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

Chapter 260 Danzo's Plan, The Final Battle Approaches

While the four great ninja villages outside Konoha were busy vying for the leadership of the alliance, a turbulent situation was also brewing within Konoha itself.

Despite Shimura Danzo's use of religion as a powerful weapon, it only managed to stabilize the villagers and civilian ninjas.

While Danzo Shimura had methods for dealing with the powerful, isolated ninja clans, his underhanded methods were likely to damage relationships and hinder unity in the face of such a critical situation.

However, this kind of benevolent strategy was precisely what Shimura Danzo was not good at.

Just when Danzo Shimura was at his wit's end, Minato Namikaze came to the Hokage's office and handed him a counterattack plan.

"Lord Hokage, I have some thoughts regarding this war, and I hope the village will consider them."

At this moment, the Hokage's office was empty. Shimura Danzo was facing away from the door, looking at the Hokage Rock in the distance with his back to the door and facing the setting sun. He was silently thinking about how to coordinate the whole village and deal with this crisis.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Shimura Danzo turned around, looked at the "Yellow Flash" who had become famous in this war, nodded, and silently accepted the plan without saying much.

Everyone in the ninja world thought that Minato Namikaze was famous for his space-time ninjutsu, but little did they know that this most outstanding young talent in Konoha after the Legendary Sannin was also very intelligent. Therefore, Danzo Shimura, who was stuck in a mental stalemate for a time, had high expectations for this plan.

At this moment, Minato Namikaze was also looking at the person in front of him with extremely complicated eyes.

With Minato Namikaze's intelligence, coupled with the clues that Danzo Shimura gradually revealed in his future memories, he could naturally see the role that Danzo Shimura played in the Hatake Sakumo and Hatake Nao incident.

Although the master-disciple relationship between Hatake Kakashi and him was short-lived, Hatake Kakashi was, after all, the first student he had trained, so he naturally felt great sympathy for Hatake Kakashi's plight.

However, in the past few years, he has been immersed in learning and absorbing the "future memories" and thinking about how to take revenge on Hozuki Shingetsu. In addition, with the downfall of his greatest backer, Sarutobi Hiruzen, he could not afford to antagonize the Hokage again.

So even though he sympathized with Kakashi, aside from frequently talking to him, he could only watch helplessly as Kakashi gradually fell into darkness.

He had originally planned to train step by step and then find an opportunity to assassinate Hozuki Shingetsu using space-time ninjutsu.

However, the speed at which the situation in Konoha was deteriorating had far exceeded his expectations.

His performance on the Land of Earth front was certainly brilliant, but I still didn't expect the other fronts, especially the front where the Hokage was, to collapse so quickly!

It wasn't until the Third Shinobi World War broke out that he realized it was unrealistic to seek revenge against Hozuki Shingetsu on his own.

Leaving aside the current international situation in the ninja world, just considering Hozuki Shingetsu's personal strength alone, it's something he can't shake at his current level.

While he did learn Sage Mode and various subsequent uses of Rasengan and Flying Thunder God Technique from his future memories, he dared not say that he could easily defeat the two Hokage.

Since that's the case, if he wants to take revenge, he can only find another way and start from somewhere else.

For example... becoming the Fifth Hokage, gathering the power of the entire village and even the entire ninja world to take revenge on Kirigakure.

Everything changes and develops. Right now, he is below and Hozuki Shingetsu is above, but as long as Konoha gets through this crisis, the situation will undergo a dramatic turnaround.

After all, Hozuki Shingetsu's current strength can be considered the strongest in the ninja world. Coupled with the great development of Kirigakure after this battle, anyone who isn't blind can see that Kirigakure is the next Konoha.

With his intelligence, Minato Namikaze could naturally grasp the essence of the strategy of forming alliances and counter-alliances.

By then, Konoha's present will be Kirigakure's future.

To achieve this goal, he must do everything in his power to protect Konoha.

"Did you come up with this plan yourself? Is there anyone else who knows the details of the plan?"

Just as Minato Namikaze lowered his eyes, contemplating his revenge plan, Danzo Shimura quietly put down his plan and gently pressed a button on the table, ordering his men to increase security around the office.

"It was my idea, that's right. Apart from me and the Hokage, no one else knows the details of this plan."

Seeing Minato Namikaze nod affirmatively, a complex look flashed across Danzo Shimura's eyes.

Although he had already overestimated the young man's intelligence, he never expected that he would come up with such a solution at a time like this.

"You should know that you are actually the most suitable person to carry out your plan... and once the plan is completed, you will probably be on the kill list of all the major ninja villages. Moreover, your reputation in the ninja world, especially among the daimyo of various countries, will probably have already plummeted."

"If the daimyo of various countries exert pressure, it's uncertain whether Konoha can even protect you."

"These are things we'll consider only if Konoha survives this battle... What's the point of considering these things if Konoha is destroyed in this battle?"

Minato Namikaze looked at Danzo Shimura with a resolute expression and a look of hatred in his eyes that he knew all too well.

"Moreover, Your Majesty was greatly alarmed and enraged by the attack on the Land of Fire by the four great nations of Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth, and even canceled your favorite entertainment activities. Although there are agreements between the nations guaranteeing the status of the daimyo after the war, what others give is ultimately not as good as what you have yourself."

"Under these circumstances, as long as Konoha can be preserved, I reckon the Daimyo will be happy to support me."

Danzo Shimura took out the pipe left behind by Hiruzen Sarutobi from the drawer, slowly put in the tobacco, packed it in, lit it, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth.

"Ahem... Now that you've made your decision, go for it! From now on, you only need to report your actions to me."

Danzo Shimura tapped his pipe and agreed to Minato Namikaze's request.

Minato Namikaze nodded expressionlessly, then asked about something else.

"Lord Hokage, regarding Michiko's situation..."

Before he could finish speaking, Danzo Shimura raised his hand to stop him.

"As you know, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is an indispensable fighting force. To ensure that no one affects the Nine-Tails' condition, she is currently in a very safe place."

When the war broke out, in order to prevent Hiruzen Sarutobi from using the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki as a powerful weapon to do anything underhanded, Danzo Shimura disregarded Minato Namikaze's objections and forcefully protected Michiko Uzumaki.

Once Hiruzen Sarutobi was defeated, in order to consolidate his position after the defeat, Danzo Shimura naturally would not release the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Therefore, Minato Namikaze had not seen his wife for more than two months at this time, which is why he asked this question.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is indeed your wife, but she is also a very important asset of the village. Don't worry, I will naturally ensure her safety."

Danzo Shimura then raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Minato Namikaze. "However, you can go see her before you set off to complete your mission."

Watching Minato Namikaze nod silently and then leave, Danzo Shimura looked at the plan on the table and finally smiled, a rare occurrence for him.

"Release the demons of the Land of Demons to disrupt the Lands of Wind and Earth, steal the Box of Paradise and release it in the capital of the Land of Lightning, assassinate the daimyo of the Land of Water to plunge the court into chaos, steal the Seven-Tails and release it in Kirigakure, and assassinate several Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts... These young people today are truly not to be underestimated!"

Danzo Shimura let out a similar sigh to Onoki, then suddenly noticed that a large number of papers had suddenly appeared in the sky above Konoha outside the office glass.

"This is……"

He pushed open the glass, gently waved his hand, and a breeze pushed a piece of paper into his hand.

On this piece of paper, which was no bigger than an unfolded book, were densely covered with promotional slogans for the Four Ninja Villages.

"The four ninja villages of Kirigakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure are separated from Konoha only by a narrow strip of water and should have lived in peace. However, the Hokage of Konoha acted tyrannically and forcibly kidnapped ninjas from Kumogakure... Therefore, we ultimately made a decision that went against our ancestors' wishes..."

"However, what have the common people done wrong in the Hokage's actions? We cannot bear to turn against each other like this and annihilate the last trace of Hashirama Senju's legacy... Therefore, after serious discussion, we have finally agreed that all those in Konoha who are inclined towards the light and are willing to assist us in resisting tyranny will be exempt from post-war accountability as long as they defend their clan in the upcoming battles. And if they are willing to abandon darkness and embrace the light, they can also enjoy some of the privileges of the victors..."

"We have decided to launch a general offensive in three days. Until then, we welcome any aspiring individuals to embrace the light... However, the deadline will not be reached. When the general offensive officially begins in three days, any ninja who has not made a choice will be considered a traitor to Konoha and will be reduced to dust under the army!"

How could Hozuki Shingetsu have forgotten such a classic Chinese tradition as war propaganda and mobilization?

In other words, the morale within Konoha Village is still relatively high, and they still possess the strength to fight back, having not truly run out of ammunition and supplies. Otherwise, Hozuki Shingetsu would likely be leading the four great ninja villages into a desperate situation, facing defeat on all sides, and shouting:

"Tuan-san, the cherry blossoms in our hometown are in bloom. Aren't you going back to see them?"

"You bastard!"

The moment Shimura Danzo saw the propaganda slogan, his expression changed drastically. He wanted to collect all the propaganda paper and control the information, but seeing the paper scattered in the air, covering at least half of Konoha, he could only helplessly abandon the idea.

He could already imagine the reaction of the ninja clan when they saw these propaganda slogans.

Even before these slogans appeared, those ninja clans each had their own ulterior motives. Now that these slogans have been put up, they figure if they don't take action soon, they might wake up in the middle of the night to find themselves hanging in front of Konoha's gates!

With this thought in mind, Shimura Danzo turned around hastily, pushed open the door, and headed straight for the Root Base.

He was going to see Nagato Uzumaki, using the unique abilities of his Rinnegan in conjunction with Minato Namikaze's actions for a final, desperate attempt!

"These Earthlings, they really have a lot of tricks up their sleeves when it comes to war!"

After casually picking up a promotional banner from mid-air and selecting a passerby to read the words on the banner, Ryoma Otsutsuki couldn't help but sigh.

The wars they had experienced or recorded were essentially internal conflicts between two branches of the family; with their numbers, it was at most a village brawl.

This was a propaganda offensive that was making its debut in the ninja world, something no one had ever seen before.

"These things are the result of the endless wars throughout the thousand-year history of the ninja world, which has given rise to the soil for the birth of this tactical thinking... This also proves that the earthlings have deviated from the ideas of the Sage of Six Paths, and should activate the Tenseigan to annihilate all these people."

The other two, born slightly later and who had never witnessed the power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, made wild pronouncements.

"Alright, now's not the time to discuss these things!"

Ryoma Otsutsuki waved to stop the two from talking. Looking at the tall Konoha wall not far away and the Allied Shinobi Forces of the Four Shinobi Villages stationed on the other side, a solemn look flashed across his face.

"According to information circulating in the ninja world, the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths exist within this ninja village. They are powerful eye techniques comparable to the Tenseigan of Hamura's ancestors, so we must not be careless."

"Moreover, according to the elders' speculation and the clues left by our ancestors, the little thief who stole the Gedo Mazo is very likely related to the holder of this Rinnegan... It just so happens that Konoha is about to face a great battle. At that time, we will know the state of this Rinnegan and whether its holder is related to that little thief."

Unlike those two juniors, Ryoma Otsutsuki had personally witnessed the immense power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and he himself had even manipulated the giant Tenseigan to annihilate the main branch of the Otsutsuki family.

Therefore, he was extremely cautious about the Rinnegan, which was on par with the Tenseigan. Now that someone was testing the waters for them, he naturally wouldn't step forward.

He wasn't one of those hotheads who would rush forward headlong for credit without considering anything else.

Even though he lost his eyesight, he wasn't done living yet!

Moreover, the Otsutsuki branch of the Hyuga clan is located in Konoha. If he could seize the eyes of a member of the main clan during the chaos, he could take the opportunity to escape his blindness.

With his Otsutsuki bloodline, his Byakugan might even possess some of the power of the Tenseigan. How could he possibly risk his life at this time?

Not far from this group of people, two White Zetsu quietly emerged from the dense forest, silently watching the upcoming battle in place of Madara Uchiha.

And so, under the watchful eyes of a group of people with ulterior motives, three days quickly passed, and the final battle was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)