"As long as it doesn't threaten the village's safety, I have no objection."
Utatane Koharu also stated her position.
As for supposedly endangering the village's safety... that was complete nonsense.
"Alright, then the matter of selling intelligence on Perfect Jinchūriki is settled. Next, we need to discuss whether to form alliances with other villages."
The Third Hokage decisively threw out the matter of alliances as well.
"According to Jingyi, both Iwagakure and Kumogakure are inclined and willing to form alliances with the village."
"That's a good thing."
Utatane Koharu's eyes lit up at the news.
"Isn't peaceful development Konoha's development policy?"
In the past, Konoha had begged others to form alliances, yet no one had wanted to. Now, other villages wanted to ally with Konoha. To F4, that was unquestionably excellent news.
Forming alliances with villages like Kumogakure and Iwagakure was the correct choice. As for Sunagakure... they were simply taking advantage.
At best, they counted as half an ally.
The Third Hokage glanced at the delighted Utatane Koharu and coughed.
"An alliance would naturally be a good thing. The question is, which village should we ally with?"
Kumogakure or Iwagakure.
That was important.
The moment the Third Hokage finished speaking, Utatane Koharu impatiently said:
"Hiruzen, have you gone senile? Is there even a need to hesitate over this? Of course we should choose Kumogakure. Kumogakure is far too distant from the Land of Fire, so it poses little threat of war to us. Iwagakure, on the other hand, has always been eyeing us like a tiger."
"After allying with Kumogakure, we can also use their strength to deter Iwagakure."
Between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, did they even need to choose?
Of course they should choose Kumogakure. They were powerful, wealthy, and far from the Land of Fire—perfectly suited for an