It hadn't been long since everyone entered the conference room.
Before long, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, clad in his ceremonial Hokage robes, walked in with a grave expression.
He scanned the room, noting the advisors and the Hokage's assistant seated at the lower positions on either side of the main seat. Then, he took a quick count of the remaining departnt heads and core jōnin.
Seeing that most had arrived, he imdiately strode to the head seat and sat down, his face stern as he addressed the gathered shinobi.
"Everyone, war is upon us!"
The upper echelons of Konoha and the various departnt heads had already anticipated this shift in the shinobi world's landscape, so they showed no surprise at his words. However, their expressions turned solemn, mirroring the Hokage's.
No one welcod war.
Once it broke out, their families, friends, and children could all beco casualties. Who would ever wish for that?
"According to our intelligence, Kumogakure has deployed two thousand elite shinobi, engaging in full-scale combat with Kirigakure within the Land of Sea. Kirigakure has responded with an equal force of two thousand ninja. Given the unique environnt of the Land of Sea..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen began detailing the ongoing battle between Kumogakure and Kirigakure.
Both villages had moved with astonishing speed, from logistical preparations to direct confrontation—everything had unfolded in less than twenty days.
Even though Konoha had secretly orchestrated this conflict, giving them an early warning advantage, the speed with which war had erupted indicated that both sides had long been prepared for it.
More importantly...
Two thousand shinobi might seem like a significant force, but for these villages, they hadn't even begun to fight in earnest.
Unlike the ever-secretive Kirigakure, from whom intelligence rarely leaked, Kumogakure's developnt in recent years was sothing Sarutobi Hiruzen was well aware of.
They still had plenty of available forces yet to be deployed. But for what purpose?
Were they wary of an ambush from other villages?
Or was there another sche in motion?
As for Kirigakure, their lack of available intelligence made it difficult to gauge their true intentions.
"Sunagakure has halted all mission assignnts, gathered a vast amount of war supplies, and ordered all their shinobi to remain on standby within the village..."
"Iwagakure seems inactive on the surface, with no major troop movents, but intelligence reports indicate a sharp increase in their escort missions for rchant convoys. Our intelligence division suspects they are covertly transporting supplies to the border..."
"Just now, we received sudden news from the Land of Rain—Hanzo of the Salamander was assassinated by Kirigakure's Anbu. Agakure has fallen into chaos as his subordinates vie for control. The Daimyō of the Land of Rain has already begun arrangents to seek refuge in the Fire Daimyō's palace."
Having laid out all the intelligence in one breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his gaze to his three long-ti comrades.
"By assassinating Hanzo, they have removed the last defensive buffer in the Land of Rain, heightening tensions between us, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. Kirigakure, huh?"
The man posing as Danzō, actually White Zetsu, spoke with a sinister tone, following a subtle cue from Yamanaka Shinno. Instead of pinning the bla solely on Kirigakure, he subtly suggested that Kumogakure might also be involved.
A perfect portrayal of Danzō's suspicious nature.
Besides, with the Salamander summon under Root's control, the truth behind Hanzo's death could be spun however they pleased.
"No matter who's responsible, Sunagakure has already been tied down, but Iwagakure remains our primary concern!"
Koharu Utatane spoke next.
Previously, Sunagakure and Kirigakure had been at each other's throats.
Logically, with Kirigakure now engaged in war with Kumogakure, Sunagakure's leadership—still bitter over past conflicts—should have imdiately seized the opportunity to strike Kirigakure from the sea.
Yet now, with Hanzo's sudden assassination, even the most impulsive leaders in Sunagakure had to reconsider the possibility of Iwagakure or Konoha stabbing them in the back.
"Send an envoy to negotiate with Ōnoki, stall for ti."
Homura Mitokado deliberated before offering his suggestion.
Iwagakure was ruled by war-hawks.
Furthermore, intelligence indicated that their finances were in dire straits.
In such volatile tis, the fastest way to shift an economic burden was to start a war.
If war was inevitable, Konoha could use negotiations as a ans to gather intelligence and buy more ti to prepare.
"That won't work."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head.
He could already foresee Iwagakure losing patience and making the first move.
And their target would definitely be Konoha!
After all...
Sunagakure was too poor!
Sending a high-ranking Konoha official to negotiate would just be handing Iwagakure valuable intelligence.
From his position midway down the conference table, Yamanaka Shinno subtly exchanged glances with Nara Shikaku and a few others, including representatives from the Uchiha clan.
White Zetsu's Danzō, along with several pro-war hardliners, began to exert influence in the eting.
What had previously been a stagnant discussion with no clear resolutions suddenly gained montum.
After a heated debate between Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen, the eting eventually followed Yamanaka Shinno's intended course.
Konoha would not be the first to strike, but if provoked, their retaliation would be swift and decisive!
"We've already reorganized our logistics once. Imdiately allocate a portion of supplies and begin transporting them to the front lines."
"Nara Shikaku, Mimura Yokawa—start drafting the personnel list. The vanguard force... one thousand shinobi."
"One thousand? Hiruzen, unless you personally oversee the front line, who will take this seriously?"
"One thousand is a statent—it shows we are unafraid of war. But if I personally go, the other villages will see it as a sign that they must go to war."
"Hmph—this reeks of cowardice."
"Danzō, you're too extre!"
Amidst the argunts, the high-level eting dragged on for several more hours, finally concluding just before midnight.
As orders were issued and each departnt and clan prepared for action, Konoha began mobilizing its forces.
One thousand shinobi was not much.
But this wasn't an invasion—only a display of Konoha's stance.
Stationing troops at the Fire Country's borders, led by none other than Jiraiya of the Sannin, alongside elite forces drawn from various clans, ant they could hold off an assault should it co.
With Konoha's vast war reserves, they could quickly deploy an additional three thousand reinforcents while maintaining a strong ho defense.
Even if Sunagakure tried to take advantage of the situation, Konoha was prepared for a two-front war.
Though, a two-front war?
As Yamanaka Shinno exited the conference room, he smirked.
In the Third Shinobi War, Konoha had fought every village. If they only had to deal with two fronts, they were already getting off easy.
"Still... Third Hokage..."
His gaze flickered toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
While the old man wasn't yet the overly cautious relic of a leader he would beco a decade later, he was already suppressing ambitious clans and powerful shinobi.
Perhaps it was ti for a dignified exit.
A Kage dying at sixty-nine, slain by his own student?
How humiliating.
Shff!
A Root shinobi appeared beside Yamanaka Shinno, kneeling as he presented an intelligence scroll.
Yamanaka Shinno blinked at the bold title on the scroll.
Then, realization dawned.
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Pls Drop so Power Stones
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