Since Akimichi Torifu had been pushed into the council, with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio now marked as Tsunade's faction, he had been playing a constant game of tug-of-war with the others. Today, he opposed one thing; tomorrow, something else.
Koharu Utatane was already deeply displeased by how her influence had been reduced.
Now there was an opponent stepping in to disrupt her every decision, and expecting her to tolerate that was unrealistic.
Her temper was as terrible as ever.
Akimichi Torifu sighed.
"What I mean is, the village needs to respond, but we can afford to be patient. We should first observe Sunagakure's and Iwagakure's moves."
"Sunagakure initiated this conflict, but chose not to declare it openly, which means they don't want to take the blame. Now that an opportunity has arisen, they're not going to hold back. Iwagakure won't rush in unnecessarily either, but Onoki's temper is quite something."
Torifu's message was clear: Sunagakure didn't want to take the lead and shoulder the blame, but that didn't mean they didn't need the opportunity. Now that Hanzo had taken the first step, it presented a chance that Sunagakure had been waiting for. As long as no official declaration of war was made, there wouldn't be much public condemnation.
But Amegakure's boldness—declaring war on all three great shinobi villages—had already caused a huge uproar.
With someone stepping in as the scapegoat, Sunagakure would undoubtedly seize the opportunity.
Compared to Sunagakure's urgency, Konoha didn't need to rush. Watching and waiting was the better strategy.
Having explained his thoughts, Torifu shot a brief, concealed glance at Koharu, feeling a pang of helplessness.
Ever since he was pushed into the advisor's role, Koharu's temper had only grown more volatile.
But he understood why. Control of the village's medical system was supposed to belong to her, yet his appointment had wrestled it away, leaving her frustrated and livid.
Homura Mitokado, who still managed logistics, was not as impacted as Koharu. Though he very much wished to kick Torifu out, he bore none of the overt animosity that Koharu did.
It wasn't that Homura was kinder; it was simply because his own authority hadn't been diminished.
If Torifu had been given control over the logistics division instead of the medical system, then it would have been Homura fuming, not Koharu.
"Hmph, Torifu, you're getting softer," Koharu spat, acknowledging that he made a valid point, but refusing to show any respect.
Homura chuckled softly, staying silent.
"Koharu," Hiruzen Sarutobi interjected to remind her to watch her behavior. Acting out was one thing, but she couldn't bring personal emotions into her work. "I think Torifu's suggestion is reasonable. Since Sunagakure is so eager, let's take a step back and observe. Besides, Onoki certainly isn't one to take this lightly."
If Sunagakure made an overt declaration, it would likely provoke Onoki.
After the meeting concluded, Torifu was the first to leave.
Koharu muttered in discontent, "Hiruzen, can we really not release Danzo? Torifu is already one of Tsunade's men. With him here, the upper council is facing a lot of obstacles."
"No." Hiruzen shook his head with a deep sigh. "Tsunade has made it very clear. She will never allow Danzo to be released, not even under another identity. His plot to assassinate Takashi by using the intel he provided to Hanzo deeply affected her."
"But—"
Koharu's resentment still lingered.
She didn't care much for Danzo himself; what she wanted was control over the medical departments.
"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll speak with Tsunade myself at a later time."
Konoha had numerous departments, but few compared to the significance of the medical division. Even if Hiruzen wanted to compensate Koharu, he didn't have much to offer that would match its importance.
Asking Tsunade to give up the medical division was out of the question unless he could offer something equally valuable, such as the logistics division, the finance department, or ANBU.
The logistics department was in Homura's hands, so swapping it for the medical department wouldn't make much sense.
The finance department and ANBU were even more difficult to consider.
ANBU might be plausible; at least Tsunade could gain partial control. The finance department, though, was impossible.
If Tsunade took over the finance department, all the hidden skeletons would come to light, and Sarutobi's reputation would be utterly destroyed.
Perhaps he could negotiate an exchange with her?
There were many branches under the medical system. Maybe Tsunade could relinquish control of some of them in exchange for Koharu taking over logistics as compensation. Then Koharu could share management responsibilities with Homura, stabilizing the balance in the upper council.
The finance department couldn't be touched, but he could hand over half of ANBU's authority to Tsunade.
ANBU was a department directly under the Hokage's control. Even if Tsunade managed part of it, it wouldn't greatly affect him.
On the fifth day after Amegakure declared war on the three great shinobi villages, Sunagakure also seized the opportunity and declared war on Amegakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure simultaneously.
Provoked by this, Iwagakure quickly followed suit, declaring war on Sunagakure, Konoha, and Amegakure.
Konoha, which had held out the longest, also eventually declared war on all the factions—Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure.
With the four major factions declaring war on each other, the Second Shinobi World War had truly begun.
Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure continued to send reinforcements to the Rain Country as the chaotic war intensified.
With the village now in a wartime state, the ominous clouds of war loomed over the entire shinobi world, directly or indirectly affecting all the villages and countries.
Large groups of reinforcements rushed to the frontlines, and each of the three great shinobi villages had now committed over two thousand ninja to the Rain Country.
Don't underestimate the number—two thousand ninja were enough to fight a major battle.
---
Having finished her work for the day, Tsunade headed to the usual place where she, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya used to gather.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was already there waiting for her, the table laden with dishes and Tsunade's favorite sake.
Tsunade sat across from him unceremoniously, picked up a bottle, and poured herself a cup. After downing it in one gulp, she let her tense nerves relax a bit before saying, "That old bat bothering you again?"
Koharu Utatane had been relentlessly trying to reclaim the various branches of the medical system, something Tsunade was well aware of, but she simply ignored her.
Hiruzen smiled faintly, taking a small sip of his drink. "Tsunade, the village's medical system covers a lot of branches. I was thinking, maybe you could give up a few."
"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, smirking. "And what would you offer in return, old man—the logistics department or the finance department?"
"Cough, cough!"
Hiruzen almost choked. The medical system had many branches, but in terms of importance, it was on par with the logistics or finance departments. If he could offer either of those, what need was there for compensation?
It would just be a swap.
"I could let you take over half of ANBU," he said after catching his breath.
"ANBU?" Tsunade looked at him incredulously. "You haven't gone mad, have you? Are you seriously offering me control over ANBU?"
Though it was only half, even half would allow Tsunade significant influence, possibly enough to turn ANBU into her personal unit.