Once Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Danzo rose from his seat below him and immediately declared, "If Sunagakure dares to fight, then we'll fight them. This time, I'll lead the troops myself. I won't return to the village until I've killed the Third Kazekage."
"Danzo, calm down. This isn't the time to engage them."
Utatane Koharu frowned slightly as she looked at her old friend, who seemed eager to charge onto the battlefield that very instant.
"If not now, then when?"
Danzo looked at the only woman present who had fought alongside him. "Iwagakure and Kirigakure have both suffered heavy losses fighting each other. Kumogakure has only two or three heavy hitters and a whole pack of small fry. Those three villages already have their hands full...
We're already doing Sunagakure a favor by not attacking them, yet they dare provoke us. I'll lead the troops myself, with the Sannin and the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. If I can't wipe out Sunagakure, I won't come back."
"..."
Dragged into the argument for no reason, Hyuuga Hiten and Fugaku Uchiha remained perfectly composed. Neither spoke.
Clearly, they had been through scenes like this more than once.
Danzo snapped, "Why does Sunagakure dare provoke us? Because they know that even if they do, people like you will sit back and do nothing..."
"Danzo, it's not that serious. If we go to war, people will die. We have a responsibility to the villagers and our shinobi."
Mitokado Homura also spoke up, interrupting his old friend's righteous declaration that he intended to wipe out Sunagakure in one decisive push.
Peace was hard-won. Why spend every day making war?
Our teacher loved war so much that he not only fought until the Senju Clan was depleted, but got himself killed as well. We don't have those resources, let alone his strength!
Mitokado Homura sighed inwardly. Did Danzo truly not understand any of this, or was he pretending not to?
War produced heroes. Once the younger generation's prestige surpassed that of their elders, how were they supposed to get along?
The Sannin were manageable. Hiruzen was their teacher, after all. However famous they became, their teacher, the Hokage, could claim half the credit.
But White Fang alone was already enough of a headache.
If the war continued, more and more heroes would emerge.
Although they had done so much for the villagers and tried their best to publicize it, the villagers simply didn't know!
At that moment, only the three of them were speaking. Everyone else sat with their eyes lowered, keeping their thoughts to themselves.
The man who made the final decision had yet to speak. Anything they said now would be pointless.
Wasn't a meeting simply a chance for the leader to see what his subordinates were thinking, which ones had formed factions, and which ones were hostile to each other?
Carelessly voicing an opinion could offend the leader. White Fang's fate was proof enough.
Even someone at the very heart of the Hokage's inner circle, a man who obeyed him so faithfully, had been kicked out of the center of power.
After a while, once the tobacco in Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe had burned out, he finally said with unruffled composure, "War is already unavoidable."
At those words, Danzo quieted down as well. Mitokado Homura asked, "What do you mean?"
Everyone else also turned to look at the Third.
"According to the latest intelligence, Chiyo and Ebizo proposed attacking us during Sunagakure's meeting. The Third Kazekage has already agreed."
"Chiyo and Ebizo?"
Utatane Koharu, still an attractive middle-aged woman, frowned. "Do they want revenge for her son and daughter-in-law, whom White Fang killed on the battlefield?"
"Starting a war when they know they're weaker than us? That's old Chiyo for you. She really knows how to hold a grudge."
Tsunade sneered, speaking with her usual bluntness.
Her words, however, displeased the two advisors.
It seemed they could no longer steer the discussion where they wanted.
"So you called us here because you've already decided who will lead the troops to the battlefield?"
Orochimaru picked up the conversation, his serpentine eyes fixed on his teacher.
"This time, let me lead them. I'm confident I can drive straight into Sunagakure."
Danzo acted as though he hadn't understood the implication in Orochimaru's words.
Filled with ambition, he had already imagined what the villagers would say about him after he destroyed an entire village. That would be a feat no one had accomplished since the First!
Perhaps it would put him straight into the Hokage position.
That made war a matter that could no longer wait.
"Ahem."
The Third glanced around. Seeing everyone looking at him, he frowned and said, "We can no longer prevent this war, but we can decide how long it lasts."
"Old man, what do you mean?"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled.
"As long as we hold off their attacks, the Sunagakure shinobi will eventually return to their village because of insufficient supplies. At that point, the war will naturally end."
The Third studied everyone's expressions.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura seemed quite satisfied.
Jiraiya disliked going to war.
Tsunade remained as carefree as ever. She probably hadn't taken it seriously.
But Orochimaru...
Something about his gaze seemed off.
The remaining leaders of the Great Ninja Clans were as unreadable as always, but that didn't matter. They wouldn't object.
As for Danzo...
"Hiruzen, it's not as though we can't defeat Sunagakure. Are you afraid?"
Danzo was irritated. Sunagakure was something they could wipe out with ease, wasn't it?
Why did they have to keep tolerating them, again and again?
"Danzo, I've already made my decision."
The Third's tone grew firmer as he looked at his old friend, who refused to show him the slightest respect.
He was still middle-aged at the time. Though he indulged Danzo, he still possessed enough authority to put his foot down.
Just as Danzo's anger reached its peak, Orochimaru spoke in a sinister tone. "I think Advisor Danzo makes a very good point."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone turned toward him in surprise.
The Third frowned, his thoughts unreadable.
"Orochimaru, do you know what you're saying?"
Jiraiya turned his head sharply to face him.
"I know exactly what I'm saying."
Orochimaru didn't even look at him and continued, "We should wipe out Sunagakure in one decisive push. Once our forces are free, we can find a way to deal with the other three shinobi villages. As we stand now, we have the strength to pacify the shinobi world."
His words fell silent.
Everyone stared at Orochimaru in shock.
Was this guy really that ambitious?
Even the normally carefree Tsunade gaped at him. "Orochimaru, are you still the Orochimaru I know?"
First destroy Sunagakure, then find a way to deal with the other three nations, and finally pacify the shinobi world?
Had he gone mad?
"Sunagakure doesn't even have a quarter as many elite shinobi as we do. They can't muster even five elite jonin. Their Kage-level fighters consist of Chiyo, the Third Kazekage, and the One-Tail, Shukaku...
Meanwhile, we have our teacher, Advisor Danzo, Big Brother White Fang, Jiraiya, myself, Tsunade, the Great Ninja Clans, and countless shinobi from civilian families. If we simply follow Advisor Danzo's plan, wouldn't destroying Sunagakure be easy?"
Once Orochimaru finished, everyone thought it over carefully.
It seemed... wiping out Sunagakure wouldn't be that difficult after all.
How could such a weak village dare provoke them? Were they asking to die?
Then, seeing Orochimaru looking at the Third, everyone else turned their eyes toward him as well.
What would this Hokage choose?
Before you continue