While Kizaru followed Tsunade and began his study of Taijutsu, Kakuzu, who had already taken on a mission, also began his action.
Kakuzu's previous location, the Land of River, was adjacent to the Land of Fire. Therefore, it took him only half a day to infiltrate the Land of Fire.
Infiltrating the Land of Fire and approaching the city near Konoha, Kakuzu encountered a very annoying problem.
The target he was after, Kizaru, had never taken on a mission.
Without taking on a mission, Kizaru wouldn't leave the village, and Kakuzu naturally didn't have the opportunity to strike.
Although Kakuzu had once tried to assassinate the First Hokage and successfully escaped, he didn't believe he could assassinate his target inside Konoha.
After all, the information from the black market showed that the target's strength was not weak, having a record of killing a Jounin (the information about ambushing the Raikage was hidden by the three villages). Kakuzu estimated that it would be challenging to take down the opponent in a short time.
And once he couldn't take down the target quickly, Kakuzu, attempting an assassination in Konoha, would be trapped and have a hard time escaping.
While 750 million ryo was tempting, Kakuzu still hoped to earn the money while staying alive.
Therefore, Kakuzu patiently lurked in the city, waiting for an opportunity, a chance for Kizaru to leave the village.
At the same time, Kakuzu also conveyed his needs to the client behind this substantial bounty through the exchange office in the Land of Fire.
He needed the client's assistance to lure Kizaru out of the village, making it convenient for him to strike.
For Kakuzu's request, the three villages that issued the bounty understood.
Looking at the entire ninja world, how many ninjas could single-handedly assassinate a powerful genius ninja in the headquarters of the Five Great Ninja Villages?
In this regard, the Kumogakure had a significant say.
After all, their genius ninja, Dodai, had been killed single-handedly by Kizaru in the headquarters.
Moreover, it wasn't even an assassination; it was a direct fatal blow in front of hundreds of ninja.
Thinking of this, the anger in the mind of the Third Raikage burned even more fiercely!
During this time, under the leadership of the Third Raikage, Kumo, Iwa, and Suna, the three major ninja villages, were in frequent contact and seemed to be preparing for a joint encirclement of Konoha.
There was no way around it. After all, Kizaru's performance in the surprise attack on the Kumogakure was too shocking.
With the movements of the three villages, Konoha also sensed it. Danzo increased the probing of external intelligence, and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, reduced the number of missions taken.
In the world of ninjas, except for the Hidden Mist Village adopting a closed policy, all the other major ninja villages felt the atmosphere of war.
The seemingly calm ninja world had become a massive powder keg, just waiting for a spark to ignite it.
"Lord Hokage, everyone is ready!"
In Amegakure, in a spacious room, wearing a breathing mask, Hanzo sat on the main seat, and below him stood elite ninjas from the Amegakure.
With eyes filled with admiration bordering on fanaticism, all the ninjas in the room looked at Hanzo, who sat high above.
At this moment, in their eyes, Hanzo was not just a powerful ninja; he was a great leader, a deity!
For too many years, the impoverished and weak Amegakure had been eagerly anticipating the appearance of a hero, someone who could lead everyone to change the status quo and become a great and strong hero.
And at this moment, Hanzo gave everyone hope. They all believed that under Hanzo's leadership, the Amegakure would surely become the sixth great nation that could rival the Five Great Nations.
Standing up from his seat and looking at the large sand table in front of him, Hanzo looked at the giant ambitions he and the Amegakure had.
Striking the Land of Iron, heavily damaging the Land of Wind, defeating the Land of Fire.
With these three battles, expanding the territory and establishing the position of the Amegakure as a great nation.
Taking his eyes away from the sand table, Hanzo looked around at the enthusiastic subordinates below him. At this moment, Hanzo, full of lofty aspirations, felt that his dream of many years was about to come true, right before his eyes.
With confidence, Hanzo said to the eager subordinates, "Tomorrow morning, we'll surprise the Land of Iron!"
"Understood!"
All the ninjas showed joy and excitement, responding together with a powerful momentum.
With Hanzo's command, he ignited the spark that would detonate the powder keg of the ninja world, flourishing from the Amegakure, a country that had been raining constantly and was full of swamps.
Early the next morning at six o'clock, Danzo, who had just woken up, received information from his subordinates.
The Amegakure declared war on the Land of Iron, and Hanzo personally led his forces to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Iron.
Without any hesitation, Danzo left his residence, preparing to find Hiruzen.
"Wake up Kizaru and have him ready at the Hokage Building!" Before leaving, Danzo instructed his clan members.
"Phew!"
Not long after Danzo left, Kizaru, who had been awakened, got dressed with a sleepy look, left the clan area.
When Kizaru arrived at Hiruzen's office, there were already quite a few people in the small room.
The Third Hokage, sat in the main seat, with Danzo and the two advisers, Homura and Koharu, on either side.
Anbu chief Sarutobi Shinnosuke, followed by Hatake Sakumo, was also standing in the office on standby.
Entering the office, Kizaru, after looking around without saying a word, walked straight to Shinnosuke.
Shortly after Kizaru entered the office, representing the Konoha Hospital, Tsunade also walked in.
Following her, Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived at the office.
Seeing that all the members of the Hokage faction were present, Hiruzen put down his smoking pipe and looked towards Danzo beside him.
Understanding his old friend's meaning, Danzo cleared his throat and began to speak.
"According to Root's intelligence, at three o'clock this morning, Hanzo led his ninjas to launch a surprise attack on the Land of Iron. The current situation of the battle is unclear, and I've ordered intensified surveillance."
Danzo's words instantly broke the calm in the office.
"The Land of Iron is no match for Hanzo!" Not only the Hokage's advisors but also serving as a strategist and having the strength of a Kage-level ninja, Homura, spoke up. (In "Naruto Shinden" novels, Homura Mitokado is said to have Kage-level strength.)
"We must not let Hanzo occupy the Land of Iron." Koharu, another advisor, also spoke up.
"Hanzo's ambitions, I've mentioned them before. We cannot let the Amegakure rise unchecked!" Danzo said with a determined tone, "My suggestion is to send troops to the Amegakure!"
As Danzo's words landed, standing behind Tsunade, and beside Orochimaru, Jiraiya, with his mouth slightly open, wanted to speak.
Recognizing Jiraiya's character very well, Orochimaru, who stood next to him, noticed his movement.
With a pull of his hand, Orochimaru stopped Jiraiya's action, shaking his head at Jiraiya, who was looking at him.
His open mouth slowly closed, and Jiraiya, a bit disappointed, remained silent.
"If we send troops to the Amegakure, I'm worried there might be movements from the Kumogakure." As the Anbu Chief, recently tasked with monitoring the movements of the Kumogakure, Shinnosuke voiced his concerns.
"Shinnosuke's words make sense. We can't neglect the situation in the Kumogakure." Homura agreed.
Nodding, Hiruzen Sarutobi acknowledged the opinions of the two.