One in the afternoon.
Natsuki, Tsunade, Nawaki, and Yakushi Nonō entered the conference room in the Hokage Building.
The nearby jōnin greeted them one after another.
All four of them were now part of the Konoha High Command. No one could ignore their arrival.
Especially Natsuki.
Hokage Aide, Hokage Guard, Hokage Secretary, and leader of both the Anbu and Root.
His authority surpassed even Tsunade's.
Of course, that was mainly because Tsunade was too lazy to take a position.
After exchanging greetings, the four of them headed for the front row.
Soon, the entire conference room was filled with jōnin.
The door opened.
Orochimaru walked in.
The Jonin Meeting officially began.
"The Anbu just received some news."
Orochimaru got straight to the point. "Iwagakure has dispatched five hundred ninja to launch a surprise attack on Amegakure."
A stir immediately swept through the conference room.
They were no fools. They knew full well that Iwagakure's real target was Konoha.
In other words, the Third Ninja World War had finally reached Konoha.
But this was hardly unexpected.
The other four great ninja villages were already fighting. Konoha could not stay out of it forever.
Quite a few jōnin even considered this a good thing.
After all, war was the fastest way to earn merit.
"Natsuki, take one thousand ninja to the Land of Rain and support Amegakure."
Orochimaru raised a hand to quiet the commotion before speaking.
"Yes, Sensei."
Natsuki stood and answered at once.
"Nawaki, be ready."
Orochimaru continued, "If Iwagakure sends reinforcements or Sunagakure makes a move, take a force to support Natsuki immediately."
o
"Yes, Sensei!"
Nawaki spoke excitedly.
Although he did not know how many ninja he would lead, this meant he had become a battlefield commander.
To him, this was undoubtedly a major step forward, bringing him