Hokage's Office.
A familiar room, a familiar layout, and four familiar faces.
Hiruzen Sarutobi still held his unlit pipe between his lips, quietly listening to Danzō's report.
"In the past three months, minor skirmishes at the borders have increased from the usual average of five per month to fifteen per month. And that doesn't even include our teams encountering enemies while on missions in other countries."
Danzō recounted the recent surge in border conflicts in a calm tone.
"Has peace lasted so long that certain factions are starting to stir again?"
Hiruzen clicked his tongue, voicing his helplessness.
The problem with prolonged peace was the rise of internal conflicts.
Konoha was no exception.
The most obvious example was the Uchiha clan, who, with their autonomous status, were constantly seeking political power.
At times like this, the best way to redirect conflict was to establish a common enemy, so that everyone could vent their energy on outsiders.
Clearly, Konoha had become that external enemy.
"Can we confirm who the enemy is?"
Homura Mitokado raised the key question.
If they could identify the other party or obtain evidence of who was behind the provocations, the matter could be settled diplomatically.
"They aren't wearing forehead protectors, and their clothing and equipment have no distinguishing features. It's obvious they came prepared."
Danzō had naturally conducted a thorough investigation, but Konoha had too many enemies. Without any clear leads, he could only rely on ANBU to track them down one by one.
"But if they were looking for an excuse to start a war, they wouldn't be acting so secretly, would they? There must be some other motive."
Koharu Utatane speculated based on Danzō's words.
"Testing Konoha's strength?"
Hiruzen voiced the guess Koharu hadn't said aloud. "Without the right opportunity, they wouldn't dare to start a war recklessly. All they can do is probe for our weaknesses, see if they can gain some advantage, or disrupt our public order."
"But that makes things difficult. Not knowing who the enemy is, we can only defend passively."
Homura frowned.
"Konoha's geography forces us into a defensive posture. There's nothing we can do about it."
Hiruzen sighed helplessly.
Konoha's location was indeed prosperous, but that prosperity also attracted the covetous eyes of other villages.
With so many rivals, Konoha couldn't afford to take risks. Every time a Shinobi World War broke out, Konoha relied on its deep reserves to wear down the enemy in a war of attrition.
"Ōnoki of Iwagakure has trained many new ninja over the years, but the number of commissions is limited. If he can't provide for his village's ninja, he'll start a war at the first opportunity—and his target will likely be us."
Danzō sat up straight and presented the intelligence his subordinates had gathered. "To get information on Iwagakure, I've lost three operatives. All I could get was an approximate figure—the number of ninja in Iwagakure has exceeded ten thousand."
"So many?!"
Both advisors' eyes widened in shock at the news.
Iwagakure wasn't wealthy. How could they possibly support so many ninja on such meager commissions?
Unlike the two advisors, who made no effort to hide their surprise, Hiruzen remained perfectly calm—clearly, he'd already learned of this intelligence.
"Could this intel be wrong? Based on what I know of Iwagakure…"
Homura's first reaction was to doubt the report.
Koharu nodded in agreement after Homura spoke, obviously skeptical of Danzō's information.
"Are you doubting my subordinates?"
Danzō sounded a bit displeased.
"But…"
Homura shook his head, unsure what to say.
You could say Danzō was ruthless, or incompetent, or both—but you couldn't deny that during his years overseeing intelligence, there had never been a major failure.
"In that case, we absolutely need to monitor Iwagakure's movements. Luckily, Kusagakure lies between us; if Iwagakure makes a move, Kusagakure will give us advance warning."
Koharu sighed, already resigned to the likelihood of an Iwagakure offensive against Konoha.
"Not just Iwagakure—the brutes of Kumogakure are always looking to seize land and resources. In recent years, they've been targeting bloodline limits and secret techniques all over the place. They're also a threat we must guard against."
Danzō continued, now talking about Kumogakure and Sunagakure:
"Even the poorest Sunagakure, under its 'strongest Kazekage,' has started mining gold dust to make up for the military budget cuts imposed by the daimyo."
At this point, Danzō paused, reached for his teacup, gently blew on it, took a sip, and set it back down. "From all the intelligence we've gathered, it's clear that war is just a matter of timing. That's why I believe Konoha needs to begin preparations now."
Danzō opened his half-closed single eye, revealing a fierce gaze as he stated his opinion.
"Preparations for war… I'd prefer to resolve this diplomatically, but Danzō's intel confirms the villages' attitudes. We don't know when the war will break out, but waiting until it does to prepare will be too late."
Though he'd often criticized Danzō's hawkish ways, Homura had to admit that, given the intelligence, preparing for war was the best choice.
"That's right, Hiruzen. This time, we should heed Danzō's advice."
Koharu agreed with Danzō and looked to Hiruzen.
Hiruzen just shook his head, took the pipe from his mouth, and sighed again. "Indeed, no matter the era, ninja can never escape the fate of conflict. Let's do as you suggest."
Having reached a consensus on war preparations, the four immediately set to work according to their respective duties.
To gather more intelligence, Danzō put aside Feng Bai's training and summoned Aburame Ryōma and Yamanaka Zen to his side, dedicating himself fully to intelligence and assassination operations.
As usual, after school Feng Bai played with Kakashi and the others for a while before returning home, where he found Nonoyu Yakushi alone in the living room.
"Nonoyu-neesan."
Feng Bai greeted her sweetly, took off his shoes, and walked over.
"Welcome back, Feng Bai."
Smiling, Nonoyu reached out to fix Feng Bai's hair, which Obito had messed up. "You must be hungry. I'll go make you something delicious."
"Okay, I'll study in the library for now."
Feng Bai didn't ask why Danzō wasn't cooking today. After all, there were always a few days each month when Danzō disappeared—he was probably off causing trouble somewhere again.
🔥 Want to read the next 50+ chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on - patreon.com/GoldenLong]