Just as Orochimaru had said.
Only a few days after Gojo Yoru returned to Konoha, he received a summons from Sarutobi Hiruzen and had to end his leave early.
"Yoru, I'm going to have to trouble you to make another trip."
Unlike the relaxed, casual tone of the previous times, Hiruzen's expression was grave this time.
"I originally thought this war would gradually wind down by mutual tacit understanding once Rain withdrew. I didn't expect we'd still reach the stage of deploying strategic weapons."
Yoru raised an eyebrow. "Did Sand's One-Tail Jinchūriki enter the war?"
Hiruzen's answer caught him off guard.
"No. It's Iwagakure's Five-Tails Jinchūriki."
Yoru's face went blank, and he couldn't help asking, "Hokage-sama… are you and Iwa's Third Tsuchikage rivals like Sand's Chiyo and Rain's Hanzō?"
"Even though I'm only a few years younger than Ōnoki," Hiruzen explained, "when he became famous across the shinobi world, I wasn't even a genin yet."
"Ōnoki is the grandson of the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa. He showed exceptional talent from childhood. His teacher was the Second Tsuchikage, Mū. He began learning the Bloodline Elimination—Dust Release—and experiencing war at a very young age."
"After the Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage died together, he became the Third Tsuchikage."
"By the time I succeeded as Hokage, the First Shinobi World War was already over. Every nation had piled up deep grudges, and the Five Kage Summit hadn't been held for years. I'd never even met the Third Tsuchikage—how could we possibly be 'rivals'?"
Hiruzen sighed helplessly.
"To this day, I still don't understand why he won't let go of the Fire Country. If the situation were like before, I could understand it—if I were him, I wouldn't miss that opportunity either. But now? Rain has already withdrawn. Sand has already lost two major assets, and they still haven't decided whether to activate their Jinchūriki—yet Iwa was the first to deploy theirs. I have no idea what that old man is thinking."
It's simple. That old man holds grudges.
Yoru recalled the scene where Ōnoki had once been humiliated by Uchiha Madara.
He'd come in goodwill to propose an alliance, only to be insulted on the host's turf. Anyone who wasn't a saint like "Big Pillar" would hate that forever.
Before, Ōnoki could only swallow his anger because Madara and Hashirama were monsters capable of sweeping the entire shinobi world.
Now those monsters—and several other "Kage-at-the-pinnacle" figures—were dead. Ōnoki held a kekkei tōta that surpassed ordinary bloodlines, possessed the most lethal single-target and wide-area attacks, commanded over ten thousand Iwa ninja, and had a Five-Kage-level "ally" who'd already lit the fuse of war. With his nation's economy in imbalance, how could he possibly pass up a chance to take a bite of territory and repay an old humiliation?
Yoru couldn't help guessing: Iwa's early deployment of a Jinchūriki was probably because they feared the Third Kazekage was losing confidence in victory—like Rain—ready to cut losses and withdraw.
Activating the Jinchūriki was a signal: Iwa would keep fighting alongside Sand, helping share Konoha's pressure.
If things continued, Iwa might even deploy a second Jinchūriki—maybe even Ōnoki himself would enter the battlefield.
That could fool the Third Kazekage into believing victory was possible and push him to deploy Sand's own Jinchūriki—or even take the field personally.
With him, Chiyo, and Bunpuku working together, Sand could plausibly punch through a defensive line formed by the Konoha Sannin and the White Fang.
Maybe that was exactly what Hiruzen feared when he called Yoru back.
So Yoru asked, "Hokage-sama, what do you want me to do? Support Danzo-sama against the Iwa front?"
"No." Hiruzen's warning was sharp. "Danzo doesn't need your help."
"After more than a year of three-front warfare, every command team knows the enemy's intelligence inside and out. At this stage, the worst thing you can do is drop a new commander into the chain of command."
"Even Orochimaru and Jiraiya—when they're at Sakumo and Tsunade's side—can only offer suggestions. They can't interfere with command decisions."
"Same for you. You can't interfere with Danzo's command. If something goes wrong, you'll be the one responsible, and even I won't be able to shield you."
He took a scroll from his drawer and handed it over.
"When you reach Danzo, give him this. Your mission is simple: assassinate—or at least pin down—Iwa's Five-Tails Jinchūriki. As long as you prevent him from firing a Tailed Beast Bomb, your mission is complete."
"Other than the Five-Tails Jinchūriki, you don't need to care about anything. Even if Danzo gives you orders, you can ignore them. I'm granting you that privilege."
That last line confirmed something for Yoru:
Hiruzen understood Danzo's character perfectly. He'd simply tolerated Danzo's "little moves" because they'd grown up together as close friends—and because he needed Danzo and the elders to help keep the Uchiha in check.
But when it came to truly critical matters, Hiruzen didn't hesitate.
Yoru was his sharpest blade—and to prevent Danzo from meddling, Hiruzen didn't even grant Danzo "usage rights."
Honestly, that suited Yoru just fine. He had no interest in playing mind games with the "Blame Kage."
If Danzo were ever to become a real threat, Yoru would kill him first.
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
Yoru took the scroll—and vanished in a flash.
The Konoha Sannin, the White Fang, and Danzo all possessed Flying Thunder God kunai.
After several consecutive teleports, Yoru appeared inside a tent.
Danzo seemed to have already been informed that Yoru would come; he wasn't surprised at Yoru's sudden arrival.
He looked at Yoru—now taller than him after nearly two years—and his eyes were complicated.
Danzo had always known it was only a matter of time before Yoru became a trump-card combatant thanks to Flying Thunder God.
But he never imagined Yoru would climb from genin to trump-card in less than two years.
Those achievements made even the Hokage's advisor look pale by comparison.
If not for the hard barrier of age and seniority—ensuring Yoru couldn't be a Hokage candidate before twenty—Danzo would have considered Yoru an even bigger threat than Orochimaru… even bigger than Hatake Sakumo, who had killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law.
Even now, Yoru was an eyesore.
The more outstanding Yoru became, the more unshakable Hiruzen's position was—and the slimmer Danzo's hopes of toppling him.
Even if Hiruzen made a mistake and had to step down, Orochimaru's odds of becoming Fourth Hokage would still be higher than Danzo's—
because Orochimaru had Tsunade's support, and Yoru's.
The former represented the Senju's recognition and could sway the daimyo. The latter was raw deterrent power.
Yoru wasn't just the Flying Thunder God user—he was also the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's "bond."
Thinking about that combination left Danzo feeling powerless.
The Jinchūriki hadn't even fully grown yet, but the Flying Thunder God user had already stacked one impossible feat after another.
Once the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki matured, Danzo didn't dare imagine how terrifying that duo would be.
Other than the First Hokage and the "Shinobi Asura" pairing, there was no two-person team in the shinobi world that could compare.
With Hiruzen above him, Orochimaru competing with him in the next generation, and then Yoru plus the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki as the future strongest duo… Danzo felt the Hokage seat slipping further and further away.
Yoru, of course, had no idea what Danzo was thinking.
Appearing beside him, he silently released the "intangibility" he used in tandem with Flying Thunder God, then took out Hiruzen's scroll and handed it over.
"Danzo-sama. This is what Hokage-sama told me to deliver to you."
"…Good work."
Danzo accepted it curtly and unsealed it.
After reading the contents, his brows drew together slightly, irritation flashing in his eyes—then he smoothed his expression almost immediately.
He rolled the scroll up, set it aside, and produced another scroll from his sleeve, handing it to Yoru.
"This contains the intelligence we've obtained so far on the Five-Tails Jinchūriki. I'll have recon and Anbu coordinate with you to locate him."
"Much appreciated." Yoru nodded, opened it, and began reading.
The current Five-Tails Jinchūriki was exactly who Yoru remembered from canon: Han, the "Steam Ninja" of Iwagakure who would later earn countless merits.
Among the Five Great Villages, Konoha was widely recognized as the strongest.
But the village with the most active shinobi wasn't Konoha.
You could tell just from Yoru's own shinobi ID—it hadn't even reached five digits yet. Kushina, who graduated two years after him, had an ID of 007310.
The village with the most active shinobi right now was Iwagakure.
In canon's Third Shinobi World War, to kill the Third Raikage, Ōnoki once dispatched ten thousand Iwa ninja to surround him.
And at that time, Iwa was fighting on two fronts—against both Kumo and Konoha.
Iwa's enormous manpower came not only from Earth Country's terrain (easy to defend, hard to invade), nor just from Earth Release's burrowing escape options and top-tier survivability—
but also from Ōnoki's caution and his "cherishing talent."
Just like how he later used Akatsuki to achieve hidden goals, Ōnoki didn't do things without confidence—and he didn't send his subordinates to die for nothing.
One of Minato's famous battles was wiping out dozens of Iwa ninja, after which Ōnoki immediately issued an order: if you encounter Konoha's Yellow Flash, you may abandon the mission—and you won't be punished for returning.
Unlike Konoha's "mission above all," where the rescued sometimes even berated their rescuer for saving them instead of prioritizing the mission.
That difference in indoctrination made Iwa's survival rate the best. Even after the First War, Iwa still had over ten thousand active shinobi.
Rōshi and Han were about the same age, both implanted with tailed beasts while young. Han would later make the "Steam Ninja" name in the Third War.
And the gap between the Second and Third Wars was only a few years.
Meaning: right now, Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han was already twenty-three or twenty-four—fully adult—and already a trump-card combatant for Iwa.
According to recon and Anbu intelligence, the moment Han reached the battlefield, he displayed overwhelming dominance.
His taijutsu was absurdly strong. He could use steam bursts to amplify power and speed—every punch and kick could shatter the earth, and he could coat strikes with Boil Release nature transformation, giving them terrifying heat and corrosiveness.
Anyone taking a direct hit died instantly—even in heavy battle armor.
Even those who narrowly avoided the blow would suffer severe burns from mere steam contact.
On top of that, he could draw on the tailed beast's chakra, covering his entire body in a translucent crimson cloak—naturally shrugging off kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and most trap-based tactics. Konoha shinobi on the Danzo front were already feeling powerless and desperate.
And because of the Jinchūriki's nature, even Katō Dan—who had the Spirit Transformation Technique—didn't dare possess Han's body.
With just these methods, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki had already shown terrifying battlefield rule.
Yoru finished reading and asked Danzo bluntly, "Can he fully transform into the tailed beast?"
"Unknown." Danzo shook his head. "Since entering the battlefield, he hasn't even used partial transformation. Just borrowing tailed beast chakra already places him at trump-card level."
"To force out more of his cards, we'd have to use human-wave tactics—but Iwa won't give us that opportunity."
"However, Kumo has a method to cultivate perfect Jinchūriki. It's possible Iwa has something similar."
"To prevent that scenario, I've already split the combat units and support units."
That was the strategic deterrence of a Jinchūriki—second only to Hanzō's salamander poison.
After all, with Hashirama and Madara gone, the Tailed Beast Bomb was the largest-scale and most destructive S-rank ultimate in the shinobi world.
In canon, Jinchūriki battles blew apart multiple small mountains.
One bomb could erase a hidden village.
Even worse: a perfect Jinchūriki could fire them repeatedly.
No wonder Hiruzen treated this with such seriousness.
If Kushina weren't still growing, Konoha would likely have activated the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki too.
Yoru wasn't surprised by Danzo's answer.
He wore a confident smile, but stayed calm enough not to vow anything reckless.
"Then the intel-gathering will be on me. I'll go meet this Five-Tails Jinchūriki."
Danzo's face remained blank. "Then it's in your hands."
~~~
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