The Land of Water Joins the War

When Bing San arrived at the Hokage Building's conference room, it was indeed quite crowded.

By visual estimation, there were seventy to eighty people, all Jonin captains currently still in Konoha.

When Bing San pushed the door open, he wasn't standing as he had been during his first interrogation.

A seat had been specially reserved for Bing San next to Nara Shikano.

This was enough to show that Bing San's current status and position had changed significantly.

Although his clone often met with Sarutobi Hiruzen, those meetings were always through summoning, and he hadn't observed him closely.

Now, he noticed that Sarutobi, who was at the peak of his life, had a bit of white hair on his head and quite a few more wrinkles on his forehead.

The cigarette in his hand had been replaced with a pipe. His once thick hair had also become much sparser.

It seemed that the Third Hokage's life hadn't been easy over the past year or so.

Bing San, who watched Sarutobi Shin'nosuke handle logistics at the main camp every day, truly understood this.

Sarutobi Hiruzen lightly tapped the table with his pipe and said, "Everyone is almost here, so let's begin."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," said a man dressed in Anbu attire, with a small wooden tag on his sleeve labeled 'One'. "As Captain Mitarai Zixiao is currently commanding operations on the Iwa Ninja front line, I will be temporarily acting in his stead for Anbu duties."

The man coughed and continued, "Eleven days ago, Tsuchiemon, the commander on the Iwa Ninja front, led the Iwa Ninja in a gradual withdrawal from the Land of Rain towards the Land of Rice. According to intelligence analysis, the Iwa Ninja may directly attack the interior of our Land of Fire.

Nine days ago, Konoha's forward outpost discovered an elite Iwa Ninja unit, led by someone suspected to be Daishi.

Approximately one thousand to twelve hundred ninja. The target is currently unknown as the forward outpost was completely wiped out. We are urgently searching.

Furthermore, eight days ago, the Raikage of the Land of Clouds appeared in the Land of Rivers. The Daimyo of the Land of Rivers formally submitted a letter of capitulation to the Land of Clouds.

However, for reasons unknown, the Raikage killed the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers. Now, the various Daimyo are enraged and demand that the Land of Lightning severely punish the Raikage.

The current situation within the Land of Lightning is unclear. The Raikage and his army are still in the Land of Rivers.

Three days ago, the Daimyo's mansion of the Land of Fire sent a letter to Konoha stating that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was gravely ill and wished to meet with the Hokage. That is all."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe and said, "This is the current state of the war. The intentions of the Land of Water remain unclear.

Thanks to Orochimaru and Bing San, we defeated the Sand Ninja, and the western front is in a state of rest.

However, the situation is still not optimistic. Now, let's all discuss what we should do next. Speak freely."

He then looked towards the people in the first row. Only a few people were scattered sparsely in the first row.

Bing San scanned the room and found that he was the first person in the first row. All the seats to his left were empty. To his right was Nara Shikano, and a group of people were looking at him, waiting for his statement.

Although Bing San was only ten years old this year, he had absorbed the fragmented life experiences of an adult for many years. Facing this situation, he wasn't nervous but rather felt a bit excited.

Bing San stood up and cleared his throat, saying, "Lord Hokage and esteemed seniors, while I don't have any good suggestions, I do have a question I'd like to ask.

Since the Sand Ninja are currently in a state of helplessness, how should we deal with them?"

The Third Hokage thought to himself, This kid really holds a grudge. You've messed with the Sand Ninja so much they're eating grass roots, and you're still thinking about them.

However, he had to respond formally in this setting, so he said, "Chiyo of the Sand Ninja, having suffered a huge blow, has left the front lines and her whereabouts are unknown. Currently, the Sand Ninja are being led by Rasa and Pakura.

We still have about eleven hundred combat-ready ninja on our western front.

The Sand Ninja are located in a remote area and lack strategic resources. Therefore, our current attitude is to put it aside for now and discuss it later."

Bing San understood after hearing this. It meant they were looking down on the Sand Ninja for being poor and not worth the effort to continue attacking. They would just exploit them after the war was over.

Indeed, the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes. The Sand Ninja, simply because they were poor, clashed with Konoha again and again. In the end, the Sand Ninja were defeated again, and Konoha, deeming them too poor, was unwilling to continue the attack. Heh, politicians.

Bing San's eyes darted, and he thought of a malicious plan. "Lord Hokage, Pakura of the Sand Ninja is malicious and insane. She attempted to murder our Konoha elder, Shimura Danzō, and escaped.

If Rasa is willing to execute Pakura, I believe, with Rasa's reputation and strength, we would welcome him to inherit the position of the Fourth Kazekage."

After Bing San finished speaking, the Third Hokage rolled his eyes, and many Jonin were speechless. They thought, Is this kid taking the Sand Ninja for fools? If Pakura is killed now, more than half of the Sand Ninja will rebel. Fourth Kazekage? More like digging up graves.

Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed twice and said, "What our Western Front 'Commander' said has some merit. Vice-Captain Kurama, remember to write a letter to Rasa later to explain this.

Also, be sure to clarify that it was the suggestion of the Western Front 'Commander', Shimura Bing San."

The Third Hokage, that old schemer, was quite wicked. Not only did he want to instigate internal conflict among the Sand Ninja, but he also wanted to continue to draw hatred towards this "Sand Ninja target."

Nara Shikano lightly tapped Bing San's foot, signaling him to sit down and stop talking. If he continued, the Third Hokage would likely scheme against him again.

Bing San reluctantly sat down.

Shikano stood up and said, "We are currently fighting on three fronts, and our forces are stretched thin. All our reserve forces have been dispatched. I suggest we deploy some newly promoted Genin squads to patrol within the Land of Fire.

I worry that enemy ninja might sneak in and attempt sabotage. Especially since the Land of Water's actions are currently unclear and their intentions unknown."

After that, a group of Jonin began to speak one after another. Bing San listened from the side. In reality, he was only invited to give face to Danzō and Orochimaru, who were still unconscious.

Before, Bing San was merely Shimura Danzō's child, and it was easy to handle him.

Now, Orochimaru and Bing San had defeated the Land of Wind on the western front. The reputation of this master and disciple pair grew daily. Didn't they see the Anbu saluting Bing San?

Coupled with Danzō's serious injury and coma after acting as bait, many people were grateful to him.

(Danzō: Pakura, you son of a bitch, you hear me?)

Suddenly, the door was knocked. The Jonin fell silent. An Anbu quickly entered, bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and said, "Lord Hokage, urgent report."

Sarutobi Hiruzen craned his neck and said, "Speak."

The Anbu operative said, "Yes, Lord Hokage.

Three hours ago, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure—Jūzō Biwa, Suikazan Fuguki, Munashi Jinpachi, Karashi Ninzato, Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Raiga Kurosuki—breached Konoha's security perimeter and surrounded the Genin Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and Ebisu.

At the critical moment, Guy's father, Might Duy, arrived and unleashed the forbidden ninjutsu, the Eight Inner Gates Formation, to confront the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. This allowed Guy and the other two to retreat. The three Genin have since returned to Konoha to request emergency reinforcements."