HGBW: Ch. 121

Although they had already received this information from the ANBU, hearing it confirmed by the Third Hokage himself still caused a stir in the meeting room.

Especially among the smaller ninja clans like the Gekkō and the Kurama clans—they were even more agitated.

Once a war broke out, even great bloodline clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga would suffer heavy losses, let alone the smaller clans that relied on secret techniques.

A few deaths here, a few deaths there. Ninja clans could be wiped out in an instant.

"Silence!"

Hiruzen tapped his pipe lightly against the table.

As a prime-era professor of ninjutsu, his presence was overwhelming.

With just one word, he brought the room under control, and the silence became so deep that even a pin drop could be heard.

"Who is losing patience?"

Orochimaru was the first to speak, his slightly hoarse voice carrying a hint of eerie killing intent, like a cold winter wind sweeping through every corner of the meeting room.

The rekindling of war was something he had expected, so he wasn't surprised at all.

In fact, for him, not only was the Second Great Ninja War not a problem, but it was an opportunity.

This was his stage.

As long as he performed well in this war, his position as ANBU Commander would be unshakable, and he would even take a step further—toward claiming the title of the Fourth Hokage.

"According to the ANBU's intelligence, Suna, Iwa, and Kumo are all becoming restless. Especially Suna—they are making big moves."

"Most of their ninjas on external missions have been recalled to the village. Only Kiri remains on the sidelines for now, but once the situation escalates, they will not sit still. They will definitely try to take a bite out of Konoha."

Hiruzen's expression was grim as he glanced at the two advisors standing behind him, who had not spoken up until now.

Homura and Koharu immediately stepped forward, distributing intelligence reports about Suna, Iwa, and Kumo to everyone in the meeting.

The intelligence was simple.

It recorded some of the key personnel from the three ninja villages and their military movements.

For example, in Suna: Chiyo and Ebizō would lead the Suna ninja forces through the Land of Rain, advancing into the Land of Fire from the southwest.

As for the exact number of troops or which elite ninjas would be deployed, the reports provided only vague details.

Clearly, gathering information about Suna's commanding officers and military routes was already the limit for Konoha's spies infiltrating Suna. The same was true for the intelligence on Kumo and Iwa.

After all, even spies had their limits.

A gathering of Kage-level powerhouses… Tanaka glanced at the intelligence on the table and sighed inwardly.

Kage-level combat power was an extremely rare resource in the entire ninja world.

Yet now, just as news of Sakumo's death had spread, Suna had already mobilized at least three Kage-level ninjas: Chiyo, Ebizō, and Rasa.

On Iwa's side, the Third Tsuchikage's son, Kurotsuchi, was leading the army. Although they didn't deploy as many Kage-level fighters, they compensated with sheer numbers—mobilizing 2,000 Iwa ninjas right from the start.

As for Kumo, their move was even more aggressive. The Third Raikage himself was leading the charge, bringing the Kumo forces through the Land of Hot Water, striking the Land of Fire from the northeast like a sharp dagger. This was the strongest Raikage in history—completely different from the so-called "Strongest Hokage" title that had been exaggerated for Hiruzen.

Of course, if we're being honest, the most terrifying force was still Konoha.

During the First Great Ninja War, the Second Hokage led his forces and fought against multiple enemies at once.

In the early and mid-stages of the Second Great Ninja War, Sakumo and the Sannin also took on multiple enemy villages at the same time.

Unfortunately, Konoha had always been its own worst enemy.

They had turned against Sakumo, causing his death—resulting in a war that should have been ending now reigniting once again.

"Shikaku, explain it to everyone."

Hiruzen rested his elbow on the table, his hand supporting his chin as he looked around at the gathered ninjas.

"Based on the current intelligence, whether it's Suna, Kumo, or Iwa, their first wave of attacks should be primarily probing strikes—to test our strength. They want to see if, after the Second Great Ninja War and Sakumo's death, we still have the ability to fight on multiple fronts."

"If we appear strong, they will hesitate; if we appear weak, they will go all in. And when that happens, Kiri, which is currently watching from the sidelines, will also make its move to carve up Konoha."

Shikaku stood up from his chair and calmly laid out his analysis.

The others nodded in agreement after hearing his explanation. Fighting against multiple villages at once—this was Konoha's long-standing tradition.

There was no helping it. Konoha was unmatched in military power, economy, culture, resources, and land. Not to mention, Konoha had "produced" Hashirama and Madara. That alone was enough to make the other major villages band together against them.

No village wanted to see Konoha produce another Hashirama or Madara. Even Konoha itself didn't want that to happen.

"That's why I suggest we cripple them in this first battle."

"If we hit Suna, Iwa, and Kumo hard right from the probing stage, they won't dare launch a full-scale war. And once Kiri sees this, they'll hesitate even more to get involved."

"If we don't settle this war quickly, Konoha will face endless troubles in the future."

"Ladies and gentlemen, you wouldn't want to see the jinchūriki of each village being sent to the battlefield, would you?"

As he spoke, Shikaku looked around the room, emphasizing each word.

At the mention of jinchūriki, nearly everyone's expression changed. Just because the nine tailed beasts were sealed away didn't mean they were harmless.

Just because the jinchūriki were usually kept in check by their village's Kage didn't mean they were weak. Once they fully transformed into their tailed beast forms, every jinchūriki would become a walking artillery cannon.

In terms of destructive power and range, they outclassed all Five Kage—except for Hashirama.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if even a single Tailed Beast Bomb landed inside one of the Five Great Villages, the consequences would be catastrophic.

In an instant, the Five Great Ninja Villages could be reduced to just one or two.

"So, what do you all think?"

When it came to a full-scale Great Ninja War, even Hiruzen couldn't afford to be as decisive as usual.

Because he needed the other village leaders to fight on the battlefield.

Because he himself didn't want to fight on the battlefield.

This was one of the most striking aspects of every Great Ninja War.

Whenever war broke out, the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage all personally led their armies into battle.

No matter which war it was, they always stepped onto the battlefield at least once.

But the so-called "Strongest Hokage in History"...

He was absent in the First Great Ninja War.

Absent in the Second Great Ninja War.

Absent in the Third Great Ninja War.

By the time the Fourth Great Ninja War rolled around, he did finally participate—but only because Orochimaru forcibly revived him with Edo Tensei.

"I agree with Shikaku's proposal. Rather than fighting a prolonged war against three—or even four—villages, settling everything in a single decisive battle is the better strategy."

Orochimaru was the first to speak again.

Last time, he had worked with Tsunade and Jiraiya to crush Hanzō's dreams of ruling Ame.

That was an accomplishment, but it didn't compare to the feats of Sakumo.

If he could force one of the three great villages to surrender this time, and with Danzō's support, along with backing from the Hyūga clan led by Tanaka, he would completely surpass Minato.

His path to becoming Hokage would be set in stone.

"We must not let the jinchūriki enter the battlefield. Otherwise, the casualties will be devastating," Minato spoke next.

He had no choice. Kushina was the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. Even though they weren't married yet, they had feelings for each other since childhood. There was no way he wanted to see Kushina used as a weapon of war.

The others agreed one after another.

The thought of Tailed Beast Bombs raining down was terrifying enough on its own.