After leaving Root Base, Hiruzen Sarutobi began carrying out the arrangements, secretly mobilizing the clan's jōnin and some trusted ANBU to head for Shimura Danzō's Root.
Shimura Danzō also brought every jōnin-level ninja in his clan, along with the elite he had trained and recruited through Root. Altogether, they numbered more than a hundred.
The operation hinged on secrecy. Too many people would be difficult to hide, and a hundred was already the limit.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also fabricated some intelligence and summoned the heads of the major Ninja Clans to a meeting.
"Take a look at this intelligence first."
Once everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi had an ANBU ninja distribute the fabricated reports.
As they read through the intelligence, everyone's expressions grew serious.
"We've found traces of large numbers of ninja along several borders. Have they joined forces?"
The Senju Clan Head set down the report and looked gravely at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"We can't rule out that possibility."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was grave as well. Although some of the intelligence was fake, much of it was true.
The Four Great Shinobi Villages had long been preparing to start a war, and Konoha would be their primary target, just as it had been in the last Great Ninja War.
After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's response, everyone fell silent.
They hated war because people died. Even if most of the casualties were ordinary civilians, their Ninja Clans would inevitably suffer significant losses too.
But the enemy had already begun mobilizing, and they had no choice but to respond.
"We absolutely cannot let the flames of war spread into the Land of Fire. We must stop the enemy outside our borders. Otherwise, we'll have a hard time explaining things to the Daimyo."
When no one spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi laid down a firm requirement for the coming war: the enemy must not be allowed to invade.
No one objected. There was nothing they could say. That was the purpose of the hidden villages, established from the moment the system of one village serving one country was created. No one could change it.
"Next, we'll assign our forces. We need to send elite units out as soon as possible and get them to the Frontline at top speed. They'll secure advantageous terrain and establish defensive lines, preventing the enemy from advancing into the Land of Fire while buying time for our main forces to arrive.
"The battlefield against the Land of Earth will likely be in the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass. Those areas are well suited to the Senju Clan, with their Water and Earth Release."
Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, turning his gaze to the Senju Clan Head.
The Senju Clan Head didn't refuse. He nodded.
Although their opponent was a major hidden village, the Senju Clan had nothing to fear about fighting in that kind of terrain, especially with Mother there.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Uchiha Clan Head and continued, "Next is the Kumogakure front. Kumogakure's ninja excel at Nintaijutsu, especially Lightning Release Nintaijutsu, which is incredibly fast. The Uchiha's Sharingan can counter it to a great extent."
The Uchiha Clan Head nodded to Hiruzen Sarutobi, accepting the assignment. The Uchiha were indeed the best choice to face ninja skilled in Nintaijutsu. There was nothing to argue about.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then turned to the head of the Hyuga Clan. "Next is the battlefield against Kirigakure. Their preferred method of attack is assassination under cover of the Hidden Mist Technique. The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is an effective counter. Also, for the war, Hyuga Ninja will need to be assigned to the other fronts to provide support."
The Hyuga Clan Head nodded, accepting the assignment.
"The Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan will hold the front against Sunagakure. We'll also send different numbers of reinforcements to each front as the situation demands."
At last, Hiruzen Sarutobi committed the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans to the Sunagakure front. As Hokage, he had to lead by example. If he didn't contribute any forces, the other Ninja Clans would never accept it.
Sure enough, when Hiruzen Sarutobi finally announced that the Sarutobi Clan would join the fighting, the clan heads' expressions eased somewhat.
They had worried that the Sarutobi Clan would stay behind and contribute no one. That would have been infuriating, and they wouldn't have been able to accept it.
After returning to their clans and holding meetings to settle a few matters, the clan heads began preparing supplies. The next day, their elite forces set out for the various borders to establish defensive lines.
The war hadn't officially begun yet. Their main task was to secure strategic terrain, build defenses, and clear out enemy scouts who had infiltrated their territory. The danger wasn't great.
That was the main reason the major Ninja Clans had agreed so readily. The village would send a large force after them; they weren't being sent to fight the other hidden villages alone.
They couldn't take the initiative and attack, but simply defending was much easier.
Konoha's sudden mobilization put the entire Ninja World on alert, and the Four Great Shinobi Villages were especially baffled.
"What's Konoha up to?"
In the meeting hall of the Tsuchikage Building in Iwagakure, no one understood what was going on. They had sent troops close to the Land of Fire to keep Konoha occupied and prepare for their plan to attack the Land of Whirlpools, but that plan hadn't even begun yet.
"Perhaps our plan against the Uzumaki Clan has been exposed."
After thinking it over for a long while, Ōnoki voiced his suspicion.
"But if it's been exposed, shouldn't Konoha be concentrating its forces in the Land of Whirlpools to face us? Konoha and the Uzushio Hidden Village have been allies for years, and the First Hokage's wife was born into the Uzumaki Clan."
Rōshi didn't understand, nor did he agree with Ōnoki's guess.
Ōnoki couldn't be bothered to humor that idiot. He looked around at those present and said solemnly, "There may be complications in the coming war in the Land of Whirlpools. Konoha may be our enemy—or it may be our ally. Gari, adapt to the situation when the time comes."
At the end, he looked toward the middle-aged man seated on his left, one of his most trusted subordinates and the commander of the coming war in the Land of Whirlpools.
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage. I understand."
Gari caught on and quickly rose to acknowledge the order, a smile spreading across his face.
What a surprise!
The others present caught on too, and smiles appeared on their faces.
"It looks like our 'strongest Hokage' isn't having an easy time in Konoha!"
"Strongest, my ass. The Third of each of the Five Great Ninja Villages is supposedly the strongest of their generation. That claim about Hiruzen Sarutobi is the one that doesn't hold up."
"No wonder he sent the Senju Clan to our front. We're quite far from the Land of Whirlpools, so even if the Senju Clan wanted to rush over and help, they wouldn't make it in time."
They laughed, their faces full of mockery. What a fine Hokage!
"Rōshi, go with them, just in case."
Ōnoki remained calm. After thinking it over, he looked at Rōshi. He didn't think much of the man's brains, but Rōshi was powerful.
Although the Tailed Beast's seal wasn't perfect, Rōshi had learned to control it well and had even combined the Four-Tails' chakra with his own to develop Lava Release. Ōnoki himself couldn't beat the current Rōshi without using Dust Release. He was arguably the second strongest ninja in the village.
With Rōshi there, Ōnoki could feel more at ease.
Rōshi was still confused, but since Ōnoki had given the order, he nodded and accepted.
Although he disliked Ōnoki's principles, he loved the village just as much, and the plan in the Land of Whirlpools concerned him too.
If he could obtain a stronger, more suitable Sealing Technique, he would be better able to suppress the Four-Tails.
That huge beast was difficult to deal with. The slightest mistake could let its chakra seep into him, driving him berserk and out of control. Every time, it caused significant losses for the village.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure made similar arrangements, increasing their investment in the war against the Land of Whirlpools.
It was only a suspicion, but better safe than sorry. They had to get their hands on the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Techniques. Only then could they create Perfect Jinchuriki like the First Hokage's wife, capable of perfectly controlling the power of the Tailed Beasts.
Konoha already had a Perfect Jinchuriki, and it was the strongest of them all—the Nine-Tails. They needed to have their own Perfect Jinchuriki as well.
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