In Konoha: Starting by Slapping White Fang

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was not saintly enough to fight this war for them.

Sending a few reinforcements to go through the motions would be enough.

Even if they lost, Minato Namikaze and the others could simply retreat quickly.

As long as his own interests were not affected, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not be bothered with what Cloud Village was doing in the Land of Wind.

"Cloud Village's target is most likely not Sunagakure."

Cold sweat trickled down Nara Shikaku's cheek as he thought to himself.

He did not possess Gengetsu's godlike perspective, but with his intellect, he had also sensed that Cloud Village's invasion of the Land of Wind was strange.

Why ignore the neighboring, prosperous Land of Fire and travel all that way to attack the desperately poor Land of Wind?

But when he recalled Gengetsu leaning close to his ear during their chance encounter yesterday and saying, "Don't say what shouldn't be said,"

Nara Shikaku swallowed the suggestion in his heart in fear.

After vaguely guessing what Gengetsu was probably planning,

Nara Shikaku spent the entire night discussing matters by candlelight with his two close friends, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza.

They unanimously decided to remain neutral.

They absolutely could not get dragged into this mess.

One was an old fox capable of destroying the powerful Senju Clan that had founded Leaf Village.

The other was a monster who could infiltrate an enemy village and take the head of a Kage.

They could not afford to offend either one.

All they could do was try their best not to offend anyone.

"As expected."

By the time Gengetsu received news that Minato Namikaze had suffered defeat in his first battle, several days had already passed.

After all, he did not have Hiruzen Sarutobi's precise intelligence network, nor had he asked Tsunade to send him information every day.

There was no need for that.

By the time he learned of it, most of the village's shinobi already knew as well.

When Gengetsu heard the news, not the slightest surprise or shock appeared on his face.

The Third Hokage's title of "strongest" was indeed somewhat watered down.

But the Third Raikage's "strongest" title was completely deserved.

The strongest shield—an existence that even the future young lord's Rasenshuriken could not break.

Minato Namikaze had mastered the Flying Thunder God, but his strongest single-target offensive technique was only the Great Ball Rasengan.

There was simply no way he could break the Third Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode.

"But the Third Raikage is over there? What a pity."

Learning that the Third Raikage was on the Land of Wind battlefield, Gengetsu could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

In the original story, Naruto had relied heavily on luck to defeat the Third Raikage in his Edo Tensei state.

And it was difficult to say whether the Third Raikage under Impure World Reincarnation had been able to display one hundred percent of his strength from when he was alive.

Gengetsu had wanted to see what it felt like to test his new blade against the strongest shield.

"Lord Gengetsu, have an orange~"

With Tsunade gone, Nohara Rin had been looking somewhat idle. She handed a peeled sweet orange to Gengetsu.

"Why haven't you removed the pith?"

Gengetsu glanced at it and asked.

Even with Rin's good temper, her eyes could not help widening at those words.

It needed to be stripped of the pith too?!

So annoying... but I still have to stay graceful.

Just as Nohara Rin was about to obediently peel away the remaining strands bit by bit,

A blur suddenly descended before Gengetsu.

"Gengetsu, something happened."

Hatake Sakumo said with a solemn expression.

"It's begun."

Gengetsu smiled faintly, stuffed the half-peeled orange from Nohara Rin's hand into his mouth, and said somewhat unclearly, "Let's go, Rin."

"Yes!"

Nohara Rin also put away her little frustrations and followed closely behind Gengetsu.

"It's the AB Combo, isn't it?"

As Gengetsu and Hatake Sakumo walked side by side toward the village, Gengetsu turned his head and asked.

"Mm. A and Killer B are coming fiercely. They directly dispatched five thousand troops, and this is only the vanguard."

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "I'm becoming more and more afraid of becoming your enemy, Gengetsu. You predicted it perfectly."

Gengetsu had told him before that Cloud Village's attack on the Land of Wind was merely bait. Their real target was still the Land of Fire.

Gengetsu merely smiled and did not answer.

He was not someone like Nara Shikaku who made a living with his brain.

The reason he could see things so clearly was mainly because he understood these people's personalities.

That was why personality determined fate.

Gengetsu added:

"Let them see who the strongest combination in the shinobi world really is. Though perhaps you won't even be needed—I alone may be enough to deal with all of them."

"Underestimating the enemy can easily lead to great losses."

Hatake Sakumo reminded him.

"It would naturally be best if Tsunade is willing to take the initiative and go to the battlefield, but that is exactly why it is strange. After what happened, she is still willing to fight for Leaf Village. That is truly unsettling.

"More troublesome still... Hatake Gengetsu is actually willing to obey Leaf Village's arrangements and go to the battlefield. You must have noticed something unusual as well, Hiruzen."

Inside the Elder Council's meeting room in the Administrative Building, Danzo was questioning Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The Cloud Army led by A, the future Fourth Raikage, and Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, was practically at their doorstep.

Yet they were still worrying about this. No wonder that during the future Konoha Crush Plan, such a huge Leaf Village had only Hiruzen Sarutobi left as a Kage-level fighter.

And Danzo's doubts were precisely what Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried about.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not a saint either.

If the two of them had not always seen eye to eye, how could he have repeatedly forgiven the other's overstepping behavior?

Hatake Gengetsu and Tsunade.

These two, who should have been the least likely to follow orders, had actually chosen to head to the front lines voluntarily.

For the vast majority of people, this was undoubtedly excellent news.

Two Kage-level fighters, one of whom was known as the Medical Saint of the current era.

No matter how one looked at it, they would greatly increase their chances of winning the war.

But that was merely how shinobi thought.

The Elder Council F4 thought like politicians. That was another matter entirely.

What they considered was why Gengetsu and Tsunade were doing this.

What unspeakable secrets were they hiding?

"If the war continues in its current state, Tsunade, who has achieved unparalleled merits in both the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Great Ninja War, will become the undisputed successor to the Fourth Hokage position. Not to mention that she carries the bloodline of the First Hokage's granddaughter."

A cold gleam flashed through Utatane Koharu's eyes.

"Didn't Tsunade say she had no interest in becoming Hokage?"

Mitokado Homura clenched his teeth and asked.

But his tone sounded more like self-consolation.

The expressions of the other three old men changed drastically.

Think of what they had done to the Senju Clan during the later stages of the Second Shinobi World War.

If Tsunade took office, would the Elder Council still have a good future ahead of them?

"Don't forget, Hatake Gengetsu is at her side."

Utatane Koharu continued coldly:

"Has he caused too few problems already?"

"This old man isn't dead yet."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grim face.

Though he was already past fifty and could feel his combat strength declining noticeably over the past two years,

he was still sitting in the Hokage's seat.

As long as he lived, what could those juniors dare do?

"He even dared kill your son. As for you personally... he probably wouldn't be afraid to kill you either, would he?"

Shimura Danzō sneered.

All right, the upper ranks had already unanimously concluded that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had been killed by Gengetsu.

There were simply too many suspicious points, and the timing of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's death had been far too coincidental.

They merely lacked evidence, and because they feared Gengetsu's strength, they did not dare act rashly.

But they all believed that Shinnosuke had been killed by Gengetsu.

If he dared kill the son, why would he not dare kill the father?

Besides, Gengetsu had killed Kage before.

Just think of the Second Kazekage's fate.

"Honored members of the Elder Council, the clan heads of the major shinobi clans remaining in the village have all arrived at the meeting room."

At that moment, the voice of a guard shinobi came from outside the door.

"What ideas do you have?"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi walked toward the meeting room with the other three, he asked.

"That boy's goal is nothing more than to seize credit and build Tsunade's and his own prestige within the village. We just need to deny him that opportunity."

Danzo said coldly, "Although Tsunade has already gone to the battlefield, as long as you remain in that seat, she would not dare openly seize it. After all, the Senju Clan's princess still needs to preserve some semblance of dignity."

"However... if there is an opportunity to eliminate the threat permanently, that would naturally be even better."

Danzo added one final sentence.