The Fourth Shinobi World War

Chapter 46 The Third Shinobi World War

Aburame Shiki arrived at the Root Base.

I saw that Orochimaru had already broken free from his research on the parasitic worms.

"Lord Orochimaru, you've finally come out. Danzo-sensei has been looking for you."

"There's no other way. If I don't come out soon, Danzo will smash down my door."

Orochimaru's tone revealed a sense of helplessness; he truly did not want to stop his research on the Soul-Parasite Worms.

During this period, Orochimaru poured a lot of precious resources into the Soul-Slaying Insects and achieved some good results.

For example, enhanced parasitic abilities, enhanced ability to absorb souls, and even physical strengthening.

"The potential of the soul parasite is indeed great; its ability to draw soul energy from souls is very useful to me."

However, the issue of consumables caused Orochimaru a great headache.

A soul that has not been nourished by chakra is worthless, and the number of ninja souls he can obtain is limited, which is very distressing.

Danzo then walked over, his expression grave. He took out a scroll from his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Something's happened. The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure has been confirmed missing."

"The Third Kazekage has disappeared?"

Orochimaru's expression turned strange; he truly hadn't expected the news to be true.

When he first heard the news, he thought it was because Sunagakure was up to something again, or it was an internal political struggle.

But the Kazekage is, after all, the head of a village, the face of Sunagakure. How could he just disappear without a trace? The Kage Guards are the elite of each village.

"This is troublesome. The situation in the ninja world was already bad, with multiple conflicts already occurring in the five great ninja villages, and now there's the situation in the Sand Village..."

"Get ready, Hiruzen has convened a Jonin meeting to discuss and decide on the next strategy."

Danzo Shimura paused, looking at Shizuka Aburame, who was standing next to him with a docile expression.

"You'll come with me too, so we can get familiar with the area beforehand."

Danzo's voice was flat and straightforward, without any emotional fluctuation.

That's wonderful.

This will be Shizuka Aburame's first public appearance as a disciple of Danzo and successor to the Root organization, carrying a strong political connotation.

……

Aburame Shiatsu followed Danzo and Orochimaru to the Jonin meeting hall, even though he wasn't originally qualified to attend.

However, his status as a disciple of Danzo gave him the right to be an exception.

"Zhiyi, you're here too."

"It's Minato-senpai."

Minato Namikaze, who was waiting at the entrance of the Konoha meeting hall, greeted Shiatsu Aburame gently.

"Thank you for your hard work, Minato-senpai."

"It's alright, as long as it helps everyone, that's all that matters. Please go inside."

Minato Namikaze didn't think he had worked too hard; on the contrary, he saw it as a good opportunity to meet with the high-ranking officials of Konoha and the heads of various clans.

As soon as Shiki Aburame entered the conference hall, he attracted a lot of attention.

After all, among these people, only Shizuka Aburame wasn't wearing a green Jonin vest, making him stand out from the crowd.

Aburame Shiitsu didn't explain, but simply sat down next to Shimura Danzo, and all the stares disappeared.

"I feel safest when I'm with my teacher."

At that moment, the door opened again, and Minato Namikaze followed the Third Hokage in.

Upon seeing the Third Hokage enter, the Jonin all became serious.

The Third Hokage stepped to the front and looked at the many Jonin he had gathered. He roughly counted several hundred of them, all elite members of the Konoha ninja clans and commoners.

So he coughed lightly and said:

"We have received reliable information that the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind has indeed gone missing, and his bodyguard has also disappeared."

The Jonin, who had not yet received the news, suddenly changed their expressions.

Something doesn't seem right here.

The shadow of war loomed over their hearts.

They are not afraid of sacrifice, but that does not mean they want to go to the battlefield.

The battlefield is always cruel; who would choose to die if they could live?

Aburame Shiki sat next to Danzo, completely unfazed; that's what it means to be calm when you have cheat codes.

Originally, the entire ninja world could be considered to be in a state of order amidst chaos. Although the friction between the five great ninja villages was increasing, it was all within a controllable range.

The disappearance of the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure will become a factor that disrupts the balance.

Of the five great ninja villages, Konoha is the strongest, but it also faces the greatest pressure.

If the Third Shinobi World War breaks out, it is possible that the situation of the Second Shinobi World War will repeat itself.

The four major ninja villages joined forces to attack Konoha.

"Now, the Sandstone Village and the Cloud Village are constantly increasing their troops on the border of the Land of Rain, and the Cloud Village is also making moves, constantly provoking border conflicts. The Land of Water is unusually quiet, and I wonder what kind of conspiracy is going on."

The five major powers do not share a border; instead, they are separated by smaller countries that act as buffer zones.

Small countries are usually exploited by large countries, and when war breaks out, they are used as battlefields, suffering terrible consequences.

The so-called border friction refers to the friction between the five great ninja villages on the borders of small countries.

"The situation is very bad now; war is inevitable."

At this moment, Danzo Shimura spoke up, "We've come this far; we need to strike first."

"With the disappearance of the Third Kazekage and the Kazekage's Guard, Sunagakure is at its weakest. We can concentrate our forces and defeat Sunagakure in one fell swoop."

"If we succeed, even if there are three other ninja villages, the pressure on us will be greatly reduced."

Danzo is indeed Danzo; he immediately sounded like a hawk.

Of course, the success of his wood-based weapon experiments also gave him confidence.

The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo but said nothing.

Konoha is the strongest of the five great villages, and by gathering all its strength, it can defeat Sunagakure.

But after that?

The five great ninja villages are rife with internal conflicts and countless blood debts, making it virtually impossible for them to unite.

In other words, even if the other four major ninja villages joined forces to attack Konoha, they would still fight their own battles.

If Konoha launches an attack and defeats Sunagakure, causing Iwa, Kumo, and Mist villages to join forces, that would be a huge problem.

The Third Hokage shook his head, deeply worried about the chain reaction.

"The situation is clear: we need to reinforce our troops on the border and we must not allow the war to spread into the Land of Fire."

"Please help me, everyone."

The Third Hokage bowed deeply.

Upon seeing this, the Jonin all stood up.

"For Konoha!"

They said that, but they all had their own thoughts.

The Uchiha clan's ambition was to demonstrate their power, gain a higher status, and even compete for the Hokage position.

The Hyuga clan, on the other hand, wanted to preserve their strength and let the branch family complete the mission.

Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi exchanged glances, but they weren't communicating.

Shiki Aburame stood next to Minato Namikaze.

Danzo gave Hiruzen a deep look. He had grown old after all, and no longer possessed the heroic spirit of covering his teacher's retreat.

Orochimaru's golden snake eyes were filled with greed.

War.

An excellent opportunity to obtain consumables.

On the high platform.

The Third Hokage silently observed the Jonin below, pondering how to deploy his forces.

(End of this chapter)