In the private meeting room, the Third Raikage sat at the head of the table, with the village's senior officials seated on either side.
Some matters were difficult to discuss in public, so they had come to this meeting room.
Seated at the head of the table, the Third Raikage remained silent for a long time.
The elders' speculation, the intelligence about Shimura Kizaru, and the scenes from that morning's clash all swirled through his mind.
He hated to admit it, but the elders' speculation was very likely correct.
The person who had attacked the village was most likely Konoha's prodigy, Shimura Kizaru!
Now a new question lay before the Third Raikage.
How should Kumogakure and he respond to an attack by Konoha and Shimura Kizaru?
Should they make the matter public and declare war on Konoha?
Or keep it quiet and wait to see how the situation developed?
Even the decisive and fearless Third Raikage couldn't make such a choice right away.
Fight? Just thinking about the enemy's uncanny mobility and devastating ninjutsu gave the Third Raikage a splitting headache.
He even suspected that if they went to war with the Land of Fire, that ninja—who was most likely Shimura Kizaru—could destroy his entire rear with no help at all.
By then, no matter how strong he was or how many troops he had, victory over Konoha would be impossible.
He could fly, and fly fast. He had long-range attacks, and he was incredibly powerful!
On the battlefield, a being like that was a superweapon!
But if he didn't fight—
The Third Raikage couldn't swallow his anger, and he had no way to explain himself to his subordinates and the villagers.
A weak Kage couldn't earn the support of his shinobi and villagers, especially in Kumogakure, where strength ruled and the strong were revered.
If he chose to swallow his anger and say nothing, his position would soon become precarious.
At that thought, the Third Raikage realized with dismay that he had no choice at all.
After a long silence, the Third Raikage made up his mind.
They had to fight!
But they needed to plan carefully how to do it.
"Don't make the report that the enemy is suspected to be a Konoha shinobi public for now," the Third Raikage said after a long silence.
At his words, quite a few of the senior officials present looked disappointed.
But though they were disappointed, no one dared to question him aloud.
"Step up intelligence gathering on Shimura Kizaru, and raise his bounty on the Black Market."
"How much should we raise it by?" the senior official in charge of these matters hurriedly asked.
After a brief hesitation, the Third Raikage said grimly, "Three hundred million!"
The figure drew a few quiet gasps from the room.
Such a high bounty—and such an enormous expense—was unprecedented for Kumogakure.
"Understood!" The official who had asked the question also froze for a moment before replying.
"Put the Jinchuriki program back on the agenda. Arrange candidates for me."
Another shocking decision came from the Third Raikage.
Ever since Kumogakure had obtained two Tailed Beasts, it had been trying to create successful Jinchuriki, hoping to deploy them on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, not one of the elite shinobi they had carefully selected and trained had succeeded.
At the darkest point, there had been more than a dozen Tailed Beast rampages in just three years.
In that same span of three years, five or six of the Third Raikage's clan members had died after becoming Jinchuriki, all killed in Tailed Beast rampages.
Those terrible losses were why the Third Raikage had temporarily halted the Jinchuriki program.
But now, facing the pressure from Kizaru and Konoha, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and restart the dangerous program.
"Also, pass the other Shinobi Villages the intelligence that Shimura Kizaru of Konoha infiltrated the Land of Lightning, attacked me, and fought me to a standstill."
"Boss, you can't!"
"Boss, please think this through!"
"Big brother."
"Shut up!" The Third Raikage roared, and the meeting room fell silent again.
"You bunch of idiots!" He cursed the people on either side of him, then let out a heavy sigh.
They couldn't even see through such a simple Strategy of Killing with Praise. How was he supposed to lead them to victory over Konoha?
"If Konoha really has produced another monster like Hashirama Senju, then let the other Shinobi Villages worry about him with us! We can't bear this pressure alone."
After the Third Raikage finished speaking, the others finally understood why their leader had given the order.
"Boss, should we spread the news throughout the entire Shinobi World?" one subordinate suggested, thinking himself clever.
The Third Raikage glared at the idiot as if he wanted to kill him. He felt like punching him.
Did the old man not deserve to save face?
They only needed to spread the news among the upper echelons of the Shinobi World, so everyone could discuss how to take down Shimura Kizaru.
If they spread it across the entire world, wouldn't they be telling everyone that the old man couldn't even handle a ten-year-old child?
Where would that leave the Third Raikage's face? What about Kumogakure's prestige?
A bunch of brutes, a bunch of fools! How was he supposed to win battles with them?
Two days later, after soaking in the hot springs in the Land of Hot Water and changing clothes, Kizaru's squad returned to Konoha.
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's worry finally eased when he saw the three return.
Relaxing, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, tea cup in hand, and listened to their report as he drank.
Pfft!
The tea he had just taken into his mouth sprayed out, and the cup in his hand shook so violently that tea spilled everywhere.
Ignoring the mess, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who was reporting on the mission, and asked in shock, "What did you say? Kizaru attacked Kumogakure, killed hundreds of shinobi, and badly wounded the Third Raikage?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke could only smile wryly and nod to his father. When he had first heard the news from Kizaru, he had been so shocked that he couldn't speak, and for a while he thought Kizaru was joking.
"Yes. After we drew out the Third Raikage, Kizaru attacked Kumogakure.
"He destroyed a large number of buildings and facilities, and killed Dodai, a rising star of Kumogakure with the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, along with hundreds of shinobi.
"Then, after leaving Kumogakure, he ambushed the Third Raikage as he rushed back and badly wounded him!"
With a slight tremble, Hiruzen Sarutobi set his tea cup back on the table and looked at his prized student, Shimura Kizaru, with a complicated expression.
Hmph! What a fuss!
Danzo, the Hokage Assistant, sat nearby listening to the report. He looked at his old friend with disdain while desperately pressing down on his trembling right leg.
I'm not surprised at all. I'm just excited!
Thinking that, Danzo pressed down even harder with his right hand.
"Will this provoke a war between the Land of Lightning and us?" Utatane Koharu, one of the two Advisors also listening in, asked with some concern.
Danzo whipped his head toward Utatane Koharu and glared at her. He said nothing, but his meaning was clear.
"Kizaru did an excellent job! I mean, we should prepare for Kumogakure's retaliation," Utatane Koharu hastily clarified.
Along with Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu served as a political go-between and fence-sitter in the Hokage's faction. She knew all too well that it was better to offend Hiruzen Sarutobi than to draw Danzo's attention.
Offend Hiruzen Sarutobi, and at worst she would lose her political career!
But if she offended Danzo, she would lose her life!