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The meeting chamber inside the Hokage Residence was heavy with smoke from the braziers, but heavier still with silence. For the past hour, no one had dared speak above a measured tone, as if raising their voices would somehow admit how badly Konoha had been struck on the Kumogakure front. Scrolls and maps littered the low table, red ink bleeding into the borders of Fire Country where new reports came in every day.
A thousand shinobi lost.
Not in years of grinding attrition, not in a long-drawn campaign. In three months. Entire platoons swallowed in Kumo's sudden surge. Even hardened veterans shifted uncomfortably on the tatami mats when the figure was spoken aloud.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat with his pipe untouched. His usual calm eyes carried shadows. He had grown used to bad news, wars had never truly ceased in the shinobi world but there was something different about this. The loss wasn't only in numbers. It was in confidence. In morale. And perhaps worst of all, in strategy.
"Dan Katō," Koharu's voice finally broke the silence, sharp as a shuriken. "You had command of the north-eastern detachment. How do you explain the collapse of your defense line within a single day?"
Dan's jaw tightened. His eyes looked hollow from lack of sleep, and his posture betrayed the guilt weighing down on him. "The reports are correct. Kumogakure struck with terrifying precision. We had barely consolidated our position when their reinforcements descended. It was as if they had been camped within striking distance. Our scouts and sensors should have—"
"Should have?" Homura cut in, tone dripping with disdain. "You mean they failed. You had a duty to anticipate enemy movement. A commander doesn't rely on chance or wishful thinking. A thousand shinobi are gone because of negligence."
Dan's fist curled on his knee. "You think I don't know that?!" His voice cracked, too loud for the council chamber. The silence that followed was suffocating. "We set traps, we had watch stations, yet they came. Not just ordinary troops. The Hachibi's jinchūriki led them himself. And with him, the Raikage's heir. No scouting system could have prepared us for the speed with which they mobilized."
The weight of the words sank in. Killer B, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, and the young Ay—son of the Raikage—commanding together. Konoha's shinobi whispered about them as if they were natural disasters rather than men.
But the council had no patience for excuses.
"There is no point sending more squads into the meat grinder," Koharu pressed on, ignoring Dan's anguish. "Kumo has established a fortified camp near the chakra ore mines. They've harvested uninterrupted for over a month. Every day their shinobi are getting stronger. Enhanced reserves. Longer endurance in combat. Do you understand what that means? Soon, every battle will be fought on their terms."
At the mention of the chakra ore mines, murmurs spread. The mine wasn't just a source of wealth, it was an amplifier. Refined ore infused with chakra could be forged into weapons or sealed into supplies that stretched a shinobi's stamina far beyond natural limits. For Kumo to monopolize such a resource was disastrous.
"And yet," Homura added grimly, "we cannot afford another catastrophe. Sending strike teams one after another will only thin our ranks. We would be throwing lives away."
Danzo, who had been silent until now, leaned forward slightly. His bandaged face caught the torchlight, casting deep shadows across his features. His single visible eye glinted with something sharper than concern.
"Then it is time we discard half-measures," he said.
All eyes turned to him.
Danzo did not rush his words. He spoke with deliberate calm, letting each syllable cut through the air. "Kumogakure has unleashed their jinchūriki. They have sent their Raikage's son. They are not holding back. Yet here we are, debating whether to send squads of fodder into a slaughter. If Kumo can weaponize their tailed beast… so can we."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Danzo…"
"You know who I speak of," Danzo continued, undeterred. "Uzumaki Kushina. She carries the Nine-Tails. Kumo's camp may be fortified, but against the Kyūbi's power, no camp could stand. We could obliterate their mine, their commanders, their entire forward base in one strike. What Kumo fears most is that we unleash our jinchūriki—and that is exactly what we must do."
The words hit the chamber like a thrown kunai. Even the seasoned advisors stiffened.
Koharu frowned, but she didn't dismiss it outright. "To send Kushina into battle… That would be a declaration unlike any other."
"It would invite catastrophe," Hiruzen snapped. His pipe finally clattered to the table, forgotten. "Kushina is not a weapon to be hurled at our enemies. The Kyūbi is barely stable inside her. Do you propose we risk her life, and the entire village, on the chance she might suppress it in combat? and there is no other vessel capable of holding the nine-tails after Uzumaki clan demise."
Danzo's tone hardened. "Hiruzen, She is a container. She exists for this very purpose. What use is a jinchūriki who never fights? Kumogakure will not hesitate to use theirs. They already have. We wring our hands while they harvest ore and slaughter our men. Tell me. How many more funerals before you act?"
Dan Katō broke in, voice hoarse. "Don't you dare suggest using Kushina to clean up my failure."
Danzo's eye flicked toward him, cold. "Do not flatter yourself, Katō. This isn't about your blunder. This is about survival."
The council erupted in overlapping voices. Homura warning that the balance with Suna and Iwa would tip if Konoha deployed the Nine-Tails. Koharu muttering that the clans would resist such a reckless move. Dan raising his voice in desperation, insisting there must be alternatives.
But Danzo pressed on, cutting through them all.
"Kumo's Eight-Tails jinchūriki is battle-trained, disciplined, effective. If we sit idle, their superiority grows with every passing day. Do you think Minato can hold the Iwa front forever while we bleed in the east? Do you think the Hyūga, the Uchiha, the Aburame will accept endless conscription without seeing decisive action? No. The longer we hesitate, the weaker we appear. The Nine-Tails is our only answer."