Naruto: The Wind Calamity

Chapter 930: Chapter 923 : Preparing for the Divine War!

'A war that'll bring an end to the era… What scale would such a war reach? To think there would be something more devastating than the Great Ninja Wars… A Divine War…' Kakashi thought solemnly. In the past year, his strength had grown phenomenally, but he still felt insignificant in the face of what lay ahead.

He was broken out of his daze when Danzo suddenly spoke aloud, his voice full of passion and aggression, "We'll prepare for this possibility too. I may have fallen, but those bastards are sorely mistaken if they think we'll simply roll over for them. Giving me so much intel will prove to be their undoing!"

The look on Danzo's face had changed. There was no longer any regret and sorrow of meeting his end on his face, nor were there any signs of the confusion related to the circumstances of his death. His entire focus had shifted to Konoha's survival!

Before anyone else could say anything, Danzo continued, "Under normal circumstances, such preparations would attract backlash from the other Great Villages. Luckily, they aren't in a condition to make a move. Even though you didn't involve me in the preparations against Orochimaru's assault, you did a fabulous job back then.

Sunagakure won't be in shape to wage a war for at least another 7 to 8 years. Kirigakure is in the same situation. Even though I still suspect him, Fujin did a marvelous job against Kumogakure. Ay can't afford to waste the opportunity Inazuma gave him by sacrificing his reputation. Even Iwagakure is slightly destabilized due to the incident a couple of months ago…"

He turned his gaze towards Tsunade and added, "An incident I had nothing to do with!"

Tsunade didn't reply but cursed internally, 'Hmph, do you want to bring up past conflicts?'

Tsunade had blamed the incident on Danzo despite having no proof simply because she wanted to suppress him more. Danzo may have some complaints towards her due to it, but Tsunade's complaint list was far longer than his.

Shizune put forth her queries, "That's the reason why we have been increasing our forces. However, that was to prepare for the next Great Ninja War. Will that be sufficient to survive the Divine War?"

Danzo shook his head, "Of course, it won't be enough. It'll be suicidal if we think so. Akuro claimed that the sons of Sage of Six Path couldn't compete with him and the others. He also referred to Lord First as Ashura's reincarnation.

I'm not sure exactly what he meant by it, but it's safe to say that Akuro's power would exceed Lord First's once he recovers completely."

Danzo looked at Hiruzen and said, "Even if we were both at our peak strength, if Lord First were to attack Konoha, I'm afraid the only result would be complete and utter destruction of our village…"

Hiruzen didn't deny Danzo's statement. Even though he was the second ninja to be called the 'God of Shinobi', Hiruzen knew clearly how massive the gap between him and Hashirama was. Even at his peak, he'd be nothing more than an annoying fly to Hashirama.

However, the other three, including Tsunade, were stunned. Everyone had heard how powerful the First Hokage was, but no one imagined it would be this absurd. The village didn't just include Hiruzen and Danzo. There were several other rank S ninjas along with hundreds of Jounins and thousands of Chunins. Yet, Danzo claimed they wouldn't stand a chance!

Kakashi couldn't help but wonder, 'Exactly how strong was Lord First?'

Tsunade thought bitterly, 'I thought I was sufficiently strong. But, compared to you grandfather, I'm still…'

Hiruzen noticed their expressions and said, "Lord First was in a completely different league. Even Lord Second could never compare to him. No matter how much I trained to reach his level, I never succeeded in closing the distance. It was almost as if there was an invisible limitation that I could never surpass. The only one who could compete with him was Uchiha Madara. That is why I said the Akatsuki Member who claims to be Madara is lying."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. Fujin was strong, but he couldn't imagine Fujin forcing such a person to use Izanagi.

Hiruzen looked at Danzo and asked, "Is this what Akuro could be referring to as Ashura's reincarnation? By extension, Madara could be Indra's reincarnation. Can only their reincarnations surpass the limits of a ninja and reach that level? Or, are the ninjas who reach that level and contain their bloodline considered their reincarnation?"

Danzo thoughtfully replied, "The first case isn't in our hands. We can't identify who they reincarnated into, assuming they did so in the first place. We can only place our bets on the second scenario."

Hiruzen nodded, "Uzumaki and Senju clans descended from Ashura, while Uchiha clan descended from Indra. We need to focus our resources on them. Only by having both their reincarnations in our village will we have a chance to survive the war…"

Danzo replied, "Unfortunately, even that may not be enough…"

Hiruzen agreed, "It's also unreliable. We obviously can't place all our bets on them. At this point, our most reliable bet is…"

Both Hiruzen and Danzo spoke at the same time, "Forbidden techniques…"

Tsunade sighed, "It seems like there's no other choice…"

Hiruzen sighed as well, "This is the only way to make up for the difference in strength. Without the Reaper Death Seal, I couldn't have sealed all the former Kages and defeated Orochimaru. From all the techniques I know, this is the only one that has any remote possibility of succeeding against Lord First."

Danzo said, "The Eight Inner Gate technique isn't bad either. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to reach the Gate of Death. There are significant differences at that level as well. From what I have observed, Guy, with the Gate of Wonder opened, is nearly as strong as Duy with the Gate of Death opened. Perhaps he'll exceed your peak when he opens the Gate of Death.

Unfortunately, both Eight Inner Gates and Reaper Death Seal have severe limitations. Both are one-time use techniques and will cost the life of the user. Only a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster can learn the Reaper Death Seal. And, to have any chance of using it successfully, the ninja will have to at least be a rank S ninja. Similarly, for the Eight Inner Gates to show its true strength, the ninja will need to be a rank S ninja like Guy.

Even so, these two techniques have the highest chance of turning our fortunes. By the time the Divine War breaks out, we'll need at least a dozen masters of the Eight Inner Gates technique for it to be a trump card in the Divine War. Same for the Reaper Death Seal.

Another forbidden technique that you shouldn't ignore is Edo Tensei…"

Hiruzen frowned and asked, "Do you imply we should reanimate the dead ancient experts to gain more information from them?"

Danzo shook his head, "Who knows what they can do if they're reanimated? That's too risky. No, Edo Tensei can be our strongest trump card if we can improve it to reanimate the ninjas with their peak strength. When you capture Orochimaru, learn how he improved the jutsu and work upon it. If you can perfect it and free Lord First's soul from the God of Death's belly, we'll finally have a card that can put us on equal standing against one of them!"

Hiruzen's frown deepened. Others may gain hope from Danzo's idea, but no one knew better than him the difficulty of accomplishing either of the tasks. Despite possessing the jutsu for over half a century, Konoha had failed to improve Edo Tensei. Hiruzen thought, 'Even my research over the past year has failed to bring any advancements. Orochimaru is our only hope…'

Kakashi muttered, "Edo Tensei, Reaper Death Seal and Eight Inner Gates together might give us a chance to survive the wa…"

Hiruzen interrupted him, "It wouldn't be enough."

Danzo agreed, "At the end of the day, forbidden techniques are just tools to close the gap. The only way to truly stand a chance against them is when some of our ninjas can face them without being overpowered."

Kakashi frowned. It wasn't that he disagreed with Danzo, but it was easier said than done. He couldn't help but wonder, 'How can some of us suddenly become as strong as Lord First?'

To his surprise, Danzo continued in a softer tone, as if he could read his thoughts, "Kakashi, don't sell yourself short. Your strength has grown phenomenally since you met with your father. Yin Lightning suits you well. However, you still haven't reached your true potential…"

To say Kakashi was surprised was an understatement. He never expected to hear such words from Danzo. Danzo continued, "Your talent exceeds even Hiruzen's. Apart from perhaps Lord First and Madara, I have never seen anyone whose talent surpasses yours.

If you continue clinging onto the regrets of your past, you'll regret your insufficient strength in the future wars. Konoha cannot afford you wasting your talent anymore."

Narrowing his eyes, Danzo said without any mercy, "Your eye puts too much of a strain on your entire chakra network. It limits your potential. Obito gave you his eye to survive the third war, not limit your potential. Get over your sentiments and seal your eye. If you don't, the eye is more of a curse for you than a blessing."

Both Hiruzen and Tsunade agreed with Danzo, though they never could be as harsh and direct since they understood the tragedies Kakashi suffered in his past. Not to mention, Kakashi had handled his losses better than Tsunade.

Danzo didn't insist any further. With his decades long experience in manipulating young ninjas, he knew he had created enough impact. The remaining convincing will be done by Kakashi himself. In order to not allow Kakashi to make any arguments on the spot, Danzo said something that stunned all four ninjas in the base.

He continued, "Whether you surpass Hiruzen's peak or not will play a big factor in whether Konoha survives or not. However, there's another who'll play a bigger role. I may not like to say this, but I'm afraid the future of the village rests majorly on Fujin's shoulders…"

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