The Incident Concludes

"War?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, seemingly considering the matter.

"Lord Katsuki."

Itachi, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, saying, "Isn't war a bit too much?"

"Oh, Itachi, do you have any objections?" Katsuki picked up the slightly lukewarm teacup; the dark sheen of the tea suggested how bitter it was.

"I wouldn't presume to offer an opinion, it's just a small observation." Itachi glanced at the group of people who were listening intently and said, "According to Lord Jiraiya's intelligence, it's clear that the Akatsuki Organization has gathered many missing-nin ninjas. This is quite normal; to develop in secret from the Five Great Nations, they can only follow this elite development path. That's why..."

Itachi's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, "In my opinion, if a small elite team like Akatsuki Organization were to take action, it would be more likely to be a decapitation strike than a full-scale war. After all, the number of people needed to wage war is not something that can be easily mobilized."

That's true. Ninja wars are high-level wars, and ordinary people have no right to get involved. After all, even a student from a Ninja Academy could easily take down dozens of strong adult men.

Training qualified ninjas requires a large enough territory, a large enough population, and enough money. After all, ninjas are not producers; you can't support them without money. Plus, it takes a long enough time... These are all things that an underground organization that dares not show its face can't handle.

After listening to Itachi's analysis, Minato, Nawaki, Kakashi, and even the Third Hokage nodded repeatedly, as these thoughts coincided with their own.

Orochimaru's eyes were deep and unfathomable. He didn't rush to express his opinion, but instead looked at Katsuki, seemingly anticipating how Katsuki would react.

With a furrowed brow, Katsuki forced down the bitter, astringent yet surprisingly invigorating tea. After a moment, she said, "Hey, I'd like to ask you all to use your imagination a little more. Our enemy is that Madara Uchiha. Itachi, I think you could have a little more faith in your ancestor."

Madara Uchiha, this name possesses a strange magic. Anything involving this name can make people tense up, no matter how small. In a sense, what Katsuki said is indeed quite convincing.

The Third Hokage, with his pipe in his mouth, seemed lost in thought.

"Lord Katsuki, you must be joking."

Itachi smiled wryly, feeling utterly disliked this old ancestor who wouldn't settle down even in death.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you and your father are cut from the same cloth in this respect. Don't always have that long face. Life is already stressful enough; if you don't smile more, life will be too hard..."

"Ahem, Katsuki- kun, you should leave your teaching to the students at the Ninja Academy and explain it to them slowly. Don't go off-topic."

Sensing the conversation was veering off-topic, Orochimaru had to intervene to steer it back on track, otherwise, who knows how far it would have gone.

"Alright, let's get down to business." Katsuki licked her lips and said, "Don't forget those two things still locked up in the Root prison. Judging from their appearance alone, those two White Zetsu look like they were made from the same mold... Did I go too far with that? Well, anyway, looking at them, it's hard not to think of those identical products on a factory production line..."

"Could these things be mass-produced?" The Third Hokage's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide.

He had also been to the underground prison and seen the White Zetsu imprisoned there. After Katsuki said that, it really did seem more and more true.

It's like taking a male as a template, removing the reproductive system and other useless parts for combat, leaving only the body outline, and turning him into a pure warrior.

"Artificial soldiers? Is that even possible?" Minato muttered to himself. This topic was getting more and more outrageous, just like those bizarre and outlandish movies that the village cinema had been showing in recent years. Every time he and Kushina took Naruto to see a movie, they were always completely dumbfounded.

"I can't say for sure. It's possible that Madara Uchiha has mastered the technology for large-scale weapon production, or that the number of White Zetsu is limited... These things are hard to verify for now. All we can do is prepare for the worst, think of the worst-case scenario, so that we won't be caught off guard if it really happens..."

Katsuki spoke vaguely. Although he knew that White Zetsu were soldiers created by Kaguya Otsutsuki and that Madara was just an unlucky scapegoat, he couldn't tell Orochimaru all of this because he had no concrete evidence or reliable excuse.

All he could do was use his influence to guide Orochimaru and his group to react.

"The worst-case scenario... this is really giving me a headache!" Orochimaru pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted.

After the main meeting, the smaller meetings also concluded.

Orochimaru entrusted the task of tracking Senju Zen entirely to Minato, ordering him to organize an elite team to investigate Senju Zen's whereabouts. Even if it was just for show, he had to appear serious so that the other clans would have no excuse to cause trouble.

At the same time, Sakumo was appointed as the training instructor for the Anbu, starting with the Anbu to prepare for war.

The uproar over the destruction of the cemetery lasted for some time, but the anger of the various clans subsided considerably after hearing that the northern Kumogakure and Iwagakure had suffered the same fate.

This reveals the depravity of human nature: the fear is not of scarcity but of inequality—a truth that holds true in the human world.

The village gradually returned to order, the dead were buried underground, and the living continued to struggle for a living.

The Sand Village delegation left safely, taking with them a large amount of aid supplies provided by Konoha.

There was no other way; their allies were so poor that even the bigwigs of Konoha were worried for them. If things continued like this, one day the Sand Village ninja, who were left with nothing but their underwear to cover their shame, might rise up and wage war to solve their financial difficulties.

There are too many precedents for this. Not to mention the Warring States period, even in the various Shinobi World Wars, part of the reason was that the population could not be supported and the internal conflicts could only be transferred to the outside world through war.

Fortunately, Konoha is now very wealthy, not only because of the aid from the Daimyo's Mansion's Mansion, but also because the victories in the two Shinobi World Wars have established a good reputation for Konoha's ninjas. Snowflakes of requests have filled the mailboxes of the request processing department, and the number of staff has increased several times over to barely meet the manpower needs.

In addition, the safety of Konoha makes it a popular trading location for merchants, who don't have to worry about additional risks, leading to Konoha becoming the largest commercial center in the Land of Fire.

Money is not a big problem for Konoha.

Not long after the Sand Village delegation left, the Rain Ninja delegation didn't stay long either. Soon, Konan left Konoha, looking back every few steps, leaving her tear-streaked daughter alone in the Konoha. (To be continued)