Currently, the Third Hokage met up with Shimura Danzo. With a decisive and resolute tone, he asked Danzo, "Were you the one who launched that attack against Senju Araki which forced him to utilise that explosion?"
Danzo didn't answer that question, in turn, he asked the Third Hokage, "Why did you allow them such free reign over these years? If you had ordered Hatake Sakumo, he could have grabbed Senju Araki and brought over here. With him in our custody, the Kyuubi wouldn't have dared to make a move." He seemed to spit on the Third Hokage's decision while also calling Kushina as Kyuubi.
Well, he couldn't be blamed for the foul mood. Half of his personal agents had suddenly disappeared. And he had a faint idea that it was the Senju Clan who were involved in that matter.
The Hokage remained silent over this question. He could have indeed done that. Knowing Hatake Sakumo's loyalty, perhaps he would have brought Senju Araki to the Hokage, tied in chakra restraining things.
However, there was also a small chance that Sakumo wouldn't fight against Araki for real and let him go. The man valued comradeship much more than that of a mission. If he did let Araki go, there was no telling what Senju Araki would do in response. He had quite the control over Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki, so there was no point in taking any chances.
Danzo was becoming a little angry as he noticed that the Hokage was ignoring him.
The Hokage then coughed a little before asking, "What is the news of the other great villages?"
At this, a solemn look appeared on Danzo's face as he replied to the Hokage, "The Kumo and Iwa are recruiting shinobi like crazy. Moreover, my spies have caught the information that the Daimyo of Land of Lightning has given entire authority to Kumo to declare war against Konoha. The Daimyo of Land of Earth hadn't taken such a measure, but they are still bolstering their military crazily."
"I see… Knowing Ohnoki, he wouldn't have much trouble in convincing his Daimyo to assign him war funds." The Third Hokage stated with a frown on his face.
"When will they attack by the earliest?"
"3 years at least. In that destruction against Uzushio, many of their elite soldiers lost their lives because of the attacks from Kyuubi." Danzo calmly said while staring at Hiruzen.
Internally, he couldn't help but curse Hiruzen and Uzumaki Mito for not giving him Kyuubi. If he had the Kyuubi under his control, he would easily be Hokage and could destroy the 4 other nations by now, bringing them all under the Land of Fire.
"3 years, huh?" Hiruzen frowned at the short time limit. It has only been 4 years since the Second Shinobi War ended. In another 3 years, it would be 7 years since the last war ended before a new war would start.
"Not just that. Many rumours are surfacing that the Hachibi has a new Jinchuiriki now. Moreover, this Jinchuiriki has shown better control and strength than previous Jinchuiriki. The Third Raikage's son is also growing up rather quickly and could prove to be a dangerous opponent after another 3 years." Danzo continued giving information to the Hokage.
It wasn't that he wanted to give this information to the Third Hokage. It was because there was no choice left for him. Half of his personal force had vanished without a trace. If he withheld this information, Konoha could suffer quite a bit of destruction. He didn't want to become the head of a rundown village. Besides, he had another aim to give away so much information. It was to pressurize this monkey so that he would be forced to take drastic measures.
"What of the Jinchuirikis in Iwa?" Although Hokage was surprised that Danzo was giving him such information for free, he guessed that the explosion gave him a more significant scare than he imagined.
"The Two Jinchuirki's of Iwa, Han and Roshi. The Jinchuiriki of 5 Tails and 4 Tails respectively. You are already aware of Roshi's powers, so I will skip him. Han is rather young, but he shows good control over the abilities inherited by him from the Five Tails. The Steam Release… Moreover, he can also use the chakra of his bijuu to some extent. In 3 more years, he would grow up to be a great weapon." Danzo's facial expression never changed as he narrated this information.
Hiruzen's expression did change, though, he thought in his head 'This… This could be troublesome. If we do not have the power of Kyuubi, we won't be able to resist an attack from both Kumo and Iwa. And also, if the Sand also takes hold of that opportunity, Konoha would be attacked by the Third Sides.' Suddenly, his eyes widened as he thought of the last Great Village left, the Kirigakure.
"What of the Kirigakure?" The Hokage asks Danzo who responds solemnly, "The Kirigakure shows no signs of joining up this time. They aren't supported by their Daimyo to go on another war so soon. He wants them to focus on defence and keep the economy stable."
"This… This was an unexpected boon." The Hokage said with a slight smile on his face. It would have been terrifying if they had been attacked from all sides.
"Hiruzen, we need the strength of Kyuubi to deal with such an attack."
At this moment, the Hokage remained silent for some moments before asking, "Uzumaki Kushina is not a shinobi. She won't listen to my order. The only one who can control her is Senju Araki."
"And you and I should know who can control Senju Araki," Danzo stated while looking him in the eye.
Hiruzen knew what this meant.
"It seems you are right in this part. If the situation does remain as it is, we will have some serious issues on our hands. Besides, her presence would also be a boost for our military and medical strength." The Third Hokage said to Danzo.
"So, who will you send to recall her back? I don't think Jiraiya or Orochimaru would be appropriate. Jiraiya is far too soft to say anything drastic to her, and I doubt Orochimaru will even agree to go." Danzo asked the Third Hokage clearly.
The Third Hokage showed a determined voice and said, "I, myself will go. Only I can convince her to return to Konoha and once again face the war for Konoha."
Meanwhile, he was thinking 'Moreover, there are some things that only I can tell her and not Jiraiya or Orochimaru. She needs to inherit the Senju Clan and become the head. At that point, even Senju Araki wouldn't be able to refuse her. Maybe, I could also interfere in the matters using my status as her Sensei.'
Several reasons were revolving in the Third Hokage's scheming head. And with that, he called for Jiraiya and asked for the current position of Senju Tsunade.
Jiraiya took nearly 3 days before he returned with information of Senju Tsunade's position, "She is in a city named Fujigata with a young girl named Shizune. This girl is Tsunade's apprentice and Kato Dan's niece."