"Danzo..."
Minato was the Fourth Hokage, so he knew exactly what was going on with Danzo.
Looking at the Third Hokage, now old and frail, he felt a wave of sorrow. Suddenly, he no longer felt like saying anything.
He finally understood why the Konoha Sannin had made their choice.
He had fought battle after battle, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique repeatedly to hurry here. It had certainly made him faster, but it had also greatly increased the strain. Now that his spirits had been dampened, he couldn't be bothered to keep it up.
Even so, he went over all the detailed intelligence he had gathered. Once he had explained everything, he bade the Third Hokage farewell.
"Third Hokage, I don't have much time left. I want to spend what remains with my child and have a good talk with him."
"Is that so..." The Third Hokage had no objections. Instead, he felt deeply guilty toward Minato. "You've really been through a lot. You're already dead, and yet you've still had to work so hard for the village."
"Everything is for the village." The Fourth Hokage's smile remained bright and sunny, though there was some discontent beneath it. "Um... Kushina asked me to tell you, Third Hokage, that if you dare bully her son and let Naruto be ostracized in the village, she'll pluck out every one of your whiskers."
"Ahem..." The Third Hokage coughed. "I'm truly sorry. I didn't do a good enough job..."
But Minato didn't listen to his apology. He simply withdrew into Naruto, letting Naruto's unconscious body collapse.
The Third Hokage hurried forward and caught him, then ordered someone to take Naruto away and see to his care.
"Send the order at once. Convene a Jonin Meeting!"
Before long, the various clans had sent their representatives, and the Jonin Meeting officially began.
The Third Hokage briefly introduced the intelligence, then said:
"The Land of Rain borders the Land of Fire. It has long served as a buffer between our two countries. And with Hanzo of the Salamander—the Demigod—there, we haven't been able to put too much pressure on them, so our intelligence on the region is lacking."
"If Minato hadn't brought back this information, we might have remained in the dark, unaware that everything there had changed."
"This intelligence was bought with the lives of elite shinobi, including members of Ino-Shika-Cho. No one should take it lightly. We must come up with a response today."
"What's there to discuss?" Danzo was visibly excited, a sinister glint in his single eye. "A small country that doesn't know its place should be wiped out. We should bring the Land of Rain under the rule of the Land of Fire!"
It was no wonder the daimyo of the Land of Fire preferred Danzo to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Who wouldn't like a man who was always eager to expand his master's territory?
The Third Hokage slammed his hand on the table in anger. "Danzo, this is a Jonin Meeting. We're discussing how to respond. Stop trying to start a war at every turn!"
"How long ago was the Third Shinobi World War?"
"Have you already forgotten how brutal the last war was?"
"The village has only just suffered a disaster, and our strength has been greatly reduced. We can't give other countries an excuse to start a war!"
Danzo was even more agitated than the Third Hokage. He hammered his cane against the floor with a series of loud thuds.
"It's precisely because the village's strength has been greatly reduced that we need to project strength to the outside world!"
"At a time like this, if we show even the slightest weakness, the other villages will think Konoha has grown weaker. They'll seize the chance to pounce and devour us!"
"It would be unwise to clash with another great country, but the Land of Rain is a small country. Even if it has a few powerful shinobi, none of them can be stronger than Hanzo."
"We just need to destroy the Land of Rain with overwhelming force, and no one will dare to doubt us again!"
The Third Hokage raised his brows and shouted:
"Did you not listen to a word of the intelligence I just gave?"
"Minato said the person controlling Amegakure from behind the scenes is a powerful shinobi who possesses the legendary Rinnegan, just like the Sage of Six Paths!"
"And there isn't just one of them. There are two!"
"If we start a war, we may not be facing an aging Hanzo of the Salamander who's close to death. We could be facing two Demigods in their prime!"
"There aren't that many Demigods in the world!" Danzo refused to believe it. He touched the eye beneath his bandages and said confidently, "Didn't Minato bring back the weakness of the Rinnegan's Dojutsu? We can just design our tactics around that."
"If they really are as powerful as Hanzo of the Salamander, that's all the more reason to eliminate them!"
"What they're doing now has made their hostility toward Konoha clear. If we don't destroy them before they're ready, should we just wait for them to grow stronger?"
"Hiruzen, you can't be this weak if you're going to be Hokage!"
"If you're so worried about these so-called Rinnegan shinobi, then leave them to Root."
"I'll show you that Root is the most important force keeping Konoha at the top of the Five Great Shinobi Countries!"
Even in a situation like this, Danzo still found a way to take a jab at him. The Third Hokage trembled with anger.
"This isn't about who should face the enemy! This is about the lives of countless people in two villages!"
"So what?" Danzo shouted, neck straining. "Are we supposed to let all those shinobi in the village die for nothing?"
"Nara Shikaku and the others died in Amegakure. Don't you owe the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans an explanation?"
At that, the Third Hokage's resolve faltered. He looked around at those present. Everyone wore indignant expressions, clearly furious that a minor shinobi village like Amegakure would dare challenge Konoha.
The next generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans had yet to come of age, so other clans' jōnin had attended the meeting in their place.
They were less agitated. Though some sadness showed on their faces, they remained calm and composed.
Among them, Torifu Akimichi had the greatest seniority and experience, so he spoke first:
"Hokage-sama, declaring war is a matter of great consequence. Please proceed with caution, and don't feel you have to take the views of our three clans into account."
"Whatever you decide, our three clans will support you without hesitation or objection."
But the more he said that, the less the Third Hokage could disregard their sacrifice.
The Third Hokage sighed inwardly, then said gravely:
"Amegakure dared to shelter a rogue shinobi from their village and attempted to abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. This has already crossed a line forbidden in the Ninja World."
"I'm not opposed to retaliating against Amegakure, but we can't recklessly start a war. We must gather enough intelligence and concentrate all our strength. We must defeat Amegakure as quickly and decisively as possible."
"By my order, bring Tsunade and Jiraiya back. Recall the jōnin carrying out missions outside the village, and send people to infiltrate Amegakure and gather intelligence."
"Meeting adjourned!"
"Danzo, stay behind. I have something for you to do."
Before you continue