Not long after everyone entered the conference room.
Hiruzen, wearing the Hokage's ceremonial robe, walked in with a solemn expression. He glanced around at the Konoha Council members seated on either side of the head seat.
He silently counted the remaining department heads and key jonin.
Seeing that most people had arrived, he immediately took the main seat at the front and spoke to everyone with a serious expression.
"War is coming!"
The Konoha high-ranking officials and department heads had already anticipated the situation in the ninja world, so no one was surprised by these words. However, everyone's expressions, like the Hiruzen's, became serious.
No one liked war. Once war broke out, their family, friends, and children could lose their lives in it. Who would want to see that happen?
"According to intelligence, Kumo has already dispatched 2,000 elite ninjas and is engaged in full-scale combat with Kiri in the Land of the Sea. Kiri has also sent more than 2,000 ninjas to the battlefield. The Land of the Sea's environment is unique..."
Hiruzen first reported on the battle between Kumo and Kiri. Both villages acted swiftly—preparing supplies and engaging in combat within less than ten days. Even though Konoha secretly instigated this war and had the advantage of foresight, the speed at which the war began showed that both sides had already been prepared for it in advance!
More importantly... A 2,000-strong force might not seem like much, but for both villages, this was far from their full strength!
Unlike Kiri, which always operated in secrecy and rarely leaked intelligence, Konoha had a good understanding of Kumo's recent developments. They still had a large reserve of military power that had not yet entered the battlefield.
What were they planning? Were they guarding against an ambush from other villages? Or did they have other schemes?
As for Kiri, their intelligence was scarce, but they were clearly plotting something as well. Otherwise, why would they assassinate Hanzō of the Salamander in Ame?
"Suna has halted all mission deployments, gathered a large amount of war supplies, and has all its ninja on standby within the village..."
"Iwa seems to have no large-scale troop movements, but according to intelligence, they have increased their escort missions for merchant caravans. The intelligence department suspects that they might be secretly transporting supplies to the borders..."
"Just now, we received urgent news from the Land of Rain—Hanzō was assassinated by Kiri's ANBU, causing chaos within Ame. His subordinates are now fighting for control of the village. The daimyō of the Land of Rain is already preparing to take refuge in the daimyō's mansion in the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen laid out all the intelligence in one go, then turned his gaze toward his long-time advisor.
"Assassinating Hanzō has left the Land of Rain, which borders the great nations, without its last layer of defense. This has heightened tensions with Iwa and Suna... Kiri?" Danzō spoke in a sinister tone under the instruction of the figure in the shadows.
Rather than completely pinning the blame on Kiri, he subtly hinted that Kumo was also a suspect. This perfectly portrayed Danzō's suspicious nature. After all, Hanzō's summoning beast had been kept hidden under Root's surveillance all along, unknown to outsiders.
So, they could shift the blame however they wanted.
"Whether or not Kiri was responsible, Suna is now held back, but we must remain vigilant against Iwa!" Koharu followed up.
Previously, Suna and Kiri had been engaged in fierce conflict. Logically, now that Kiri was at war with Kumo, Suna should still be holding a grudge and would likely launch an offensive against Kiri from the sea. But now, with Hanzō's sudden assassination, even if Suna wanted revenge, they had to consider whether Iwa and Konoha might stab them in the back.
"Send an envoy to negotiate with Ōnoki and slow them down." Homura contemplated for a moment before offering his suggestion.
Iwa was led by war-hawks. Moreover, intelligence indicated that Iwa was facing serious financial difficulties. In times of chaos like this, the fastest way to resolve economic burdens was by waging war. If war was inevitable, using negotiations to gather intelligence and buy more preparation time for Konoha could be beneficial.
"That's unrealistic." Hiruzen shook his head.
He could already foresee that Iwa would lose patience and initiate war first. And their target would be Konoha!
After all... Suna was too poor!
Sending a high-ranking Konoha official to negotiate would only provide Iwa with more intelligence.
A figure sitting further down the conference table subtly exchanged glances with Shikaku and the Uchiha clan, silently signaling them.
Danzō along with several war-hawk faction members who favored an aggressive approach, started making their presence felt in the meeting. What had previously been a sluggish and unproductive discussion suddenly began progressing rapidly.
After an intense argument between Danzō and Hiruzen, the core strategy of the meeting was finally established—just as Kei had intended: They would not be the ones to strike first, but if anyone dared to attack, they would retaliate with overwhelming force!
"The Logistical Support Division has already consolidated supplies once. Immediately allocate a portion and start transporting it to the front lines. Shikaku, start drafting the personnel list. The initial deployment... one thousand troops."
"One thousand? Hiruzen, unless you personally oversee the front lines, who would be intimidated by that?"
"One thousand is a statement—it shows we do not fear war. But if I personally go, what will the other villages think? Even if they don't want war, they'll feel forced into it."
"Hah~ You still look too soft."
"Danzō, you're too extreme!"
The heated arguments continued.
After several hours of intense discussion, the high-level meeting finally concluded at around 10:40 PM. Once Hiruzen had gathered final reports from all departments and clan representatives, he began issuing orders.
A force of one thousand ninja was indeed small. But this wasn't an act of war—it was a show of stance to the surrounding villages. They would station troops at the borders of the Land of Fire. With Jiraiya leading the elite force, along with handpicked warriors from the various clans, they could hold the line even if they suffered a sudden ambush.
By then, Konoha, with its deep war reserves, could easily send a reinforcement force exceeding 3,000 ninja while still maintaining a strong defensive presence at home. Even if Suna tried to take advantage of the chaos, Konoha wouldn't fear fighting a two-front war.
---
Two-front war? As Kei walked out of the conference room, he smirked slightly.
In the First Great Ninja War, Konoha had fought against nearly every other village one by one. If they managed to avoid a four-front war this time, that would already be considered lucky.
A two-front war? Keep dreaming!
But still... Hiruzen...
Kei's gaze briefly and subtly swept across the Third Hokage.
Although he wasn't yet the overly cautious, stability-obsessed old man from the original storyline over a decade later... He was still getting old. Perhaps without even realizing it, he had already started suppressing rising clans and strong individual ninja within the village.
It was time for this old man to step down with dignity.
A Kage of a great village... And he ended up dying at 69 years old, assassinated by his own student.
Whoosh!
A Root ninja suddenly appeared beside him using the Body Flicker Technique. He knelt, bowing slightly, and presented a sealed scroll.
"Most Passionate Cupping Therapy?" Kei stared at the four bold characters on the scroll's cover, momentarily dumbfounded. Then, in an instant, he realized where this intelligence had come from.