A little over ten minutes later.
Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the Senju Clan Compound in casual clothes.
Moonlight Ruyun studied the Third Hokage, who was still in his prime. This was his first time meeting the Hokage.
He had never expected it to happen under circumstances like these.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Moonlight Ruyun, puzzled.
Why had they asked me to come at this hour?
Had Lady Mito's Evil Sensing detected something wrong with Moonlight Ruyun?
"Hiruzen, let Ruyun explain."
A short while later.
That suspicion vanished, only to be replaced by even greater confusion.
Kumogakure and Kirigakure were joining forces to launch a surprise attack on Uzushio Village?
Was this a joke?
How could something this major be happening without me, the Hokage, knowing about it?
If Danzo had told him this, he would have suspected that Danzo was trying to wrangle more funding again.
But the person before him was Mito Uzumaki...
He had no choice but to take it seriously.
Silence filled the room. Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows drew together. "Do you have any evidence?"
Moonlight Ruyun shook his head. If there were evidence, it would hardly be a surprise attack.
The shinobi world had always favored attacking without declaring war.
Tsunade slapped the table in frustration.
"This is all my fault. If only I'd brought one back a few days ago. Just one head from a Kumogakure or Kirigakure ANBU would have been enough."
If this was true, the enemy's ANBU would definitely know something about it.
With the Yamanaka Clan's abilities, they could easily extract that information from the brain.
Then they would know at once whether it was true.
Mito Uzumaki patted Tsunade on the back.
She reassured her, "It's not your fault. The situation was urgent. Getting yourself and your teammates out alive was already enough.
"Besides, if this is true and you had brought back an enemy's head, Kumogakure and Kirigakure know what the Yamanaka Clan can do. Afraid their plans had been exposed, they would surely have attacked ahead of schedule..."
"You mean...?"
Mito Uzumaki nodded. "Ruyun told me this while you were away just now. No news is the best news. At least it means Uzushio Village should still be safe for the moment."
Tsunade looked at her student with a new gleam in her eyes, and a weight quietly lifted from her heart.
Fortunately, although she had been curious about Kirigakure's presence deep within the Land of Lightning, more than half her team had already been killed or wounded, so she had prioritized getting the survivors out.
Thankfully, she had not made a terrible mistake.
If her actions had indirectly determined whether Uzushio Village survived...
She could not imagine how she would face Mito Uzumaki afterward.
"Hiruzen, have the border outposts reported anything unusual these past few days?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
Thanks to Uzushio Village, Konoha had never needed to worry about Kirigakure landing on the Land of Fire's coastline in the thirty years since the First founded the village.
Over time, the outposts along the coastal border had grown considerably more lax.
Most of those near Uzushio Village had been abandoned.
They had not sent back any valuable intelligence in a long time.
Mito Uzumaki understood and stopped trying to find evidence to corroborate the claim.
The words Ruyun had just spoken surfaced in her mind:
We can't gamble on this.
"Hiruzen, you're the Hokage. Tell me what you think."
Meeting Mito Uzumaki's gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated only briefly before making up his mind.
Uzushio Village was Konoha's closest ally, without exception.
Had the Uzumaki Clan not chosen to remain outside Konoha when it was founded, they would have been one of its great clans, second only to the Senju and Uchiha.
Not to mention Mito Uzumaki herself.
The First Hokage's widow, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
And there was the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki.
With all those factors combined...
He said solemnly, "We must send help!"
Moonlight Ruyun silently nodded.
At least Hiruzen Sarutobi still seemed willing to shoulder his responsibilities at this point.
If he remained indecisive even knowing Uzushio Village might be in danger, Ruyun really would have been out of options.
Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively took out his pipe, then glanced at Mito Uzumaki and Moonlight Ruyun.
With a light cough, he abandoned the idea of lighting it.
He continued, "The question is, how many people should we send?"
That question troubled him.
Neither too many nor too few would do.
If Uzushio Village really was under attack, sending too few people certainly would not work.
But if he sent too many, there was another issue to consider.
A large force would be hard to conceal, and the other hidden villages' spies were not blind.
If Uzushio Village was not under attack, and Konoha sent troops toward the border...
The move might backfire, striking the other hidden villages' already frayed nerves and triggering a war ahead of time.
Mito Uzumaki gave Hiruzen Sarutobi an approving look, then gently shook her head.
"Hiruzen, we don't need many people. I alone will be enough."
"What?" ×3
Tsunade cried out in alarm.
Something stirred in Moonlight Ruyun's mind.
What, the ancestor with barely any lifespan left was heading out with a Supreme Dao Emperor Weapon?
Mito Uzumaki, supporting Uzushio Village alone?
It might just work.
She could freely draw on nine-tails chakra and combine it with the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu.
Aside from Madara Uchiha, who was hiding who knew where, Ruyun genuinely could not think of anyone in the current shinobi world who could claim absolute certainty of defeating Mito.
Hiruzen Sarutobi paled and sprang to his feet.
He flatly refused. "No, absolutely not! It's too dangerous!"
He knew Mito Uzumaki was powerful.
But facing the combined forces of Kumogakure and Kirigakure alone was far too risky.
If anything happened to the Nine-Tails...
Tsunade nodded repeatedly. "Grandma, it really is too dangerous."
"Don't worry about me. Hiruzen, you must have realized it too. No hidden village can completely conceal a large-scale troop movement. In other words, there won't be too many enemies."
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
Objectively speaking, sending Mito Uzumaki alone was a suitable choice.
She was strong enough, and a lone person could easily remain concealed.
If their suspicions proved false and it turned out to be a false alarm, it would not have much impact on Konoha.
But the same concern remained: nothing could happen to the Nine-Tails.
In fact... even if Uzushio Village really was destroyed, he could accept that.
The Nine-Tails had to remain safely in Konoha!
"Lady Mito, absolutely not."
"Hiruzen, my mind is made up. There's no need to say anything more. Don't worry. I'll come back alive."
Mito Uzumaki's tone was resolute. She loved the village Hashirama had founded, but she loved her homeland too.
The gentleness faded entirely from her face, and a sharp, fighting spirit emerged in her expression.
It had been so long since she had fought that perhaps the shinobi world had forgotten.
During the Warring States Period, she had been the strongest princess in the Uzumaki Clan's history, earning respect through her own strength,
not through the title of "Hashirama's wife."
Hiruzen Sarutobi paced back and forth across the room, his brows tightly furrowed.
He acknowledged Mito Uzumaki's strength, but she was old now. Intense combat would continually drain her life force.
Even if she returned alive, could she hold on until Kushina reached adulthood before transferring the Nine-Tails?
At that thought, he insisted, "Lady Mito, as Hokage, I beg you to take at least one squad with you."
Tsunade hugged Mito's arm, tears welling in her eyes. "That's right, Grandma. Let me go with you."
Mito Uzumaki looked at her fondly, hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.
Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief.
He pressed the advantage. "Tsunade, go notify Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo. Tell them there's an urgent mission. Meet at the village gate in half an hour!"
Before you continue