"Homura!! Danzo!!! What the hell are you doing!!"
After reading the urgent intel sent from the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't control his fury and roared inside the command tent. If the report hadn't stated that Koharu Utatane was already dead, he would have cursed her too.
Something this major had happened in the village—yet the Uchiha clan wasn't wiped out. Worse, news of the Nine-Tails incident and the village leadership's suppression of the Uchiha had spread to other clans. What irritated Hiruzen the most was that the Uchiha survived with only over a hundred civilians and nearly eighty police force shinobi dead.
Meanwhile, Konoha's ANBU and Root had both suffered over a hundred casualties. And Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki were allowed to escape.
"Danzo!!"
After going through the detailed report, Hiruzen was furious enough to want to immediately return to remove Danzo from power and bring him to justice.
He had tolerated the attack on Shisui Uchiha. But Danzo had gone so far as to target the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki—and ended up caught by Kushina herself. Worse yet, she exposed Root's dirty deeds in front of most of Konoha's ninja clans.
If not for Koharu quickly coming up with a cover story, the village's ninja clans would have turned their backs on the leadership.
And that wasn't even the end of the idiocy—Root had also killed the Kazekage's aide from the Sand Federation!
No wonder the Sand Federation had recently gathered over 700 shinobi at the border. ANBU reports indicated even the Fifth Kazekage had arrived—clear signs they were ready for an all-out assault.
Hiruzen had initially been puzzled. Konoha and Iwagakure had merely shown an intent to move against the Land of Rain—so why was the Sand Federation reacting like a cat with its tail stepped on?
Now it made sense. It wasn't about the Land of Rain. It was because his old teammate had murdered their Kazekage's aide.
"Hokage-sama."
Outside the tent, Nara Shikaku heard the shouting and entered, concerned. Hiruzen had lost composure after reading a single ANBU dispatch—Shikaku couldn't help but wonder what intel could provoke such rage.
"Come in, Shikaku," Hiruzen's voice called out, now a bit more composed.
Shikaku lifted the tent flap and entered. Hiruzen had regained some control, though his face still bore a bitter grimace.
"Hokage-sama, what was in that report?"
Shikaku asked directly. As squad leader of the jonin and frontline strategist, he had every right to know. Especially if it related to battlefield conditions—he needed to prepare in advance.
"Take a look, Shikaku. This is serious trouble."
Hiruzen handed over the report. Shikaku read it, and his brow furrowed deeply.
By the time he finished, a deep frown had formed—a mark of growing alarm.
Reading Hiruzen's expression, Shikaku could tell he was thinking about returning to the village to clean up the Uchiha situation. But in the current circumstances—
"Hokage-sama, you can't leave the front."
After much thought, Shikaku couldn't find any feasible way for Hiruzen to return. At this point, Konoha couldn't back out of the war even if they wanted to. If they retreated now, not only would they betray Iwagakure, but the Sand Federation would take it as an opening to launch a full invasion.
Not only must Hiruzen stay, but the village also needed to dispatch reinforcements. Otherwise, forget attacking the Land of Rain—Konoha might not even be able to hold onto Kikyo Castle.
Thinking of this, Shikaku rubbed his temples in frustration. "Danzo-sama, what was he thinking…"
Cough. "Don't worry, Shikaku. I'll be stripping Danzo of all his positions. He'll never hold power again."
Hiruzen coughed awkwardly and gave his word. He knew his own indulgence had let Danzo go this far. But this time, Danzo had gone too far. If he wasn't dealt with now, Konoha really would fall apart.
"Hokage-sama, please give the order to recall Lady Tsunade. And once she returns, pass the title of Hokage to her so she can manage village affairs."
After a moment of consideration, Shikaku spoke seriously.
"Only a new Hokage can immediately unify the village. I'll also send word to my clan to coordinate with Inoichi and Choza to suppress the chaos quickly. Only with internal stability can the front line continue fighting."
"Tsunade, huh… looks like that's the only option."
Hiruzen thought it over and realized it was the best plan. The front lines couldn't function without him, and the behavior of Danzo and Homura had left him unwilling to rely on them any longer.
"I'll order ANBU to strip the advisors of their powers and search for Tsunade. Shikaku, what's your take on the Sand Federation?"
"The conflict is practically unresolvable. For now, we focus on defense. And we should change the command structure—let Iwagakure take the lead."
Shikaku responded promptly. The two then discussed strategy in the tent. Hiruzen quickly sent his ANBU to relay orders back to the village: reclaim power from the advisors and track down Tsunade.
Konoha's front-line forces would also need to allocate some troops to garrison Kikyo Castle.
They also had to inform Iwagakure. Konoha had promised a certain number of troops. If they suddenly cut their numbers in half without notice, Iwagakure would think they were being set up to take the brunt of the fighting.
The upheaval in the village was massive—losing even the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. But Hiruzen was pinned to the front line by the threat of a Sand Federation invasion.
If he left now, and the Sand Federation immediately attacked the Land of Fire, it would appear as if Hiruzen had fled in cowardice, allowing them to seize territory.
Anyone could see how bad that would look. If it happened, removing Hiruzen from the position of Hokage would be the least of it. Fleeing the battlefield was a grave crime in Konoha—even for a Hokage, there would be consequences.
"Aaah! I lost again? I used the gambling trick Hyuga Mirai taught me—why did I still lose?!"
Tsunade stormed out of the casino, furious, grabbing Shizune and shaking her for answers.
"Shizune! Those guys must have cheated, right? I learned gambling techniques—why am I still losing?"
"No, Lady Tsunade, the truth is… you're just bad at it."
Shizune delivered the cruel blow without mercy. She hadn't known much about gambling at first, but after spending so much time with Tsunade, she'd picked up enough to understand.
Tsunade's plays were completely nonsensical—wild and impulsive, showing no trace of any real skill.
Even if she gambled with ten times the money, she'd still lose it all in no time.
(End of Chapter)