"You're the frontline commander. Don't you know what's happening right now?!"
Danzo had always been known for his grim composure, but Guo Wang couldn't hold back his fury and let loose a tirade. The Konoha Jonin in the command post could only lower their heads and endure his spittle. This whole affair was simply too humiliating to let get out.
Since Jiraiya had been injured, Namikaze Minato had led the entire front in the Land of Lightning. And now, at a time like this, he had disappeared.
Anyone with half a brain could guess why: love.
But even Shikaku Nara and Minato's other close friends couldn't help but cover their faces when they heard the news after arriving at the battlefield.
No matter how much you missed your wife, you couldn't abandon the frontline troops and run off at such a critical moment. And Kushina, too—if she hadn't run away, Minato wouldn't have lost his senses and committed such a grave offense.
"Strip Namikaze Minato of all his duties. When he returns, send him straight to Konoha High-Security Prison, along with the Jinchuriki. I'll have them serve their sentence as husband and wife."
Imitating Danzo's usual temperament, Guo Wang handed down a punishment that made the Jonin present twitch their brows.
"Lord Danzo, Namikaze Minato has committed a grave offense, but we are in the middle of a war. He's an indispensable Wind Style expert when it comes to dealing with the Third Raikage. Could you let him redeem himself through service?"
"That's right. It would also spare our fellow Konoha shinobi more casualties."
"The Jinchuriki may have made a mistake, but Kumogakure has already deployed the AB Duo. Her coming to the front lines doesn't count as a violation, either."
Jiraiya had always commanded the front in the Land of Lightning, and it was largely made up of the Hokage's direct subordinates. Hearing such a severe punishment, they all spoke up, hoping Danzo would show mercy.
"Hmph. If Namikaze Minato still had the Will of Fire in him, he wouldn't have abandoned his comrades on the front lines to go indulge a girl's whim. Like master, like student!"
At Guo Wang's merciless words, Jiraiya, who had been about to speak, fell silent.
During the Second Shinobi World War, at the height of the fighting, he had left the village for three years to care for three children from the Land of Rain. From a human perspective, that had been a noble thing to do, but from the village's perspective, it wasn't so admirable.
"Lord Danzo, the priority now is to keep Kumogakure from noticing anything amiss. Otherwise, Minato and the Jinchuriki could be in serious danger."
Shikaku Nara was the only one thinking clearly. He was just as unhappy that Minato had dropped everything to go after his wife, but remembering the Third's instructions before he left, he swallowed his pride and tried to reason with Danzo indirectly.
"Then let's hear what we know about the enemy."
Guo Wang sat down and turned his gaze toward Jiraiya, whose face was pale and whose body looked weak and exhausted. The man might be unreliable, but Sage Mode was a powerful art that only the First had mastered.
Danzo had once fought the Third Raikage alongside him. He knew that entering that state multiplied strength, Chakra, stamina, speed, and reflexes more than tenfold. It transformed the least impressive of the Sannin into an all-around shinobi who could nearly match Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"We don't have much intelligence. Right now, the old Raikage is holding the battlefield alone, steadily advancing with his Shadow Guard, while the AB Duo keeps harassing our supply lines. We could hold out when Minato was here. But after I was badly wounded, he had to go to the front and hold off the Raikage himself. Things have become much more difficult."
In truth, if Choza Akimichi's supply convoy hadn't set out early and brought in enough resources, Kumogakure might already have pushed the front lines of the two countries into the Land of Fire.
"Our bottom line is to keep the front in the Land of Hot Water. Not a single spark of war must reach the territory of the Land of Fire. That is the Feudal Lord's highest order."
Guo Wang raised his right hand to touch the cross-shaped scar on his chin, then cast a cold look at Jiraiya, who had failed to do his job.
In conflicts between great nations, the ones who suffered most were always the small countries caught between them.
The Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost lay between the territories of the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. The latter had always been a vassal of the Land of Lightning, while the former was friendly with the Land of Water. At the start of the war, to keep the fighting off his own territory, Danzo had swiftly sent troops to occupy the Land of Hot Water, pushing the front against Kumogakure into that country.
Of course, fighting among the common folk would never affect those at the top.
Danzo had sent the Feudal Lord of the Land of Hot Water to the Land of Water with great "courtesy." Faced with the infamous Darkness of the Shinobi, the Feudal Lord could only seek political asylum and flee to another country, no matter how much it pained him.
"The AB Duo are troublesome, but not impossible to handle. The main priority now is to stop the Raikage's advance on the main battlefield."
Before coming to the battlefield, Shikaku Nara had committed all the intelligence to memory. He knew that no matter how well they handled the side issues, if they didn't cut off the main threat, the war would still end in disaster.
"Lord Danzo, according to the Intelligence Department, Iwagakure has assembled thirty thousand shinobi along its borders with the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain. The Third Tsuchikage is leading them in person."
A blonde woman wearing a white mask suddenly spoke, delivering shocking news to Konoha's Jonin.
"Is the intelligence reliable? If so, we'll have to change our strategy."
Shikaku Nara looked grave as he rose to face Danzo. Even Konoha could muster only ten thousand troops at this point. Ōnoki personally leading an army of thirty thousand from Iwagakure was enough to rival the combined forces of the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
"The one who sent the message is my strongest spy. You, who personally devised the Battle of Kikyo Pass, must have heard of her."
"The Wandering Miko! If that esteemed lady provided the information, it's definitely genuine. We need to move this battle to Iwagakure's front."
In just a few breaths, Konoha's Talented Strategist had already devised the best strategy for the current international situation.
"The Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Rain all border our territory and Iwagakure's. That makes it clear the ceasefire agreement Ōnoki proposed a while ago was mainly a test of our strength. He also wanted to reignite the war between Konoha and Kumogakure, which had been quiet for some time. Iwagakure has already seized most of the valuable territory in the Land of Wind, yet that ambitious old man still isn't satisfied. He's waiting for another great nation to show a weakness."
Guo Wang rose, his expression especially cold.
"Konoha has me, Hiruzen, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and that criminal, Namikaze Minato. Even with only a thousand shinobi, Ōnoki wouldn't dare start an all-out war with us. He's always had just one target."
"The Land of Lightning. If we take out the Raikage, the inexperienced AB Duo won't stand a chance against the cunning Tsuchikage."
Shikaku Nara's eyes gleamed as he laid out his plan.
"We'll make the Raikage back down. We'll show him that opposing Konoha means certain death. Then he'll abandon the Land of Hot Water and push toward the Land of Fields, where he'll clash with Iwagakure in the Land of Waterfalls—and the two sides will fight to the bitter end!"
Before you continue