Preparing to Deploy Troops

Qingcheng looked around the office. Everyone had arrived and had been discussing for quite some time. Only Shikamaru Nara and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans hadn't spoken; the rest of the clans had all said something.

The Aburame Clan stated they would obey the Fifth Hokage's orders, as would the Inuzuka Clan. The Kurama Clan and Hyuga Clan clans were similar, indicating they were ready to engage in direct combat. Several other medium-sized ninja clans were also involved, with some agreeing to fight and others disagreeing.

The situation isn't exactly chaotic, but everyone has their own reasons. Take Hizashi Hyuga, for example. Why is he insisting on fighting? It's because he's been tricked by the Third Hokage. What if the Hidden Mist Village pulls another stunt like the Raikage's? Who in the Hidden Cloud Village Hyuga Clan will be the scapegoat?

Those ninja clans that didn't call for war were also afraid that it would eventually escalate into Ninja World War. They feared that if other ninja villages saw Konoha sending Jonin to fight, the Land of Fire's defenses would weaken, and they wouldn't let go of this opportunity to take advantage of the chaos.

Even Kakashi remained silent for a moment, simply waiting quietly for Qingcheng to say something, wanting to hear the Fifth Hokage's opinion.

Qingcheng, observing the various thoughts on everyone's mind, spoke directly, "The Hidden Mist Village has mobilized in large numbers, advancing towards the Land of Fire's coastline. They are definitely here to invade the Land of Fire. As for their current invasion, I don't care what their purpose is, but their ultimate fate can be summed up in one word: death."

All the Konoha High Command, along with the department heads and Elite Jonin, were shocked upon hearing this and exclaimed, "Fifth Hokage, is Konoha preparing for war?"

Mitokado Homura looked at Qingcheng's serious face, which was filled with anxiety, and said with great concern, "Fifth Hokage, if Konoha is preparing for war, then the other ninja villages will inevitably prepare to take action as well. I think the previous peace treaty will soon be torn up."

Upon hearing this, Qingcheng laughed heartily, then looked up and scanned the Konoha leadership before shouting, "What else can we do if we don't fight? Let those Hidden Mist Village ninjas run into the Land of Land of Fire and loot and burn; they might even attack Konoha!"

Qingcheng glanced at everyone's reactions and, seeing that they were all deep in thought, quickly said, "If that's the case, it would be much more costly for Qingcheng to send Konoha to eliminate them. At least intercepting them at sea would be more advantageous for our operation. If they refuse to surrender, then what awaits them is Konoha's thunderous wrath and the execution of their swords and axes."

Kakashi frowned upon hearing this, pondering for a moment before nodding and saying seriously, "Fifth Hokage, I have something else to say. What should we do if other ninja villages attack Konoha at this time? Those Mountain Barbarians and the bandits of Hidden Stone Village won't let this opportunity pass."

Kakashi then pointed to Hidden Grass Village, Hidden Waterfall Village, and Hidden Star Village, and said seriously, "These small villages are definitely looking around, especially Hidden Grass Village. They're like a fence-sitter, always acting like Konoha's little brother, but secretly guiding other ninja villages, and even helping Hidden Cloud Village invade our Konoha."

Qingcheng looked at this Hidden Grass Village. Back in the Second Great Ninja War, it was almost wiped out by other ninja villages because it was opportunistic and sold information to other villages. But most of that information was false and inaccurate.

He then guided other ninja villages, helping them invade Konoha, but ended up leading them astray, directly to the Land of Fire, where they engaged in a major battle with the Land of Fire's Guardian Ninja.

Then, Hidden Grass Village was branded as unreliable and a fence-sitter by the other ninja villages. It wandered the Shinobi World, guiding others, selling false information, and earning war funds. This eventually angered many, and it nearly faced annihilation by a coalition of ninja villages. However, due to disagreements over the spoils, the other villages stopped fighting, and Hidden Grass Village was ultimately saved.

In the end, Hidden Grass Village realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the best; although he had suffered greatly from false information, he hadn't retaliated against them, so they began to consider themselves Konoha's underlings.

Qingcheng also felt that this opportunist was unreliable, so he directly said, "Let's rob them all first! Then warn them to behave themselves. Also, there are two Uzumaki Clan from the Land of Grass, bring them to Konoha."

Kakashi was taken aback by these words, then said awkwardly, "If we just rob them, wouldn't that damage Konoha's reputation? After all, they still consider themselves Konoha's underlings."

Qingcheng looked at Kakashi's conflicted expression and laughed heartily, then said seriously, "We can send the Police Forces over and rob all that stuff to our Konoha. The Land of Grass may not be very wealthy, but even a mosquito's leg is still meat."

Qingcheng then looked at Shouhon Yihan and said seriously, "The same old rules apply. You will use the name of the Root Organization, act as a wandering ninja, and then attack Hidden Grass Village to bring all their Ninjutsu to Konoha."

Qingcheng nodded again, and said with a serious expression, "I remember there are two more advanced Ninjutsu masters in the Land of Grass. Let's take them all! Leaving them there is a waste."

Upon hearing this, Shouhon Yihan immediately nodded and said with a serious expression, "Your subordinate understands, Fifth Hokage. I will definitely bring back all those Uzumaki Clan and their advanced Ninjutsu to Konoha."

Qingcheng then said to Kakashi, "Konoha is temporarily entering a state of war. Gather all the Konoha. I plan to personally lead the team. With just one thousand Konoha Jonin, plus the border ninjas from the Land of Fire, I can wipe out all these Kirigakure Ninjas."

Kakashi, seeing that the Fifth Hokage had made his decision, nodded and said seriously, "Understood, Fifth Hokage- sama. I will go and gather the ninjas immediately."

When Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu heard that Qingcheng was preparing to personally lead the team, their faces were filled with shock. They then reminded him, "Fifth Hokage, as Hokage, you should be overseeing things from the rear. Isn't it inappropriate for you to personally lead the team? If anything happens to you, our Konoha will be in chaos."

Qingcheng shook his head and said with a smile, "Unless something unexpected happens, it's time for me to show the Shinobi World the strength of Konoha. Now that someone has finally delivered themselves to my doorstep, I can't be happier." Qingcheng continued with a smile, "In at most two months, those Hidden Mist Village ninjas will obediently surrender."