"The battle is also tense on our side now."
After a brief pause, Sakumo conveyed the message Tatsuya had previously given him and reiterated it in front of Elder Koharu, saying, "It's not that we don't want to support Lord Hokage; we are truly powerless. Please return and inform Lord Hokage that in just six months—only six months—we will undoubtedly be capable of driving Kumo Shinobis back to the land of Lightning. As soon as the war here ends, we will reinforce Lord Hokage immediately."
"But for now, please go back first."
Sakumo gestured "please" by raising his hand to Koharu.
As Sakumo finished speaking, Koharu glanced at Nara, Yamanaka, Akamichi, and Hyuga clan leaders present. None of them protested. Despite her anger, her tone remained filled with shock as she pointed at several individuals and exclaimed, "This assistance truly means a lot! What are your shinobi clans planning? Rebellion, isn't it!?"
"Advisor, your words are quite serious, aren't they? We're merely responding to your request based on the current situation. How did it turn into a rebellion?"
Senju clan patriarch Senju Nawaki sneered and inquired with his hand resting on his face.
"If the advisor doubts us, we can take you to the battlefield once more, and you can witness firsthand how the battle unfolds here."
The battlefield? Damn it. The last time she ventured onto the battlefield, she nearly lost her life. Koharu vowed never to set foot on the battlefield again. Why not just sit in the rear, sip tea, and let others claim the glory of victory?
Then, she observed the indifferent expressions of Nara Shikaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the others. Koharu knew that her plea for help this time was futile.
"Humph!"
Even if she was turned down, she wouldn't lose her composure. She flicked her sleeves and departed without looking back.
To an outsider, it might appear that Tatsuya owed her money.
"Aniki, should we...?"
As Koharu left the camp, Nawaki lowered his voice and halfway through, gestured with a slashing motion.
Shikaku and the other shinobi heads in the camp, who overheard Nawaki's words, were taken aback. They had the same thoughts in their mind.
'Are you serious? Can you take your discussion of killing the konoha elder behind closed doors with your Aniki? We don't want to hear it!'
Tatsuya smiled faintly, picked up the teacup on the table, and lightly flicked his index finger.
Whoosh!
The teacup flew nearly a hundred meters and struck Koharu's head accurately. The onlookers were surprised. However, in the next moment, Elder Koharu turned into smoke.
Everyone watching was dumbfounded.
A Shadow Clone!
"Apologies, my hand slipped."
Facing the incredulous gazes of the guards outside the camp, Tatsuya looked innocent and insincerely waved his hands in apology.
"Do you think those old folks are that gullible? Do they dare to bring just a few people to make demands to hand over troops?"
Tatsuya found it amusing.
Nawaki agreed. It's no wonder so many elite ninjas fell into the hands of these experienced individuals. They may not excel in warfare, but they are masters of strategy.
"What a shame," Nawaki said with a tinge of regret.
"No need to apologize so much. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, can't continue to be seated in the position of Hokage anymore. It was already a certainty, but I never expected things to turn out this way. They were defeated so badly on the battlefield. Unlike Tobirama and Hashirama the only reason Sarutobi has continued to be Hokage of Konoha is because of his ability to gain favours from the Fire Damiyo. As soon as Damiyo's support is withdrawn..."
Tatsuya shook his head, somewhat amused. However, the Third Mizukage piqued Tatsuya's interest.
Among the dozens of Kage-level characters, the Third Mizukage's identity remained the most mysterious. He didn't know his real name, let alone the jutsu he used.
Based on what Koharu had just described, it appeared he might be a ninja from the Yuki clan with a bloodline limit related to ice, much like another mysterious character from the Yuki clan, Haku. To this day, people still speculate whether he concealed his gender. After all, being a woman with the legacy of being the last of the Yuki clan is too troublesome. Who knows how many madmen like Orochimaru are there in the Shinobi world?
Plus the third Mizukage didn't seem to have taken part in the Third Ninja War in the original timeline.
...
About ten miles from the Konoha base, where Tatsuya and the others were situated, there was another small town in Yunokuni.
After receiving the information from his Shadow Clone, Koharu, the main body in the hotel, smashed the teacup in her hand to the ground and exclaimed:
"Deceptive, Hatake Tatsuya! Are you trying to backstab us so openly?"
...
...
Koharu didn't return with reinforcements, and Homura, responsible for locating Jiraiya, wasn't optimistic.
After some effort, Homura did find Jiraiya, but to his surprise, Jiraiya had already reached the battlefield. However, it wasn't the southeastern coastal battlefield where Sarutobi Hiruzen was stationed but the western battlefield where Minato was leading.
" You are asking me to reinforce Sarutobi-sensei."
In the western camp, Jiraiya heard Homura's request, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Old man Homura, do you think the situation here is better than Sensei's side?"
Homura was momentarily speechless.
Hiruzen's situation was indeed very perilous, and Mist Shinobi might invade the Land of Fire at any moment. But on Minato's side, things weren't much better. The situation had turned dire since Onoki sent his son Kutsuchi to lead the Rock Shinobi army into battle. The focus of the war between the Sand Shinobi and the Cloud Shinobi had shifted from Konoha to themselves.
They began retreating, leaving only a small number of Shinobi in Konoha. Many angry Konoha Shinobi berated the Sand Shinobi shamelessly.
The Cloud Shinobi and Rock Shinobi, currently in a hostile state, had more forces than the Konoha Shinobis present here. They could attack at any time.
However, Hiruzen led a force twice the size of the Mist Shinobi.
If it weren't for some teacher-student relationship between Jiraiya and Hiruzen, he might have cursed them for asking for help with such a huge number of shinobis under him.
"However..."
Homura wanted to convince Jiraiya.
"Is there any difference between allowing Cloud Shinobi and Rock Shinobi to attack the Land of Fire and letting Mist Shinobi attack it?"
Jiraiya inquired, "At least, Old Man Sarutobi has the numerical advantage, right? Let him fight his way out. I have my responsibilities; I can't afford to go to Lord Hokage's aid."
Jiraiya also declined Hiruzen's request for help. His loyalty was to Konoha, not solely to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Moreover, the western battlefield needed him at the moment, and their forces were already stretched thin. There was no reason for him to head all the way to aid the Hokage.
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