News that Hatake Sakumo's reconnaissance squad had been ambushed by a hundred Sunagakure shinobi in the Land of Rivers, leaving one member gravely wounded and another missing, landed on Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk early that morning.
Along with the report came word that Sunagakure had declared war on Konoha. The reason given was that the Third Kazekage of the Land of Wind had gone missing, and after investigating, Sunagakure had concluded that the culprit was Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
By the time the news reached Konoha, it was already the day after Hatake Sakumo's squad had been attacked. Hiruzen immediately dispatched a team to the Land of Rivers to rescue Sakumo and the others. At the same time, he summoned all the senior and mid-ranking personnel currently in the village and convened a Jonin meeting.
That afternoon, in the Hokage Building's conference room.
Hiruzen had one of his subordinates read out the news received that morning. The shinobi's voice echoed through the conference room, and as more details came to light, the faces of those gathered grew increasingly grim.
"Sunagakure is deliberately provoking us!"
"Hiruzen, we absolutely can't sit back and let this happen. We need to crush Sunagakure before things get any worse."
After the shinobi finished reading the report, Shimura Danzō slammed a hand on the table, stood up, and spoke with fervor. His show of passion was all an act. Though Hiruzen had recently curtailed some of his authority, Danzō, who controlled Root, had little trouble obtaining information like this.
After all, Sunagakure's declaration of war had already been announced throughout the Shinobi World. The only difference was how quickly the news traveled. His Root shinobi were simply more efficient than the Third Hokage's direct subordinates.
Danzō had already settled on a plan. He was