In the meeting room of the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, the heads of all the clans in Konoha, the two advisors, the Hokage's aide Danzo, and the Anbu Captain had gathered.
"Everyone, Jiraiya brought back word earlier that the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure went missing at the border of the Land of Fire. Sunagakure is now making moves, intending to use this incident as an excuse to invade Konoha."
The Third Hokage's expression was grave. He knew that if the Sand Shinobi attacked, Konoha wouldn't be facing just one village. It was entirely possible that, just as before, they would have to face the entire Shinobi World. At the thought, the Third Hokage couldn't help recalling the two previous wars.
Konoha was in the Land of Fire, which occupied a crucial position connecting north and south. Its ecosystem was also the best among the Five Great Nations, making it ideal for growing crops. The Land of Fire's unique location, favorable living conditions, and powerful Hidden Leaf Village made it the strongest nation among the Five Great Nations.
A nation's prosperity would always draw the envy of its neighbors, especially when the Land of Fire also possessed abundant natural resources.
In the past, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had been powerful enough to deter the entire Shinobi World. But after Madara Uchiha "died" in the Battle at the Valley of the End, Hashirama Senju passed away not long afterward. Without the deterrent of their overwhelming strength, the First Great Ninja War broke out as nations fought over these resources.
During the First Great Ninja War, Tobirama Senju led Konoha's forces, and the Senju and Uchiha Clans still had their deep reserves of strength. Though Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were gone, Konoha still overwhelmed the other four great ninja villages with the strength of a single village. But it suffered heavy losses as well. The Five Great Nations signed a ceasefire agreement and set about recovering.
After the ceasefire agreement was signed, the Second, Tobirama Senju, who had died in a coup by Kumogakure during the First Great Ninja War, passed the position of Third Hokage to him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen steadily took control of Konoha and carefully managed the village for twenty years. Two decades of peace had allowed Konoha to flourish once more.
When the Second Great Ninja War broke out, he was in his prime, and he had his three students, White Fang, and Dan Katō. With such an outstanding next generation, Konoha ultimately won the Second Great Ninja War.
"Lord Hokage! Lord Hokage! Hiruzen!" Mitokado Homura's voice interrupted the Third Hokage's thoughts.
"Heh, sorry. I got lost in thought, remembering a few things. Let's continue the meeting. We were talking about Sunagakure making moves. What do you all think about the situation with Sunagakure?" The Third Hokage came back to himself and addressed the others.
"Teacher Sarutobi! The things we need to pay special attention to with Sunagakure are their strange Puppet Technique and their various poisons—especially the poisons!" Jiraiya said.
"Jiraiya's right. During the previous war, even with Tsunade there, many of our ninja still died from the Sand Shinobi's poison. Now that Tsunade isn't in the village, their poison could be a huge problem for us," Utatane Koharu said.
"And that's not all. Tsunade has always been in charge of Konoha's Medical Ninja. With her gone, coordinating the village's Medical Ninja will be a problem too," Mitokado Homura added.
The high-ranking officials' remarks plunged the meeting room into silence. These were all problems that needed to be addressed. Nara Shikaku, however, was wondering how to suggest that Yamanaka Tohru take over Tsunade's position.
"Teacher Sarutobi, I think Yamanaka Tohru could take Tsunade's place." Orochimaru's voice broke the silence.
"Oh? Tell us your reasons, Orochimaru." Orochimaru's words made the Third Hokage's eyes brighten. Yamanaka Tohru really was a good choice.
"Teacher Sarutobi, first, Yamanaka Tohru is the person in Konoha whose Medical Ninjutsu comes closest to Tsunade's. Second, he's a member of the Yamanaka Clan, which has always been loyal to Konoha. The only question is whether he has enough experience to win everyone's support."
The Third Hokage nodded repeatedly as he listened to Orochimaru. Put that way, Yamanaka Tohru did seem well suited to the position.
"What does everyone think?" The Third Hokage asked for their opinions.
"The Uchiha Clan agrees!"
"The Hyuga Clan agrees!"
"The Sarutobi Clan agrees!"
"The Nara Clan agrees!"
"The Akimichi Clan agrees!"
"The Yamanaka Clan agrees!"
Aside from the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, none of the other clans had much interest in the position of medical team captain.
Among Konoha's major clans, few had any Medical Ninja worth mentioning. And now Yamanaka Tohru was regarded as a Medical Ninja on par with Tsunade. The Hokage had just nodded, too—all of it made it clear that Yamanaka Tohru's appointment as captain of the medical team was all but certain.
"Wait, I disagree!" Danzo's sudden objection darkened the expressions of the clan heads.
They had just agreed, and now Danzo was opposing them. It was an insult to all the clan heads.
Danzo was actually in a difficult position. In his eyes, Yamanaka Tohru was only a nine-year-old child. His Medical Ninjutsu was good, but there was no way a child should be put in charge of an entire team.
"Danzo, tell us why you object." The Third Hokage's expression was unpleasant, too. He had just given his approval, and all the clan heads had understood the unmistakable hint. How could his old comrade in arms, Danzo, not have understood?
"Hiruzen, Orochimaru just said it himself. Yamanaka Tohru doesn't have the experience or strength to win everyone's support!"
"Lord Danzo, I said the question was whether he could win everyone's support, not that he couldn't," Orochimaru said.
"Enough. Let's not bring up the question of experience again. The fact that Yamanaka Tohru saved Hatake Sakumo and has worked at Konoha Hospital since he was five is more than enough!" When the Third Hokage mentioned saving Hatake Sakumo, he paused deliberately for several seconds.
Danzo understood what the Third Hokage meant. The Third Hokage had never forgotten what happened with Hatake Sakumo! With the Third Hokage pressing him, Danzo could only nod and agree.
The heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans exchanged glances. They hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.
First Orochimaru had proposed it, then the Third Hokage had given his tacit approval, and finally all the clans had agreed. Even Danzo's objection had been overruled by the Third Hokage.
"Good. Since everyone agrees, Yamanaka Tohru will be the medical team captain. Next—"
"Wait, Teacher Sarutobi. Yamanaka Tohru is still a Genin. What do you think about that?" Just as the Third Hokage was about to move on to the next topic, Jiraiya interrupted him.
Jiraiya's goal was simple: to get a benefit for his grandstudent. Yamanaka Tohru had developed the Healing Talisman. The village couldn't make it public for certain reasons, but surely it couldn't fail to show its appreciation at all.
The Third Hokage glared at Jiraiya. Of course he knew Yamanaka Tohru was still a Genin. He had planned to promote him to Chunin after the meeting, but he hadn't expected Jiraiya to bring it up in front of everyone.
"Yamanaka Tohru has indeed made a great contribution to the village. Hiruzen, why not promote him to Chunin?" Utatane Koharu knew what the Third Hokage had planned, so she simply said it aloud.
This time, even Danzo had no grounds to object. Yamanaka Tohru's contribution in developing the Healing Talisman was immense; he was more than qualified to be a mere Chunin.
The heads of the major clans didn't know that Yamanaka Tohru had developed the medical talisman, but seeing that the village's high-ranking officials all approved, they certainly weren't going to stand up and oppose it.
After that, the meeting room's discussion focused on the specific arrangements for the coming war. Following the meeting, Konoha made all the necessary preparations to face the Sand Shinobi.
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