During the jonin council meeting, Danzō had a look of disbelief, like he was questioning his life choices.

He had considered that Kakashi might be okay, but never imagined it would turn out this way. The other jonin sat straight-backed in their chairs, their faces showing none of the condemnation he had expected.

Danzō had thought that the final outcome would be Minato paying a hefty price to protect his disciple. He had even planned to use the opportunity to press him hard in the name of the village and righteousness, hoping to eliminate him from the running for the next Hokage.

However, what he never expected was that before Minato even said a word, the jonin unanimously supported Kakashi's innocence.

A senior jonin spoke first: "The evidence shows Kakashi acted within protocol."

Another added firmly, "If anything, he showed remarkable restraint."

Then, a jonin who had been dissatisfied with Danzō for a long time openly sneered, his scarred face twisting into a mocking smile, "Elder Danzō, what's wrong? Are you disappointed that Kakashi didn't fall into eternal ruin?"

Danzō immediately stood up, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. The sudden movement made several jonin tense, ready for anything.

Years of internal conflict had taught him to quickly realize he was being played.

For a moment, he stood perfectly still, his eye fixed on the council member. Then he turned, his gaze passing over Minato before settling briefly on Hiruzen. Without a word, he strode to the door.

He paused there, looking back one final time, then closed it with a soft click. This isn't over. Someone will pay for this.

Returning to his base, he immediately summoned his subordinates, ordering them to investigate the recent events in the village thoroughly.

After all, Obito and Guy were just children with no real plans or desire to keep things secret. It took less than an hour for Root's ninjas to trace the source of the information completely.

When Danzō received the report, he was so furious that he crushed the scroll on the spot.

"The Uchiha! It's those evil Uchiha who are spreading lies about me! I've always said, leaving that cursed clan in the village is a disaster waiting to happen!"

This revelation enraged him even more than when everyone tacitly allowed Minato to claim the position of the next Hokage. A mere boy from that cursed clan... ruining my plan! After everything I've sacrificed for this village!

Danzō had been fixated on two things throughout his life: becoming Hokage and suppressing the Uchiha.

He had spent a lifetime scheming against the Uchiha, and now, in his later years, to be outwitted by a mere boy from that clan—it drove him mad with frustration.

He was nearly losing his mind. He had originally planned to endure a few more years, avoiding action against the Uchiha during the war. But now, it seemed that patience was no longer an option.

Uchiha… Minato…

Danzō kept repeating their names in his mind, his eyes growing darker with madness. The torchlight cast shadows across his face, making him look more like the demon his enemies claimed him to be.

Even Shin himself couldn't have predicted that, with a few offhand remarks meant to amuse himself, he had inadvertently fanned the flames of internal chaos in Konoha.

However, he wouldn't remain uninvolved for long.

Danzō quickly regained his composure and asked his subordinates in detail, "And what about that rumor involving my clan members from the Land of Rain? Why would that Uchiha brat use such a tactic to frame me?"

His subordinate looked back at him with shock, as if to say, Are you asking me, Danzō-sama? The agent's mask couldn't completely hide the tremor in his voice as he responded, "The rumors... they seem quite specific, Danzō-sama."

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"How could I possibly have any real clan members in the Land of Rain?! Have you fools also fallen for the Uchiha's slander?"

The group of subordinates around him all lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact with him.

After all, the story did align with his usual underhanded tactics, so it wasn't surprising that even Root members had believed the rumor.

"Investigate this for me! Within a week, I want all the information on this Akatsuki organization!"

If they think they can mock me from the shadows, they'll learn what true darkness is.

One of his subordinates nervously asked, his mask tilted downward submissively, "Danzō-sama, who should we assign to handle this?"

Root was currently short on manpower. The agent pulled out a scroll, hands slightly trembling as he read the latest deployment numbers. "Our forces are spread thin across every front, Danzō-sama."

With the war breaking out, Root had been expanded multiple times, granting them more power, but it also meant greater responsibility.

Spies and intelligence personnel were needed on both active battlefields, and resources were still required to monitor Iwa and Kiri, which had yet to enter the conflict. The war had stretched their network to its limits.

They even had to keep some ninjas on standby in the village for Danzō's unpredictable demands. Every available agent was already assigned crucial tasks.

There simply weren't enough people to spare.

Danzō soon realized this as well, pacing around his base in frustration before slapping his forehead, "Then send Torune to handle this! Have him take care of it as quickly as possible!"

"But how should we explain this to Orochimaru-sama?" Another agent spoke up. The Snake Sannin was not known for his forgiveness.

"I'll personally write him a letter." Danzō said, already moving to his desk.

Torune was one of the most important commanders in Root, second only to him. He was currently stationed in the Suna war zone, working with Orochimaru on intelligence gathering.

The desert front had become increasingly dangerous, with Suna throwing everything they had into the war.

Orochimaru and Danzō had always maintained a cooperative relationship, and the Snake Sannin had even briefly joined Root. As a result, Root often supported Orochimaru's operations. Their alliance had been built on mutual benefit and a shared appreciation for the darker aspects of shinobi life.

As a fellow frontline commander, Orochimaru received full support from Root in his fight against Suna. However, Minato, who was leading the battle against Kumo in the north, was not as fortunate. The disparity in support between the two fronts had not gone unnoticed.

On that very day, a scroll unexpectedly arrived at the frontlines, ordering Torune, who had been stationed in the war zone for months, to head to the Land of Rain immediately. The messenger's hands were still dusty from his rushed journey across the desert.

At that moment, even as a loyal follower of Danzō and the second-in-command of Root, Torune couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"Damn it! What is Danzō-sama thinking?! Did he not receive my report from a few days ago?" He paced in his tent, the desert heat making his frustration even more unbearable.

"Our losses in the war zone have been severe! That madwoman keeps targeting our intelligence personnel!"

His fist clenched around the scroll. Just yesterday, they'd lost three more agents to her Scorch Release, their bodies turned to ash before they could even scream.

"I asked for reinforcements, and now he wants me to investigate his so-called clan members in the Land of Rain?!"

The absurdity of it all made him want to laugh. Or scream.

Maybe both.

"Am I the one going crazy, or is he?"

He couldn't even imagine what kind of rage Orochimaru, as the highest-ranking commander on the frontlines, would feel if he abandoned his post now.

The Snake Sannin's cold fury was legendary among those who had witnessed it.

Oh well, maybe that cold-blooded snake wouldn't show his anger on his face, but Torune was certain Orochimaru would hold a grudge against Root for this. The Aburame commander had seen enough of Orochimaru's experiments to know what happened to those who earned his ire.

Torune asked the Root ninja who delivered the message. The messenger stood at attention, covered in desert dust, clearly exhausted from the urgent delivery.

"Did Danzō-sama say how I should explain this to Orochimaru-sama?"

The Root ninja lowered his head and replied, "Danzō-sama said he would personally write a letter to explain."

A letter? How would that help? Torune almost laughed at the absurdity. A piece of paper to explain abandoning our position in the middle of a war?

Would it compensate for the missing intelligence support? What could make up for that? His mind raced through the countless ways this could go wrong.

No matter how ineffective Suna might seem, they were throwing everything they had into the war, while Konoha could only send a third of its forces to support Orochimaru's front.

And that number might get even smaller in the future.

Without intelligence support in such conditions, were they just hoping Orochimaru would pull off a miracle? Torune had seen enough of war to know that miracles came with a price.

In hindsight, every victory Konoha achieved during the Third Great Ninja War truly lived up to its miraculous reputation. And how many bodies did we step over to achieve those miracles?

But Torune had no choice. He had to obey orders.

---

In the temporary command post, Orochimaru's expression was cold as he allowed a snake to swallow Danzō's letter.

It seemed his ties with Danzō were coming to an end. Several subordinates unconsciously took steps back from their commander, recognizing the dangerous glint in those serpentine eyes.

And all of this stemmed from the small butterfly that was Shin, fluttering in from beyond the bounds of fate. The boy who had casually sown seeds of chaos with a few well-placed words, never imagining how deep their roots would grow.

Each time he flapped his wings, the breeze had grown, and now it was on the verge of becoming a storm that would shake Konoha to its core.

In his tent, Torune prepared for his journey to the Land of Rain.