Land of Fire Office.
"Land of Waterfalls! Ōnoki!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed drastically after reading the intelligence, and anger flashed in his eyes.
"This is a trap! Tsunade and the other two going to contact Kusagakure was a trap!"
The next moment—
"Immediately send orders to Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya to retreat at once! At the same time, notify the front lines: order the ninja stationed within the Land of Grass to withdraw to the border with all haste, and have the border forces dispatch an elite Shinobi Corps to receive them..."
"Yes!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi made a swift decision and issued a series of countermeasures.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi like this, everyone knew something major had happened. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu wore grave expressions as they asked:
"Hiruzen, what happened in the Land of Grass?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was livid as he handed the intelligence to the three of them, saying in a low voice:
"We were all careless. We focused only on the Four Great Shinobi Villages and overlooked the movements at the borders of the smaller nations. Iwagakure secretly mobilized its elites and gathered them at the border of the Land of Waterfalls. They clearly intend to pass through the Land of Waterfalls and cut off our retreat..."
As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, the three finished reading the intelligence. Mitokado Homura flew into a rage.
"Iwagakure's target was never Kusagakure. They intended to pass through Takigakure, cut off the retreat of our ninja forces in the Land of Grass, and then bring the flames of war into the Land of Fire!"
Three smaller nations lay between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire as buffers. They were lined up vertically, bordering one another: the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls.
The urgent priority was to pull back first, make their plan fall through, then strike back and keep the battlefield in the Land of Grass.
However, Shimura Danzō's expression darkened. He slammed his hand heavily on the table, opposing the decision as he shouted:
"Since those Rock Shinobi dare to surround and intercept us, then let this corps become a nail driven deep into the Land of Grass! Order the frontline ninja army to attack from both sides and leave these Iwagakure elites buried in the Land of Grass!"
"Hiruzen! You have disappointed me too much!"
To be fair, Danzo was not wrong. Ninja were tools by nature. Even if there was a risk of being surrounded and slaughtered, that was their fate.
Yet in the face of Danzo's rebuttal, Hiruzen Sarutobi angrily slammed the table. His authority was imposing even without anger as he shouted toward the ANBU outside the door:
"Send another order to the Land of Grass front! Our ninja in the Land of Grass may abandon all supplies, but they must break out before the enemy completes their encirclement! Order the border ninja corps to receive them as well!"
"Yes!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's outright disregard left Shimura Danzō looking stifled and resentful. He then angrily turned to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
"This is your Hokage!?"
"Danzo! I am the Hokage!"
This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Danzo no mercy whatsoever and openly lashed back at him in front of everyone.
Seeing this, Utatane Koharu frowned and said to Danzo in a low voice:
"Danzo, you should look at the intelligence concerning the ninja corps in the Land of Grass this time. It is not that Hiruzen is indecisive. If something truly happened to this corps, Konoha itself might be shaken."
Mitokado Homura beside her also nodded gravely.
"That's right. The younger generation of every major clan is in the village in the Land of Grass this time. Even Tsunade is there. Nothing can happen to them!"
When Danzo remembered that the group of ninja in the Land of Grass included a large number of second-generation heirs sent there to gain experience and gild their résumés, his face flushed red. He slammed the table in frustration.
"Damn it! They're all useless! Useless!"
If all those second-generation heirs truly met with disaster, the Major Clans' dissatisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi would likely hit its limit.
At that moment, Shimura Danzō realized it as well. Though his political views differed from Hiruzen Sarutobi's, the Konoha F4 were ultimately in the same boat.
If they truly fell out with Konoha's great noble clans, then it would be time for them to step down.
That was also why the Konoha F4 in the future, and even many shinobi villages, constantly suppressed the powerful ninja clans within their villages.
This force was powerful, but it was also a double-edged sword.
However, there were two types of people who could wield this double-edged sword freely. One was someone like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He could snap the blade itself—who would dare harm him?
The second was someone like the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Though his power had not reached the point where he could snap the blade, his own abilities already let him wield it at will. Coupled with the terrifying strength of the Senju Clan behind him, the double-edged sword could not possibly turn on him.
"Rock Shinobi!"
After exhaling a ring of smoke, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, spoke in a low voice amid the swirling haze:
"The fiercest stage of the war is about to begin!"
Iwagakure's move could be said to be the fuse that lit it all.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Inside the stone Tsuchikage Office Building, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki's hair had not yet turned white. He looked over the intelligence sent from the front lines with an imposing air and could not help revealing a smile.
"Lord Tsuchikage, our elites have sent word that they have already bypassed the Land of Waterfalls. They will soon enter the Land of Grass and complete their mission of surrounding and intercepting the enemy."
"We cannot let our guard down. Our target is Konoha, after all!"
Ōnoki had never dared relax in the slightest when it came to Konoha, and his expression was solemn.
"But Kusagakure can be put to use."
Ōnoki revealed a sly, sinister smile. Kusagakure were fence-sitters; he did not trust them at all.
Land of Grass, Konoha Camp.
Inside a tent, Uchiha Yoru, transformed into Tsunade, sat with one leg crossed over the other. He yawned casually as he wearily reviewed report after report.
"The Second Shinobi World War has already begun, and the fighting in the Land of Rain is growing more intense. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru are the Third Hokage's trump cards, after all. White Fang's prestige is simply too great now."
Tsunade frowned as he pondered in secret. Ninja fought intelligence wars—not only in war, but even in one-on-one battles.
In the Shinobi World described by Kishimoto, there were only a few scenes from the first three Shinobi World Wars. That gave him very little intelligence to work with.
"So, if part of the Legendary Sannin's fame came from reaping someone else's harvest, then the Land of Rain, which has already become a complete mess, should be nearing that point."
"And before that, there was another crisis where they were surrounded by Rock Shinobi and nearly died."
Uchiha Yoru, disguised as Tsunade, pondered silently. His ninja tool pouch had always contained intelligence he had prepared long ago.
But now was not the time to give it to Tsunade. Or rather, it was a contingency he had prepared.
Just then, a piercing eagle cry suddenly rang out over Konoha Camp.
Uchiha Yoru's expression changed drastically. At that moment, the tent flap was thrown open, and two jonin hurriedly said:
"Urgent! An emergency order from the Third Hokage-sama: all Konoha Camp ninja within the Land of Grass are to abandon all supplies and retreat to the border with all haste."
After recovering from his shock, Uchiha Yoru, transformed into Tsunade, looked at the intelligence and could not help crying out:
"Iwagakure bypassed us through the Land of Waterfalls!"
In an instant!
A flash of insight struck Uchiha Yoru, and he finally understood. No wonder Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had ended up trapped. So that was what had happened.
That meant this time was dangerous!
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