"Understood."
Minato Namikaze nodded. For now, it truly wasn't appropriate to put their relationship with the Fire Daimyō's residence out in the open.
Doing so might alert Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.
If it remained hidden in the shadows, it might instead produce unexpected results.
However, Minato soon sensed that something was off.
The information Uchiha Ren had brought was indeed important, but the two of them had a special method of communication between them.
It shouldn't have been necessary for Uchiha Ren to personally come all this way just to deliver this news.
Thinking of this, Minato asked directly,
"Ren, you must have another reason for coming out here this time, right?"
Uchiha Ren smiled.
"As expected, nothing escapes you. That's right. My main purpose this time is actually to make a trip to the Land of Rain. I'm just passing through the Land of Hot Water, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to meet you."
After all, it was wartime.
Security within the Land of Fire had become extremely tense—everyone was on high alert.
To avoid exposing his movements, Uchiha Ren had entered the Land of Hot Water by sea from the Land of Waves, planning to pass through the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Iron, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Grass before finally reaching the Land of Rain.
It sounded complicated, but in reality he was simply traveling around the outer border of the Land of Fire, not adding much distance to the journey.
Those who originally defined the territory of the Land of Fire had perhaps already anticipated the possibility of future wars.
The Land of Fire's borders did not directly touch any of the great powers of the shinobi world. Instead, a ring of smaller nations surrounded it.
This meant that any major nation wishing to invade the Land of Fire would first have to conquer those small border countries, giving the Land of Fire enough time to react and prepare.
At the same time, Konohagakure could push the battlefield outside the Land of Fire, protecting the prosperity and stability of its homeland.
One had to admit—this strategy perfectly embodied the phrase benefiting oneself at the expense of others.
As for what those small nations thought…
Who cared?
Weakness was the original sin.
They had no choice but to endure.
Minato asked curiously,
"At a time like this, why are you going to the Land of Rain?"
"Actually, this matter is somewhat related to you as well," Uchiha Ren replied frankly. "My informants in the village reported that Shimura Danzō has taken Root shinobi toward the Land of Rain."
"Elder Danzō? Related to me?" Minato looked puzzled.
"I didn't know there was anything in the Land of Rain connected to me."
Uchiha Ren reminded him,
"Did you forget that your teacher Jiraiya once accepted three students there in the Land of Rain?"
Minato paused.
"You mean Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan?"
Although Minato had never met them, he had heard Jiraiya talk about the three many times.
Especially recently—Jiraiya had been using Nagato as the inspiration for the protagonist of his first novel, and he had bragged about it to Minato more than once.
Uchiha Ren nodded.
"That's right. Those three."
In truth, Uchiha Ren himself had only remembered this part of the story after receiving the intelligence.
To prolong the war between Konohagakure and Iwagakure, Shimura Danzō had personally traveled to the Land of Rain to collude with Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, and create chaos on the front lines.
Meanwhile, the organization founded by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan—Akatsuki—was dedicated to achieving world peace without resorting to extreme violence. They were extremely active throughout the Land of Rain, which inevitably obstructed Danzō's plans.
Thus, Danzō persuaded Hanzo to set a trap and ambush Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and the others.
This incident would become the beginning of Nagato's descent into darkness.
Minato frowned.
"What happened to them? Why would Elder Danzō go after them?"
Uchiha Ren shook his head and asked instead,
"You've heard about the Akatsuki organization that's recently risen to prominence in the Land of Rain, haven't you?"
Minato nodded, openly praising them.
"Yes. I heard it's a neutral group that advocates peace and opposes the use of force. They sound admirable."
Uchiha Ren said,
"That Akatsuki organization was founded by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan."
"Really?!" Minato was startled at first, then spoke with pride.
"As expected of Jiraiya-sensei's students. They're truly outstanding."
But a moment later, Minato suddenly jumped to his feet, his expression tense.
"Wait! Is Danzō going to attack them in the Land of Rain?!"
Minato knew full well what kind of man Shimura Danzō was.
To put it kindly, he was cold and decisive.
To put it bluntly, he was scheming, ruthless, despicable, shameless, utterly inhumane, and willing to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.
The moment Minato realized that Danzō might have set his sights on Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, he could no longer sit still.
Even though they had never met, they were still fellow disciples under Jiraiya.
And after hearing about their actions, Minato greatly admired the three of them.
"Calm down," Uchiha Ren said, raising a hand to signal him to relax.
"Danzō's true target isn't them. They're simply standing in his way."
Minato asked, confused,
"What exactly is going on?"
Uchiha Ren explained,
"Right now, Konoha and Iwagakure are only having small skirmishes along the border. Anyone with insight can see that the war is about to end."
"According to the intelligence I've received, the Third Hokage intends to concede some benefits in order to quickly sign a ceasefire agreement with Iwagakure and end the war."
"But Danzō refuses to accept signing what amounts to a defeat-style ceasefire treaty, despite Konoha being the victor. He voiced his opposition to the Third Hokage."
"However, the other two members of the Hokage's Advisory Council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, are more inclined to support the Third Hokage's position. As a result, Danzō's objections were ignored."
"But Danzō isn't the type of man who abandons his ideas after a few words of disagreement."
"The intelligence I received indicates that he plans to take advantage of the fact that the Third Hokage's plan hasn't yet been implemented. He intends to go to the Land of Rain battlefield, provoke conflict, and escalate tensions between Konoha, Iwagakure, and Amegakure, dragging all three sides back into a large-scale war."
"At that point, the Third Hokage's plan would collapse on its own, and he would have no choice but to adopt a tougher stance toward Iwagakure."
"And the Akatsuki organization founded by Yahiko and the others is currently traveling across the battlefield, rescuing the wounded and persuading people to cease fighting."
"That naturally places them directly in Danzō's path."
"With Danzō's personality, targeting them would be the most logical outcome."
In truth, this time Uchiha Ren actually agreed with Danzō's viewpoint to a certain extent.
When Konoha signed the ceasefire agreement with Sunagakure, it had already surrendered many rights that rightfully belonged to the victor.
And now they were planning to do the same with Iwagakure.
After witnessing these precedents set by the Sand and Stone villages, Kumogakure and Kirigakure would likely refuse to make any concessions of their own.
If the Third Hokage continued to pursue peace at all costs, the ones who would ultimately pay the price would still be Konoha's shinobi.
After the war, many of the fallen might not even receive the compensation they deserved.
Konoha was clearly the victor, yet it would lose a significant amount of benefits because of this.
Such a course of action was simply cowardly to the extreme.
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