Hatake Sakumo held his breath. It was not that he had never considered the possibility, but the word "war" still carried far too much weight.
Death, blood, and unavoidable sacrifices...
In war, there were no true winners.
Hatake Sakumo frowned, showing neither approval nor opposition.
He merely glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi's inscrutable expression and finally fell silent, reasoning that the more he said, the more mistakes he might make.
As a staunch member of the Hokage's faction, he stood or fell with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Whether they fought or not was entirely up to the Hokage.
Still, this war was most likely unavoidable.
Konoha and the Shadow Organization were developing so rapidly that they practically changed by the day.
Even if those within Konoha knew that the village had no intention of invading anyone, how could the other nations lower their guard and naively leave it unchecked, simply waiting for their doom?
Putting himself in their shoes, if Konoha were in the position of the Lands of Wind and Earth, it would not watch two neighboring nations grow stronger without making preparations, either. No one would entrust their own nation's survival to another nation's conscience.
Leaders that naive had all died out during the Warring States period, apart from Madara and Hashirama, those two reincarnated walking cheats who had relied entirely on their personal strength.
With conflicting interests and uneven development, war was almost inevitable.
If possible, Hatake Sakumo still hoped that war would come a little later-at least after Kakashi reached adulthood and could protect himself.
His wife and child were his weaknesses. Compared with his bachelor days, Hatake Sakumo's heart had softened somewhat. He worried about his family's safety, and he also worried about dying in battle-
Not that he feared death. He simply worried about Kakashi losing his