Hiruzen saw that all the Jonin had gathered, and the meeting began.
Third, along with Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo—the Konoha Elders—sat in the only four chairs available, while the Jonin stood before them.
"Just recently, the Hidden Rock Village of the Land of Earth declared war on us," Hiruzen stated, revealing the reason for urgently calling this Jonin meeting.
"The Hidden Rock Village? They're on the same level as us, a fellow great Ninja village. Why would they declare war on us?"
"Are they coveting the abundant resources of our Land of Fire?"
Hiruzen's words caused a stir among the Jonin in the meeting room, prompting them to start discussing aloud.
After all, the Hidden Rock Village was no insignificant village. Even though its overall strength might not match that of Konoha, it stood as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages alongside Konoha.
"Hmph, the audacity of Iwagakure to declare war on Konoha. It seems they have forgotten that there are differences in rank among the Five Great Ninja Villages!" Danzo snorted coldly.
Danzo continued, "We should immediately gather our Ninja forces and declare war on the Hidden Rock Village of the Land of Earth. Launch a swift attack to let them know the First Ninja Village does not tolerate provocation!"
Of course, Danzo had more to say. Since they were going to war, spies would definitely be needed, and the restrictions of his Root organization should be loosened a bit.
However, these matters certainly couldn't be discussed in the Jonin meeting. He would have to discuss them alone with the Third in his office.
"Declaring war on the Hidden Rock Village is necessary," Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
Now that war had been declared, there was no going back for Konoha in the ninja world.
Konoha's main sources of income were twofold: funds from the Daimyo and commissions from various noble merchants.
The patrons weren't foolish. They would definitely choose to commission missions from the village they deemed strong and reliable.
"If Konoha shows weakness now, we will likely receive fewer commissions, and in turn, the Hidden Rock Village will see an increase in theirs.
"Gathering Ninja for an attack seems inappropriate. The current situation in the ninja world is unclear. Not long ago, the Hidden Cloud Village had friction with Konoha. With Iwagakure declaring war, they might also have ulterior motives."
Hiruzen affirmed Danzo's idea of declaring war on the Hidden Rock Village, but he rejected Danzo's plan to gather troops for an attack.
The Land of Earth lay to the northwest of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Lightning was to the northeast. If Iwagakure and the Hidden Cloud Village were to attack Konoha together, Konoha would be caught in a crossfire.
If Konoha directly assembled Ninja forces to move towards the Land of Earth, it would be convenient for the Hidden Cloud Village to either block their return path or directly invade the Land of Fire.
Hearing Hiruzen's words, Mutsuki also roughly understood his thoughts.
Hiruzen's intention was straightforward: the Hidden Rock Village was definitely going to be dealt with, but it had to be done cautiously, without any mishaps.
"Third-sama, I believe the first thing we should do now is notify the Hidden Grass Village about the situation in the Land of Grass. If any Iwagakure Ninja enter the Land of Grass, they should report it immediately," Nara Shikaku suggested after some thought.
There are two main ways for Iwagakure Ninja to enter the Land of Fire quickly: one is to pass through the Land of Rain into the Land of Fire, and the other is to pass through the Land of Grass.
There are other detour routes, but they are not practical in times of war. The longest route would take them through the Land of Birds into the Land of Wind, then into the Land of Rivers, and finally into the Land of Fire.
Not only is this route long, but it also passes through the Land of Wind, one of the Five Great Nations. If the Hidden Sand Village sees a bunch of Iwagakure Ninja entering the Land of Wind, they might mistake them for invaders.
Furthermore, the Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain is considerably stronger than the Hidden Grass Village in the Land of Grass. Nara Shikaku speculated that the Iwagakure Ninja would likely choose the Land of Grass as their point of entry.
Another aspect is that the Land of Grass is like the little brother of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Rain is not. Konoha can give orders to the Hidden Grass Village, but not to the Hidden Rain Village.
"Then, we should strengthen the forces at the border to prevent any surprise attacks by Iwagakure Ninja, breaking through our defenses and avoiding fighting on our home soil," Nara Shikaku continued.
The impact of war is immense, so efforts should be made to prevent the flames of war from reaching the soil of the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, finding Nara Shikaku's plan quite to his liking.
However, Hiruzen did not immediately end the meeting. He continued on.
After quite some time had passed without hearing a better suggestion than Nara Shikaku's, Hiruzen finally concluded the Jonin meeting. He appointed several Jonin to lead teams to support the border, and then the meeting officially disbanded. The Jonin who knew each other left together.
"Minato, who is this?" a Ninja with a chubby face and a genial smile approached Minato for a chat, then noticed Mutsuki.
"This is my friend, Mutsuki Yumi, a newly promoted Jonin," Minato introduced with a smile.
"Mutsuki, this is Akimichi Doto-Senpai, a very reliable Senpai," Minato added, introducing Mutsuki to Akimichi Doto.
"Haha, it's true that I'm a few years older than you guys, but Minato, your reliability surpasses mine," Akimichi Doto laughed.
He had worked on missions together with Minato, and Minato's strength was no ordinary Jonin's.
"Doto Senpai," Mutsuki greeted with a gentle smile.
"Ah," Akimichi Doto looked at Mutsuki's warm smile, then glanced at Minato, seeing the same warmth in his smile and his blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Minato, your friend looks a bit like you. Could he be your relative?" Akimichi Doto asked.
"Minato, see, I told you you look alike!" Kushina immediately chimed in upon hearing Akimichi Doto's words.
She always felt they looked quite alike, not in physical appearance, but in that uncanny resemblance.
"No, just pure friends," Minato explained with a helpless smile.
With Minato's assistance, Mutsuki got to know quite a few Jonin.
Mutsuki noticed that Minato seemed to be familiar with the various Secret Jutsu clans—Akimichi, Inuzuka, Nara, Aburame, and others. These Secret Jutsu clans, while not as individually powerful as top-tier clans like the Uchiha, were still the backbone of Konoha, forming a strong force when united.
After the meeting ended, Mutsuki quickly made his way to the southern forest to check on the progress of his disciples' training.
He assessed each of his disciples.
In the end, he found that aside from Obito, who had turned from fifteen to sixteen, Shisui and Guy had not shown any changes. Shisui was still fifteen, and Guy remained nineteen.
However, Mutsuki couldn't be sure if Obito's progress was due to his teaching, as based on Guy's experience, reaching the peak of the previous step could lead to a Proficient level of nineteen.
"This can be easily solved. Tomorrow, I'll have Shisui eat the spicy dish as well to see if it works or not."
"Hehe, Shisui, it's just a bit spicy. The taste is still delicious," Obito reassured Shisui, a smile uncontrollably spreading across his face.
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