Intelligence Reaches Leaf Village, and the Third Hokage Panics Completely!

The scene shifted to Leaf Village.

Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.

Even the air seemed filled with lead, making it hard to breathe.

"Report—!"

An Anbu wearing a cat-face mask knelt on one knee, holding a top-secret intelligence scroll in both hands. His voice trembled as if he had soaked in an ice pit.

"Confirmed news has arrived from the border of the Land of Earth..."

"The entire Uchiha Clan, along with the Fourth Lord's family, has successfully arrived at Hidden Stone Village."

"Not only did the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, personally leave the village to receive them, he publicly announced..."

The Anbu suddenly swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. He actually did not dare continue reading.

Behind the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly raised his head.

His bloodshot old eyes locked onto the Anbu, his voice as hoarse as sawing wood.

"Read it!"

The Anbu shuddered and forced himself to continue in a loud voice.

"Ōnoki announced that he would grant the Uchiha Clan the largest commercial district in the center of the village as their clan territory, and fully open the ninjutsu archives to them."

"Their settlement allowance and operating funds... will have no upper limit."

"Furthermore, the Tsuchikage personally led the way, saying he would hold the highest-level welcoming feast for them and treat them as Hidden Stone's own brothers!"

"Clatter."

The crisp sound was especially piercing in the deathly silent office.

The beloved pipe Hiruzen Sarutobi had smoked for over a decade slipped from his hand, hit the hardwood floor, and broke in two.

Scalding ash scattered everywhere, yet the old man did not notice at all.

This hero of the ninja world, who had ruled Leaf Village for most of his life, seemed to have had all his spirit drained away in an instant.

He slumped weakly into his broad leather chair, visibly aging ten years. Even his back hunched over.

"Ōnoki... that old madman!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi clutched his stifled chest and gasped heavily.

No matter how much he had calculated, he had never expected the Uchiha Clan to actually dare flip the table and walk away.

Nor had he expected Ōnoki to truly dare defy the world and take in this group of hot potatoes as though they were priceless treasures!

"Bang!"

The solid wooden door was brutally kicked open.

Shimura Danzo stormed in, his right shoulder wrapped in thick bandages, with blood still seeping from half his body.

His old face was twisted by rage and agony, making him look like an evil ghost crawling out of hell.

"Hiruzen! What are you still waiting for?!"

The one remaining eye of Danzō was bloodshot as he roared madly at the top of his lungs.

"The Uchiha have defected! They've trampled Leaf Village's honor into the mud! We must declare war immediately!"

"Mobilize the Anbu, summon the great clans, and march into the Land of Earth! Take back the Nine-Tails and the Sharingan!"

"Shut your filthy mouth!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand onto the desk and sprang to his feet, pointing at Danzō's nose as he cursed.

"Did the Nine-Tails crush your brain under its claws?!"

"Declare war? With what?!"

The more Hiruzen Sarutobi cursed, the angrier he became. Spittle sprayed all over Danzō's old face.

"The village was just destroyed by that fox. A third of it is gone, over half our people are dead or wounded, and everything needs rebuilding."

"Now the Fourth Hokage is gone, and the entire Police Force has run off!"

"The few Root elites you had were also slaughtered clean by that Uchiha Yoru brat, like pigs!"

The old monkey slapped the desk, sending documents flying everywhere.

"What the hell are we supposed to use to go head-to-head with Hidden Stone now, huh?!"

Having his sore spot struck, Danzō's old face instantly flushed liver-red. He trembled with rage.

That one-sided slaughter at Leaf Village's gates was the greatest psychological shadow of his life.

That brat named Uchiha Yoru was simply an unreasonable monster!

"Then are we just supposed to watch this happen?"

Danzō gritted his teeth and furiously jabbed his cane into the floor, smashing out shallow pits one after another.

"That old fox Ōnoki now has the Nine-Tails and the Flying Raijin. With those red-eyed freaks backing him up, Leaf Village will be finished sooner or later!"

"This old man will never allow that to happen!"

"What good is it if you don't allow it?!"

Like a deflated balloon, Hiruzen Sarutobi collapsed back into his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

How could he not know how serious the consequences were?

Leaf Village was now like a weakened giant that had been drained of blood.

Forget attacking Hidden Stone—even Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Sand Village were likely stirring in the shadows, ready to come take a bite of flesh at any moment.

Trying to take them back by force was absolutely a dead end.

Since Ōnoki dared to receive them so openly, he had undoubtedly prepared himself to fight Leaf Village to the bitter end.

"Brute force won't work. We can only outwit them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paced back and forth through the spacious office, his brows locked into a dead knot.

"I understand Minato best. He has a gentle nature and values bonds and the village more than his own life."

"This time, he must have been bewitched by that brat Uchiha Yoru's smooth talk. He only made such a foolish mistake in a moment of impulsiveness."

A calculating gleam flashed through the old fox's eyes.

"As long as we reason with him and appeal to his emotions, there may still be room to bring him back."

Danzō let out a merciless sneer upon hearing that.

"Play the emotional card? Who exactly are you counting on to play it?"

"Jiraiya is still out there looking for his damned Child of Prophecy, and Tsunade is nowhere to be found!"

"Don't tell me this old bag of bones is going to the Land of Earth's border to wail in mourning himself?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly stopped and turned to stare fixedly at the portraits of past Hokage on the wall.

At last, his gaze settled on Minato's memorial portrait... no, on a photograph of Minato from before.

"There is still one most suitable candidate."

He turned toward the Anbu standing in the corner, who barely dared breathe. His voice was terrifyingly low.

"Go. Bring Kakashi to me."

The Anbu shuddered and immediately lowered his head to accept the order.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Watching the Anbu vanish from the spot, Hiruzen Sarutobi braced both hands against the desk and clenched his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

Looking out at Leaf Village's ruined streets, he issued his final secret order.

"Have Kakashi take the village's most elite Anbu squad and head immediately to the negotiation zone at the Land of Earth's border."

"Tell him this is an S-rank classified mission."

A ruthless, desperate glint flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

"No matter what it takes—play the emotional card, kneel and beg, even use his own life to fill the gap!"

"He must persuade Minato and Naruto to come back!"