Even though Nawaki had kept the entire battle plan secret beforehand, no one in Konoha voiced any objections. On the contrary, praise filled the village.
A few months earlier, the Third Hokage had already announced that the Fourth Hokage would be chosen. Nawaki's accomplishments in this war were simply too great. Including the land just seized from the Land of Lightning, the Land of Fire had doubled in size! His merits were so immense that there was no higher title left to bestow upon him. Fortunately, the position of Hokage was chosen by popular election—or rather, passed on through abdication like Yao and Shun—instead of being inherited from father to son like the Daimyo's title. Otherwise, an internal struggle would surely have erupted. Nawaki's popularity in Konoha had now reached unprecedented heights. He had no rivals at all; even three-year-old children knew that he would be the future Fourth Hokage. Thus, no one objected to this seemingly overreaching act. Instead, they eagerly helped build momentum for him.
Though Konoha's higher-ups were delighted, they did not let it go to their heads. Along with the battle report, Nawaki had included intelligence that Kirigakure was preparing to launch a surprise attack on the southern part of the Land of Fire, warning headquarters to make preparations in advance. This intelligence drew the utmost attention from Konoha's leadership, greatly dampening the joy brought by their major victory.
In his secret letter, Nawaki thoroughly analyzed Konoha's current situation. Due to its territorial expansion, Konoha's front lines had stretched out and its forces had been scattered, leaving the once troop-rich village somewhat short-handed. Konoha headquarters' current force of 250,000 Shinobi Army troops definitely could not fully defend the Land of Fire's internal borders, which now spanned almost the entire continent from east to west. Therefore, Nawaki