The Fourth Kazekage listened quietly to the other man's words. Having risen above the struggle for power to become Kazekage, Rasa was no fool as others imagined. On the contrary, he could keenly scent the stench of conspiracy.
"I'll remain vigilant regarding Ōnoki's movements. Next, we'll completely surround Kirigakure and make sure they cannot interfere with the plan."
With this meeting, all three villages began operating at full capacity. Dawn Hidden Village's target was Konoha in the south. As the greatest power in the shinobi world in the past, even though its strength had declined due to the Uchiha rebellion, once it bared its fangs, it was still a colossal beast.
Batches of shinobi could be seen rushing toward the border regions. With the enemy's direction of attack still uncertain, all they could do was prepare.
At that moment, a fierce argument was underway in the Hokage's office over one matter: how to rescue Jiraiya. It had been placed at the top of the agenda.
The Fourth Hokage could not possibly stand by and watch Jiraiya fall into a trap, so he strongly supported sending shinobi to rescue him.
Yet this perfectly reasonable proposal was blocked by the old guard. Even the Third Hokage, Jiraiya's own teacher, shook his head and refused.
Jiraiya's situation was different from Tsunade's back then. He was undoubtedly deep within enemy territory, and no one knew how many powerful enemies were holding him captive. A war was raging outside, and launching a rescue at such a time was far too risky. They might even gain nothing from it.
"Minato, you are the Hokage now. You must understand one thing: an individual cannot compare to the village. If we send out a rescue force and it is intercepted by the enemy, resulting in losses, it will