But would Danzo Shimura sacrifice many Konoha ninja for his own selfish gains, leaving them as mere skeletons in the grave?
The answer is yes.
So, was Hiruzen Sarutobi truly a better person than Danzo Shimura?
Not necessarily.
Everything Danzo had was given to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Perhaps Hiruzen didn't see some of Danzo's minor actions, but it's certain that most of Danzo's choices were made with Hiruzen's tacit approval.
Pressuring Sakumo Hatake, seizing Shisui Uchiha's eyes, annihilating the Uchiha clan, and even researching Hashirama Senju's cells.
These were all actions that Hiruzen Sarutobi knew about and didn't express any opposition to, or perhaps he made some superficial gestures afterward.
Oh, I won't expose it, it wasn't me who did it, I was just watching, I'm just a pure white lotus?
In an avalanche, no snowflake is innocent.
In his previous life, Qi Feng had seen many conspiracy theories about Hiruzen Sarutobi. Many people agreed, and many opposed, saying it was an over-interpretation of the manga, and the author, Kishimoto, hadn't even stated it.
What does Kishimoto know about Naruto?
He just draws manga.
Qi Feng originally maintained a neutral opinion on this, but he couldn't deny that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't shirk responsibility for many things.
Especially as he got older, when he lost the charisma of a ninja hero but still wanted to maintain his image, he acted more and more in accordance with Danzo's wishes.
There was no other way. In his opinion, having lost the strength to suppress the ninja world, he needed Danzo's assistance, so he turned a blind eye to many things.
He might regret it afterward.
But if regret was useful, there wouldn't be so many wars in the ninja world.
The appearance of Danzo and the Root organization made Qi Feng think a lot, and he also made many connections.
This time, the Sand and Rain alliance's surprise attack was very likely a plan made by Danzo to win the position of Hokage.
Regardless of the reason, Tsunade, as the battlefield commander, couldn't shirk the responsibility for the heavy losses suffered by Konoha, even if there were many reasons, Danzo would make sure she was held accountable.
So, analyzing the situation, what benefits would he gain from this incident?
First, Tsunade would bear the responsibility, and he could take over the position of commander-in-chief of the Rain Country battlefield.
Second, as a disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade's punishment would indirectly suppress the prestige of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage lineage.
Third, if he could turn the tide of the battle, he could greatly enhance his reputation among Konoha ninja, thereby transitioning from behind the scenes to the forefront in a legitimate manner.
At first glance, Danzo did gain a lot of benefits, but it seemed to be only that much. It wouldn't have a big impact on the subsequent competition for the Hokage position. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation was unmatched. Danzo would never be able to take the position unless he retired. This could be seen from the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to take over the reins of Konoha after the Fourth Hokage's death.
Also, Tsunade was not the most favorable contender for the Hokage position. Even Tsunade herself didn't care about the Hokage position. The elders would be the first to disagree with someone suffering from hemophobia becoming Hokage.
However, only by delving deeper could one understand the purpose of Danzo's step-by-step plan.
"They're still mocking Suna for its internal strife, but in reality, Konoha is the hidden village with the greatest undercurrents, right? It's just that it's not so obvious under the cover of the war's enormous pressure."
Qi Feng couldn't help but mock in his heart.
That's right, the changes in the situation in the Rain Country had no impact on Orochimaru, who had the highest call for inheriting the Hokage position.
But don't forget, Danzo held Orochimaru's biggest weakness in his hands. As long as he was willing, he could send Orochimaru away at any time.
Moreover, whose name did he use for his subsequent efforts to subvert Iwagakure, who were enemies of Konoha?
Hiruzen Sarutobi!
As long as the battle between Iwa and Konoha became more intense and more people died, the greater the pressure on Hiruzen Sarutobi when he later tried to subvert Iwa to form an alliance with Konoha.
But for the sake of peace, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't possibly disagree.
And in order to quell the anger of the Konoha ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to retire and cede the Hokage position to someone who had won the hearts of the people.
This was a calculated plot, but Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely fall for it.
At that time, as long as Danzo exposed Orochimaru's actions, coupled with the responsibility that Tsunade should bear this time and her hemophobia, then only Jiraiya would be left among the Sannin in Konoha.
But what was Jiraiya's personality like? Would he be willing to become Hokage?
The answer was, of course, no.
It might even cause many accidents for the sake of Orochimaru.
In this way, Danzo could naturally sit on the Hokage position he had dreamed of and implement his grand ambition to unify the entire ninja world.
Of course, these were just Qi Feng's guesses based on the events that were about to happen.
Perhaps people's hearts weren't so dark, but Danzo's heart definitely was.
He had to guess in the worst possible direction and be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Qi Feng had to be prepared like that.
...
...
After rushing at full speed, they soon arrived at the battlefield.
Without any orders from Danzo, the Root ninja turned around and directly plunged into the battlefield.
At this time, the arrival of the Root ninja and Danzo gave the Konoha ninja a shot in the arm!
"Reinforcements are here! Everyone, hold on, fight back!"
"Reinforcements are here!!"
"Reinforcements are here!! Charge!!"
Greatly boosting the morale of the Konoha side.
In contrast, the morale of the Sand and Rain ninja immediately dropped.
First, then decline, then exhaustion.
In terms of morale alone, the Sand and Rain ninja fell into a disadvantage.
You must know that on the battlefield, morale is a very crucial thing.
Although they didn't know how many reinforcements Konoha had, the shadow left by the Second Shinobi World War immediately loomed over them when they heard the word "reinforcements."
At this time, Chiyo and Ebizo had to rush to the front line to stabilize the morale of the army.
