The Fourth Kazekage quietly listened to the other man's words. Having risen from a struggle for power to become Kazekage, Rasa was no fool as others imagined. On the contrary, he could keenly smell the stench of conspiracy.
"I will remain vigilant regarding Ōnoki. Next, we will completely surround Kirigakure and prevent them from affecting the plan."
With this meeting, all three villages began operating at full capacity. Dawn Hidden Village's target was Konoha in the south. Once the largest force in the Shinobi World, even though its strength had declined because of the Uchiha Clan's rebellion, it was still a colossal beast once it bared its fangs.
Batches of ninja could be seen rushing toward the border regions. With the enemy's direction of attack still uncertain, all they could do was take precautions.
At that moment, Hokage's Office was embroiled in a fierce argument over one matter: how to rescue Jiraiya, which had been placed at the top of the agenda.
The Fourth Hokage could not possibly watch Jiraiya fall into a trap, so he strongly supported sending ninja to rescue him.
Yet this perfectly reasonable proposal met obstruction from the old guard. Even the Third Hokage, Jiraiya's teacher, personally shook his head and refused.
Unlike the situation Tsunade had faced, Jiraiya was undoubtedly deep within enemy territory. No one knew how many powerful enemies were holding him. War was breaking out outside, and attempting a rescue now was too risky; they might not even gain anything from it.
"Minato Namikaze, you are the Hokage now. You must understand one thing: an individual cannot compare to the village. If we attempt a rescue and are intercepted by the enemy, resulting in losses to the rescue team, it will deal a severe blow to our morale."
The Third Hokage's words