so Kumogakure also needed to mobilize three thousand ninja for support. Fortunately, the Third Raikage's death had stalled Iwagakure, so they had surplus troops to call upon.
"Can we approach this war from the angle of Hoshikawa?" Dodai pondered for a moment. "His current status is very high. If he helps us, victory is certain."
"He has already betrayed us!" Yugito Nii said coldly when she heard this.
Samui wanted to speak but could only sigh inwardly. After the last incident, Hoshikawa had completely lost Kumogakure's trust.
"But he still has a restriction placed on him," Dodai narrowed his eyes. "We might be able to leverage that."
"Konoha has highly refined sealing jutsu; whether the restriction is still active is the question," Mabui said calmly. "To use him, we first need to confirm if the restriction is still in place."
"I will find an opportunity to test him," Dodai nodded.
"And if it isn't?" Samui asked hesitantly.
"There is one last option," Mabui said slowly. "We will announce his identity. Whether Konoha believes us or not, it will still create an unfavorable impact."
"We should have done that long ago!" Yugito Nii strongly agreed.
"…" Samui parted her lips. She wanted to say that doing so would result in a permanent rift between Hoshikawa and Kumogakure. But they clearly no longer cared about that. After all, a spy who was not loyal to Kumogakure was meaningless.
"Let's proceed with this for now," A stood up. "Mabui, send me back."
Early the next morning.
After breakfast, led by Tsunade, three thousand Konoha ninja departed for the Land of Frost.
Three days later, in the afternoon, they arrived at the Konoha Village main camp.
As the barrier was opened, Orochimaru, Danzō Shimura, Sakumo Hatake, and others walked out. Hoshikawa quickly scanned the crowd and saw Shisui Uchiha, Asuma Sarutobi, and Shizune.
Due to the presence of Orochimaru and Tsunade, they dared not speak up, only Asuma Sarutobi managed to wave at him. Hoshikawa nodded slightly in response.
But the person he was most interested in wasn't Asuma Sarutobi, but Shisui Uchiha. If his assumption was correct, Shisui had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. He just didn't know if it was still the Kotoamatsukami (Distant Amaterasu).
"Orochimaru, long time no see," Tsunade walked up to Orochimaru and greeted him proactively.
"It has been a while," Orochimaru said with a light smile.
"It's rare that we get to fight side-by-side again," Tsunade expressed a hint of nostalgia. "It's a pity Jiraiya isn't here."
"Indeed," Orochimaru nodded.
"Now is not the time for reminiscing," Danzō Shimura said gravely. "Orochimaru, how should these three thousand ninja be deployed?"
"Let them rest first," Tsunade frowned.
"Tsunade, the commander here is Orochimaru, not you!" Danzō Shimura scoffed.
"Shut up!" Tsunade immediately shot back. "Since you know Orochimaru is the commander, then under what authority are you giving orders here?"
That old man! She hadn't even settled the score with him over the Wood Release experiments, yet he was lecturing her first.
Hoshikawa raised an eyebrow. This was clearly an attempt at suppression. He naturally knew why Danzō Shimura was doing this—to prevent Tsunade from stealing credit. If she continued to accumulate achievements, it would be difficult for Orochimaru to compete for the Hokage position.
But given Tsunade's personality, she wouldn't tolerate Danzō Shimura.
"You!" Danzō Shimura was trembling with rage. It was true he was the Hokage's advisor, but he wasn't the commander here, not even the deputy commander.
"Tsunade, why don't you take them to the tents first? I will assign missions tomorrow," Orochimaru interrupted their argument.
The brief reunion ended. Tsunade ignored Danzō Shimura and went to the tent prepared specifically for her.
"Why is he targeting Master Tsunade?" Kurenai Yūhi asked with a confused expression.
"Because of the competition for the next Hokage," Hoshikawa glanced at Tsunade and said casually.
"Ah?" Kurenai Yūhi looked surprised. "He's that old; can he still compete for the Hokage position?" In her view, the next Hokage was surely going to be one of the Legendary Sannin.
Hoshikawa couldn't help but laugh. Tsunade also smiled, highly amused.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kurenai Yūhi looked utterly bewildered.
"No, you didn't," Hoshikawa explained. "But this time, he is supporting Master's teammate, Orochimaru."
"Then what should we do?" Kurenai Yūhi asked quickly. "We can't let him steal Master Tsunade's chance at becoming Hokage."
"...?" Tsunade twitched her mouth. Why are you all talking as if I've already become Hokage?
"Don't worry too much," Hoshikawa smiled. "Given the strength of our squad, he can't restrict us."
"Let's just see what they plan to do first," Tsunade said dismissively.
The next morning, Hoshikawa and his team received their assigned mission.
"So, they want us to stay in the main camp and treat the wounded?" Tsunade finished reading the mission and smiled. "That plan is acceptable, after all, our squad has three medical ninja."