Not long after everyone entered the meeting room,
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage clad in his ceremonial haori, entered the room with a grim expression on his face.
His eyes swept over the two Advisors and the single Lord Advisor already seated at the lower positions beside the main seats.
After silently confirming that most of the department heads and core Jonin were present,
he strode to the head of the table and addressed the group gravely.
"Everyone, war is coming!"
Konoha's leadership and department heads were no strangers to the tense state of the ninja world—none showed any surprise at his words.
Yet now, every face was as somber as the Third's.
Nobody truly wanted war.
Once war broke out, their loved ones, friends, and children—all would be at risk of being caught in the bloodshed.
Who would want to see such a thing happen?
"According to intelligence, Cloud had already dispatched two thousand elite ninja and engaged Mist in full-scale combat within the Sea Country. Mist had also deployed over two thousand ninja. The terrain of the Sea Country is uniquely challenging..."
Hiruzen began by explaining the current conflict between Cloud and Mist.
These two hidden villages had acted extremely quickly; from logistical preparations to actual combat, it had taken less than twenty days total.
Even though this war had been secretly provoked by Konoha,
they technically possessed strategic foresight. Yet the speed at which these two villages launched hostilities clearly showed they had secretly prepared for war long ago!
Even more concerning...
A force of over two thousand ninja might seem large, but both sides hadn't even begun committing their true strength yet!
Unlike Mist, which operated under layers of secrecy, rarely allowing intel to slip out, Cloud's recent development was something Sarutobi Hiruzen understood quite thoroughly.
They still had massive reserves of combat power not yet deployed on the battlefield. So what exactly were they planning?
Preparing for surprise attacks from other hidden villages?
Or did they have some other scheme?
As for Mist, there was far too little intelligence available. But clearly, they were plotting something else too.
Otherwise, why would they target Hanzo of the Salamander in Ame?
"As for Sand, they've already halted all mission assignments, gathered a large quantity of wartime supplies, and every ninja remained on high alert within the village..."
"Iwagakure shows no signs of major troop movements, but according to intelligence, they've recently seen an increase in merchant escort missions. Our Intelligence Division suspects this might be covert transportation of supplies heading toward the border regions..."
"Just moments ago, disturbing news arrived from Rain Country: Hanzo of the Salamander from Ame was assassinated by Mist Anbu. Ame has fallen into internal chaos as Hanzo's subordinates begin fighting over control of the Rain ninja village. The Daimyo of Rain Country has already decided to seek refuge at the Fire Country Daimyo's estate."
After delivering all the intelligence in one breath, Hiruzen's gaze settled first on his three old comrades.
"Assassinating Hanzo of the Salamander—who protected the border nation of Rain, removing the final buffer separating us from the three great nations—is this Mist's doing? Had they managed to push Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure into a standoff?"
At Kei Yamanaka's cue, the White Zetsu impersonating Danzo spoke in a sinister tone.
Rather than pinning all the blame solely on Mist, he subtly hinted that Sand was also suspicious.
This perfectly captured Danzo's ever-suspicious nature.
After all, no one had ever discovered the Sanshouo clan's summoned beasts, which were under Root ninja surveillance.
Such accusations could be thrown around however they liked.
"Regardless of whether it was Mist or not, Sand is already restrained, and our main concern should be preventing Rock from advancing!"
Koharu Utatane continued.
Previously, Sand and Mist had been locked in fierce battle.
In theory, if Mist and Cloud went to war, the Sand leadership, still resentful over past events, would likely launch a direct naval assault on Mist by sea.
But now, Hanzo of Rain had suddenly been attacked and killed. Even if Sand was reckless, they'd still need to worry about Iwagakure and Konoha stabbing them in the back.
"Send an envoy to negotiate with Onoki and delay their advance."
Homura Mitokado took a long moment before offering his suggestion.
Iwagakure was also dominated by hardliners.
Moreover, according to intelligence reports, Iwagakure's finances had already encountered extremely serious problems.
Under such chaotic conditions, starting a war was the fastest way to offload their financial burdens.
If war was unavoidable,
Konoha could buy more preparation time by feigning negotiations while secretly gathering intel and stalling Iwagakure's advance.
"Not realistic."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
He could already foresee Iwagakure wouldn't hold back and would strike first.
Moreover, their target would definitely be Konoha!
After all...
Sand was just too broke!
Sending a high-ranking Konoha official to negotiate at this point—wouldn't that just hand the enemy intelligence?
Kei Yamanaka sat calmly in the center of the conference table, exchanging subtle glances with Nara Shikaku and the others, even casting one meaningfully toward the Uchiha Clan.
The White Zetsu impersonating Danzo, along with several pro-war hardliners, began exerting influence during the meeting.
What had previously been a half-day session making little substantive progress started moving forward rapidly.
After a heated argument between Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the meeting's central theme was basically set according to Kei Yamanaka's intentions.
Don't strike first—but anyone who moves against us will face a thunderous counterattack!
"We've already consolidated supplies once; immediately allocate part of them and begin transporting them to the front lines."
"Nara Shikaku and Maki Yocho, start drafting the personnel list. The vanguard… one thousand troops."
"A thousand troops? Hiruzen, unless you personally go to the front lines, who would that even intimidate?"
"One thousand troops is a message—showing we're not afraid of war. But if I personally go there, what would other hidden villages think? They might have no choice but to go to war even if they didn't want to."
"Heh… All I see is weakness."
"Danzo, you're too extreme!"
Amid rising voices and heated arguments,
the several-hour-long high-level meeting finally came to a close as midnight approached.
Orders began to be issued in succession after Hiruzen Sarutobi inquired about the status of various departments and ninja clans.
A force of a thousand ninja wasn't excessive.
But this wasn't an act of war—it was merely a display of strength toward the neighboring villages.
By stationing troops along the borders of the Land of Fire,
with Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, as their leader, plus elite members hand-picked from each clan, even if they were ambushed, they could still hold the enemy at bay temporarily.
By then, with Konoha's ample wartime reserves, Konoha could easily retain sufficient backup forces
while quickly dispatching more than 3,000 ninja as reinforcements.
Even if Sunagakure tried to seize the moment, Konoha wouldn't flinch at the idea of a two-front war.
But...
Two-front war?
As Kei Yamanaka exited the meeting room, he couldn't suppress a faint smirk.
The Third Great Ninja War? Konoha had taken on every other village one at a time. You should consider yourself lucky we weren't fighting four fronts at once!
Two fronts? Please!
"Still..."
Kei cast a sidelong glance toward the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Though he hadn't yet fully become the overly cautious, stability-obsessed old man he would eventually turn into—like in the original storyline, more than a decade later—
there was no denying—he was growing old.
Whether consciously or not, he had already started suppressing ambitious clans and powerful ninja families within the village.
Guess I should let him retire with some dignity.
Imagine how humiliating it would be if he died at sixty-nine, killed by his own apprentice?
That kind of thing would just bring shame.
Fwoosh~!
A Root ninja appeared beside Kei using Shifting Body Technique.
He bowed respectfully and handed him a scroll filled with intelligence reports.
"Best Cupping Enthusiast?"
Kei stared blankly at the four large kanji printed on the scroll's cover.
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