Chapter Seventy-Four: Prelude to War

"Why did you call me here, Hiruzen?" Danzo entered the Hokage's office, noticing that not only were Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane present, but also Shikano Nara, Sakumo Hatake, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples. Unless something major happened, the four of them would normally suffice to handle any situation.

Danzo frowned slightly at the thought, then took his seat.

"Danzo, you're late," Hiruzen remarked, setting aside his pipe. With a grave expression, he addressed those gathered in the room: "Now that everyone is present, let me share the intelligence from the front lines. The Land of Fire’s border outposts along the River Country, Grass Country, Hot Water Country, and several points along the southeastern coast have all been attacked."

Upon hearing this, the others frowned. These four directions were guarded against the other four great shinobi villages, and now trouble had erupted in all directions at once...

Shikano Nara spoke up, "Lord Hokage, is this the work of the four great villages?"

"They would never admit it, but who else could simultaneously wipe out three outposts in nearly the same time frame? There’s hardly any need for more proof," Hiruzen replied darkly. It had been barely three years since the last war ended—a brief period of peace, and now another war was looming? What troubled him most was that border posts in all four directions had been hit. Did the four great villages coordinate this attack?

This was not a good sign.

"Danzo, we need intelligence. Root will be responsible for matters in Grass and River Country. I’ll have the Anbu investigate the rest," Hiruzen instructed.

Danzo nodded grimly. "Understood." He had recently been considering a collaboration with Orochimaru—he’d provide resources, Orochimaru the technology, to jointly research the Deadlock Virus. But now, this incident had disrupted his plans. If war broke out, Root would be fully mobilized. He had almost convinced Orochimaru with the Hokage’s support, but now everything was up in the air.

"Lord Hokage, we should double the number of shinobi stationed at the borders. It would be best to deploy one or two ninja battalions, and also send elite squads into enemy territory for retaliation missions—but it’d be best not to reveal our identities," Shikano Nara suggested, glancing at Sakumo Hatake as he finished.

Currently, Sakumo Hatake boasted the highest mission completion rate in Konoha and was the most skilled at infiltration missions in enemy lands. Only he could execute such tasks flawlessly. As for the Sannin, their strength was sufficient, but their combat styles were too distinctive.

"In addition, we should prepare for war—logistics and supplies, cancel all regular leave for shinobi, and send envoys to the other villages to inquire about these incidents. But the timing of the envoys and the retaliatory missions should be separate..."

Hiruzen nodded. Shikano’s suggestions were methodical; such preparations before war were essential.

Suddenly, Jiraiya spoke up, "All four great villages targeting Konoha at once? Sensei, there must be a conspiracy against us. Should I go gather intelligence?"

"You stay in Konoha. I’ll let you know if you’re needed—don’t concern yourself with the rest!" Hiruzen replied gruffly. Intelligence gathering? As if he didn’t know what Jiraiya was after—last time in the Land of Rain, he’d spent nearly three years looking after some war orphans. If he weren’t his own student, Jiraiya would have long since been branded a rogue ninja.

"Focus on training your students. You took on disciples; now take responsibility for them!"

Jiraiya, reminded of his talented pupil, abandoned the thought of leaving the village. "Alright, I understand."

After addressing Jiraiya, Hiruzen turned to Tsunade. They had not been on good terms recently due to certain matters, though things had cooled down somewhat.

"Tsunade, gather the medical ninja, and check on our medicine reserves."

"It’s enough for daily needs, but if war breaks out, we definitely don’t have enough..." Tsunade sighed inwardly and replied in a slightly irritable tone. She might resent the old man’s ways, but Konoha was still her home.

"I’ve already checked—large purchases require Kahn’s approval. Natsukawa only handles management and has no authority to sell medicine."

Hiruzen frowned. "But he’s not in the village right now. Can you contact him?"

"How am I supposed to reach him? You should know why Kahn isn’t here..." Tsunade retorted.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to challenge the Hokage in front of so many people.

After Jiraiya’s warning, Tsunade reined in her irritation. For Konoha’s sake, she said, "I’ll do my best to contact him."

Hiruzen’s face remained grim, but he continued with other matters—liaison with the daimyo, military supplies, and logistics preparations.

After more than two hours of discussion, the meeting finally drew to a close.

...

Once outside the Hokage building, Tsunade still grumbled, "They drove everyone away, and now they want me to reach out. Hmph, all that old man knows is to order people around!"

"Tsunade, you shouldn’t talk about Sensei like that," Jiraiya protested.

"Nagging again, Jiraiya. Do you want to get punched?" Tsunade threatened, raising a fist. Jiraiya fell silent, and with a snort, Tsunade headed for the Konoha hospital. She now had three students of her own, needed to spend time teaching them daily, was responsible for medical reform, and now had to hunt someone down—a mountain of trouble was being pushed onto her. No wonder she felt so irritable.

After Tsunade left, Jiraiya hooked his arm around Orochimaru and inquired, "Orochimaru, what's up with Tsunade?"

"Owing to certain matters, Tsunade bears a grudge against Lord Sarutobi. But you’re better off asking your Sensei directly..." Orochimaru replied with a raspy laugh. "I have to train Nawaki now, Jiraiya. Let’s part ways here."

"Hearing you say that reminds me—I need to train my own disciple. Orochimaru, care to see who’s the better teacher?"

Jiraiya chuckled, thinking about the genius pupil Lord Sarutobi had recommended to him.

"You’d better go see Nawaki before boasting, Jiraiya," Orochimaru replied before leaving. For the past two months, he had been giving Nawaki special training on dealing with enemies, personally selecting missions, and even secretly setting traps that left Nawaki with broken arms or legs seven or eight times, just to rid him of his arrogance and recklessness.

Now, having mastered Wood Release and some serpent jutsu, Nawaki was already a rare match among Konoha’s younger generation.

"Show-off snake, my student will be just as strong!" Jiraiya huffed, then hurried off to find Minato Namikaze. Since he’d be staying in the village for a while, he wanted to put Minato through some intensive training—and then show off the results.

...

Upon returning to Konoha, Kahn prepared, as usual, to visit the dessert shop.

But he immediately sensed the odd atmosphere in the village—there were more ninja on the streets, all fully equipped for battle.

The Security Force patrols had also increased. Where civilians once lingered and chatted, the streets were now deserted.

It felt as if war was about to break out.

"Is the effect really this pronounced..." Kahn shook his head and headed toward the dessert shop.