The Sannin's Entrapment

Office of the Land of Fire.

"Land of Waterfalls! Onoki!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically as he finished reading the intelligence, a flicker of anger appearing in his eyes.

"This is a trap! Tsunade and the other two going to contact the Kusagakure was a trap!"

The next moment!

"Immediately send a message to Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya to retreat at once! At the same time, order the front lines to have ninjas stationed within the borders of the Land of Grass to quickly withdraw to the border, and also order an elite ninja corps to be dispatched from the border to provide support..."

"Yes!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi decisively issued various countermeasures.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi like this, everyone knew that something big had happened. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions were solemn as they asked, "Hiruzen, what happened in the Land of Grass?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, his face ashen, handed the intelligence to the three of them to read, and said in a deep voice:

"We were all careless. We were so focused on the Four Great Shinobi Villages that we forgot about the movements on the borders of the smaller countries. The Iwagakure has secretly mobilized elites to gather on the border of the Land of Waterfalls. This is clearly an attempt to borrow passage through the Land of Waterfalls to cut off our retreat..."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, the three of them finished reading the intelligence. Mitokado Homura was furious:

"The Iwagakure's target is not the Kusagakure at all, but to borrow passage through the Land of Waterfalls to cut off the retreat of our ninja corps in the Land of Grass, and then draw the war into the Land of Fire!"

Between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, there are three small countries acting as buffers. These three countries are arranged vertically and border each other: the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls.

The most urgent thing now is to withdraw first, foil their plan, and then counterattack to drag the battlefield into the Land of Grass.

However, Shimura Danzo, with a grim expression, angrily slammed the table and objected, shouting:

"Since the Iwagakure dares to intercept us, then let this corps become a nail, firmly nailed in the Land of Grass, allowing the front-line ninja army to attack from both sides, and completely trap this elite Iwagakure force in the Land of Grass."

"Hiruzen! You've disappointed me!"

It had to be said that Danzo's argument was not wrong. After all, ninjas were tools. Even if there was a risk of being surrounded and killed, that was their fate.

However, facing Danzo's rebuttal, Hiruzen Sarutobi angrily slammed the table and, with an imposing aura, shouted to the Anbu outside the door:

"Send another order to the front lines in the Land of Grass. Our ninjas in the Land of Grass can abandon all supplies and must break through the encirclement before the enemy closes in. Also, order the border ninja corps to provide support."

"Yes!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's direct disregard left Shimura Danzo feeling extremely wronged. He then angrily said to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu:

"This is your Hokage!?"

"Danzo! I am the Hokage!"

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't give Danzo any room to maneuver, directly retorting angrily in front of everyone.

Seeing this, Utatane Koharu frowned and said sternly to Danzo:

"Danzo, this time, you should look at the intelligence regarding the ninja corps in the Land of Grass. It's not that Hiruzen is indecisive, but if this ninja corps were to have an accident, Konoha itself would be shaken."

Mitokado Homura nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Exactly. The younger generation of the various prominent clans and families in the Land of Grass are all here, and even Tsunade is here. They cannot afford to have an accident!"

When Danzo remembered that there was a large group of second-generation elites in the Land of Grass who were gilded and adapting to the battlefield, his face immediately turned red with frustration, and he angrily slammed the table.

"Damn it! They're all useless! Useless!"

If these second-generation elites were to have an accident, the dissatisfaction of the various prominent clans towards Hiruzen Sarutobi would directly reach its peak.

At this moment, Shimura Danzo also realized that although he disagreed with Hiruzen Sarutobi politically, they were actually on the same boat as the Konoha F4.

If they truly turned against the prominent ninja clans of Konoha, they would be overthrown.

This was why the Konoha F4, and even many ninja villages, constantly suppressed the prominent ninja clans within the village in the future.

Because this force, although strong, was a double-edged sword.

However, there were two situations where this double-edged sword could be used freely. One was like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, who could break the blade. Who would dare to harm him?

The second was like the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Although his power had not reached the level of breaking the blade, his own abilities allowed him to wield the sword freely. Coupled with the terrifying power of the Senju Clan behind him, this double-edged sword could not backfire at all.

"Iwagakure!"

At this moment, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring and, amidst the swirling smoke, said in a deep voice:

"The most intense period of the war is about to begin!"

The actions of the Iwagakure could be said to be a fuse.

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

Inside the stone-like Tsuchikage's office building, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, whose hair had not yet turned white, looked at the intelligence from the front lines with a stern but imposing demeanor, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Tsuchikage-sama, our elite forces have sent intelligence. They have bypassed the Land of Waterfalls and will soon enter the Land of Grass to complete the task of encirclement and interception."

"We cannot be careless, after all, the target is Konoha!"

Onoki had never dared to be careless when it came to Konoha, his expression was full of gravity.

"However, Kusagakure can be used to our advantage."

At this moment, Onoki revealed a cunning, sinister smile. He couldn't trust the turncoats of Kusagakure.

Land of Grass, Konoha Camp.

Inside the tent, Uchiha Yoru, who had transformed into Tsunade's likeness using the Transformation Jutsu, sat with his legs crossed, yawning casually as he wearily reviewed various reports.

"The Second Great Ninja War has begun, and the fighting in the Land of Rain is getting more intense. This means Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru are the Third Hokage's trump cards, especially since White Fang's prestige is so immense right now."

As Tsunade, he pondered this with a frown. Ninjas fight information wars, not just in large-scale conflicts, but even in one-on-one battles.

In the Shinobi World described by Kishimoto, only brief glimpses of the first three Great Ninja Wars were shown, providing him with very little intelligence.

"So, if the Sannin's fame was partly built on reaping the rewards, it means the Land of Rain, which is now a complete mess, will soon follow suit."

"And before that, there was a crisis where they were surrounded by Stone Ninja and nearly died."

Uchiha Yoru, disguised as Tsunade, mused to himself. He had an intelligence report ready in his ninja tool pouch.

But now was not the right time to give it to Tsunade; rather, it was a contingency he had prepared.

Just then, a clear eagle's cry echoed from above the Konoha camp.

Uchiha Yoru's expression changed drastically. At that moment, the tent flap was thrown open, and two Jonin urgently called out:

"Top priority! The Third Hokage-sama has issued an urgent order: all Konoha ninjas in the Land of Grass are to abandon all supplies and retreat immediately to the border."

After a moment of shock, Uchiha Yoru, still in Tsunade's form, looked at the intelligence report and exclaimed in surprise:

"Iwagakure has bypassed us through the Land of Waterfalls!"

In an instant!

A flash of inspiration struck Uchiha Yoru, and he finally understood. No wonder the situation arose where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were surrounded; it was like this.

This means there's danger this time!

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