The Third Hokage glanced at Koharu.
Utatane Koharu was responsible for verifying intelligence from other Villages and had been in contact with the Konoha delegation returning from Sunagakure; she wondered if Chiyo's words were actually true.
Utatane Koharu shook her head, indicating she was uncertain.
The delegation led by Tsume was certain that Ryou had not attacked the central residential area of Sunagakure; his direction of attack was the Shukaku Altar where Shukaku was sealed.
The Shukaku Altar would likely be guarded by a large number of Sunagakure elites, and the subsequent battle was massive in scale, so the Sunagakure Shinobi forces likely went there to provide support.
The number of Shinobi Sunagakure sacrificed was classified; it was impossible for them to inform Konoha's Shinobi.
However, it was true that Sunagakure's losses were severe.
Losing a Kazekage with Magnet Release and the Village's inherited Tailed Beast, Sunagakure's strength had dropped by at least a third.
But against Madara, having more ordinary Shinobi was useless; the Third Hokage wanted elites.
It would be enough as long as Chiyo and Pakura, two Kage-level Shinobi, could participate in the battle.
The group fell silent for a moment before Chiyo asked the Third Hokage in return: "Hokage, how many troops can your Konoha provide?"
Now it was Konoha's turn for a collective silence.
How many troops should be sent to deal with Madara?
Konoha had been shaken to its core during the Third Great Shinobi War, but with the strong support of the Land of Fire, Konoha had recovered quickly.
By relying on a large amount of funds, they had recruited some rogue Shinobi, and yesterday Jiraiya had even brought in Shinobi from Takigakure.
If they squeezed their resources, they could still scrape together an army of around 10,000 Shinobi.
The Third Hokage said, "Konoha... can provide ten thousand!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked. This wasn't the Fourth Great Shinobi War where a new generation of Shinobi had grown up after over a decade of peace.
This was right after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, a time when the Five Great Nations were severely weakened. At such a time, Konoha could actually muster an army of ten thousand Shinobi?
As expected of the number one Village in the Shinobi World.
Ōnoki sat in his seat with his arms crossed: "Iwagakure can provide 5,000."
The Fourth Raikage snorted: "Iwagakure, you once piled up an army of over ten thousand Shinobi just to kill my old man!"
Ōnoki snapped back at him: "Weren't they all slaughtered by that dead father of yours? This time I think for Iwagakure, myself, Kitsuchi, and our Village's two Jinchuriki participating will be enough."
Minato looked at Ōnoki with some confusion: "Tsuchikage-sama, the Jinchuriki are participating as well?"
Normally, Madara's goal is the Tailed Beasts. Why not keep the Tailed Beasts well hidden to reduce contact with Madara?
After all, the victory of this war depends on whether the Five Great Nations can protect the Tailed Beasts!
Madara is the attacker; they are the defenders.
Ōnoki didn't answer, but Roshi spoke up: "Yes, we Jinchuriki must also participate. This is not just for the Shinobi World, but also a war to protect the Tailed Beasts."
Danzo snorted coldly: "Won't your participation play right into Uchiha Madara's hands?"
Roshi replied: "Can we just hide for a lifetime? If you are defeated, it's impossible for us to hide forever."
"Furthermore, didn't your Konoha mention that Uchiha Madara has a type of creature called White Zetsu under his command? It can move freely underground."
"In my view, there is no place in the Shinobi World that can defend against a creature with such freakish infiltration abilities."
Jiraiya shook his head: "No, there is. Mount Myōboku will also participate this time. I suggest placing all the Jinchuriki at Mount Myōboku."
Yagura shook his head: "Impossible. Jinchuriki are vital combat assets for the Village. For instance, I am the Three-Tails Jinchuriki; I cannot abandon my comrades and hide in the rear."
Killer Bee and Yugito both raised their hands: "Us too, we won't be deserters either."
Kushina also wanted to raise her hand, but then thought better of it. She was pregnant, and on top of that, the Nine-Tails was still refusing to cooperate with her.
Going out there would just be throwing her life away.
Ōnoki brought the topic back on track: "Everyone, let's not talk about the Jinchuriki's participation for now. Let's talk about troop numbers first!"
"I recall Kumogakure preserved its full strength during the previous Shinobi World War. Raikage, surely your Land of Lightning can scrape together twenty thousand Shinobi?"
"Ōnoki!"
The Fourth Raikage wanted to smash the conference table in front of him right then and there, but he held back, remembering this wasn't Kumogakure.
He roared with his hot temper: "Kumogakure simply cannot muster that many people. In the Shinobi World War, aside from not fighting Kirigakure, Kumogakure fought almost every other Village to the limit."
Kumogakure was the most warlike Village among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
In the original work, it was precisely because Kumogakure frantically expanded its military that it sparked an arms race across the continent.
During the Third Great Shinobi War, Kumogakure struck here and there.
One day they sent people to the Land of Wind to steal sand, and the next they sent people to the Land of Earth to steal mud.
This nation always had a domineering and greedy desire for possession; they wanted to snatch anything good and do anything bad.
Ōnoki looked at the Fourth Raikage and asked: "Then you tell us, how many troops can your Kumogakure provide?"
The Fourth Raikage said: "The same as your Iwagakure, we will also provide 5,000. Both the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki will participate."
Yagura followed suit: "Then our Kirigakure will also provide 5,000."
Mifune spoke: "The Eye of the Moon Plan isn't just a matter for your Five Great Shinobi Villages; our Land of Iron also disagrees with Madara's plan."
"Therefore, our Land of Iron has decided to join the Shinobi Allied Forces this time, deploying 5,000 samurai."
The samurai of the Land of Iron weren't just warriors who swung a katana; they were modern samurai who could utilize chakra.
Clad in six sets of heavy armor and capable of performing sword techniques infused with chakra, even an average Genin would find them difficult to handle.
As soon as Mifune finished speaking, all the Shinobi Villages suddenly turned their gaze toward Sunagakure.
Even the Land of Iron, which had always remained neutral, was sending five thousand samurai; it would be somewhat embarrassing if Sunagakure only sent a thousand troops.
Chiyo thought for a moment and then decided: "Three thousand. Sunagakure can only provide three thousand troops."
Mifune tallied it up: Konoha's ten thousand, 5,000 each from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure, three thousand from Sunagakure, and 5,000 samurai from the Land of Iron.
That made 33,000 people, all of whom were elites among Shinobi. This force was already capable of changing the landscape of the Shinobi World.
But their opponent was Madara.
The Third Hokage added: "This isn't just a matter for our Five Great Nations. The Land of Waterfalls, Land of Birds, Land of Frost, Land of Rice Fields... these small nations are all willing to send Shinobi elites to participate."
"If we count the elites from the small nations and the rogue Shinobi willing to fight, we should be able to muster an army of 40,000."
Mifune nodded: "Enough. These troops are enough!"
An elite force of 40,000 chakra users was not the same as a million college students; these people were enough to change the existing order of the Shinobi World.
After all, Shinobi are elite assassins who operate in the shadows.
However, Jiraiya, Minato, and the others were not happy just because they could assemble a Shinobi Allied Forces of forty thousand.
They had all fought against Madara and Ryou, and they had all suffered setbacks at their hands multiple times.
They all knew that against Shinobi like Madara or Ryou, massed Shinobi armies were no longer effective.
Their power had already exceeded conventional Shinobi strength and approached the level of legends.
Then Danzo took over from Mifune: "The troop contributions for each Village in the Shinobi Allied Forces are set. So, who should serve as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces?"
"..."
The group fell into silence.