T/N: It's a shame we haven't reached the 400 Powerstones mark yet... but I'm not such a bad guy, take it easy!
As I know that today you guys will inevitably break that mark, so enjoy the four chapters!
The scheduled times (on Webnovel) will be at: 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, and 18:00!
Have a good reading!
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In the Hokage's office, a heated argument raged for over an hour.
Eventually, Hiruzen conceded defeat. He was clearly in the wrong this time. No amount of arguing could change the fact that he had failed to keep an eye on Kushina.
"So tell me... what should we do next?" Hiruzen asked, his anger barely suppressed.
"Now you're asking for my help?" Danzo snorted derisively.
He, too, was extremely frustrated. He hadn't been watching Sarutobi for just over two weeks, yet the man had managed to brew such a colossal disaster! Thankfully, Orochimaru had enhanced his body. Otherwise, Hiruzen's actions might have been the death of him!
"What should we do next?" Hiruzen repeated, struggling to contain his anger. At this point, he had no choice but to seek a solution from his rival.
After all, while Danzo's methods were ruthless and often unsavory, it had to be admitted that he could achieve his goals swiftly.
"I'll devise a plan. However, you can't interfere with anything I'm going to do next!" Danzo said gravely.
"As long as it doesn't harm the village's interests, I won't interfere," Hiruzen replied, frowning.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about the village's interests?" Danzo looked at Hiruzen with exasperation. Then, after composing himself, he said coldly, "Although we suffered great losses in our previous battle with Kirigakure, don't forget — our Konoha is still very powerful! Our numbers are also tens of times more than theirs! Even though we lost over two thousand ninjas before, when spread across all the clans, it's actually acceptable."
"So what do you plan to do next?" Hiruzen asked in a low voice.
"Negotiate!" Danzo held up two fingers, "First, we choose to negotiate with Kiri. We'll sign a peace agreement and offer a relatively large amount of resources and materials as our negotiation terms. Then, we'll demand that they return Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki."
Hiruzen immediately retorted, "How is that possible? They're not fools!"
"Let me finish." Danzo frowned and continued, "On the surface, we're negotiating with them. But in reality, this is just a smokescreen. We'll actively request that Yusuke Kamizuki must be the one to sign the agreement. Moreover, after every Great Ninja War, when two countries want to sign a peace agreement, they must do so at a specific location."
"As long as Yusuke is not in Kirigakure, you and I will each send two teams of elite ninjas to infiltrate Kiri and rescue Minato and Kushina. If the peace agreement is signed, even if they discover it and tear up the agreement afterwards, it doesn't matter." Danzo said coldly, "After all, we never intended to really sign it."
"And if they're unwilling to sign, that's even better. We'll part ways immediately! We can still rescue our targets. Even if this Ice God discovers something's amiss midway and tries to return to Kiri, it would take at least half a day! This time is our best opportunity to the rescue mission!"
"Moreover, Minato Namikaze should still be alive — after all, he's more valuable alive than dead! But he must be sealed by some secret technique, otherwise, with his Flying Thunder God Technique, he would have easily escaped by now. As long as we can successfully rescue Minato, our mission will be considered a success."
After hearing his strategy, Hiruzen was truly convinced.
As expected of the old fox Danzo! This method might actually work!
"And this is just the first option," Danzo continued, narrowing his eyes. "The second option, if our first plan fails, is to make significant concessions and unite with other hidden villages to wage war against Kirigakure!"
"Why would they join us?" Hiruzen frowned.
"Do you think Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure have really been standing idly by all this time?" Danzo sneered, "They've probably already sent various spies into the Land of Water. Faced with Kirigakure's sudden rise, do you think they'll allow it to continue growing stronger?"
"When the time comes, as long as we take the initiative to humble ourselves, do you think those three hidden villages would pass up the chance to severely weaken both Kiri and Konoha?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen fell silent for a few minutes. Finally, he said heavily, "Alright! But... if Yusuke Kamizuki agrees to negotiate, then who should we send?"
Although he had never officially met Yusuke, he could sense that his strength was undoubtedly unprecedented!
Danzo lowered his eyelids slightly, then looked towards Orochimaru behind him, "Orochimaru... are you interested?"
"I wouldn't mind going." Orochimaru licked his lips, "Increase it by thirty times according to my previous request."
Danzo's brows furrowed deeply. Then, he said, "Fine!"
Hiruzen remained silent. He naturally knew what Orochimaru's request was. It was for members of those secret technique clans, important test subjects for his human experiments.
If it were before, he would certainly have spoken up to sternly reprimand and stop this. But now...
He could only pretend not to have heard.
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The next day, early morning. The weather was excellent!
Yusuke came from his residence to Kiri ANBU headquarters. Last night's sleep was quite good. Today, his entire being was in a state of full vitality.
Last night, Kushina tried to escape three times. But as soon as she took one step out of the room, the slave collar would be triggered! Then, she would experience that numbing pain. Though not agonizing to the point of wishing for death, it definitely made her quite uncomfortable.
This night, for her, was destined to be a sleepless one.
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Another Note: A reminder of his actual powers!
『 Skills & Abilities: Hie Hie no Mi {Ice-Ice Fruit}, Rokushiki {Navy Six Styles}, Sage Body, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan {Nine-Pointed Star}, Goro Goro no Mi {Rumble-Rumble Fruit} 』
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T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! I'm constantly translating and the difference will keep getting bigger!
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That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
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