The Land of Fire.
Konoha.
Smack!
A sharp crack rang out, followed immediately by words cold enough to chill the bone. "Kirigakure! Amegakure! What are they trying to do?!"
Orochimaru slapped the intelligence report in his hand down onto the desk.
Through the gaps between his fingers, words like "Land of Rain," "migration," and "Land of Fire" could faintly be seen.
"This is probably a probe."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "Ever since we started this Shinobi World War by going to war with Kirigakure, Konoha has suffered far too many defeats. On top of that, the Land of Fire is now in chaos. Kirigakure is testing whether we still have the strength and confidence to hold on to the title of the number one ninja village."
"So we're just going to watch them act this arrogantly?"
The moment Kirigakure was mentioned, Tsunade got angry, and when she got angry, the waves across her chest rose and fell.
The crushing defeat she had suffered back then on Bluefish Island in the Land of Water was still vivid in her mind.
"My suggestion is that we don't act rashly."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe and forcibly moved his gaze away. "We don't have a sufficiently legitimate reason to stop the migration of civilians from the Land of Rain."
"So we just sit back and watch Kirigakure's strength increase?"
Shimura Danzō gave a cold snort. "Sarutobi, since you can tell this is the other side testing us, then you should understand what we'll face next if our stance isn't firm enough!"
"Sigh, Danzō, hear me out first."
Sarutobi Hiruzen blew out a ring of smoke. "What I mean is, while Konoha has no reason to send troops openly, if the Land of Rain wants to migrate, most of the people in