Tsunade would not be as impulsive as Jiraiya. Even if the base contained secrets important to the village, they had to be able to obtain them first. Otherwise, they could end up getting themselves killed at any moment.
"Very good."
Like Jiraiya, the Third Hokage offered no explanation. He merely smiled, nodded, and looked toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru frowned, glanced at Tsunade and Jiraiya, and said thoughtfully, "I share Tsunade's view. If the enemy is too powerful, we should seek help. We cannot take too great a risk."
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru all leaned toward taking action. Since the base contained secrets important to the village, why not act?
The Five Great Shinobi Villages appeared peaceful on the surface, but even allies engaged in plenty of secret conflicts. Ninja died every day. Assassinations and thefts of enemy secrets happened repeatedly and could not be stopped, so long as things did not spiral out of control.
"Mm~~~" The Third Hokage nodded again and looked at Hikaru, the last one.
It was not only the Third Hokage. Even Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya looked over, eager to know what Hikaru would do in that situation.
Hikaru raised his head and met the Third Hokage's gaze directly. His expression did not fluctuate in the slightest as he said calmly, "I would record the base's coordinates, return to the village to report in, and submit this intelligence."
Hikaru's answer made Orochimaru's already furrowed brow crease even deeper. Tsunade was quite surprised; in her impression, Hikaru was not someone who feared death. Jiraiya was even more direct, shaking his head as he said in disappointment:
"Why wait until returning to the village to report it? Wouldn't that mean letting the opportunity slip through our fingers?"
"Ha ha ha."
The Third Hokage laughed heartily. A trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes as he looked at Hikaru, though he was also curious how Hikaru would answer Jiraiya's question.
Hikaru glanced at Jiraiya and answered unhurriedly, "Because I was carrying out an ordered mission."
He placed particular emphasis on the words "ordered mission."
"Since it is an ordered mission, we must eliminate every factor that could cause it to fail, including the base Hokage Lord mentioned. Recording the coordinates, returning to the village, and reporting it is the most reasonable course of action."
"If a ninja cannot even obey orders and likes to act recklessly, would the village still dare entrust important missions to him?"
"..."
Jiraiya's face immediately flushed red. Hikaru's final remark was clearly saying that Jiraiya's approach amounted to recklessness!
Tsunade and Orochimaru were astonished. They had not expected Hikaru to have considered far more than they had, even thinking things through to this extent.
Ninja were cultivated by the village at the cost of countless resources. If they could not even follow orders, would the village still send them on important missions?
Moreover, rashly attacking an unknown enemy base could lead them straight into an enemy ambush. When that happened, the entire force might be wiped out.
The village trained ninja not to send them to their deaths.
"Ha ha ha... Well said."
Hikaru had not disappointed the Third Hokage. The main reason he had asked was to see what choices the four would make in such a situation.
In the end, only Hikaru had considered everything most thoroughly. Orochimaru and Tsunade had performed fairly well, but Jiraiya... he had simply been acting recklessly.
Before you continue