"Hiruzen, come home. You haven't been home for a week."
After saying this, Biwako's tears began to flow uncontrollably, falling drop by drop onto the floor, quickly soaking a large patch.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up slightly, staring at Sarutobi Biwako at the door.
Under the desk, his hand trembled slightly.
If his wife had come to question him, scold him, or blame him, he wouldn't have found it strange.
But his wife coming to persuade him to come home, to take care of himself, made Hiruzen feel even worse.
Back then, Biwako had strongly opposed Shinnosuke becoming the Foreign Affairs Advisor. A mother's intuition made her feel that something would definitely go wrong if Shinnosuke took the post.
Now it was proven that Biwako was right, yet she didn't say a single word of reproach.
In this past week, Biwako had sorted through many of her thoughts and emerged from the pain of losing her son earlier than he had.
Or perhaps, not emerged—one never truly emerges from such a thing—but rather accepted it, had to accept the reality of losing her son.
Biwako wiped her tears clean, came to Hiruzen's side, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Hiruzen's body trembled suddenly.
"Hiruzen, come home. Return to the clan grounds," Sarutobi Biwako said. "Not only has Shinnosuke sacrificed himself, but our daughter-in-law Hōbi has also sacrificed herself. Hinotama and Enosuke, father and son, have also sacrificed themselves."
"You are the Hokage, but you are also the leader of the Sarutobi clan. The clan needs you to step forward and offer comfort."
"You are also a shinobi. We've seen so much death on the path we've walked."
"Let's return to the clan grounds. This is your responsibility. You can't hide here anymore."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up.
His blood flow seemed reversed; from simply standing up, he actually felt dizzy and saw spots.
He felt the decline of his bodily functions.
"You're right. I can't hide here anymore. There is still much to handle."
"In the village, we need to quickly appoint Guardian Ninja for the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water and select a new Foreign Affairs Advisor as soon as possible."
"Within the clan, we need to quickly console the families of the clansmen who sacrificed themselves."
"My son died for Konoha, and the sons of others will also die for Konoha. My grief is not unique."
On the second floor of the Hokage Building, Nara Rokaku watched the Hokage and his wife left the building from the window and breathed a sigh of relief.
For this past week, he hadn't dared to leave the Hokage Building either, unsure if the Third Hokage would make any abnormal decisions.
Fortunately, the Third Hokage was, after all, the strongest Hokage and had not collapsed due to the death of his eldest son.
He returned to his desk and began studying the scroll sent back by Kyoichi.
The scroll detailed Fox's battle against the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Ryūjin.
Could transplanting Hashirama Cells really allow Fox to master such powerful Wood Release?
Nara Rokaku wrote several names on the scroll: Fox, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Senju Hanaki, Senju Rinoki...
Finally, he circled the names 'Fox' and 'Senju Rinoki'.
If that were the case, then everything seemed to make sense...
Nara Rokaku's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately destroyed the scroll.
Fox was the most important ninja in the Anbu, the most important—perhaps even the only—blade in the Third Hokage's hand currently. It was impossible for him to have any connection to the Senju clan.
Nara Rokaku would not voice his suspicions.
He had a vague feeling that Konoha was about to undergo a great change.
That night, after handling clan affairs, the Third Hokage returned to the Hokage Building and summoned the top brass.
Danzo, Tsunade, and Nara Rokaku all came to the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was calm as he said:
"My apologies. In the past few days, my state has been poor due to Shinnosuke's death, and I have delayed many matters."
"Now, let's discuss Konoha's current predicament."
"Rokaku, you first report the intelligence compiled so far."
Rokaku pretended to glance at a scroll, though he had long memorized the information thoroughly, and said:
"After Advisor Sarutobi Shinnosuke arrived in the Land of Hot Water, he thwarted the Kumo-nin's offensive."
"However, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire insisted that the Crown Prince receive the precepts at the Fire Temple."
"To prevent the monk-nin from becoming the Daimyō's Guardian Ninja, Advisor Shinnosuke sent Fox to assassinate the Fire Temple's abbot, Kaigyō."
"The good news is that with Kaigyō's sudden death, the Fire Temple is in chaos and no longer has the capacity to send monk-nin to Tenshu Castle."
"The bad news is that the Kumo-nin allied with the Iwa-nin and dispatched six powerful individuals to ambush and kill Advisor Shinnosuke."
"Fox returned to the Land of Hot Water, killed Iwagakure's Ryūjin and Omoi, recaptured the Land of Hot Water, and is currently pursuing the remaining Kumo-nin, including Dodai."
"Tenshu Castle in the Land of Hot Water is now in our hands."
"The frontline ninja have sent word, requesting the village quickly resolve the issue of the Land of Hot Water's Guardian Ninja."
"Fox is the Vice Minister of the Anbu, and Nara Kyoichi was Advisor Shinnosuke's assistant; neither is suitable to be a Guardian Ninja."
"As for the former Guardian Ninja Captain, Sarutobi Yamatori, he is seriously injured and is expected to be sent back to Konoha for treatment in the next couple of days."
Tsunade remained silent.
The battle for the Land of Hot Water had indeed been brutal. Who would have thought that a border skirmish would escalate into the deaths of hundreds of ninja, evolving into a brutal exchange of high-level figures from both sides.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "Kumogakure has lost two top officials, and Fox won't spare the remaining one, Dodai."
"Can we take the opportunity to retaliate against Kumogakure? They coveted the Land of Hot Water; let's take the Land of the Moon instead."
Nara Rokaku said, "Tactically, it's feasible. Kumogakure has suffered heavy losses; we could fully take the opportunity to send troops, conquer the Land of the Moon, and force its Daimyō to submit."
"However, Konoha's own strength is also below the safety line."
"In the last two Great Shinobi Wars, we faced situations where we were at war with three villages simultaneously."
"If we invest too much strength in the Land of the Moon, I fear other villages will take advantage of our weakness."
"At that point, it would trigger another Great Shinobi War."
"Konoha has lost many powerful ninja; I'm afraid we cannot win three wars simultaneously."
"Advisor Homura, Advisor Sakumo, Advisor Koharu, Advisor Shinnosuke, Uncle Torifu... they have all sacrificed themselves."
"Most importantly, we still have to guard against Uchiha Madara. Our forces are stretched thin."
"Therefore, I believe that while we can conquer the Land of the Moon tactically, strategically, we should not take the risk for now."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, suppressing his desire for revenge.
But his eyes were full of killing intent. If the next Great Shinobi War came, he would head in the direction of Kumogakure, to the Land of Lightning, to avenge Shinnosuke.
Killing intent filled the air, and for a moment, the Hokage's Office grew colder.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked again, "For the new Foreign Affairs Advisor, do you have any recommendations?"
Nara Rokaku said, "In terms of ability, Orochimaru or Jiraiya would be suitable."
"However, it's unknown if either of them is willing."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Tsunade and said to her:
"Tsunade, find a way to contact Jiraiya and have him return to the village."
"Also, organize a few class reunions, talk with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, see if you can get them to act more normally."
Tsunade did not refuse. Apart from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, there were no other choices now.
Konoha losing three Foreign Affairs Advisors in a row was a major blow to the village's prestige and strength.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "As for the Land of Hot Water Guardian Ninja..."
"Let Fox and Nara Kyoichi hold the fort for a while. Once Yamatori recovers from his injuries, send him back to the Land of Hot Water. He is familiar with it."
***
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(End of Chapter)