Elsewhere.
The windows of the Hokage Building stood half open. The evening breeze blew in, making the intelligence reports on the desk rustle softly.
Tsunade pressed her fingers against the classified report that had just arrived. Her knuckles tightened little by little, her nails almost creasing the paper.
Shizune stood beside her and said quietly, "We've checked the news three times. The border outposts, our undercover sources in the Land of Earth, and the statements from a merchant caravan intercepted in northern Land of Fire all match."
Tsunade did not respond immediately. She simply read the words again.
One month.
The allied armies of the daimyo from the Lands of Earth, Wind, and Lightning would officially advance toward the Land of Fire in one month.
This was no probe, no small-scale clash, no border skirmish. They openly intended to use "the campaign against Uchiha Chisen" as a pretext to push the war deep into the Land of Fire.
Mitokado Homura stood on the other side of the Hokage's Office, his voice low. "They're no longer hiding it. There are even rumors within the alliance about dividing up the Land of Fire. The daimyo of the smaller nations were still wavering before, but now that the three great nations really seem to be joining forces, they've started sending their men over too."
Utatane Koharu frowned, her voice a little sharper than usual. "They're no longer after Chisen alone. They're after all of Konoha, the entire Land of Fire!"
Tsunade gave a cold laugh and tossed the report back onto the desk.
"I can see that."
Silence settled over the office for a moment.
Shizune looked up at Tsunade. "Should we convene a meeting of the Jonin Commander immediately?"
Tsunade did not answer. Instead, she looked straight out the window. After a