Koharu's face alternated between shades of green and purple upon hearing these words.
She hadn't expected her longtime friend to advise her to stop interfering in Konoha's affairs at such a critical moment.
Was her remaining power to be stripped from her as well?
In the end, Koharu had grown accustomed to influencing the Hokage.
The overall situation of a village was centered on the Hokage.
Even though Koharu was an elder, she could only offer suggestions, lacking the power to enact change herself.
The reason she wielded such influence during the reigns of the Fourth and Third Hokage was partly because they respected their elders.
Additionally, the Third Hokage's views were similar to Koharu's due to their age.
Tsunade's expression was stormy as she said in a deep voice.
"Elder Mitokado, please take Elder Koharu back. I don't want irrelevant people interrupting our meeting."
Koharu's face turned livid. "Tsunade! Don't forget who supported you in becoming Hokage!"
Instantly, Tsunade's face darkened. Was this a threat?
"Koharu, that's enough!" Homura was also shocked by Koharu's words.
How could a Hokage advisor dare to threaten the Hokage?
With Homura's coaxing, Koharu was taken out of the meeting room.
Tsunade's face remained icy.
She coldly said, "I propose to strip Elder Koharu of her position as Hokage advisor. Does anyone have any objections?"
Strip Elder Koharu of her position?
Everyone in the room, except for Ryujiro, showed expressions of disbelief.
Removing a Hokage advisor was unprecedented in the history of Konoha.
However, Koharu had indeed overstepped her bounds.
A Hokage advisor had no right to threaten the Hokage.
A Hokage advisor's power came from the Hokage.
Although those present also had some authority, none were as audacious as Koharu.
"If no one has any objections, I'll make it official," Tsunade said calmly.
Everyone exchanged glances but said nothing.
They had tacitly agreed to remove Koharu from her position.
Seeing no objections, Tsunade had the decision communicated.
Regardless of whether Koharu accepted it, it was beyond her control.
As a Hokage advisor, she had overstepped her role.
With this farce over, it was time to discuss the main issues.
"Ryujiro, if the other major villages seek peace talks with us, what should we do?" Tsunade asked.
"Peace talks?" Ryujiro sneered. "They aren't in the position to negotiate."
"Unification is inevitable. Those villages have no right to negotiate."
Ryujiro's domineering words left the room silent.
Unification. Could Konoha really unify the shinobi world?
Besides the four major ninja villages, there were other smaller villages.
Even if Konoha demonstrated overwhelming power, those smaller villages might not surrender.
Konoha had always been a peace-loving village, and this sudden shift was difficult to adapt to.
Konoha had never been the aggressor.
Ryujiro continued, "The path to unification is bound to be bloody, but once achieved, the shinobi world will see no more wars."
"The new generation will grow up free from the flames of war."
Hearing this, everyone felt a surge of emotion.
Free from the flames of war.
During the Great Ninja Wars, even children as young as twelve or thirteen were involved.
They, who should have had a perfect childhood, had to face the harsh realities of the shinobi world due to war.
War was a tragedy for everyone.
Tsunade looked at Ryujiro, determination flashing in her eyes.
"I understand."
"For the new era, for lasting peace, we must press forward."
As for how to govern afterwards, Tsunade believed that since Ryujiro had conceived the idea of unification, he likely had a governance plan as well.
Subsequently, since the major villages no longer had the capacity to wage war against Konoha, they sought to end the war.
Due to the Edo Tensei, the shinobi world believed that Konoha had used forbidden techniques to attack the other villages, manipulating the souls of the dead.
This incited widespread dissatisfaction, with public opinion turning against Konoha.
Onoki didn't disclose the truth, intending to leverage the shinobi world's opinion to constrain Konoha and extract compensation.
However, Konoha's response to their peace overtures was unexpected.
"It is not the four major villages waging war against Konoha, but Konoha waging war against the four major villages.
Konoha will soon launch an offensive against them and conquer these villages."
This announcement shocked the entire shinobi world.
Had Konoha gone mad?
One village declaring war on four equally powerful villages was a situation in which no one would benefit.
It could potentially disrupt the balance.
The other major villages were severely weakened and needed time to recover.
Was Konoha planning to take advantage of this to exact revenge?
Had they lost their minds?
In Stone Village, Konoha's response left many stunned, including Onoki, who was at a loss on how to react.
If Konoha was serious, how could their village face Konoha's forces?
Onoki was still recovering from his injuries, with his strength significantly reduced.
Stone Village's ninjas were still healing from the previous attack.
Thinking about Konoha's power filled Onoki with dread.
In hindsight, they shouldn't have listened to the Raikage.
Despite the Akatsuki's invasion, Konoha had suffered minimal losses, indicating that the invasion hadn't caused substantial harm.
Blinded by greed, they coveted the Land of Fire's rich resources.
Now, with Konoha refusing dialogue and even planning to attack, the only option was to seek help from other villages.
If Konoha was serious, only a united front could withstand them.
Besides Mist Village, Cloud Village, and Sand Village, they needed assistance from other places, such as the Land of Iron, a country with considerable strength.
They did not wish for the balance to be disrupted.
A single dominant force was of no benefit to anyone.
They feared that one day, Konoha might turn its attention towards them.
---------------
Guys do leave some power stones and reviews.
🤞patreon.com/plotplanner🤞
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 50 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.