They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 247 Discovery of the Earth-Moon Passage

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi fall silent after his words, Danzo Shimura couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

After six years, he finally experienced the joy of being a Naruto.

Now I finally understand why, when Hiruzen Sarutobi was Hokage, he always liked to end their disputes with the phrase, "Danzo, I am the Hokage."

There's no way around it, the feeling of blatantly crushing the opponent using the Hokage identity is just too exhilarating!

The joy of being a privileged user truly transcends the world.

Because of concerns about a possible connection between the Sharingan and Rinnegan, the Hokage was not invited to assist Fugaku Uchiha in this private meeting. Therefore, with Hiruzen Sarutobi feeling humiliated and speechless, the others were naturally no match for Danzo Shimura.

Jiraiya and Tsunade wanted to object, but unfortunately, they had already left Konoha for many years. Although they ostensibly left to complete an intelligence-gathering mission signed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, everyone knew the real reason.

Having ignored Konoha for so many years, there is naturally no reason for them to interfere with the Hokage's decisions now.

In fact, after Yahiko's death, Nagato Uzumaki had already fully awakened the Rinnegan in a fit of extreme anger.

With his current strength, he might not be the undisputed number one ninja in the world, but he could definitely crush Konoha in its current state.

However, because he had spent six years with Jiraiya in this life, their bond was even stronger than in the original story. In addition, he knew that his teacher had come to Konoha to protect him, so he did not want his teacher to suffer in the end.

Furthermore, he believed that with his own strength, he could protect himself no matter where he went in Konoha, so he did not express any objections.

Nagato Uzumaki thus entered the Anbu and became a "glorious" Anbu ninja.

"Very well, in that case, you'll be temporarily assigned to the third squad of the first division of the Dark Guard!"

Danzo Shimura nodded in satisfaction, then ordered someone to take Nagato Uzumaki down to meet his companion.

After giving Konan and Jiraiya a reassuring look, Nagato obediently followed the guide and left the area.

"Alright, now let's call Fugaku Uchiha over and discuss how to deal with the combined attack of these four ninja villages!"

Thinking of the crisis Konoha is currently facing, the others, no matter how much they disagreed with each other, had to put aside their grudges and join the talks with solemn expressions.

After intense discussions, the Konoha leadership finally reached a consensus.

On the southwestern battlefield, Akimichi Torifu, a former teammate of Hiruzen Sarutobi and others, took command to stabilize the situation. Meanwhile, to guard against the Sand Village's puppet poison, Tsunade was appointed as the deputy commander.

In the Northwest battlefield, due to the large number of Iwa ninja but their relatively low average strength, Orochimaru, a master of the Manda Rasengan and known for his composure, was appointed as commander. Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze, who had recently risen to prominence and was skilled in space-time ninjutsu, was chosen as deputy commander.

In the northeastern battlefield, because of the existence of Kumogakure, the second strongest ninja village in the world, Danzo Shimura, who had received Hashirama cells and the Mangekyou Sharingan, was eager to show his prowess, so he personally took charge of commanding this front.

In the southeastern battlefield, because Shimura Danzo was not in the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to leave the village in order to make a compromise. In addition, due to the previous grudges with Kirigakure, Hiruzen Sarutobi was in charge of dealing with Kirigakure, with Fugaku Uchiha as the deputy commander.

After identifying the commanders for each front, Shimura Danzo issued a battle plan of "layered blocking, self-preservation, and counter-offensive when the time is right."

Although they had already sent people to contact Iwagakure and Sunagakure, under the coercion and enticement of the Tailed Beast Sealing Technique, the cession of benefits after the war, and the all-out effort to drag them into the conflict, the two ninja villages agreed to betray them at the crucial moment.

But given Danzo Shimura's character, how could he possibly place his hopes for Konoha's victory on someone else?

In his view, one cannot passively wait; one must seize the opportunity.

After receiving Hashirama's cells and regaining his Mangekyou Sharingan, Danzo Shimura felt incredibly powerful. He was confident he could defeat Madara Uchiha even if he were reborn, let alone the mere Raikage.

Therefore, under these circumstances, his plan was naturally to take advantage of this information gap and attack the Hidden Cloud Village, which was the strongest of the Four Ninja Villages on the surface, and directly kill the Third Raikage in one blow.

By using the Third Raikage as a raft, he not only decisively defeated the enemy army and dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the anti-Konoha alliance, but also established his own prestige through this event.

At this point, with the morale of both sides undergoing a dramatic shift, Iwagakure and Sunagakure will likely have to seriously consider Konoha's earlier proposal.

If these two factors falter, it will naturally present a great opportunity for a counterattack on the other fronts.

With the addition of Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure, who was lured with benefits, Konoha's current precarious situation will soon be reversed.

Of course, out of a need to keep his own secrets, Shimura Danzo did not tell the other commanders what the timing of this "waiting for the right moment" was. He simply kept them in suspense, telling them that they would know in due time, and then shut up and said no more.

"Raikage... Hah, let the ninja world see just how big the gap is between the Raikage and the Hokage!"

After discussing the strategic plan, Danzo Shimura looked out the window at the large statue of the Second Hokage on the Hokage Rock, and imagined himself soon dominating the ninja world. His heart was filled with excitement.

……

After the Konoha leadership finished discussing the basic strategy for this war, the Konoha war machine began to operate in an orderly manner.

Once the commanders from all sides arrived at the front lines, the previously scattered morale of Konoha immediately stabilized. Following Shimura Danzo's plan, the various battle lines began an orderly retreat to lull the enemy into a false sense of security.

At this time, Danzo Shimura also arrived at the northeastern front, waiting for the opportunity to kill the Third Raikage with one blow.

The ninja world was in turmoil, with everyone's attention focused on this unprecedented siege battle.

-

While everyone in the ninja world was focused on the Third Shinobi World War, somewhere in the Land of Rivers, in a dark and damp underground place, a strange creature, black and white in color and resembling a pitcher plant, was constantly probing its surroundings.

While investigating, he kept muttering to himself:

"Damn it, Hozuki Shingetsu! He promised a breakthrough in three years, but three years have passed, and now another three years have gone by. I've been mining for three years straight, and this chakra cannon has only broken through a tiny bit?"

This creature is none other than the ninja world's fragrant spirit, Otsutsuki Black Zetsu.

Nearly nine years have passed since the contract was signed with Hozuki Shingetsu, in exchange for abundant mineral resources and funds from Kirigakure to increase its efforts in the research and development of chakra cannons.

For the past nine years, Hozuki Shingetsu has been using the progress of the Chakra Cannon as an excuse to keep Black Zetsu on his toes, driving Black Zetsu to constantly search for various mineral resources, ninja world secret techniques, and talents in various fields.

To ensure his mother's rescue, Black Zetsu naturally wanted to capture both Madara Uchiha and Shingetsu Hozuki.

So during those nine years, Black Zetsu, besides acting like a grandson to Madara Uchiha, the reincarnation of his own good nephew, and helping him plot against Takigakure, Nagato Uzumaki, and the Uchiha clan, was also working for Shingetsu Hozuki, who wanted to be his adopted father.

It's fair to say that Black Zetsu hasn't had a single peaceful night's sleep in all these years. He's either working or on his way to work every day, running between two places and getting bullied by both sides. He's practically the ninja world's version of 007.

Kirigakure was able to enter the industrial age so quickly, thanks in large part to Black Zetsu's tireless dedication.

Sometimes Hozuki Shingetsu also wonders if there must be some divine will at play here!

Despite spanning two worlds, the help of black people was truly indispensable in the transition to the industrial age.

Although Black Zetsu is only half black, the purity of its black half is so high that, rounding down, it's definitely fair to call it a black monster.

The saying "Every pore of a capitalist's skin is soaked with the blood and sweat of black people" is truly an truism!

At this moment, Black Zetsu was still diligently searching for various hidden mineral resources under Hozuki Shingetsu's promises, completely unaware that he had already become a substitute for watermelon and fried chicken in Hozuki Shingetsu's eyes.

"You bastard, the day that chakra cannon is completed and successfully shatters the moon to rescue Mother, I will definitely give you a good beating. I will torture your entire family to death in front of you, making you regret it for the rest of your life!"

After yet another failed search, Black Zetsu finally couldn't help but sit on the ground, angrily cursing Hozuki Shingetsu.

He wasn't without suspicion about Hozuki Shingetsu's motives for needing so many resources, but every time he came to him, he was bombarded with a bunch of impressive-sounding but incomprehensible terms like "Earth-Moon gravity," "second cosmic velocity," "precision fire control system," and "friction combustion," and was eventually told, "What do you know about scholarly matters?"

Over time, it stopped humiliating itself. As long as Hozuki Crescent Moon could eventually be developed, these resources were nothing to it.

"Sir, we have discovered a strange place."

Just as Black Zetsu was imagining how he would torture Hozuki Shingetsu after rescuing his mother, one of his White Zetsu subordinates came to his side to report.

Once all the mineral veins that Black Zetsu was familiar with had been explored, it was natural to need to find new veins to satisfy Hozuki Shingetsu's demands. Therefore, in order to maximize efficiency, it was only right that all of its White Zetsu subordinates be transferred over.

"A strange place? Is it a mineral vein?"

"It's not a mineral vein; it's a glowing lake. The amazing thing is, we don't get wet when we touch the water."

White Zetsu's description completely piqued Black Zetsu's interest, and following it, Black Zetsu finally arrived at the lake and witnessed the water that kept him dry.

The lake water shimmered with a deep blue light in the dark cave, reflecting a golden ninja symbol on it.

阿。

Black Zetsu looked up and, having lived for a thousand years, naturally knew that the ninja script came from the Buddhist word "Ah-huh," which represents the beginning of the universe.

Black Zetsu vaguely felt that the handwriting looked familiar. A memory that could feel familiar in its thousand-year history must be extremely important.

Unfortunately, perhaps because so much time has passed, it has not remembered whose handwriting it was.

It walked to the lakeside, and after confirming that the lake water was indeed non-wet, its eyes gleamed, and it dived directly into the lake.

As Black Zetsu continued downstream along the lake, he soon encountered bubbles the size of balloons. As they met sideways, a strange memory welled up in his mind.

It was a vast, empty land, scarred and marked by battle.

In this vast space, only two giants were engaged in a fierce battle. One of them was a monster that was hundreds of meters tall, with ten tails swaying behind it and a single scarlet eye between its eyebrows.

The other is a giant of the same size, covered in green wooden dragons.

Amidst the fierce battle between the two monsters, a white fist-like gust of wind that seemed to pierce the heavens and earth could be seen striking the monster from time to time.

"It's been so long since I've seen a scene like this..."

Black Zetsu stared blankly at the scene, his gaze fixed on the beautiful woman standing atop the monster's head in the distance.

"Mother……"

The woman seemed to hear the call, and turned her head slightly in that direction. The moment she turned, the illusion shattered, and Black Jue returned to the lake.

"So it was you... Hamura."

Black Zetsu closed his eyes, still savoring the moment. After a brief moment of reflection, he finally remembered the source of the familiar handwriting.

"If it's Hamura's handwriting, and considering its meaning, then if I'm not mistaken, what lies beneath this lake leads to...

The familiar handwriting, the meaning of the handwriting, the illusion that could captivate me—all of these things pointed to one possibility.

Black Zetsu was overjoyed at the thought of a certain possibility and, trembling, began to dive at full speed into the lake.

Using the "Levitation Technique," Black Zetsu easily bypassed the illusion guards, entered the lake bottom, and left the water.

"As expected, this is... the interior of the moon!"

Looking at the place before him, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, Black Zetsu glanced up at the sun and made a complex judgment.

It never expected that, before Hozuki Shingetsu and Uchiha Madara's plans were even completed, it would arrive inside the moon first, infiltrate the enemy's lair, and be so close to the place where its mother was sealed.

"Mother……"

Guided by some unseen intuition, Black Zetsu turned his head to look in one direction, which was the place where Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed.

With his mother so close, Black Zetsu could no longer contain his excitement and used the "Mayfly Technique" to immediately dive towards that location.

The instant Black Zetsu appeared inside the moon, somewhere in the sky, on a small island floating in the air, stood a magnificent temple. Inside the temple, in a hidden room heavily sealed, a huge white sphere that had been dim and lifeless suddenly lit up.

(End of this chapter)