326. You Want Freedom?

“Boom!!”

With a terrifying roar, the barrier surrounding the training ground couldn't withstand such an intense attack and shattered instantly.

Aburame Ryoma and Hatake Kakashi were sent flying violently, crashing into the surrounding walls like two solid cannonballs.

Fortunately, Danzo hadn't used his full strength in that strike. Otherwise, even with the protection of their Tailed Beast Cloaks, they would have likely ended up severely injured. Even so, it still took them quite some time to climb out from the rubble.

When they looked at Danzo again, there was now even more awe in their eyes.

They had originally thought that after more than half a year of training, their strength had improved tremendously. But facing Danzo, they still lost miserably...

Though, it wasn’t entirely their fault.

In today's ninja world, aside from a few hidden powerhouses—such as Kaguya Otsutsuki, who was sealed away, the Sage of Six Paths in the Pure Land, Uchiha Madara awaiting resurrection, and Toneri Otsutsuki hidden on the moon—apart from these figures, Danzo was undoubtedly the strongest in the ninja world.

If Kakashi and Ryoma wanted to pose any real threat to him, they would first have to become Perfect Jinchuriki.

"Alright, this test ends here. You both performed quite well."

Danzo didn’t set overly harsh expectations for them.

After all, they had only been coexisting with their Tailed Beasts for half a year. Reaching this level of control was already commendable.

Once they became more familiar with their Tailed Beasts’ powers, the next step would be sending them to Turtle Island for Perfect Jinchuriki training.

"Oh, by the way, do you two need me to heal you?"

Danzo looked at the two, both exhausted and covered in injuries, and asked with genuine concern.

Hearing this, Ryoma and Kakashi exchanged glances, as if recalling some terrifying experience. They immediately shook their heads vigorously, declining Danzo’s offer.

"Lord Danzo, we’re Jinchuriki after all. Our self-healing ability is strong enough, so there’s no need to trouble you."

Kakashi forced a smile and declined politely.

"That’s right, that’s right."

Even the ever-loyal Ryoma agreed. It wasn’t that they doubted Danzo’s kindness—it was just that his healing method was… unsettling.

The mere thought of being wrapped in that sticky, slimy saliva... any normal person would find it unbearable.

Danzo was about to insist when suddenly, a masked figure wearing the Rabbit mask appeared at his side.

"Lord Danzo, there's a message from the Land of Rice."

Upon hearing this, Danzo's brows twitched, while Kakashi and Ryoma secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A message from the Land of Rice could only mean one thing—it was from Shisui.

Danzo had always been deeply invested in his first disciple, Shisui.

Which meant… he probably wouldn’t insist on treating them anymore.

Just as they had anticipated, upon reading Shisui’s letter, a satisfied smile appeared on Danzo’s face without any attempt to conceal it.

"Shisui has done well these past few months!"

The intelligence report detailed how Shisui not only used overwhelming force to suppress the nobles within the Land of Rice but also employed softer methods—lenient policies and strict military control—to win over the hearts of the people.

As a result, many locals in the Land of Rice began hoping that Konoha’s forces would remain permanently.

Life under Shisui’s governance was far better than being ruled by those foolish nobles.

At the very least, Shisui didn’t arbitrarily seize the majority of their grain or slaughter civilians on a whim.

Nor did he act like those damn brute shinobi from the Hidden Cloud, who bullied and oppressed the weak.

From this perspective, the nickname "The Little Darkness of Shinobi" might not be an insult to Shisui after all.

Instead, it could be seen as a form of… recognition.

After all, not just anyone could be mentioned in the same breath as Danzo himself.

Beyond this, Shisui leveraged Konoha’s backing to swiftly subdue two armed factions in the Lands of Rice and Hot Water. These factions were renamed:

The Land of Rice Militia

The Land of Hot Water Resistance Organization


Both groups had originally formed in response to the Hidden Cloud's oppressive rule.

They were composed of wandering shinobi and, for the most part, ordinary civilians.

Due to their lack of manpower, they had always operated in secret, ambushing and sabotaging the Hidden Cloud’s forces in the Land of Hot Water.

However, since the Hidden Cloud was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, even without direct intervention, their puppet regime—the Hidden Hot Water Village—was more than enough to keep these resistance groups on the defensive.

But once these two organizations pledged allegiance to Shisui, everything changed.

Suddenly, they had access to an abundance of wildly found weapons in the forests, various medical supplies, and even recruited several powerful wandering shinobi!

These skilled ninjas not only trained them in numerous ninjutsu techniques but also led a series of battles, utterly humiliating the Hidden Hot Water Village’s shinobi.

The Hidden Hot Water forces were left in complete disarray, and even the Hidden Cloud was caught off guard.

The Land of Hot Water Resistance Organization even went as far as to declare publicly:

"We are the true Hidden Hot Water Village! The current so-called ‘Hidden Hot Water Village’ is nothing more than a puppet state controlled by the Hidden Cloud!"

Upon reading this, Danzo was momentarily stunned—then ecstatic.

This is it! This is exactly it!

He never imagined he would get to experience the joy of being a beacon of "liberation" in another world!

While Danzo was reveling in satisfaction, things were far less pleasant over in the Hidden Cloud.

In the Raikage’s Office, the sexy Mabui held a document in her hands.

"Lord Raikage, this is the second batch of reparations. The total value is 3.5 billion ryo. Please review it."

To end the damned war, the Hidden Cloud had signed a crushing indemnity agreement with Konoha—totaling 20 billion ryo in reparations.

The payments were to be made in six installments over five years.

The longer they delayed, the higher the interest they had to pay.

Of course, the Hidden Cloud didn’t want to give away more money than necessary. The problem was—they simply didn’t have 20 billion ryo lying around.

Unless they sold off their secret techniques, dumped everything they had, and handed it all over to Konoha…

But that was out of the question.

So, they had no choice but to bleed slowly, making payments bit by bit while being financially strangled by Konoha.

Understanding this all too well, the Fourth Raikage could only sign the documents with a gloomy expression, silently vowing to one day reclaim everything from Konoha.

However, just as he finished making his vow, a messenger suddenly arrived—

"Lord Raikage, an envoy from the Hidden Hot Water Village is here to see you."