"Hiruzen… come home. You haven't come back in a week."
The moment Biwako said it, the tears she had been holding back spilled over.
One drop after another hit the floor, quickly darkening a wide patch of the wooden boards.
Sarutobi Hiruzen tilted his head up slightly and looked at his wife standing in the doorway.
Beneath the desk, his hand trembled faintly.
If she had come to question him, to scold him, to blame him—
he wouldn't have found that strange at all.
But instead…
she had come to persuade him to go home.
To tell him to take care of himself.
And somehow, that made it hurt even more.
Back then, Biwako had strongly opposed Shinnosuke becoming the foreign affairs advisor.
As a mother, she had simply felt—instinctively—that if he took that post, something terrible would happen.
Now it had been proven that she was right.
And yet she said not a single word of blame.
Over the course of that week, Biwako had thought through many things.
In some ways, she had come to terms with their son's death faster than Hiruzen had.
Or perhaps "come to terms with it" was the wrong phrase.
No one truly gets over something like that.
It wasn't that she had moved on.
It was that she had accepted it.
Or rather—
that she had no choice but to accept the reality of losing her son.
Biwako wiped her tears clean and walked over to Hiruzen.
Then she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Hiruzen's body jolted.
"Hiruzen… come home. Come back to the clan compound."
Her voice was quiet, but steady.
"It wasn't only Shinnosuke who died. Our daughter-in-law, Hōbi, died too. Hiyuu and Einosuke, father and son, died as well.
"You are the Hokage… but you are also the head of the Sarutobi clan. The clan needs you.
"And more than that, you're a shinobi. We've spent our whole lives surrounded by death.
"We need to go back to the clan grounds.
"That is your responsibility.
"You can't keep hiding in here."
Hiruzen slowly stood up.
The motion was so simple.
And yet the moment he rose, blood rushed unevenly through his body and his vision swam.
He felt it clearly—
the decline of his body.
His age.
His weakness.
"…You're right."
His voice came out rough.
"I can't keep hiding in here. There are still too many things that need to be handled.
"In the village, we need to send new guardian shinobi to the Land of Hot Water as soon as possible. We also need to appoint a new foreign affairs advisor.
"And within the clan, we need to comfort the families of those who were lost.
"My son died for Konoha…
"But he isn't the only one.
"Other people's sons die for Konoha too.
"I'm not... the only one grieving."
On the second floor of the Hokage Building, Nara Shikakaku stood by the window and watched the Hokage and his wife leave together.
Only then did he finally let out a quiet breath.
For the past week, he hadn't dared leave the Hokage Building either.
He had no idea what sort of abnormal decision the Third Hokage might make in his current state.
Fortunately…
the Third was still the strongest Hokage.
He had not collapsed under the loss of his eldest son.
Shikakaku returned to his desk and resumed studying the scroll Kyoichi had sent back.
The scroll contained a detailed account of Fox's battle against the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, Ryuuren.
Could transplanted Hashirama cells really allow Fox to wield Wood Release at that level?
Shikakaku began writing down names on a spare scroll.
Fox.
Orochimaru.
Tsunade.
Senju Hanaki.
Senju Rinju…
In the end, he circled only two names.
Fox.
And Senju Rinju.
If that were the case…
then suddenly, everything seemed to fit.
A chill ran through him.
The very next moment, he destroyed the scroll.
Fox was the most important shinobi in ANBU.
The most important blade in the Third Hokage's hand right now—
perhaps the only truly sharp one he had left.
Such a person could not be allowed to have any suspected ties to the Senju.
Nara Shikakaku would never voice that suspicion aloud.
But deep down…
he could already feel it.
Konoha was heading toward a storm.
That very night, after finishing the affairs of the Sarutobi clan, the Third Hokage returned to the Hokage Building and summoned Konoha's upper leadership.
Danzo.
Tsunade.
Nara Shikakaku.
All three arrived in the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was calm.
"First… I owe you all an apology.
"For the past few days, because of Shinnosuke's death, I was not in a proper state of mind. Many things have been delayed.
"But now…
"let's discuss Konoha's current predicament.
"Shikakaku, begin with the intelligence summary."
Shikakaku picked up a scroll and pretended to glance at it, though in truth he had already memorized every detail.
"After Advisor Sarutobi Shinnosuke arrived in the Land of Hot Water, he successfully repelled Kumogakure's initial offensive.
"However, the Fire Country's daimyō insisted that the heir apparent be sent to the Fire Temple for initiation rites.
"In order to prevent the Fire Temple's warrior monks from becoming the daimyō's guardian force, Advisor Shinnosuke sent Fox to assassinate Jie, the Fire Temple's head monk.
"The good news is that Jie 'suddenly' died, and the Fire Temple has fallen into chaos. They no longer have the ability to dispatch warrior monks.
"The bad news is that the Cloud and Stone joined forces and sent six elite shinobi to ambush and kill Advisor Shinnosuke.
"Fox then returned to the Land of Hot Water, killed Ryuuren of Iwagakure and Gomoi of Kumogakure, retook the Land of Hot Water, and is currently hunting down Totai and the remaining Cloud shinobi.
"At present, Tenshu Castle in the Land of Hot Water is back in Konoha's hands.
"The shinobi at the front have sent word requesting that the village resolve the issue of guardian shinobi there as soon as possible.
"Fox is ANBU Vice Commander, and Nara Kyoichi was Advisor Shinnosuke's aide, so neither is particularly suited to serve long-term as guardian shinobi.
"As for the former captain of the guardian force, Sarutobi Yamatori—he was gravely wounded. He will likely be sent back to Konoha within the next few days for treatment."
Tsunade remained silent.
The battle over the Land of Hot Water had truly been brutal.
Who could have imagined that a mere border probe would spiral into the deaths of hundreds of shinobi—
and into such a savage exchange of high-ranking figures on both sides?
Hiruzen finally asked, "Kumogakure has already lost two of its upper leaders. As for Totai, Fox likely won't let him escape either.
"Can we take this opportunity to retaliate?
"They covet the Land of Hot Water, do they not?
"Then perhaps we should take the Land of the Moon."
Shikakaku replied immediately.
"Tactically, yes. Kumogakure has suffered severe losses. We absolutely have the ability to press the advantage, invade the Land of the Moon, and force its daimyō into submission.
"But strategically…
"Konoha's overall strength has already fallen below a safe threshold.
"In both previous Great Ninja Wars, we were forced into situations where we had to fight three villages at once.
"If we commit too much strength to the Land of the Moon, I fear the other villages will seize the opportunity to strike.
"And if that happens, we'll be dragged into another Great Ninja War.
"Konoha has already lost too many powerful shinobi.
"I don't believe we can win three wars at the same time now.
"Advisor Homura.
"Advisor Sakumo.
"Advisor Koharu.
"Advisor Shinnosuke.
"Senior Torifu.
"All of them are dead.
"And most importantly, we still have to guard against Uchiha Madara.
"Our forces are stretched far too thin.
"So in my judgment—
"while we can take the Land of the Moon tactically,
"strategically, we should not take that risk for now."
Hiruzen nodded slowly, suppressing his desire for immediate revenge.
But the killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable.
If another Great Ninja War truly came…
then he would personally march toward the Land of Lightning.
And he would avenge Shinnosuke.
The cold pressure of his murderous intent spread through the office, lowering the temperature of the room itself.
After a moment, Hiruzen asked another question.
"As for a new foreign affairs advisor… do any of you have recommendations?"
Shikakaku answered, "In terms of strength and qualifications, Orochimaru or Jiraiya would both be suitable.
"But whether either of them is willing to take the role… that's another matter."
Hiruzen turned to Tsunade.
"Tsunade.
"Find a way to contact Jiraiya and have him return to the village.
"And in addition… organize a few old teammate gatherings.
"Talk with Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
"See whether the two of them are… functioning normally enough."
Tsunade didn't object.
The truth was, aside from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, there were no better options left.
Konoha had now lost three consecutive foreign affairs advisors.
The blow to both the village's prestige and its strength was severe.
Hiruzen continued,
"As for the guardian shinobi in the Land of Hot Water…
"Let Fox and Nara Kyoichi hold the position temporarily.
"Once Yamatori's injuries recover, send him back there.
"He's already familiar with the Land of Hot Water."