Southern Army, command headquarters ruins.
The smoke over the battlefield had yet to clear, and the air reeked of blood and burning. Danzo stood at the entrance to the collapsed headquarters, his lone eye bloodshot, his face filled with exhaustion and barely contained fury. His Southern Army, once hailed as one of Konoha's strongest military forces, now had fewer than four thousand shinobi fit to fight. The flank defenses had collapsed completely, Sunagakure held them down on the main battlefield, the reserves were exhausted, and reinforcements were nowhere in sight.
And now, someone stood before him, demanding that he make peace.
Hashirama Senju.
His reanimated body looked somewhat ethereal in the morning light, but his gaze remained firm. He wore his signature red lamellar armor, his long black hair stirring gently in the wind. His face was expressionless, bearing only a deep, almost weary calm.
"Danzo, call a truce."
Hashirama Senju's voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone present clearly.
"If this fighting continues, there will be nothing left of the Southern Army."
Danzo's lone eye narrowed slightly. His fingers clenched his cane until his knuckles turned white.
"Lord First, do you know what you're saying?"
"I do."
Hashirama Senju nodded.
"I'm saying that Konoha needs to preserve its strength. The Southern Army is part of Konoha. We cannot let it be wiped out here."
"But-"
"No buts."
Hashirama Senju interrupted him, his gaze piercing.
"I am the First Hokage. I have a responsibility to protect Konoha. And what Konoha needs most right now is time to recuperate, not endless war."
Danzo fell silent. He knew Hashirama Senju was telling the truth, but he could not accept it. He had invested too much in this war-troops, resources, political capital. If they stopped fighting now, not only would he gain nothing,