After a brief moment of silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke. "In short, you've heard how dire the situation is. The battlefield here will need your strength…"
Just as Kaede was about to respond, Tsunade, who had been listening attentively, suddenly spoke up. "Don't use Kaede's power lightly, and don't let him get involved in troublesome battles."
"His forbidden techniques shouldn't be used casually. They have serious side effects, and even though I can heal him, it will shorten his lifespan."
Sarutobi turned to look at Tsunade.
This wasn't unexpected, but he was still taken aback by how much Tsunade seemed to care for Kaede. It almost seemed as if she cared for him more than Orochimaru did.
"I understand," Sarutobi nodded.
Tsunade stood up and walked a few steps towards the tent's entrance. She turned and, with a deep gaze, said, "Kaede is my student. I won't let him fall into danger."
After delivering those words, she left the tent.
Sarutobi and Kaede's conversation had already left Tsunade with some unspoken concerns.
Tsunade wasn't interested in the village's power struggles and didn't intend to get involved, but if anyone tried to treat Kaede as a mere tool, she wouldn't tolerate it.
Kaede was her acknowledged student!
Her last words were her declaration of stance and a warning to Sarutobi: she would not allow what happened with White Fang to happen again!
Sarutobi understood Tsunade's message. She was telling him not to treat Kaede as a pawn in a power game. If anyone did, she would step in.
That was troublesome. How did Kaede end up as Tsunade's student, of all people? Tsunade, who didn't care about power struggles, was actually the most difficult to handle in this situation.
At least for now, there couldn't be any issues.
"Go ahead, then," Sarutobi said as he watched Tsunade's figure disappear in the distance. He rubbed his temples and waved Kaede off.
Kaede quietly left.
Sarutobi looked up at the top of the tent. His gaze seemed to pierce through the fabric, seeing the dark clouds overhead.
Testing Kaede's attitude was necessary. As Hokage, it was vital to pay attention to powerful ninjas appearing within the village.
Kaede wasn't the same as before. He was no longer just a genius ninja; now, he had a certain status. Even though he was still young, Sarutobi couldn't look at him the same way anymore.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
How to deal with this war was the most crucial issue. Everything else had to be set aside. His probing of Kaede had only been a test.
Even without Tsunade's stern warning, there was no way to focus on other matters at this point.
…
After leaving the command tent, Kaede made his way on his own. His tent wasn't in the central area but was instead placed in the southern region. This location clearly allowed him to respond more quickly to any emergencies that might arise from the south.
Tsunade's tent was situated to the north.
After settling in, Kaede began his training. But rather than staying in the tent, he left the camp and headed to the canyon in the southern part of the area to train alone.
After Tsunade's reminder, Sarutobi refrained from treating Kaede as a regular battle asset. For now, it was mostly intelligence warfare.
The intelligence ninjas had been active on the battlefield.
After nearly half a month of clashes, both sides had a good understanding of each other's military capabilities.
The Cloud Ninja had learned that Konoha's side was being led by the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, with Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, as well as the Silver Flash, who had recently slain an elder of the Hidden Sand Village, stationed at the camp.
On the other hand, Konoha had learned that the Cloud Ninja side was led by the Third Raikage, with his son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, both strong assets on their side.
As time passed, the Cloud Ninja began to get more active, launching continuous small-scale skirmishes in an attempt to inflict damage on Konoha.
After discovering Konoha's battle formation, the Third Raikage's son and Killer Bee became more frequent in their actions, repeatedly defeating Konoha's reconnaissance teams.
Konoha didn't just stand by, though. Sarutobi Hiruzen personally led several operations, inflicting some casualties on the Cloud Ninja's elite forces. During these encounters, he even faced the A-B combo of the Third Raikage's son and Killer Bee, and single-handedly suppressed both of them!
After learning about these events, Kaede couldn't help but admire Sarutobi's strength. The Hokage, who had rarely been portrayed at his peak in the original series, was indeed a pinnacle-level ninja during this period. Even the still-maturing Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee weren't a match for Sarutobi at this time.
As Kaede had predicted, the situation had settled into a stalemate.
..
Hidden Cloud Ninja Camp.
The Third Raikage sat at the center, his right hand clenched into a fist against his cheek, lost in thought. Meanwhile, his son, A, the supposed "successor of the Third Raikage," stood to the side and spoke in a low voice.
"…In short, continuing to drag this out is unfavorable for us."
"Although Konoha's forces are split across three battlefronts, their resources are more abundant. If we continue like this with small-scale skirmishes, we'll have to withdraw soon."
During wartime, ninjas couldn't perform missions for money, and the resources consumed by an army of around six to seven thousand were tremendous. It was essentially a contest of endurance.
Konoha, being the victor of the Second Great Ninja War, had accumulated an unfathomable amount of wealth. In a war of attrition, even the three major ninja villages might not have the upper hand.
"What are you planning to do?" the Third Raikage asked, turning to his son.
A took a step forward, raising his fist and declaring, "Attack! With Konoha's current forces, they won't be our match!"
"I agree with what Big Brother said," Killer Bee added, raising two fingers in his usual odd tone.
The Third Raikage pondered for a moment. "I can deal with the Hokage. The Silver Flash's exact strength is still unclear, but in terms of numbers, we have the advantage over Konoha."
"The Silver Flash is mine and Bee's responsibility. As for Tsunade, we can handle her. She won't be a match for us."
A crossed his arms and looked confident, even smug.
He and Killer Bee had once encountered Sarutobi Hiruzen. Though they had been suppressed, they had ultimately managed to cover their retreat and escape unharmed.
If the Hokage couldn't deal with them, what was the Silver Flash? Just a speedy kid, that's all.
As for speed, he wasn't afraid of anyone!
The Third Raikage continued to reflect.
He had great confidence in his son. With the synergy between the A-B combo, they could easily deal with Konoha's Silver Flash and Tsunade. But if they directly attacked, even if they won, there would be some losses. This wasn't a one-on-one battle between Kumo and Konoha, it was a three-on-one.
As the Third Raikage was lost in thought, a voice from the side caught his attention.
"Raikage-sama, I have a plan…" Tsuchidai said, his eyes glimmering.
"Oh?" the Third Raikage looked at him.
Tsuchidai was one of his most trusted subordinates, holding the position the Raikage's assistant. He was excellent at strategy and possessed formidable strength, including the ability to use the Kekkei Genkai, Lava Release.
"The plan is as follows…" Tsuchidai began to explain, and the Third Raikage and Killer Bee listened intently.
After Tsuchidai finished, the Third Raikage's gaze flickered slightly. He turned to his son and Killer Bee and asked, "A, Bee, what do you think?"
A responded, "I have no objections."
Killer Bee raised his fingers again. "Tsuchidai never makes mistakes. With this plan, Konoha's finished."
The Third Raikage nodded. "Good. Let's proceed with this plan."
Tsuchidai took a deep breath and spoke firmly, "If this plan succeeds, we can launch a full-scale offensive and crush Konoha!"
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