"The authenticity of this intelligence remains questionable."
"I agree. Investigate further!"
"It must be false information released by Kumogakure. I personally beat the Fourth Raikage Ay to death."
They unanimously agreed.
They would wait until the matter was clear before taking action.
When they had previously come under attack,
Danzo had insisted they deliberate carefully.
Plan before acting.
Think thrice before proceeding.
Since that was the case,
then Shikaku and the others would deliberate even more carefully.
Just then,
to everyone's surprise,
Danzo actually sent the two senior advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, to request reinforcements.
However, the two looked rather miserable.
Utatane Koharu's face was bruised and swollen.
Especially her cheeks on both sides.
They had swollen up.
She looked like a completely different person.
Mitokado Homura was not doing well either. He walked with his legs clamped together; the Raikage had landed a vicious kick to his groin earlier, and the pain still made his legs tremble.
"Y-you... why aren't you sending reinforcements?" The moment she entered, Utatane Koharu looked at Shikaku and demanded angrily.
They had already been fighting the Raikage and the others for some time.
The Sarutobi, Shimura, and the other clans
had suffered more than a third in casualties.
The losses were enormous.
They had left Konoha's higher-ups deeply distressed.
Seeing the two senior advisors in such a miserable state, Shikaku sneered.
He spoke with a solemn, earnest expression.
"Lady Koharu, you know as well that warfare requires careful deliberation. We have been preparing all along. Our scouting teams are slowly probing in the enemy's direction, and we are now waiting for the right opportunity. There is no need for concern. Once we find an opening, we will deal Kumogakure a fatal blow!"
Fortunately, the Fourth Raikage had only feigned an attack on