The Sannin's Concerns (Please Keep Reading!)

Sosuke Aizen felt no ripples in his heart, while the rotating jōnin all wore somewhat troubled expressions.

They could all see the most critical—indeed, fatal—flaw in this seemingly flawless plan.

Yet, looking at the smiling Third Hokage and Elder Danzo beside him, who had been holding his breath in concentration but occasionally opened his eyes to survey the room, everyone understood perfectly well that if they pointed it out, they might be slapped with a label and hauled away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi might have been Shimura Danzō's restraining influence, but Shimura Danzō was also Hiruzen Sarutobi's automatic affirmation machine. Whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi made up his mind to do something, Danzō would carry it out without a thought, with no compromises whatsoever. Now that the Third Hokage had issued an order, Danzō naturally supported it with all his strength.

As for whether this order was reasonable, the two people who should have been balancing the Hokage and narrowing down their judgment to the most reliable conclusion were Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. They were known as the Paper Lake. As for Sosuke Aizen, there was even less to say—he was merely an elder's assistant and lacked that kind of authority.

Even though they could see the massive flaws in the entire order, they could only furrow their brows and hesitate to speak. In the end, they sighed as though trying to convince themselves.

Expressions flickered across the faces of Konoha's jōnin. None dared say much, and the meeting eventually dispersed amid an atmosphere of apparent optimism. The Third Hokage, brimming with confidence, sent the news to the command center on the western front in the Land of Rain.

The Sannin were completely dumbfounded when they saw the order. Temporarily abandon the western front in the Land of Rain, withdraw entirely to Konoha for defense, and leave the territory to the Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja so they could fight freely—what kind of absurd order was this? Was the Third Hokage in his right mind?

The scroll document did not appear forged, and the ANBU who had delivered it were familiar faces wearing bitter expressions. The Sannin looked at that tiny order scroll and felt as though the weight it represented was more than a thousand pounds.

Based on a single piece of information and possible changes in the enemy's movements, they were to abandon the Land of Rain front that had been established over several years and retreat into Konoha to buy strategic time.

The Sannin exchanged glances and each let out a long sigh.

"This is going to cause trouble."

"...Yeah."

In response to Jiraiya's remark, Tsunade stared at the order and nodded with a grave expression.

After confirming through several means that this truly was a direct order issued by the Third Hokage, there was nothing they could do no matter how dissatisfied they were.

This was a direct order from the Hokage, and within Konoha's ninja education system, the Hokage's orders were absolute. If the Hokage told you to die, then you died. Likewise, if the Hokage ordered a retreat, then you retreated.

Although the Third Hokage had happily written his plan—the so-called "open scheme"—onto the scroll, practically flaunting his political wisdom, the Sannin, who had truly experienced the battlefield, knew it was complete bullshit.

Who gave up tangible benefits for a possibility that did not currently exist?

"Placing all his hopes on the enemy's stupidity and some supposed unspoken understanding... Sensei really has grown old."

Orochimaru, whose temperament had become increasingly gloomy and serpent-like, flicked out his tongue. Looking at the self-assured words on the scroll, he shook his head in disappointment.

"Sensei is using Konoha's common sense to understand the Stone Ninja. That is wrong. More than anyone, the Stone Ninja understand that they have no way to annex the Sand Ninja on their own. The Ninja World War has been going on for so long that everyone knows each other well enough. And the Land of Rain front is crucial to us. How can we abandon it?"

"But refusing the order means abandoning our mission. The three of us cannot bear that charge. Old Man clearly places great importance on this plan."

"Tch..."

Looking at the scroll in her hand, Tsunade clicked her tongue in frustration.

That old bastard had never gone to the front lines and had no understanding at all of the Stone Ninja's or Sand Ninja's deployments.

Although Hanzō of the Salamander meant there would always objectively be some leeway or gaps in the Land of Rain's defenses, the existence of gaps did not mean they should abandon their arrangements within the Land of Rain.

As the most crucial territory bearing the battlefield between three great nations, the Land of Rain could not escape its role as a battlefield, even if the Rain Ninja and Hanzō of the Salamander, taken together, could be considered on the level of a sixth great ninja village. That was the tacit understanding among the three great nations.

Something might indeed have happened to the Sand Ninja, causing them to abandon part of their forward positions for the Stone Ninja to take over. But with even a little thought, one would know that such a sudden incident could not possibly assemble a true ninja army capable of launching a strategic-level attack. And by the time they did assemble one, the Cloud Ninja would already be rubbing their hands in eager anticipation.

The Stone Ninja could not attack the Sand Ninja while also defending against the Cloud Ninja stabbing them in the back. They could not manage it even if Konoha withdrew.

The only one capable of doing that—and confident of doing so completely—was Konoha alone.

Therefore, the Stone Ninja's strategic objective had never been annexing the Sand Ninja. They had no strategic demand for the Sand Ninja whatsoever.

Setting aside where the Stone Ninja could possibly conjure enough people to fully occupy the Sand Ninja's territory without all sorts of chaos breaking out, purely in terms of strength, civil war was civil war, but the Sand Ninja had not been completely wiped out. The One-Tailed Shukaku still existed.

Moreover, the Sand Ninja excelled most at puppetry and poison. One puppeteer was equivalent to a three-man squad. Their individual strength might be somewhat inferior, but from the perspective of guerrilla warfare across their homeland, nothing was more suitable than the Sand Ninja, who specialized in poison and could fight as a one-man army. The Stone Ninja would have to be insane to consider annexing such a bomb.

Even if the Stone Ninja had lost their minds and wanted to devour Konoha, they would not consider swallowing the Sand Ninja. At most, they would march their army to the Sand Ninja's gates, force them to pull themselves together and maintain the Land of Rain front, and extract some benefits in the process.

The Sand Ninja might indeed be the weakest, but the Stone Ninja were not much better off. With the Cloud Ninja watching them hungrily from the sidelines, how could they possibly have the opportunity?

Whether Konoha abandoned the front or not, the outcome would actually be the same. But if they abandoned it now, the Stone Ninja and Sand Ninja might gain a genuine reason to unite.

If they then contacted the Cloud Ninja and coordinated with the Mist Ninja, Konoha's situation would truly be far from optimistic. Building a front line was easy, but pushing one outward again was extraordinarily difficult.

But realizing that did them no good. Many of the rotating jōnin had already recognized the problem; they simply had no way to raise it.

The Hokage was absolute. In every other ninja village as well, the Kage's orders were absolute. All they could do was think about what came next; they had no authority to decide anything.

"...What do we do? Are we really going to obey the order and retreat along the designated route?"

Jiraiya looked at his two companions, who stood before the sand table with livid faces, and asked quietly.

"Those two mysterious people left us with the deployment locations and supply storage sites of many Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja last time. We seized many strategic advantages. Are we just giving them up now?"

"We can only give them up for the time being. Sensei's order is urgent. He cannot wait to see his supposed script unfold—the Stone Ninja and Sand Ninja fighting each other, the Cloud Ninja beginning to move, and Konoha alone reaping the benefits. Sensei's ideas are not for us to decide."

"But are we really going to give up such a perfect opportunity?!"

Faced with Orochimaru's somewhat cold words, Tsunade stared at the front lines marked across the mountains and rivers, her eyes about to burst.

Those were strategic strongholds Konoha's ninja had won one by one with their lives, supplies, and the price of blood. Yet now they were to be handed over without explanation.

The western front was already like this, but what about the eastern front? On the front facing the Waterfall Ninja and the Land of Hot Springs, those seasoned jōnin had also been recalled to Konoha for so-called reviews and rest. Even jōnin like Minato Namikaze had been dragged back.

From every angle, the Third Hokage appeared utterly confident in this judgment and this information. Perhaps the Stone Ninja had given him some promise, or perhaps Konoha simply judged others by itself. As the world's number one ninja village, it inevitably approached problems from a position of superior strength. But such arrogance was often the root of destruction.

Konoha was still far, far from speaking of destruction, yet all three Sannin felt as though something they had held onto in their hearts was quietly beginning to shatter.

The Will of Fire, Konoha's future—they truly had fought hard on the battlefield, but the result was nowhere near as beautiful as they had imagined.

"...Pass on the order. Have all Ninja collect and seal away their personal belongings and supplies, then withdraw completely to the interior lines of the Land of Fire for redeployment and standby."

Jiraiya looked at the confident words written on the scroll and let out an unwilling sigh. Then he said softly to the Ninja tasked with delivering the orders:

"Say that this is the Hokage's order. The Land of Rain front is to be completely abandoned. After leaving behind only a few outposts, we will withdraw entirely into the Land of Fire. We've been out here for so long. It's time we went home."

"..."

"Go."

Seeing the confused expression on the messenger Ninja's face, Jiraiya sighed and slumped into his chair, covering his forehead.

Tsunade stared wide-eyed at the sand table covered in markers, gritted her teeth, then finally stomped her foot in fury and stormed out of the tent.

Only Orochimaru showed no particular emotion. He merely stared quietly at the scroll, observing what the man he had once respected most had become as he entered middle age and gradually stepped into old age.

That scroll was like a record of what a once-great Ninja had ultimately become under the ravages of time. He had concentrated power in his own hands, reducing the Advisor system to little more than decoration. It seemed that once people grew old, they inevitably became like this.

That's why I want to live forever... I don't want to see death or suffering happen to me.

Remembering Dan Katō's death, remembering the miserable sight of Senju Nawaki with his organs hollowed out, his body like a dried corpse, Orochimaru closed his eyes and silently made up his mind.

It's time... to join those people.