Inside Konoha.
A meeting was being held on the top floor of the Hokage Building. The atmosphere throughout the room was extremely oppressive. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the center, while Danzo sat off to one side.
"Sunagakure refuses to believe our explanation. They have concluded that the Third Kazekage's disappearance is directly connected to Konoha. The newly appointed Fourth Kazekage has now led a large force in an assault on the Land of Fire's border. We must respond."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a deep voice, his eyes flickering.
The Third Kazekage had disappeared!
It had happened roughly a month ago. Sunagakure had been trying to conceal the news while searching everywhere for the Third Kazekage, but they had never found him. In the end, they concluded that Konoha had secretly abducted the Third Kazekage and directly declared war on Konoha!
Sunagakure's declaration of war abruptly worsened the situation. Iwagakure's invasion of the Land of Grass had originally consisted of only an advance force, at most carrying out harassment, probing attacks, and strategic deployments. They had not immediately launched a decisive battle.
But Sunagakure had begun with an all-out battle from the very start!
"The Fourth Kazekage has personally mobilized. I believe you should go to the front yourself, Lord Hokage..."
An Elite Jonin seated to one side spoke in a grave voice.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned solemn.
He actually wanted to go to the front personally as well, but the news of Sunagakure's full-scale assault had arrived. It was difficult to ensure that Kirigakure and Kumogakure would remain inactive.
The countries where Kirigakure and Kumogakure were located did not border the Land of Wind, so they had no opportunity to invade the Land of Wind while taking advantage of the situation. They could only use Sunagakure's offensive to harass the