A few days after the Uchiha clan departed for the Suna front, Tobirama finally returned to Konoha with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura.
Although Iwa had not fully withdrawn from Kusa, they had made no movements for over a week, and scouts confirmed that Tsuchikage Mu had returned to Iwagakure.
Tobirama appointed Nara Shikasuke as temporary commander of the Kusa front and returned to Konoha to stabilize the village.
***
Tobirama sat behind his desk, flipping through the mountain of documents that had accumulated during his absence.
"So… Uchiha sent two divisions."
"Sensei?" Hiruzen and Homura looked up immediately with hopeful eyes, desperate for an excuse to escape paperwork.
Tobirama glanced at them.
Homura froze, then quickly buried his face in the documents, adjusting his glasses with exaggerated seriousness.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, stood up straight and approached Tobirama.
Tobirama smirked.
"Since Homura is so eager to handle paperwork, I'll leave it to him. Saru, follow me."
"Hai, Sensei!"
"HUH?! WHA—?! SENSEI!!!"
Hiruzen followed Tobirama out of the office while Homura clutched his head in despair, scribbling frantically.
...
"Sensei, why are we at the academy?"
Tobirama and Hiruzen stood on a tree branch overlooking the classrooms below.
"Saru," Tobirama said quietly, "it's time for you to take disciples. Just as I took you three."
Hiruzen blinked. "But sensei… it's still wartime. And I'm only twenty‑six."
"So?" Tobirama replied. "That's an appropriate age. You've already surpassed the threshold of Kage‑level. Teaching the next generation will bring you many surprises and sharpen you further."
Hiruzen turned back towards the academy as he pondered.
"Watch them carefully during next two weeks." Tobirama continued. "Choose the ones who will carry your will."
"Two weeks...?"
"Yes, after two weeks of rest, we will move to the Land of Hot spring to assist Danzo and confront Kumo."
Tobirama walked away, leaving Hiruzen staring at the children below.
'If nothing unexpected happens… you will be the Third Hokage, Saru. Teaching will prepare you for that future.'
***
As Tobirama returned to his office, his mind churned.
'Iwa hasn't fully withdrawn from Kusa. Suna front… Uchiha should be more than enough. But Kumo…'
Homura silently flinched as Tobirama began to tap his finger on the desk. Homura quickly dug his head back into the documents while Tobirama silently recalled the casualty reports.
Konoha had deployed over 32,000 shinobi and now only barely 21,000 remained. Konoha still outnumbered any other villages, individually. Moreover, the losses were catastrophic.
'Although we had no choice, facing all four nations at once was reckless. Konoha cannot stand alone. WE need an Ally.'
Despite the war, Kumo had avoided escalation after the initial clashes with the Kinkaku Butai. The Second Raikage seemed reluctant to push further.
Two days later, after long contemplation, Tobirama sent a letter to Raikage.
***
While Hiruzen observed Academy students and Tobirama and Homura drowned in paperwork, Uchiha Fukashi and the Uchiha reinforcements reached the Land of Rivers after two days of travel.
"Fukashi-sama!"
Kagami and the Konoha forces greeted them with visible relief. Their morale surged significantly as Uchiha's elites had arrived.
"Kagami... no, commander," Fukashi corrected. "Let's discuss the situation in detail inside the headquarters."
"Got it!"
The 1st and 2nd Divisions set up camp swiftly.
Soon, Fukashi, Naka, Kagami, Hyuga Hiro, Aburame Shun, and Utatane Koharu gathered in the command tent.
Soon, Fukashi, Naka, Kagami, Hyuga Hiro, Aburame Shun, and Utatane Koharu gathered in the command tent.
(Hyuga Hiro was the current Hyuga Branch family head.
Aburame Shun was the clan head of Aburame clan.)
"So," Fukashi began, "what is this Suna puppet team like?"
Kagami exhaled heavily.
"They're… tricky. Their puppets are made of rare chakra metals. Normal ninjutsu and weapons barely scratch them. And their leaders Monzaemon Chikamatsu and Kazekage Shamon are monsters."
He clenched his fists.
"Facing Shamon is like fighting two or three Kage at once. His puppets are overwhelming, and he himself is strong in taijutsu and ninjutsu. As for Chikamatsu… he controls more than ten puppets simultaneously. All ten are unique and deadly."
Kagami lowered his head, shame flickering across his face. According to Tobirama, he also reached Kage-level. However, he felt that he did not live up to that expectation.
Fukashi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself. Clearly, Suna prepared extensively for this war. Now that we're here, the burden isn't yours alone."
Kagami nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, Fukashi-sama."
"So, how is the situation?"
"Originally, we were able to push back the front back to the border of Land of Wind, but the puppet team and Monzaemon Chikamatsu and Shamon pushed us back all the way to the East, almost nearing the Land of Fire border. Original 8,000 troops were reduced to 6,500.
"Originally," Kagami continued, "we pushed Suna back to the Wind border. But Chikamatsu and Shamon counterattacked. We were forced back nearly to the Land of Fire. Our 8,000 troops dropped to 6,500 in a single day. We lost a lot of good men on that day alone."
He grit his teeth.
"Since then, there has been only small skirmishes and no major confrontation between us."
"Did you discover any flaws or weakness in these puppets?" Fukashi asked.
"None." Hyuga Hiro shook his head as he replied. "Puppeteers are always guarded by taijutsu and ninjutsu specialists. They never fight alone."
"hmm. How many ninjas did Suna deploy?"
Kagami quietly answered.
"So far we observed about 5,000 Suna-nins stationed in Land of Rivers."
"? That's it?" Naka blurted. His tone contained obvious disappointment and a hint of contempt in them.
Koharu stepped in Kagami's defense.
"Suna originally deployed 8,000. Kagami led a trap that killed 2,300 on the first day. But after reinforcing with the puppet corps, they pushed us back. Then… for some reason, they withdrew most of their forces and avoided direct confrontation."
Fukashi raised a brow and studied Kagami.
Then he spoke.
"Kagami," Fukashi said quietly, "as your senior, I'll give you advice."
Kagami looked up.
"Your humility is admirable. But it is also your greatest weakness."
Kagami stiffened.
"If you don't dare to take credit for your achievements, then what are you planning to become in the future?"
"Fukashi-sama, It is not that I don't take credit of my own work, I-"
"You what?"
"..."
Watching Kagami silently shut his mouth, Fukashi shook his head once more.
"If you don't even dare to take credit for your achievement...if you cannot speak for your clan… then how will you stand against other nations as Hokage?"
The tent fell silent.
Kagami opened his mouth, then closed it.
Fukashi continued with his Mangekyō glaring at Kagami.
"Hokage... is not a fitting position for you."
""??!!!""
Everyone looked at Fukashi with wide eyes in shock.
"Forget about competing for the Hokage. Even if Tobirama choose you, I would disagree. You are great shinobi... and a commander, but you are not fit to be a leader of a village."
The tent turned silent and no-one dared to speak.
Kagami too froze on the stop. But, to many's disbelief, instead of refuting Fukashi, he sighed in defeat and revealed a smile filled with sense of relief and liberation.
"You're right Fukashi-sama. I never intended to compete for the Hokage. You saw through me long ago, haven't you?"
"…" Fukashi did not speak any further, but slowly blinked his eyes and retuned his eyes to black pupils.
Fukashi has been observing Kagami since he became close confidant of Senju Tobirama. Over the course of time, he came into conclusion that Kagami does not like conflict, especially amongst his acquaintance and has no strong desire to compete for the position of Hokage against his friends and peers. He even noticed that the clan's pressure for him to compete for Hokage showed signs of staunching his growth both mentally and as ninja. Only his humility became more prominent. And his training time decreased significantly compared to the past.
Naka stepped forward angrily.
"Kagami! YOU!"
"Don't." Fukashi raised a hand. "There's no point arguing. Focus on dealing with Suna first."
"... Yes, Fukashi-sama."
Naka bit his lip but stepped back. His eyes burned with frustration and betrayal as his sharigan directed at Kagami..
Uchiha Naka reluctantly backed down, but his eyes were fixed on Kagami's figure, filled with frustration, anger, and betrayal.
"We avoid direct confrontation with the puppet corps," Fukashi declared. "Our elites will test them first. Once we understand their limits, we push Suna out of the Land of Rivers and force a peace treaty."
The meeting ended after few more discussions.
The tide of the Suna front was about to shift.