In the meeting room of the Hokage Building in Konoha, the high-ranking members of the Konoha-Kumo Alliance had gathered.
Even the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, who had long been governing from the capital of the Land of Fire, made a rare appearance.
At the head of the room sat the Third Raikage, A, and Tobirama Senju. Seeing that all attendees had arrived, the meeting officially commenced.
The urgency of the gathering stemmed from a report sent by the Third Hokage, Senju Arima.
It contained critical intelligence regarding a joint operation by Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure.
Tobirama looked down at the silent crowd and announced in a loud, clear voice, "This morning, we received a message from the Third Hokage.
According to his reconnaissance, the three remaining great ninja villages have made a significant military move.
The enemy attempted to ambush him in the desert with an elite force, but he managed to evade the trap. Still, I must voice a serious criticism of our Anbu intelligence division!"
Though his tone remained calm, the suppressed anger in his voice was unmistakable.
Even though Tobirama's chakra flow was damaged and he could no longer wield it freely, the natural authority in his presence made everyone tense.
He continued, "What exactly are our intelligence agents embedded in the three great villages doing?
How did they fail to detect such a major operation? This is a colossal dereliction of duty by the Anbu! If it had been any other Kage-level shinobi, they would've likely been silently eliminated!"
Tobirama couldn't help but feel a chill as he spoke. He genuinely didn't know whether Arima could withstand a coordinated attack led by the top-tier forces of all three villages.
Even a tiger struggles against a pack of wolves.
Arima was facing enormous danger on the frontlines, yet the home front had been completely in the dark.
Tobirama had always committed himself to being Arima's strongest support.
But now it felt as if their defenses had been pierced from within, leaving Arima to fight alone. That was what enraged him most.
"We must respond with strength," Tobirama concluded.
He rose and walked over to a large map behind him, pointing at the Lands of Bears, Demons, and Whirlpools.
"While the great villages have their forces stretched thin, we strike first. We'll dispatch troops to the Lands of Bears and Demons and establish our First Military Division there.
A Second Division will be set up in the Land of Whirlpools."
His expression was cold. "If they launch a joint offensive against Arima, we'll retaliate immediately, capturing strategic strongholds along the borders of the Lands of Wind and Earth.
As for the Whirlpools Division, they will intercept and cut off any incoming forces from Kirigakure."
After laying out his plan, Tobirama returned to his seat and motioned for Raikage A to speak.
The others mulled over Tobirama's strategy. It was a classic undermining tactic, strike at the root and force the enemy to divert their focus.
With such a bold military presence, the enemy would have no time to organize an assault on the Third Hokage.
Once the murmuring died down, the Third Raikage A spoke gravely, "The progress our Konoha-Kumo Alliance has made in the past ten years is undeniable.
But that success has stirred deep fears in others. If we don't retaliate now, they'll keep trying to strike down our strongest shinobi one by one."
The room filled with righteous indignation. Many were already ashamed of the intelligence failure, and if they didn't act now, they wouldn't be able to face either of the Third Hokages again.
Under unified command, the village quickly mobilized. In no time, a ten-thousand-strong elite ninja army was assembled.
This elite vanguard would split into two groups.
The larger force would head to the region near the shrine of the priestesses in the Lands of Bears and Demons to establish the First Division of the Alliance.
The smaller unit would move to Uzushiogakure Village in the Land of Whirlpools and work with the Uzumaki Clan to build the Second Division.
Such massive troop movements quickly drew the attention of spies from the other ninja villages. They relayed the information through various channels back to their respective leadership.
However, those reports would take at least a day or two to arrive. By the time the intelligence reached the upper echelons, Konoha's army was already en route to their objectives.
The leadership of Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure all felt a chill down their spines when their scouts reported on the mobilization.
With their strongest forces already deployed in the Land of Wind, their homelands were exposed.
If the Konoha-Kumo forces combined and struck, any one of them might suffer catastrophic losses.
They all hastily dispatched reinforcements to their borders, aiming to hold Konoha's forces in check.
The idea was clear: if Konoha attacked any one of them, the other two could unite and counterattack.
Three days later, armies from all the major villages were arrayed along their respective borders. While no one made the first move, a tense standoff blanketed the land.
On the surface, the ninja world appeared calm, but beneath that calm, undercurrents surged.
Arima received Anbu's report three days after he'd linked up with Dodai and Kata. At the time, the Konoha-Kumo army had only just departed.
Warmth flooded Arima's heart at his great-uncle's overprotective reaction. He never felt he was fighting alone, he had things he wanted to protect, people he believed in.
Yuna saw her father smile faintly after reading the message. Curious, she ran over to peek at what it said.
Arima had only known Yuna for two days, yet he already cherished her deeply.
Though her mischievous nature could be a handful, she was like a precious little cotton jacket, bright, warm, and full of joy.
He handed the intelligence scroll to the eager girl, who didn't hesitate at all and began reading it without a care.
A nearby Anbu observed with curiosity. Her professional training told her not to ask questions, especially about the Hokage's personal affairs.
After reading, Yuna bounced over to Arata, beaming.
"Brother, look! Just like the stories say! Great-granduncle really did step up for Father. His strong style hasn't changed at all!"
Arata read the scroll carefully, sensing the overwhelming momentum behind the troop deployment.
He couldn't help but recall the image of his great-granduncle rocking serenely in a chair, an elderly man at peace.
It was hard to reconcile that figure with the one now orchestrating a thunderous military campaign.
The Anbu, though remaining outwardly composed, found herself increasingly puzzled by the striking resemblance between the blonde girl and Lady Tsunade.
Her brother also looked remarkably like the Third Hokage.
A wild guess popped into her mind, one she immediately dismissed, but not before it made her chuckle internally. Tsunade-sama was barely twenty. How could she possibly have children that old?
Arima, hearing the faint laugh behind Anbu's mask, more or less guessed what she was thinking. He sighed internally.
That ridiculous scenario had become a reality. How was he supposed to explain it?
Still, he couldn't help but look forward to Tsunade's reaction. How would she take it when she learned the truth about these two kids?
Would she be embarrassed? Shocked? Would she accept it calmly? Or laugh it off, thinking it was one of his pranks?
As Arima's thoughts spiraled, Yuna suddenly pounced into his arms and giggled wickedly. "Papa must be thinking about Mama again! Look at that goofy smile! You're drooling!"
Arima reflexively wiped his mouth, only to realize he'd been tricked again. He chuckled at himself.
He could face anything with calm composure, except Tsunade and this mischievous little girl. They could always catch him off guard.
The Anbu nearby was stunned. From their conversation, it was clear, Lord Hokage was acknowledging them as his children. Did that mean he had kids when he was twelve or thirteen?
Still reeling, she watched Arima quickly pen a reply and hand her the encrypted message.
As she turned to leave, she bowed respectfully and said boldly, "Please forgive my impertinence, but take care of yourself! I won't say anything to Lady Tsunade about you having children!"
Yuna burst into laughter, practically doubling over. The others, hearing the commotion, came to see what was going on.
Yuna managed to contain her laughter long enough to explain, and the room erupted in cheerful laughter.
Arima shrugged helplessly and patted the woman's shoulder.
"I appreciate the thought. But it's… complicated. Too complicated to explain now. Just return to Konoha and stay safe on the road."
The Anbu was moved by his kindness. She realized she may have overstepped, but the Third Hokage showed no blame, only concern. She bowed again and vanished in a flicker.
Arima looked around at the bright smiles surrounding him and couldn't help but smile himself.
This… this was the beautiful future he was fighting to protect.
---------------
Guys do leave some power stones and reviews.
🤞pa treon . com / plotplanner🤞
Remove all the spaces in between and then search.
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 30 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.