A Useful Pillow

"How is the surgery going?"

"Director Chosokabe is personally involved in the operation. We should have results soon."

In the conference room on the hospital's third floor, the advisors had all gathered: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, Shimura Danzō, and several others. They were all in their early thirties.

In the years since the Shinobi World War ended, these rising stars, who had once followed the Second into battle, had gradually transformed through round after round of political maneuvering from "swift blades" into the ones wielding them.

For this Third (Second) Hokage's leadership, who had seen firsthand what true power was, the young men, Hiruzen included, knew full well that they lacked Lord Hashirama's overwhelming strength. Even compared to Lord Tobirama, the Second, their achievements and prestige were insignificant...

This objective reality meant that the people holding key positions in Konoha's various departments were often veterans who had fought alongside the previous Hokage. The Sarutobi Cabinet struggled to make the village's administration obey its every command.

In fact, had Hiruzen not immediately led Konoha Ninja to victory against Kumogakure after taking the Hokage Position, it would have been hard to say whether his own faction could have smoothly taken over the responsibility of leading the village, in accordance with the Second's final wishes.

Several years had now passed since the war, yet this inverted power structure continued to seriously hamper the Third Hokage's policies.

Objectively speaking, the factions within the village did provide a measure of oversight over the central leadership. But the infighting they caused led to even worse waste of resources.

History had proved time and again that, so long as differences in individual human understanding could not be eliminated, forcing so-called absolute democracy and internal oversight was nothing more than a dead end that accelerated an organization's disintegration.

This was especially true in the Shinobi World, where wars broke out regularly. A lack of unity could bring about the horrific destruction of a village and the deaths of its people at any moment!

Although the Hokage had the village's greatest combat strength under his control, the Conservative Faction still obstructed the Sarutobi Cabinet at every turn when it came to administrative matters.

Thus, from the Advisory Council's perspective, the incident involving the Uchiha Ninja being attacked became even more complicated the moment Chosokabe Masayuki personally took charge of the treatment.

"Since old man Masayuki is handling it himself, I'd say that's good news."

Danzō, his right eye wrapped in bandages, clenched his fingers into a fist and gently tapped the table with his second knuckle.

"That way, whether or not the rescue of the Uchiha clan members succeeds, we stand to gain something."

"..."

Danzō's words sounded a little cryptic, but Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura clearly understood him right away.

...In short, it was a basic hedging strategy.

As they had discussed earlier, although the death of Uchiha clan members to Magnet Release ninjutsu could very well drive a wedge between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, the person overseeing the rescue was Chosokabe Masayuki, one of the Establishment Faction's leading figures. For the Sarutobi Cabinet, that meant they now had a convenient scapegoat.

Even if things took the worst possible turn and Konoha went to war with the Sand Ninja, Danzō could secretly steer public opinion and place the heavy blame on the "Conservative Party," which had always held them back. He could even use the war as an excuse to overhaul the departments controlled by the old guard!

If that really worked, they would be using outside pressure to bring about unity and reform within the village. In the long run, they could mobilize even more of their available manpower!

Of course...

Most importantly, compared to the Sand Ninja living in the desert, Danzō and the other advisors generally believed that Konoha held a clear advantage in strength at present. Even if all-out war broke out, they would still have the upper hand.

Without that confidence, the Advisory Council probably wouldn't have dared to claim that they had nothing to lose...

However, unlike the advisors, Hiruzen himself, as Hokage, still had his doubts. Their differing approaches to analyzing intelligence meant that he and his advisors did not see the situation from the same vantage point!

Having personally experienced the previous Shinobi World War, Sarutobi had sensed something ominous in the recent international developments. As a result, he had thought far more deeply about the prospect of war than the others.

"The Uchiha are part of the village, just as we are. Even if only out of respect for Kagami's sacrifice for the village, we should do everything we can to keep the Uchiha Clan from becoming the spark that ignites a war."

As he said this, Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Danzō. The latter immediately pressed a hand over his right eye beneath the bandages and fell silent.

Only then did the young Third Hokage shift his gaze to the other advisors and continue speaking at length.

"Besides, although I also hope we can put an end to the village's infighting as soon as possible, I'd still ask everyone to be cautious about the methods we choose."

At that moment, Sarutobi showed maturity and experience far beyond his years. "Nearly ten years have passed since we drafted a peace agreement with Kumogakure for the second time. Over the past two years, tensions and conflicts between the Five Great Shinobi Villages have clearly been on the rise. If the balance is broken, it's hard to say which way things will go."

"Do you mean... a third party could get involved?"

"The Rock Ninja? The Cloud Ninja?"

"I can't say for sure, but most of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, like Konoha, lost their respective Kage in the last war... After ten years of development, they've surely had enough time to put their affairs in order and turn their attention to the world beyond their villages."

"..."

For Konoha's new generation of leaders, the chain of events sparked by the Uchiha clan member's unexpected death could certainly be a blessing in disguise.

Even a limited foreign war could be the perfect way to divert internal strife, help them usher in a new era, and secure their positions once and for all.

But they shouldn't forget...

The Land of Fire's old rivals had suffered great losses in the last war, too.

They were nursing grievances that could not be reconciled, just like Konoha.

And they had also installed a new generation of hardline leaders after the war!

They, too, were eager to seize this "pillow" called war!

If they failed to account for that and recklessly started a fire, Konoha would be giving up its strategic advantage and making itself the target of every enemy.

And without Lord Hashirama's Wood Release, the Land of Fire would likely struggle to bear the burden of fighting four nations at once.

"We don't fear war, but this time, we can't be the ones to light the flames."

"I agree."

"I also agree with the Hokage's view."

Compared to Danzō's dark strategy, the Third Hokage's position was clearly more convincing.

The advisors quickly came to an agreement. Even Shimura Danzō himself did not insist on his own view.

Although he still resented Sarutobi for taking the Hokage Position he had once hoped to claim, he needed the Third Hokage's standing to secure his own position as Hokage's aide.

From that perspective, he and Sarutobi Hiruzen were genuine allies with shared interests: when one prospered, so did the other; when one suffered, so did the other. Naturally, he had to follow Hiruzen's lead.

The irony, however, was that the fate of the Uchiha clan member in the operating room did not depend on the decisions of powerful men.

Under the bright surgical lights, a young doctor, fresh out of training, was racing against death!