Hokage Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was sitting on a chair, with his hands crossed on the table, and an indescribable expression on his face.
There was helplessness, exhaustion, and a deep sense of powerlessness in that expression.
The sun shines in from the window and shines on his old face, making those deep wrinkles appear particularly clear in the light.
There were two documents spread out on the table in front of him, one from Iwagakure and one from Sunagakure. The contents were similar - declaration of war.
The object of the declaration of war is not Kumogakure, but Konoha.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table, once, once, and again, as if he was waiting for something.
The door was pushed open.
Utatane Koharu strode in, his face was ashen, and he was holding a piece of information in his hand until his knuckles turned white.
Mitokado Homura followed behind, looking equally ugly, but a little calmer than Koharu. Both of their footsteps were very heavy, making a thumping sound on the floor, as if they were venting something.
"Have you seen it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, his voice hoarse.
"I've seen it." Utatane Koharu slapped the information on the table, "Sunagakure, Iwagakure, thirteen thousand people."
Her voice was sharp and filled with irrepressible anger.
"Sunagakure." She gritted her teeth and said word by word.
"At Second Shinobi World War, if Kumogakure and Iwagakure hadn't intervened to prevent us from taking the next step, they Sunagakure would have been bulldozed by us Konoha. At that time, they knelt down and begged for mercy. Now, how dare they take action against us?"
The more she talked, the angrier she became, and the muscles on her well-maintained face were trembling slightly.
"And Iwagakure."
she continued.
"We were just beaten heavily by Kumogakure. We were massacred by that traitor Uchiha Shaoyu. Thousands of troops were buried in a foreign land. Five-Tails Jinchuriki died in battle. Ōnoki ran away in embarrassment. Instead of staying at home and licking their wounds at this time, they jumped out to start a war with us Konoha - and they weren't afraid of losing Five Great Shinobi Villages's status after the war?"
Mitokado Homura stood aside, saying nothing, but his expression was equally ugly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment after listening.
"Koharu." He said, "Sit down and talk."
Utatane Koharu glanced at him, took a deep breath, pulled up the chair and sat down. Mitokado Homura also sat down.
Three people are sitting in Hokage's office, just like they did decades ago.
At that time, they were young people, high-spirited and felt that they could overcome any difficulties.
Now they are all old, their hair is white, the wrinkles on their faces are deep, and the old wounds on their bodies hurt when it gets cloudy. But the difficulties will not become less because they are older, they will only become more and more difficult.
"The current situation." Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, his voice as calm as if he was reading a report.
"The combined forces of Iwagakure and Sunagakure are thirteen thousand strong, divided into two groups. All the way they attack from the direction of Land of Grass, led by the jounin of Iwagakure. The target is The defense line in the north of Konoha. The other line attacks from the direction of Land of Rain, led by the jounin of Sunagakure, and the target is the defense line in the west of Konoha."
He paused and looked at the two people in front of him.
"We need to divide our forces."
Utatane Koharu opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.
She knows what dividing the troops means. It means that Konoha's originally small troops will be split in half, which means that every line of defense will be weaker than usual, and it means that every battle will be more difficult than usual.
But she knew better that it was impossible to separate the troops. If the 13,000-strong coalition only defended one side, the other side would drive straight in and attack the core of Konoha.
"Where is Danzo?" Mitokado Homura suddenly said.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment.
"Seriously injured," he said.
"After being captured by Uchiha Shaoyu last time, the injuries on his body have not healed properly. Some time ago, he went to trouble Kakuzu and was beaten even worse. Now he is recuperating at the old location of Root, and he can't even get out of bed."
Mitokado Homura's brows furrowed even more tightly.
"Where is Jiraiya?"
"He is also recovering from his injuries." Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice became deeper. "Although he and Orochimaru won the last battle with Iwagakure, they were seriously injured. Jiraiya's left leg was injured by Shaoyu. It is still wrapped in a bandage and can only walk with a limp. He cannot go to the battlefield."
There was a moment of silence in the office.
Danzo was seriously injured, and Jiraiya was seriously injured. Of the two Kage Level combat powers, neither one was of use.
"What about you?" Utatane Koharu asked, "Are you going to take action yourself?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at her and smiled bitterly.
"I'm in charge Konoha and can't leave."
Forget it.
No one among the three of us wants to go to the battlefield.
But yes.
Konoha is now a frightened bird. Uchiha Clan has just moved away, Nine-Tails has been replaced, Danzo is under house arrest, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru are seriously injured.
The morale of the entire village was extremely low.
If Hokage also leaves the village and goes to the front line, if something happens, Konoha won't even have a backbone.
"Then that's the only way." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, with a helpless decision in his voice.
He stood up, walked to the map hanging on the wall, and drew two lines on the terrain of Konoha with his finger.
"Iwagakure battlefield, leave it to the three major ninja clans Minato and Ino–Shika–Cho. Minato's Flying Thunder God is suitable for fighting in open areas, and Ino–Shika–Cho's cooperation can deal with large-scale enemy forces. Let them lead three thousand people to guard the northern defense line."
His finger moved to another line.
"Sunagakure battlefield, give it to Orochimaru. Let him bring Tsunade."
Mitokado Homura's brows furrowed.
"Tsunade? Isn't she suffering from hemophobia?"
"Yes." Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"But she can detoxify. Chiyo That old woman's poison, only Tsunade can detoxify it in Shinobi World. Orochimaru is responsible for fighting it, and Tsunade is responsible for detoxifying it. If the two of them work together, they should be able to hold the Western Front."
He put down his hands, turned around, and looked at the two people in front of him.
"That's it."
Utatane Koharu opened her mouth to say something, but finally closed it. She knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was right, this was the only way at the moment.
Mitokado Homura was silent for a while, then asked, "Orochimaru... you tell him in person?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
"I'll go tell you."
Tsunade is not in Konoha.
She went to Tanzaku Town, which Orochimaru found after asking three places.
After her brother Nawaki died, she was reluctant to stay in the village.
Those familiar streets, familiar buildings, and familiar faces all reminded her that some things could never go back.
When Orochimaru found her, she was sitting in a pub with several empty wine bottles in front of her.
She is a little thinner than the last time we met, her face is pale, and her eyes have a faint blue tint.
Those eyes that were once as bright as stars are now a little cloudy, as if covered with a layer of fog.