The Council of Elders Meeting Begins!

Over the next few days, everything remained calm.

Those who belonged on the front lines stayed on the front lines. Everything merely seemed to proceed in an orderly fashion: the ninja at the front fought in earnest, while the higher-ups behind them stirred up trouble.

But a week after Sōkyū Hatake met with Uchiha Fugaku, an envelope appeared in the Hatake Clan Compound, placed right where Sōkyū Hatake had been drinking that day.

[That person will appear in the Forest of Death at three this afternoon.]

Yes, this was a letter Uchiha Fugaku had sent Sōkyū Hatake, concerning those matters that could not bear the light of day.

Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt.

Lightning reduced the letter in Sōkyū Hatake's hand to ashes.

Why had he chosen Uchiha Yenka?

Of course, it was not simply because he was the grandson of the Uchiha Clan's grand elder. More importantly, Uchiha Yenka was used to throwing his weight around the village.

With his grandfather, the Uchiha Clan's grand elder, backing him, he could be said to act without restraint in the village.

Sōkyū Hatake alone knew of at least ten incidents in which he had injured villagers, not to mention... when Sōkyū Hatake's father, Hatake Sakumo, had been attacked by rumors, this Uchiha Yenka had also jumped straight in to smear him.

For that reason alone, Sōkyū Hatake would not let Uchiha Yenka off.

Uchiha Fugaku clearly knew this too. He already despised this man who tarnished the Uchiha Clan's reputation, so he had simply offered up the unlucky Uchiha Yenka.

"Heh, Uchiha Yenka, this is my first step toward avenging that father I got for free." After charring the letter, Sōkyū Hatake lightly flicked his small hand, and the ashes scattered.

And why had he chosen today?

That afternoon happened to be the scheduled meeting of Konoha's Council of Elders. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other council members would be Sōkyū Hatake's best alibi!

"Little Sōkū, come with me." While Sōkyū Hatake was thinking, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already arrived at the entrance to the Hatake Clan Compound.

"Grandpa Hokage." Sōkyū Hatake walked straight over and greeted him, looking utterly harmless.

"Yes, let's go. All those council members will be there today." Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Sōkyū Hatake's little head and led him toward the Hokage Office.

By the time they arrived, the other council members were already there.

Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga Clan.

Shibi Aburame, head of the Aburame Clan.

Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara Clan.

Chōza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi Clan.

Arashi Inuzuka, head of the Inuzuka Clan.

Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka Clan.

Sarutobi Yuezan, head of the Sarutobi Clan.

Tuan Gou Shimura, head of the Shimura Clan.

And the Hokage Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Aside from Shimura Danzō, who was at the front, Tsunade, whose whereabouts were unknown, and the Uchiha Clan, whom no one had gone to notify at all, every member attending the Council of Elders Meeting was now present.

When these people saw Sōkyū Hatake walk in, all their gazes settled on him.

Up through last year, the one who had attended was the then-head of the Hatake Clan, Hatake Sakumo, known as the Konoha White Fang.

This time, however, Hatake Sakumo's younger son, Sōkyū Hatake, had come to the Council of Elders Meeting.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought him personally.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought him personally, that meant...

Tuan Gou Shimura's expression had already begun to sour.

After all, before Shimura Danzō left, he had specifically instructed him to win Sōkyū Hatake over and make him part of their own faction at the Council of Elders Meetings.

He had never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to beat him to it just like that. How was he supposed to explain this?

Of course, the greater reason was that the Shimura Clan's influence on the Council of Elders had taken a serious hit.

"Little Sōkū, right?" Chōza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi Clan, looked at Sōkyū Hatake with a broad grin.

Of all the council members present, Chōza Akimichi was the one with the least guile or designs.

In any case, among the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, Shikaku Nara only needed to make a decision, and the other two clans would agree to whatever the Nara Clan decided.

There was no helping it. Who could blame the Nara Clan for always having their wits about them?

"Uncle Chōza," Sōkyū Hatake replied directly. He did not use the word "elder," addressing him as "uncle" instead.

"Ah, good boy. Come, come, sit here. Uncle has candy for you." Chōza Akimichi chuckled, then took a lollipop out of the ninja pouch he carried and handed it to Sōkyū Hatake.

"Thank you." Sōkyū Hatake looked at Chōza Akimichi's ninja pouch. Only the Akimichi Clan would use ninja pouches to hold food. Didn't everyone else put ninja tools in them?

"Very good. It seems everyone is here, so I hereby declare this Council of Elders Meeting officially open. Shikaku, brief us on the situation first. Once Shikaku has finished, everyone is free to speak their mind about anything they wish to raise." Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Chōza Akimichi a meaningful look.

If he had not known Chōza Akimichi's personality, he really would have wondered whether he was deliberately trying to get close to Sōkyū Hatake.

"At present, Konoha is facing pressure from three villages. On the Kumogakure front, ninja led by Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzō are engaging the enemy. Minato Namikaze is leading the Iwagakure front, while Lord Orochimaru is leading the Sunagakure front. The main problem we currently face is insufficient fighting strength. On the Kumogakure front alone, although the Raikage has yet to appear on the battlefield, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, has already appeared. The Two-Tails jinchūriki, Yugito Nii, has yet to appear."

After finishing, Shikaku Nara sat straight back down.

A shortage of fighting strength...

Hiruzen Sarutobi had something of a headache. If it were only Kumogakure, then frankly, he would not have considered them much of a concern. But things were different now.

Three villages declaring war at once meant Konoha now faced the pressure of fighting on three fronts, raising questions of how to meet the enemy and supply provisions afterward.

"Koharu, how much more can Konoha provide in supplies?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Utatane Koharu, who was specifically responsible for logistics.

"With our current food reserves, we can manage for a year without any problem. But if the war expands in scale, we will have to consider raising the issue of stockpiling with the villagers ahead of time."

Utatane Koharu answered directly. Over the past few days, she had been gathering information on all their stockpiles. Excluding those tied to Konoha's last strategic reserves, there was not actually very much they could use.

After all, they were fighting on three fronts. Many things had to be prepared in advance.