Even after the irritation passed, he did not stop and took another draw. "Cough. Hiruzen, have you been smoking too much these past two days?" Homura Mitokado said from a chair against the far wall, keeping his distance from the window. "I know the pressure is heavy, but you should at least take some care of yourself."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer. He only lowered his head and silently reread the letters delivered yesterday, letters he had already gone through countless times, yet his mind would not settle.
It had been three days since the escort carrying the body said to be Hiashi Hyuga's left Konoha. Normally, the journey from Konoha to the border took no more than two days, something confirmed by the message Tangdong Akimichi sent back by ninja beast a day earlier.
In the first letter, Tangdong Akimichi said the escort team was close to their destination. In the second, he mentioned they had run into a group of Iwagakure deserters along the way, explained that the team was safe with no losses, and even praised Yunchuan Hyuga's ability and temperament.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was glad that Yunchuan Hyuga might shoulder great responsibility in the future, the sudden appearance of Iwagakure deserters made him uneasy. Now a full day had passed since the last message, and that was not normal.
Could Iwagakure be interfering as well?
At the thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face showed worry as he took a hard drag on his pipe. Just as Homura Mitokado was about to urge him again to smoke less, hurried and unsteady footsteps sounded outside the Hokage's office door.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank as he looked up and saw a masked member of ANBU enter. "Third Hokage! The escort team has returned, but…"
The ANBU member clutched a scroll soaked in blood. Before he could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi vanished and reappeared in front of him, snatching the scroll away.
He opened it and scanned it quickly. His pupils shrank, his aged face turning pale as fear and anger surfaced together.
"What happened?" Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand trembling as he held the scroll, Homura Mitokado sprang to his feet in alarm. "Hiruzen, what happened? Say something."
"War, war. How could this happen…" Hiruzen Sarutobi's face shifted between ashen and white, and he raised a hand to clutch his chest, his voice hoarse. "The Fourth Shinobi World War is coming."
"What?" Homura Mitokado froze for a moment, then his expression changed.
"Iwagakure-disguised rogue ninja replaced the scroll holding Hizashi Hyuga's body with an Explosive Tag?"
"Root ninja suddenly moved, and Tangdong Akimichi's group fought with Troy from Kumogakure?"
"Wait, the aftermath of their fight also released a sealed humanoid monster at the handover site?"
"What do you mean that humanoid monster used some unknown ability to kill Troy and nearly a hundred reinforcements from Kumogakure?"
Homura Mitokado hurried forward and snatched the scroll from Hiruzen's hand. As he read the contents, his face slowly turned pale, and his body stiffened where he stood. He felt as if he had stopped thinking, unsure whether this was real or a dream.
He recognized every word on its own, yet together they felt alien. He even wondered if this was still a language used in the Ninja World.
With a dull thud, Hiruzen Sarutobi staggered back to his desk. He braced himself on the edge and lowered into his chair, his hands shaking.
"A Magnet Release user, Troy, known across the Ninja World, and nearly a hundred Kumogakure ninja stationed at the border," he said in a hoarse voice. "This blood debt is something Konoha cannot bear."
Hearing this, the dazed Homura Mitokado shuddered and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in panic. "But those people were clearly…"
"No one will believe it."
Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off before he could finish, closing his eyes as he spoke. "Except for the few survivors like Tangdong Akimichi and us, no one will believe they died to some absurd monster."
That was Troy, a so-called "Magnet Release ninja." That was nearly a hundred Kumogakure ninja guarding the border. That was nearly a hundred people with families and relatives, all dead.
Now, who would believe Konoha's side of the story? There were no other witnesses left alive at the scene, and even if there were, who would accept that they were real witnesses.
Kumogakure? The deaths of Troy and nearly a hundred border guards gave Kumogakure a legitimate reason to declare war on Konoha, and even the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning could not stop the hatred of the bereaved families.
Or Iwagakure? From the very beginning, there had been traces of Iwagakure behind this matter. Iwagakure would be happy to see Konoha and Kumogakure exhaust each other so they could profit later.
"So," Hiruzen Sarutobi said at last, "call the Jonin together and convene a Jonin meeting. Make the preparations."
He seemed to have aged many years in an instant, hunched in his chair with his eyes closed. His hoarse voice carried an eerie calm as he said, "This time, war is really coming."
"Yes."
The ANBU kneeling before him answered with a trembling voice. He did not know the full details, but he had seen how miserable and battered Tangdong Akimichi and the others looked. A team of more than ten had returned with only four or five survivors, and it was clear the handover at Kumogakure had gone terribly wrong.
This was no longer something that could be argued away. It was a true fuse for war, and aside from the ambitious, the war-mad, and those blinded by hatred, no one wanted to face such bloodshed again.
As the door closed with a soft kacha, the ANBU left. Homura Mitokado came back to his senses and clenched the scroll tightly, his face dark as he turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak.
Footsteps tapped against the floor as a cane struck lightly. Danzo Shimura pushed open the door and entered the office, and seeing the heavy silence inside, a faint smile appeared on his hard face.
"Hiruzen," Danzo Shimura said calmly, "I said it long ago. If they are set on starting a war, we cannot avoid it."
Homura Mitokado's heart sank as he instinctively looked to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing, keeping his head lowered and his eyes closed. After a long silence, he slowly raised his head and looked at the old friend before him with clouded eyes.
"Danzo Shimura… Danzo Shimura…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a breath as if trying to steady himself, the veins on his forehead standing out. His voice was low and strained as he asked, "Who allowed you to send Root to follow the escort team?"
"How did you dare do this?"
"Hiruzen," Danzo Shimura said, standing in the shadow the sunlight could not reach, frowning slightly. "This time it truly has nothing to do with me. I placed men with the escort only as insurance. As for the three who attacked Kumogakure ninja…"
Before he could continue, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurled his pipe. It struck Danzo Shimura in the face as Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, "Nothing to do with you? Do you believe that yourself?"
"Tell me, did you collude with Iwagakure? Did the agents you sent out collude with Iwagakure? Tell me!"
The pipe, now stained with blood, fell to the floor. Pain flared from the cut on Danzo Shimura's forehead, and his expression changed at once.
"I did not!" he said quickly, no longer mocking Hiruzen Sarutobi's failure. "You know me. Everything I do is for…"