Time Waits for No One, Enemies on All Sides

After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned solemn, as if he had made a momentous decision.

"Someone come here."

An Anbu Ninja knelt before Hiruzen Sarutobi, awaiting his orders.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi signed a confidential document, sealed it, and said to the Anbu Ninja in front of him:

"Deliver this order to Chunin Miya. Mission level: A."

"Yes."

Do more and ask less—this is the code of conduct for Anbu Ninja. After receiving the scroll, the Anbu Ninja quickly disappeared from Hiruzen Sarutobi's sight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt helpless about the orders he had signed.

Time waits for no one.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked out the window at the sky, where the clouds and moon were obscured by an invisible haze.

"Miya..."

Konoha is currently in a precarious situation, surrounded by wolves and besieged on all sides.

The Sunagakure has invaded the border of the Land of Fire, quickly established a forward command post, and unilaterally tore up the peace treaty.

War has broken out.

This is not a ninja game; it is a killing field for life.

But this wasn't what worried Hiruzen Sarutobi most; Sunagakure wasn't worth all the trouble.

On the front lines of the battle against Sunagakure, where his most prized disciple, Sannin, one of the Legendary Orochimaru, was stationed, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not too worried about defeat.

Furthermore, the Sunagakure has lost the Third Kazekage, which has significantly reduced the threat to Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried about the Kumogakure and the Iwagakure, which were constantly reinforcing their borders.

Since its establishment, Kumogakure has always possessed a powerful military force, and the Third Raikage's strength is among the best in the current Shinobi World.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was in charge of Iwagakure, the Iwagakure led by the Third Tsuchikage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Ōnoki of Both Scales, was always on guard and knew that Iwagakure had always wanted to launch a war against the Land of Fire, where Konoha was located, and invade and plunder it.

The treacherous ambitions of Kumogakure and Iwagakure are what truly worry Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Not to mention Kirigakure, which hasn't yet made a clear statement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already prepared for the worst.

In order to prepare for the worst-case scenario that Konoha might face in the future and increase its resilience, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to separate the Konoha Sannin and send them to various locations.

Having already Tsunade hemophobia, Hiruzen Sarutobi was assigned by Orochimaru to be stationed on the front lines of the war against Sunagakure.

Although Tsunade can no longer be a pillar in direct combat, her Medical Ninjutsu is the nemesis of the Sunagakure puppeteers who like to use poison, and can greatly reduce casualties on the front lines.

Jiraiya, the last of the Sannin, was assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi Iwagakure to the front lines where he was confronting Iwagakure.

Without the wolf cub that is Iwagakure, even if Tsunade couldn't fight head-on, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that with Orochimaru and Jiraiya joining forces, Sunagakure would soon be defeated.

But there are no "what ifs".

The Third Tsuchikage, based on his analysis of the situation and recognizing this point, continuously reinforced the front lines, putting immense pressure on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As long as he hasn't declared war on Konoha, this pressure will continue to weigh on Hiruzen Sarutobi, making it hard for him to breathe.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also took action regarding the Kumogakure, not only arranging for his close friend Shimura Danzō to negotiate with the Hidden Kumogakure, but also constantly guarding against any actions taken by the Kumogakure.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware that this was a terrible move of his.

Shimura Danzō's ambition was always to become Hokage Position and then unify the Shinobi World, achieving what even the First Hokage couldn't do.

Therefore, he would love for the war to escalate as much as possible; as for peace talks...

Shimura Danzō never imagined that everything he did was preparation for his own ascension to the Hokage.

As for Kirigakure, whose stance is still unclear, Hiruzen Sarutobi's approach is more preventative, with only patrols deployed along the border.