Hokage Building
As the Third Hokage stepped through the door of the Hokage's office, he felt a wave of unease wash over him as he glanced at the urgent report scroll sent by Jiraiya.
The Third Hokage had been closely monitoring the situation on the Cloud Battlefield, where Jiraiya was stationed.
If the battle against Kumogakure went poorly, Konoha wouldn't just lose an ally; the already signed peace agreements with the Iwagakure and Kirigakure could also be threatened, as they might start to feel restless.
Furthermore, Sunagakure and other small nations would begin to doubt Konoha's ability to protect them, which could lead to thoughts of severing their alliances.
That was why he had dispatched Jiraiya as the frontline commander, along with the Inuzuka, Nara, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans to the battlefield.
Combined, these ninja represented nearly half of Konoha's fighting strength, sufficient to annihilate several small ninja villages.
However, the Third Hokage had no confidence in their ability to defeat Kumogakure.
Compared to the other three major ninja villages, Kumogakure had not lost many shinobi in the last Ninja World War.
They still boasted top-tier combatants, including the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails, and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
With their village having lost a Jinchuriki, Jiraiya and the elite ninjas from Konoha might not even be a match for Kumogakure.
Fortunately, in the last report, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki had already been defeated, leaving only the most troublesome AB combination.
Perhaps they could only hope for new developments from Danzo and Orochimaru.
With that thought, the Third Hokage sighed lightly and opened the intelligence scroll in his hand.
After scanning the contents of the scroll, the Third Hokage's expression changed slightly. He rubbed his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing things, then took a sharp breath.
The report from Jiraiya was so outrageous that he thought it might have been fabricated.
After reviewing the scroll again, the Third Hokage took a deep breath and said to the Anbu ninjas around him, "Go and summon the advisory elders to see me. Tell them we need to convene an emergency meeting."
Following the Third Hokage's command, the advisory duo quickly arrived at the Hokage building, with Danzo, the leader of the Root organization, also appearing in the meeting room, leaning on his cane.
They all looked at the Third Hokage, their expressions questioning what urgent matter could require their attention.
The Third Hokage wasted no time and placed Jiraiya's report on the conference table. After passing it around, the advisory duo exhibited shocked expressions, while Danzo's demeanor fluctuated between concern and skepticism.
After a moment, Homura Mitokado hesitantly asked, "Third Hokage, is the information on this scroll true? Has Shisui Uchiha really awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan? Did he defeat the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Koharu Utatane chimed in, "Sarutobi, the information on this scroll is too exaggerated! Byakuya from Amegakure fought to a standstill with the Fourth Raikage and even forced him to agree to negotiations. When did Amegakure acquire such strength...?"
The Third Hokage looked helpless as he replied, "I have my doubts about this information too, but Jiraiya has no reason to deceive us about such a significant matter. I prefer to believe that the information is accurate."
Upon hearing this, Homura and Koharu exchanged glances and turned to Danzo, who was still perusing the report scroll, his expression increasingly grim.
The temporary cessation of hostilities between Konoha and Kumogakure, transitioning into negotiations, was certainly a good thing for the village, as it could prevent the already weakened village from suffering further losses.
However, the current developments were entirely different from what he had anticipated.
Danzo had originally intended to use the opportunity of war to weaken the clans within the village. He planned to wait until Jiraiya could no longer hold out and then rush to the front lines alongside Orochimaru to gain credit for becoming Hokage.
But now, before he and Orochimaru could reach the front lines, the war was already nearing its end.
Not only had the Uchiha clan, whom he expected to weaken, not been diminished, but they had also gained an extra pair of Mangekyou Sharingan and the credit for defeating the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
What was even more infuriating was that Byakuya had managed to contend with the Fourth Raikage in such a short period, allowing Amegakure to shine in this battle.
At this moment, Danzo could almost envision Byakuya's smug face, sending shivers down his spine.
Pulling his thoughts back together, Danzo raised his head to look at the Third Hokage and slowly said, "Hiruzen, while the cessation of hostilities at the front is indeed a good thing, it doesn't mean we can let our guard down."
Upon hearing this, the advisory duo perked up their ears.
As the "fence-sitters" among Konoha's higher-ups, they had never expressed opinions on major issues and had always adhered to the path of moderation. Because of this, they had secured their positions as advisory elders and had never faced any targeting from others.
After a brief pause, Danzo continued, "According to the contents of the report, the reason for the ceasefire between our village and Kumogakure is not due to our or their willingness but rather the coercion of Amegakure. While this is certainly a positive development, Amegakure must have some ulterior motives for doing so."
"Ulterior motives?" Hearing this, Hiruzen furrowed his brow and responded, "The current leader of Amegakure is Jiraiya's student, who has shown a very positive attitude towards us. I've met Byakuya once and I think he is a youth embodying the Will of Fire. Under their leadership, Amegakure shouldn't have any ulterior motives."
Danzo sneered and retorted, "You've all been deceived by Byakuya's appearance since he is a person filled with darkness within. I have never encountered a shinobi darker than him. Moreover, regardless of whether Amegakure has ulterior motives, they already possess the strength to threaten our village."
At this, the Third Hokage and the others fell into contemplation. Although Amegakure had not taken any threatening actions against Konoha, they indeed had the capability to do so.
On this point, Danzo was quite right.
Seeing that the three acknowledged his thoughts, a smile crept onto Danzo's face as he continued, "To prevent Amegakure from posing a threat to our village in the future, I believe it's necessary to increase the budgets of various departments. The Anbu and Research divisions need funding for upgrades."
When funding was mentioned, Koharu, responsible for logistics and management, frowned and said, "The feudal lords are already very dissatisfied with the current military expenditures. If we reach a time of peace, the budget will only be cut, not increased."
The Third Hokage nodded, saying, "The villagers are already under a lot of pressure; we cannot increase the budget."
After being rejected by the Third Hokage and Koharu, Danzo's expression darkened. He quickly stated, "We can discuss the budget later, but we must be on guard against Amegakure and Byakuya. They will inevitably take action against our village."
The Third Hokage said impatiently, "I've said it before: Byakuya and Amegakure are friends of Konoha. Danzo, I know you've troubled the Akatsuki in Amegakure, but the relationship between the Rain and Konoha will not change because of your personal issues."
Danzo snorted coldly, ultimately not bringing up Byakuya again. He shifted the topic, saying, "We can temporarily overlook the issue with Byakuya, but Uchiha Shisui awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan is certainly an internal matter for our village.
The Uchiha clan has always coveted the position of Hokage; acquiring the Mangekyou will likely make them even more arrogant. And as for the events of the Night of the Nine-Tails, those remain unclear even now."