“I know, but just because I don't overthink it, doesn't mean some people won't......”
“......Yes.” Hiruzen's mind flashed through several figures, understanding Jiraiya's meaning. He then recounted the events that had transpired, bit by bit.
Chapter 120: Konoha Meeting
Land of Hot Springs, Cloud Ninja Camp.
“Find me everything you can on a Konoha ninja named Sarutobi Asuma! I need all the information about him!”
The Fourth Raikage was filled with anger after his defeat.
He admitted that he and Killer Bee were unable to defeat Minato Namikaze, who possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After all, Minato Namikaze, with the Flying Thunder God Technique, firmly controlled the ability to attack and retreat.
His speed wasn't slow either; in fact, it was quite fast, but it was still traceable and couldn't surpass space-time ninjutsu.
Only by joining forces with Killer Bee could they avoid being at a disadvantage.
But he never expected that an obscure Konoha ninja could single-handedly almost annihilate their Cloud Ninja support unit of over a hundred men.
He couldn't accept such an outcome.
“Yes!” A Cloud Ninja immediately responded.
Unlike the Sand Village, which hadn't even decided on a Shadow candidate, and unlike the Stone Village, which couldn't even choose a Tsuchikage candidate, the Cloud Village had already determined the Fourth Raikage.
Accepting the title of A meant becoming the Fourth Raikage, waiting only for the Third Raikage's retirement.
He was able to achieve this not because his father was the Third Raikage, but because of his own hard-earned strength.
No one in the entire Cloud Village objected.
Therefore, his orders were, to a large extent, equivalent to the Raikage's orders.
“Wait!” Before the Cloud Ninja left, A called out to him again, “Issue a bounty, a bounty for this Sarutobi Asuma, a bounty of... thirty-five million Ryo!”
The subordinate Cloud Ninja was somewhat surprised; thirty-five million Ryo was not a small sum these days.
However, he didn't ask questions and respectfully replied, “Yes!”
“Sarutobi... Asuma!!”
...
...
Konoha.
At the top of the Hokage Building, a top-level meeting regarding the war situation was being held, and the atmosphere in the conference room was very tense.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the seat of honor, flanked by Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the Hokage Advisors, followed by some of the remaining high-level members of various clans or department heads.
“The general situation is as follows: the Sand Village is silent but shows no sign of withdrawing its troops, and according to Danzo, the Sand Nin and Rain Nin are in frequent contact.
On the Land of Earth front, Ōnoki has officially arrived on the battlefield, and the sheer number of Stone Ninjas is putting a lot of pressure on Orochimaru, who keeps emphasizing the need for reinforcements.
On the Land of Hot Springs front, the Cloud Ninja's actions are becoming increasingly aggressive, and the friction between them is intensifying. The Cloud Ninja's strength should not be underestimated.
The Mist Ninjas... are becoming restless...”
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flashed as he spoke in a deep voice.
The conference room was silent.
Konoha's situation was truly not optimistic, facing three major hidden villages at the same time, the pressure was too great.
Even guarding against the small number of troops on the eastern sea, recently, traces of Mist Ninja activity have been faintly visible at sea, seemingly eager to make a move.
In an already precarious situation, if the Mist Ninjas also joined the fray, Konoha would be in real trouble.
“The Sand Ninja side is temporarily stable, so why not let Lord Danzo guard the east to deal with the Mist Ninjas? I believe Lord Danzo has a lot of experience.”
An elite Jonin sitting on the side said.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered.
He was somewhat tempted.
Previously, Danzo had been responsible for the eastern border, often clashing with the Mist Ninjas. Obviously, Danzo's Root would be more comfortable dealing with Mist Ninja assassinations.
This was a good suggestion.
“No! Danzo should stay in the Rain Country. If the Sand Ninjas find out Danzo has left, they might launch another attack. It would be better to let Tsunade go.”
It was Koharu Utatane, the Hokage Advisor, who spoke.
“Elder Koharu, this suggestion is not appropriate. Lady Tsunade's medical ninjutsu and detoxification abilities are our most powerful weapons against the Sand Ninjas. Once Lady Tsunade leaves, the Rain Country's ninjas will be in danger. If the Sand Ninjas use large-scale toxin attacks, I'm afraid...”
Someone else spoke, rejecting this point, and what they said was quite reasonable.
“The Sand Ninjas are not moving, so are we going to let two commanders be stuck there? Tsunade has already created many antidotes to deal with various toxins. Her departure won't have a big impact.”
“But there's Hanzō the Salamander, and Chiyo, an expert in poison. Letting Lady Tsunade leave is really inappropriate...”
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the people below arguing, each with their own reasons and opinions, and only felt a headache.
He pressed his temples.
He picked up his pipe and took a deep puff.
Tap, tap—
He tapped the pipe on the table, interrupting their argument, and said in a deep voice, “Let the ninjas stationed on the eastern border report the situation at any time. The discussion of who will be stationed on the eastern border will be put on hold for now. Our strength is limited, and we must first deal with the immediate difficulties.”
“Yes!”
“But Hiruzen...”
Koharu Utatane wanted to say something more, but she was met with a glare from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Homura Mitokado waved his hand, signaling her not to continue.
Even at this time, these guys from the Elder Council were still fighting for their own interests, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was dissatisfied.
If these guys weren't his comrades who had risked their lives together, he might have abolished the Elder Council system.
The conference room fell silent again.
