Just as the Jonin Unit was on the verge of breaking into an all-out brawl, the meeting among clan leaders inside the Hokage Office was equally stalled.
Including the Hyuga Clan Leader, each clan head wore a dark expression and remained silent. The room's atmosphere had become unbearably tense.
Everyone already knew what the Hokage Tower was really aiming for—it just wanted every clan to cough up more ninja to throw at the front lines. Truthfully, this wasn't unexpected; they'd all mentally prepared themselves beforehand.
But the problem was, the Hokage Tower was asking for way too many!
Even a prestigious clan like the Hyuga Clan could hardly bear such pressure. Originally, the Hyuga Clan Leader had planned to send ten Jonin and thirty Chunin to war, believing that was already generous enough. He never expected Koharu Utatane to boldly ask the Hyuga Clan to supply no fewer than 120 ninja!
Forget whether the Hyuga could even spare so many ninja—even if they did send them, what would happen next?
With the war clearly set to keep draining lives, once these family ninja were consumed in one round of battle, would there be another demand?
Clans had longer memories than regular ninja did!
They still remembered how the once-mighty Senju—the unrivaled powerhouse during the First Great Ninja War—were brought to ruin. That tragic fate was etched clearly in their minds.
Meanwhile, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, calmly waited for replies from the clan leaders.
As long-time political manipulators of Konoha, they naturally understood the kind of pushback and complaints this demand would provoke. But honestly, unless they pushed aggressively, the clans would never comply willingly. There was a fundamental gap between both sides' expectations and bottom lines.
From Konoha's perspective, the clans were truly a double-edged sword.
Each possessed inherited traditions, secret techniques, and talents developed without relying on the village's education system. Privately, they even maintained independent economic resources. To them, Konoha was merely a safe harbor. It was practically impossible to expect total loyalty from them, especially not after the Senju bloodline was wiped out.
Conversely, from the clans' viewpoint, even the last direct heir of the mighty Senju could be blown apart by nothing more than a simple explosive tag on the battlefield, his organs torn away entirely. In such circumstances, how could they possibly risk everything for this village?
After all, nobody wanted to become the next Senju!
"Have all the clan heads made your decision yet?"
A thick silence filled the office, cloaked in smoke, before the Third finally broke it: "Although the situation in the Land of Rain has slightly improved recently, unless we significantly increase troop deployment, Iwa and Kumo will certainly stir up trouble again."
Immediately afterward, all clan leaders turned their gazes toward the Hyuga Clan Leader. With the Uchiha absent from this meeting, the Hyuga stood as the sole ancient noble family remaining—both in power and prestige, they alone held sufficient weight to speak on behalf of all clans.
"With the Third Hokage's three elite disciples in command, Hanzo from the Rain Ninja Village won't be able to cause much trouble."
The Hyuga Clan Leader paused briefly before responding with a reply that was neither soft nor harsh.
They were clearly haggling over authority in military matters—a domain where the Hokage lineage would never concede!
The gathered clan leaders quickly caught on to the meaning behind the Hyuga leader's words.
It's the old 'high offer, low demand' game. Perfect!
Suddenly invigorated, the assembled clan heads eagerly anticipated the showdown between the powerful clans and the ruling authority.
"They're doing just fine. After all, they're young and full of energy, right?"
Unexpectedly, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no humility whatsoever and readily accepted every compliment on behalf of his apprentices.
But the problem was—everyone was speaking in code! Why on earth did you just admit it?
The Hyuga Clan Leader immediately furrowed his brow, unable to figure out what scheme the old monkey had up his sleeve.
No one would believe that he genuinely failed to grasp the hidden meaning in the other's words.
Unless… this was an intentional act of obfuscation by the old monkey?
"Therefore, since the situation in the Land of Rain has already stabilized, considering how tight the village's budget is, I believe increasing our military forces is unnecessary. I hope the Hokage will seriously reconsider this matter."
After a pause for thought, the Hyuga leader finally responded with solemnity.
For the normally cautious Hyuga Clan, this was already an unusually firm stance.
And precisely because of that, these weighty words carried true influence.
Unlike the Uchiha, who constantly ranted about rebelling against the Hokage Tower yet never took action—even their radical faction had left certain ambitious clans quite disappointed.
Once again, the attention of the various clan leaders turned back to the Hokage and his two advisors.
To the clans, accepting both conditions at once was absolutely unacceptable; they didn't refuse to dispatch their ninja for the village's battles per se, but only under one condition—they must receive sufficient compensation!
Moreover, unlike those vulgar, shortsighted civilian ninja, the noble clans cared little for mere money or honor. Only tangible power and sustainable benefits—not the short-sighted strategy of draining the pond to catch every last fish—could truly sway them!
Otherwise, they wouldn't mind waiting until the front lines collapsed and then fighting another "Konoha Defense War"—a full-scale conflict where, this time, the clans would certainly have no qualms about pouring everything they had into the battle.
"Do you all agree with this as well?"
Homura Mitokado, his face darkened, now entered the struggle.
"What the Hyuga leader said reflects prudent judgment."
"The village's public funds are hard-earned and shouldn't be squandered recklessly."
"If the Hokage feels that Orochimaru and others might struggle to manage the battlefield situation in the Land of Rain..."
"Seconded!"
"Agreed!"
Rather than intimidating the gathered clan leaders, Homura's intervention only fueled their rebellious instincts.
With the Hyuga Clan taking the lead, who among them still feared a mere advisor?!
Even the leaders of the Ino–Shika–Cho triad, the most loyal supporters of the Hokage lineage, remained silent at this moment, clearly unwilling to defend the Hokage's plan. If other ninja clans pressured them into taking on most of the burden, they'd be in real trouble!
Right after the Council Chamber fell into another heavy silence, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly twitched his eyelid, and his expression subtly changed.
"Then let's call it a day," he tapped his pipe and said solemnly. "I believe you clan heads don't fully understand our current village situation yet. Afterward, I'll have the Anbu deliver battlefield reports for everyone to study carefully!"
With that, he waved repeatedly, urging all the ninja clan leaders to leave.
Even the two advisors looked puzzled.
"Lord Hokage, why are you doing this?"
As soon as the clan leaders left, Koharu Utatane hurriedly exclaimed. "How could you let these people off so easily? We haven't even started applying pressure yet!"
"That's right! Without mobilizing more forces from the ninja clans, the village probably won't be able to gather enough shinobi troops for frontline reinforcements!" Homura Mitokado also frowned tightly.
"The Jonin Unit ran into unexpected issues," Hiruzen Sarutobi explained wearily while rubbing his temples.
Then, an Anbu ninja entered through the door, handing over a brief written report.
This was surveillance records of the Jonin Unit meeting.
Thanks to a report from Anbu, the Third Hokage already knew everything that had happened at the Jonin meeting. He simply motioned for the Anbu to pass the documents directly to the two advisors.
"What!"
After reading the records, both advisors' expressions drastically changed.
"How did things get like this! How could the Nara fail to keep the Jonin Unit meeting under control!" Koharu shouted loudly.
"Probably not just lack of control—more likely they share the same rebellious mindset!" Homura considered a deeper angle. "Kodou once studied under Torikaze, who led the unrest. It's impossible for the three clans—the Ino–Shika–Cho—to be unaware of this beforehand!"
"Then—"
Koharu's face darkened further.
"There may not just be issues within the Jonin Unit itself," the Third Hokage said slowly. "Some in the three clans may hold grudges against us as well!"