"Rejected?"
Ever since Orochimaru learned that Takuya had been kept in the village as a Jonin instructor, he knew exactly what the higher-ups were trying to do. But what he didn't expect was that the village would be so determined to keep Takuya out of the spotlight that they'd sacrifice the success rate of the mission.
Orochimaru wasn't sure if he could pull it off alone, but with Takuya's help, he was confident they could make the Cloud Village regret ever crossing Konoha.
Even if they were discovered, he knew they could escape with ease.
But now, doing it alone? Not only would the mission be far more difficult, but if he was caught, he'd face relentless pursuit from the Cloud Village. Maybe even from the Third Raikage himself.
Orochimaru had already come up with various strategies, but the moment he tried to bring in a partner, his plan fell apart.
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru couldn't help but laugh. The sound of his laughter was laced with sarcasm and frustration.
Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, couldn't help but feel a little uneasy hearing that mocking laugh. After all, they knew what they were doing wasn't entirely justifiable, and being called out on it left him feeling uncomfortable.
"Alright, whatever makes you happy," Orochimaru said with a disappointed tone, standing up to leave. But before he went, he warned Hiruzen, "Just don't push him too hard. If you corner him, you'll regret it."
Knock, knock, knock!
Before the Third Hokage could respond, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Lord Hokage!" A member of the intelligence division rushed in, quickly placing a scroll on the desk. "This is a request for aid from the Land of Iron. They're asking Konoha to send help to stop the Hidden Rain Village."
"What?"
The Third Hokage thought he had misheard.
The Land of Iron, a permanently neutral country, was being attacked by another ninja village? And the attackers were from the Hidden Rain Village, the same village that had just suffered a defeat not long ago!
What on earth is Hanzo thinking?
Crossing through the Land of Fire to attack the Land of Iron? Has he lost his mind?
In a hurry, the Third Hokage opened the scroll and began reading.
Orochimaru, who had been on his way out, stopped.
This could be interesting, he thought, deciding to stick around and see how this played out.
"This is outrageous!" Hiruzen roared, slamming the table in anger. "Has Hanzo gone mad?"
The Hidden Rain Village should be recovering, not starting wars. Yet here he is, leading an assault on the neutral Land of Iron!
Hanzo's desire for war was no joke. Originally, his target had been the Land of Grass. It was right next door to the Hidden Rain Village, and its geography was favorable. Conquering it could have greatly boosted the Rain Village's economy, strengthening the country.
But the Land of Grass was a close ally of the Land of Fire, and by extension, Konoha. There was no way Konoha would allow it.
So, after much back and forth, not to mention the schemes of the Hidden Sand Village, the war had escalated.
Just as Konoha had wrapped up their conflict with the Hidden Rain, preparing to focus their efforts on the Hidden Sand, Hanzo went and launched an attack on the Land of Iron.
"Summon the Council of Elders and the Hokage's advisors. Orochimaru, you should come too," Hiruzen said, grabbing the scroll and storming toward the meeting room.
Orochimaru smirked and followed leisurely behind. He was curious to see how the village would handle this situation.
The Land of Grass was a close ally, so Konoha couldn't ignore any threats there. But the Land of Iron was a neutral country, one that none of the five great nations could afford to see attacked.
Konoha especially relied on the Land of Iron for its high-quality minerals. Allowing this attack to continue was simply not an option.
"Hanzo, you're certainly bold…"
Before long, Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado arrived at the Hokage's office. They all took their seats in the meeting room.
The Third Hokage passed the scroll around. "Take a look at this. Hanzo's gone and done it. Just as the war ends, he crosses our borders to attack the Land of Iron."
"The Land of Iron doesn't want a full-scale war, and they're unwilling to sacrifice too many people, so they've asked us for help. I suspect the other villages will receive similar requests."
Can the Land of Iron fend off the Hidden Rain Village?
Probably not. Hanzo alone would be a serious challenge for them. And as a neutral country, the Land of Iron was reluctant to get dragged into wars. Asking the five great ninja villages for help was their best option.
The Hidden Mist Village was too far away to be of any help.
The Hidden Sand Village was struggling with its own problems.
That left only Konoha, the Hidden Stone, and the Hidden Cloud with the ability to respond.
"This is madness! Hanzo must be out of his mind."
"Hiruzen, we can't let this happen! We have to stop Hanzo immediately," Koharu and Homura both said, outraged.
For the Hidden Rain Village, and by extension, the Land of Rain, the only way to recover was through war and the seizure of resources. With their country nearly bled dry, recovery without war would take at least twenty years.
That was why Hanzo was willing to take the risk of crossing through the Land of Fire to attack the Land of Iron.
Both Koharu and Homura were fuming, while Danzo remained silent. His clenched fists, however, made it clear that he wasn't calm either.
Orochimaru, noticing Danzo's bandaged right eye and arm, couldn't help but feel amused.
He must really hate that old hag Chiyo right about now.
"Stopping him is a must," Hiruzen said, lighting his pipe and taking a deep puff. "The question is, how do we stop him?"
They couldn't just declare war on the Hidden Rain Village. Hanzo hadn't attacked the Land of Fire directly, so Konoha had no grounds to retaliate.
Figuring out how to stop Hanzo was a real problem.
Threatening war wasn't an option.
But would simply sending someone to reason with Hanzo be enough to make him retreat?
It didn't seem likely.
Koharu and Homura, who had just been fuming, were starting to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy situation to handle.
"Danzo, what's your take on this?" Hiruzen asked, turning to his advisor.
Danzo, always cold and calculating, replied, "At this point, the only option is to send someone to persuade Hanzo to withdraw and lead the Rain Village's forces out of the Land of Iron."
Under normal circumstances, Danzo would've been eager to get involved in this. But right now, his mind was preoccupied with the missing chakra metal.
"You're suggesting you go yourself?" Hiruzen asked, assuming Danzo was volunteering to handle the matter personally.
"???"
I'm just giving my opinion! Who said anything about me going?
Danzo was stunned for a moment, realizing that the Hokage was trying to pin this on him. He quickly shook his head. "My health has only recently stabilized. I'm in no condition to make such a long journey. I won't be able to negotiate with Hanzo myself."
Danzo was clearly trying to bow out.
Even though Tsunade had confirmed that he was mostly fine aside from some reduced mobility, he was adamant about not getting involved.
With Danzo refusing, there was no way Koharu or Homura would volunteer to leave the village.
Hiruzen felt a headache coming on.
Maybe…
"Hehehe..."
Before the Hokage could finish his thought, Orochimaru, who had been watching the whole exchange, let out a quiet laugh.
"I refuse."
After earning the title of one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru had no desire to ever see Hanzo again.
Unless he became strong enough to kill Hanzo, he didn't want anything to do with the man.
Besides, he still hadn't fully figured out the details of his current mission. Now Hiruzen wanted to dump this mess on him?
No way. This was a thankless job, and anyone who took it on would be a fool.
"Orochimaru, what are you laughing at?" Hiruzen asked, narrowing his eyes.
**********
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