Chapter 600: Annihilating the Ninja Sect
Chapter 600: Annihilating the Ninja Sect
"I never thought a ninja could write something like this." This was Lao Zi's reaction halfway through reading.
Lao Zi was a ninja himself, and while he didn't look down on his kind, he understood the unique nature of ninjas made it challenging for them to delve into various theories like ordinary people.
Ninjas had to undergo various trainings to enhance their strength during their youth. While they had more free time in their middle-aged and elderly years, most ninjas chose to study ninja knowledge instead of topics like peace, philosophy, or history.
The knowledge gained from studying ninja arts could tangibly enhance one's strength. As for philosophy and history, one couldn't exactly expect to defeat and convert their enemies with words in battle.
Lao Zi became even more curious as he imagined Sou Yuusuke's appearance.
Even if Sou Yuusuke looked young, he was at most thirty years old now. He must have managed his time efficiently to become the person he was today—both erudite and extraordinarily powerful.
"His strength seems decent, but I suspect he and the Sage of the Six Paths would have a lot in common to talk about," the Four-Tails remarked.
Hagoromo was a man who dedicated his life to striving for peace, and he felt that Hagoromo would be delighted to read this book.
As for strength, having encountered more powerful beings than Lao Zi, the Four-Tails didn't find Sou Yuusuke's abilities overly exaggerated.
Lao Zi continued reading, and upon finishing the book, he fell into deep thought.
Lao Zi wasn't well-versed in academics, and there were many parts of the book that he didn't fully understand.
Even so, he could sense the uniqueness of the Ninja Sect's ideology. He had never heard of or encountered a similar ninja organization before.
There were plenty of ninja organizations that advocated for peace publicly, and even among the Five Great Ninja Villages, there were such factions. However, very few actually took action to realize this goal.
With the Ninja Sect's current strength, it was unrealistic for them to intervene in the Great Ninja War. Nonetheless, Lao Zi could sense the sect's determination from the book.
A typical ninja organization seeking expansion wouldn't need all this. If Sou Yuusuke merely desired a powerful ninja force, he could have achieved that easily by leveraging his own abilities and teaching skills.
Lao Zi closed the book and walked up to the Ninja Sect member who had given him the book. "Can I buy this book?" he asked.
He had many questions about its contents, and if it weren't for the fact that he would get to meet Sou Yuusuke later, he would have definitely sought help from another Ninja Sect member to explain the book to him.
But since he had the opportunity to meet the author himself, there was no need for anyone else's explanation. After all, who could understand the book better than Sou Yuusuke?
"There's no need to buy it. Feel free to take it with you," the Ninja Sect member said with a smile.
Lao Zi nodded and returned to his lodgings with the book in hand.
At that moment, he wished he could fast-forward to the end of the lecture. Sou Yuusuke's allure had already surpassed the appeal of his teachings in Lao Zi's eyes.
...
Konoha, Root Base.
Bang!
Konoha Village. Looking at the intelligence sent by the Root member from the Rain Country, Danzo Shimura slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.
"A bunch of useless fools! They can't even uncover this!" Danzo muttered angrily.
While Root had indeed gathered some intelligence, it didn't include anything related to the Ninja Sect's heritage, which was contrary to Danzo's expectations.
The fact that "Uchiha Madara" could uncover such information but his Root couldn't made it hard for Danzo to feel confident about cooperating with "Madara."
"The Ninja Sect is getting stronger and stronger. They're repairing their relationship with the Rain Ninja Village and getting close to the Stone Country as well. They pose too much of a threat to Konoha," Danzo frowned.
They didn't have any information about the Ninja Sect's heritage, but Root had managed to gather details about the unrestricted lectures.
This made Danzo feel deeply uneasy.
The Rain Ninja Village was already the strongest among the minor ninja villages below the Five Greats. If you added the Ninja Sect to the equation, they would undoubtedly be the most powerful ninja force below the Five Great Ninja Villages, surpassing even the Rain Village at its peak during the Second Great Ninja War by a significant margin.
At this point, even without considering the Rinnegan and the Ninja Sect's heritage, Danzo wanted to annihilate the sect.
Danzo stood up, intending to go to the Hokage's office to speak with Hiruzen Sarutobi. However, he soon sat back down.
He understood Hiruzen too well. Given Hiruzen's temperament, it was absolutely impossible for him to take action against the current Ninja Sect unless they formed a pact with the Stone Country, committing themselves to a united front.
Danzo couldn't help but sigh. It was lamentable that despite his wholehearted devotion to Konoha, he now found himself in a situation where he couldn't report his concerns to the village.
Hiruzen's indecisiveness and refusal to agree to an attack on the Ninja Sect left Danzo in a bind, as Root didn't have the strength to deal with the sect on its own. Was he supposed to just sit idly by and watch as the Ninja Sect grew into a formidable threat to Konoha?
"No, absolutely not!" Danzo immediately denied this option in his mind.
While Hiruzen, standing in the light, could afford to do nothing, Danzo, as the shadow of Konoha, couldn't remain indifferent.
Just as Danzo was worrying about how to deal with the Ninja Sect, the door to his office was opened.
Danzo was about to scold the intruder for not knocking, but he closed his mouth when he saw who it was.
"Danzo, you've truly disappointed me. So much time has passed, and you've accomplished almost nothing," the masked man in a black robe said bluntly.
Danzo's face darkened instantly. He hadn't even brought up the issue of "Uchiha Madara," and yet, here this person was, chastising him.
Danzo's brows furrowed as he had deliberately tried to fish for information, and his suspicions about the outcome had been correct.
However, hearing that the Root's activities were completely exposed to "Uchiha Madara" still left him feeling disappointed.
He had expended so much effort to establish and cultivate the Root, only to find that they were completely outclassed in the intelligence arena by a man who kept his identity hidden.
"If it weren't for Hiruzen constantly restricting the Root, we definitely wouldn't be in this situation," Danzo thought, blaming the Hokage for the shortcomings of his organization.
If Hiruzen hadn't imposed so many limitations on the Root, Danzo believed that his organization would be three to four times stronger than it currently was, instead of being utterly outclassed in intelligence gathering by "Uchiha Madara."
"I sent people to the City of Six Paths for more than just gathering a little information," Danzo said flatly.
Even if he had been thoroughly beaten in the intelligence game, he couldn't let "Uchiha Madara" see his dismay.
"I don't care what your intentions are, but if you want to continue our cooperation and obtain Wood Style, then you must follow my plan from now on," the masked man asserted firmly.
Without waiting for a response, he then threw a scroll towards Danzo.
Just as Danzo was about to say something, the masked man interrupted, "Follow the plan outlined in the scroll, and I will lend you my assistance."
"If you want to refuse, then our cooperation ends here."
Without giving Danzo a chance to respond, the masked man turned and left his office.
Danzo's face turned ashen as he watched "Uchiha Madara" walk away. Even Hiruzen didn't dare to treat him with such disregard.
"Don't let me find out your true identity," Danzo thought bitterly as he glared at the retreating figure. He then turned his attention to the scroll in his hands.
Being cautious, Danzo created a shadow clone to open the scroll first to ensure there were no tricks. Satisfied that it was safe, he then proceeded to read its contents.
"Join forces with the Rain Ninja Village to ambush Sou Yuusuke," Danzo muttered to himself after reading the plan, feeling a bit exasperated.
He had expected "Uchiha Madara" to have some ingenious strategy, but this plan wasn't much different from his own.
The main difference was that "Uchiha Madara's" plan required the full mobilization of the Root, while Danzo's original plan was to use the Rain Ninja Village as the vanguard.
"Moreover, if news of this leaks out and Hiruzen finds out that I'm using the village to threaten Kakashi, he might very well dissolve the Root and remove me from my position as his assistant," Danzo thought, his fingers interlaced as he wore a pensive expression.
"Uchiha Madara's" strategy to break the alliance between the Rain Ninja Village and the Ninja Sect involved Danzo representing Konoha and putting pressure on the Rain Ninja Village, effectively threatening them with war if they didn't comply.
This was no small matter, and politically, it was even more despicable than conducting human experiments.
Even the Hokage had to convene a meeting to declare war on another country. For Danzo to unilaterally threaten the Rain Ninja Village with war without consulting anyone was a gross overstepping of his authority.
Danzo understood the severity of the situation, but as he gazed at the line written at the end of the scroll, he couldn't help but be tempted.
"Complete the alliance with the Rain Ninja Village. Before the ambush on Sou Yuusuke, the Wood Style will be provided."
There was no doubt that this was the assistance "Uchiha Madara" had mentioned.
As long as Danzo could successfully form an alliance with the Rain Ninja Village, "Uchiha Madara" would provide him with the promised benefit ahead of time.
Given Danzo's naturally suspicious nature, he wouldn't easily trust anyone, even if a powerful individual volunteered to join the Root; he would suspect their intentions and assume they had a hidden agenda.
However, after carefully considering the situation, he realized that "Uchiha Madara" was actually quite sincere in this proposal.
The fact that the Wood Style was to be given before the ambush on Sou Yuusuke proved that "Uchiha Madara" genuinely wanted the Ninja Sect leader dead. He was willing to provide the jutsu early, increasing their chances of success, even if it meant giving Danzo more power.
"I can't let the power of the Rain Country continue to grow," Danzo said, his eyes fixed on the intelligence report that the Root ninja had brought him. Finally, he made up his mind.
For the safety of Konoha, he felt it was his duty to take action.
If the plan succeeded, the power of the Rain Country's ninja forces would be weakened to an unprecedented level, and he would obtain the Ninja Sect's legacy and the Wood Style, gaining greater strength to protect Konoha—a win-win situation for the village.
As for failure, Danzo felt that it was unlikely.
The plan would either stop at forming an alliance with Kakashi or succeed.
With the combined might of the Root and the Rain Ninja Village, along with the masked man's assistance from the shadows, how could they possibly fail to eliminate the Ninja Sect?
Without Sou Yuusuke, Nagato, and Konan, the Ninja Sect was just an ordinary ninja organization.
If Danzo were the Hokage, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. He could simply order Jiraiya and Orochimaru to lead a thousand-man squad to easily crush the Ninja Sect.
(End of Chapter)
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