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The next day, in the Elder Council chamber, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before the window, overlooking the panoramic view of Konoha.

Konoha was still licking its wounds from the Nine-Tails incident; many households were draped in mourning, and many ruined buildings were still undergoing repairs.

But on the whole, the villagers of Konoha lived in a peaceful environment, one that could be maintained for another dozen years if nothing unexpected happened.

It's just that they don't know that Konoha is about to enter another round of war...

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed with emotion.

"And they won't even realize it until this war is over," Nara Shikaku said from the side.

"War is for the sake of a better peace."

"It is our good fortune that the Third Hokage cares so deeply for the villagers of Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, offering no reply.

Caring for Konoha wasn't quite accurate; he hadn't been transmigrated for long, and he only held some feelings for Konoha from his past life, acting mostly for his own interests.

However, Nara Shikaku was not wrong; war was indeed for the sake of a better peace.

Although that was not the purpose behind Sarutobi Hiruzen starting this war, peace was merely a byproduct.

Yet, he was confident that through his own efforts, he could do better than any Hokage in history.

"How are the military preparations, Shikaku?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with a serious expression.

Nara Shikaku replied, "As you ordered, the ninjas have been dispatched in secret, staggered batches. Over half of the ninja army has already reached the front lines..."

"The rest are also on their way."

"By tomorrow, the majority of the army will have finished assembling."

"Elder Fugaku has also been stationed at the front for some time now..."

Nara Shikaku's ability was beyond doubt; he had organized the massive military preparations in an orderly fashion, even managing to deceive the eyes and ears of the Cloud Ninja.

"It is just that I fear we won't be able to keep it from the Cloud Ninja much longer."

"After all, it is such a large number of ninjas moving out."

Nara Shikaku indicated that the Cloud Ninja would soon discover Konoha's movements; it was impossible for a ninja army to press toward the border without them reacting at all.

"It matters not..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood this logic.

"Does the Cloud Ninja side have troops stationed there as well?"

Nara Shikaku nodded.

"That is correct... there is an army of about a thousand gathered there."

"Leading them are the Magnet Release ninja Toroi, as well as the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Nii Yugito..."

"They made no attempt to hide their intelligence from us."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sneered, knowing full well that the Fourth Raikage would not move out himself.

But deliberately pressing the Tailed Beast closer was meant to make Konoha nervous and force the Third Hokage to compromise.

"That brat, the Fourth Raikage."

"He just became Kage and doesn't understand the dangers of the world."

"This old man needs to teach him a proper lesson..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen indicated that the Fourth Raikage was still too young.

"The rest of the ninjas are to march as planned."

"I am departing immediately for the front lines."

"You are to follow behind and keep a constant watch on the movements of the other ninja villages."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want to be fighting on the front lines only to be stabbed in the back by someone else.

Nara Shikaku vaguely guessed what Sarutobi Hiruzen intended to do and nodded with a solemn expression.

In truth, this war for Konoha was quite a tightrope walk.

After all, their hard power was far inferior to what it once was, and a swift victory was the only viable strategy.

On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, A group of Cloud Ninja was also stationed there.

"Uncle Toroi,"

"Do you think we will end up fighting Konoha?"

The one who spoke was the Cloud Ninja's Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Nii Yugito.

At this time, Nii Yugito was still a young girl nearing adulthood, far from reaching the level of a perfect Jinchuriki she would later become.

However, seeing her shoulder-length, light-brown braided hair and her beautiful, calm expression, she already possessed the air of the proud and powerful perfect Jinchuriki she would eventually be.

Toroi was a Cloud Ninja who utilized Magnet Release; although his Kekkei Genkai was not as formidable as the Magnet Release of the various Kazekage, it was still unique in its own right.

He was an elite Jonin who had been famous for a long time and was capable of handling missions on his own.

Otherwise, he would not have been dispatched by the Fourth Raikage to garrison the border.

"I don't think so..."

Toroi was quite knowledgeable about the situation in the Ninja World.

"Every ninja village has just finished the Third Ninja War and hasn't fully recovered its vitality; they are unwilling to engage in war."

"Furthermore, the Third Hokage is a well-known pacifist in the Ninja World..."

"It is highly probable that he will take the initiative to send someone to sue for peace."

Nii Yugito felt a bit disappointed; she had never experienced war and truly wanted to fight on the battlefield for the Cloud Ninja.

In fact, this was her first time moving with the army, and the Fourth Raikage had the intention of training and cultivating her.

"Is that so..."

"Then sending me here is too boring."

"It's just to intimidate Konoha..."

Toroi smiled slightly, looking at Nii Yugito with a touch of paternal affection.

"War isn't necessarily a good thing. If we can obtain benefits from other villages without shedding blood and avoid fighting on the battlefield, the casualties among our comrades will be fewer."

"Besides, even if there were a war, they wouldn't send a young Jinchuriki like you to the front lines."

Nii Yugito was somewhat unconvinced, wrinkling her delicate nose.

"Uncle Toroi! I'm not small at all!"

"I can already communicate with Matatabi, and in a few more days, I'll be able to begin training to become a perfect Jinchuriki!"

Hearing this, Toroi nodded with satisfaction.

"That's good. In the future, the Cloud Ninja will still have to rely on young people like you."

"Report!"

Suddenly, a Cloud Ninja flashed over and reported, "An army has been discovered stationed at the border of the Land of Fire..."

"The number of troops exceeds eight hundred."

Upon hearing this, Toroi immediately frowned.

If it were a ninja force of under five hundred, it wouldn't matter; after all, if they hadn't reacted at all to the Cloud Ninja's troop buildup at the border, then the Third Hokage wouldn't be a pacifist, but a capitulationist.

Sending troops to maintain some level of defense was a normal procedure.

However, a number exceeding eight hundred was quite sensitive; it was enough to trigger a large-scale skirmish.

Moreover, with so many people, they couldn't have just gathered ninjas from the vicinity of the border;

they must have been a ninja force drawn from within Konoha!

"Keep a close eye on the Konoha ninjas!"

"Find out exactly how many there are and who is leading them!"

Toroi, being experienced, issued orders to maintain stability.

"Also..."

"Notify the Fourth Raikage as soon as possible about Konoha's unusual movements!"

The Fourth Raikage, through other espionage channels, received the intelligence almost at the same time as Toroi.

"Konoha is secretly mobilizing an army?"

"The number exceeds a thousand?"

For a moment, the Fourth Raikage couldn't quite gauge the attitude of that old man, the Third Hokage.

Could he really be planning to drag his frail, aging body into a hard confrontation with the vigorous Cloud Ninja?

And compared to Toroi, the Fourth Raikage's sources of intelligence were much richer, providing more details.

"Uchiha Fugaku is the commander?"

Looking at this prominent name, the Fourth Raikage immediately reached a conclusion.

The Third Hokage was merely bluffing and had no intention of truly starting a war.

Because the awkward situation of the Uchiha clan within Konoha was known to everyone, it was impossible for the Third Hokage to truly let the Uchiha clan lead the army.

Perhaps Uchiha Fugaku was just pushed out as a human shield, pretending to have a standoff with the Cloud Ninja before backing down.

Furthermore, from this point, the Fourth Raikage could tell—Konoha really had no one left!

Even the Uchiha clan had been sent out; under such circumstances, the probability of Konoha starting a war was almost negligible.

"However, the worst-case scenario cannot be ignored."

Although the Fourth Raikage was rough and burly, he was meticulous and cautious.

After all, whenever war was involved, there was no room for the slightest carelessness.

"Let that brat Killer B go to the front lines for a spin."

"It'll keep him from complaining every day that he's bored."

Is the new book title really that bad?

I'm crying, and it was so hard to get it approved.