Konoha.
Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's office.
A snake slowly crawled onto his desk.
At the sight of the snake, Hiruzen Sarutobi's grave expression eased slightly.
Three Advance Forces had already been dispatched, yet they had received no intelligence so far.
The snake's appearance at least meant that Orochimaru's unit had news—whether good or bad.
Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, the three elders, sat nearby.
When they saw the snake appear, they all turned their attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The snake opened its mouth and spat out a scroll slick with mucus.
Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no disgust as he opened the scroll and studied it intently.
His brows kept shifting—furrowing, relaxing, then furrowing again.
The contents sent his emotions on a roller coaster.
"What's Orochimaru's report, Hiruzen?" Danzō could not help asking.
Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated slightly before handing him the scroll.
Without hesitation, Danzō took the scroll and read it. His expression changed in much the same way Hiruzen Sarutobi's had.
After he finished reading it.
"By the looks of it, although our losses were severe, the Iwa-nin suffered even greater losses. To achieve such an exchange after being ambushed, Orochimaru did well." Leaning on his cane, Danzō spoke in a deep voice.
Danzō felt that this round—
They had not come out behind!
But Hiruzen Sarutobi was nowhere near as optimistic.
"No matter what the Iwa-nin's final losses are, we cannot afford this kind of attrition. Every Konoha Ninja is Konoha's precious treasure, the foundation of Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart ached.
He and Danzō were like the emotional and rational halves of one person. Only together had they been able to develop Konoha to its current state.
The outbreak of war had not only resolved Sunagakure's internal factional conflicts, but also concealed Konoha's internal contradictions.
"Still, the Iwa-nin