"Did Kumogakure send another Kage-level combatant to the battlefield?"
In the Hokage's office, Senju Tobirama looked at the intel sent from the frontlines and murmured to himself.
The Gold and Silver Brothers, the Raikage's personal guard, and now this newly appeared long-haired brute.
Kumogakure had already deployed four Kage-level powerhouses into the war against Konoha.
They were clearly dead set on defeating Konoha, regardless of the cost!
Senju Tobirama remained silent. The appearance of that long-haired brute…
It would definitely affect the situation on the battlefield—there was no avoiding it.
As the war dragged on, the cost for Konoha to defeat Kumogakure would only grow steeper.
And the fighting wouldn't end any time soon. The casualties among shinobi on both sides were rapidly increasing.
This was the last thing Tobirama wanted to see—he didn't want the war to go on endlessly.
Because war only brought needless death...
"If it comes to a crisis… then I'll have to use that jutsu." Senju Tobirama clenched his fist unconsciously.
"No one is allowed to destroy the village!"
Naturally, he was referring to [Edo Tensei].
When Tobirama developed this jutsu, he had a clear purpose—to summon the dead during wartime to repel invading enemies!
Even if it meant manipulating the souls of the dead, an act that was utterly immoral—what did a little guilt matter when the village was at stake?
He believed the souls summoned would understand his actions…
Senju Tobirama resumed going through the paperwork, issuing orders for Nara to stall Kumogakure as long as possible, buying time for the shinobi from the southwestern front to provide reinforcements.
The Land of Wind had no countermeasures against the poison Renya developed and eventually chose to surrender to Konoha, becoming the first nation to fall.
The remaining Sunagakure shinobi could only slink back home, while Konoha's troops from the southwestern front were redeployed to support the northeast.
Without Sunagakure in the picture, Konoha could focus all its efforts on dealing with Kumogakure!
Overall, Konoha's strength surpassed that of Kumogakure. Even if the enemy had two Kage-level powerhouses, they wouldn't win easily.
And if the situation truly became untenable, Tobirama would unleash Edo Tensei to shift the tide.
As he continued flipping through the reports, he came across the news that Ginkaku had been killed by Renya's team, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Those kids have really exceeded my expectations..."
The six of them were becoming more and more capable, already able to handle things on their own.
Even when facing Kage-level enemies, they could counter-attack and kill with proper teamwork!
"Tell me... which one of them do you think is more suitable to become Hokage?" Tobirama suddenly asked, glancing into the shadows.
Hearing this, a masked ANBU operative stepped out and knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, I... I do not know."
Tobirama stared silently at the ANBU for a long moment, then waved his hand, signaling him to leave.
The ANBU breathed a quiet sigh of relief and vanished in a flicker.
Better not get involved in any talk about the next Hokage…
Just do your own job and don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
Tobirama lightly tapped the desk with his knuckles. The images and accomplishments of the six young shinobi played through his mind.
He picked up a pen and began to write something down on a sheet of paper. Once he finished, he locked it away in a drawer.
No one knew what he had written.
...
Inside Kumogakure's camp.
The long-haired brute had a grim expression as he held the latest casualty reports from Kumogakure's recent battles.
It could only be described as catastrophic.
"Useless! How the hell were you commanding troops?" he roared, pointing a finger at Kinkaku's face.
"If it weren't for your idiotic decisions, the casualty rate wouldn't be this damn high!"
Kinkaku pouted dismissively at the accusation.
"It's their own incompetence. How is that my fault?"
Before launching the attack, he'd even gone out of his way to rile up the Kumogakure troops—and yet, they still couldn't overcome Konoha's shinobi.
At first, things were going well. He and Ginkaku had coordinated to put Konoha under pressure.
Then Renya's group arrived on the battlefield, and everything flipped upside down.
First, the Banana Palm Fan was taken from them. Then Ginkaku was poisoned to death!
Furious and seeking revenge for his brother, Kinkaku had nearly died at Renya's hands...
To him, all of this recent misfortune came down to that damn Uchiha brat!
As long as he killed him, everything would get better.
The long-haired brute cast a cold glance at Kinkaku but said no more.
Instead, he began planning their next moves based on the current distribution of troops in the camp.
————————
Konoha camp.
Nara breathed a sigh of relief as he read the new orders from Hokage-sama.
They only needed to hold out until the reinforcements from the southwestern front arrived—once they did, the battlefield situation would greatly improve.
Even Kage-level combatants would struggle under the siege of dozens of shinobi. They wouldn't be able to defend every angle and would quickly run out of chakra…
The Gold and Silver Brothers were a perfect example.
With the right coordination, even Kage-level enemies could be killed!
Once the reinforcements arrived, they could team up with Renya's squad to take on the brute and Kinkaku together.
...
Medical Division.
Koharu Utatane was using medical ninjutsu to treat Danzō.
The gruesome wound across his chest was healing rapidly before their eyes.
Once the treatment was complete, Danzō's condition had improved significantly compared to earlier.
Looking at Koharu's pale face from chakra overuse, he said softly, "Thank you, Koharu."
"No need to thank me. It's my duty," Koharu forced a weak smile.
If Danzō hadn't taken that hit to protect her, he wouldn't have been injured at all.
"This new brute is even more difficult to deal with than the Raikage's personal guard," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a low voice. "Have you all thought of any countermeasures?"
"Not yet," Uchiha Kagami replied bitterly, shaking his head.
Mitokado Homura didn't speak, frowning as he pondered possible solutions.
Danzō and Koharu both looked toward Renya, and Hiruzen's gaze followed, curiosity evident on his face.
"Renya, do you have any ideas?"
Renya was busy fiddling with the bottles and jars in front of him. These were all poisons he'd recently been developing.
He wanted to create a poison that could corrode chakra itself—so he wouldn't have to worry about the brute's Lightning Release Armor.
Back when they fought the Gold and Silver Brothers, this idea had already occurred to him.
If he could develop a poison that bypassed chakra defenses, a lot of tricky problems would be solved.
Based on that idea, Renya had already concocted dozens of different poisons in a short time. They were still in the testing phase, and their actual effects remained uncertain.
"At the moment… no. No solution yet."
The others sighed in frustration. Even Renya had no answers?
Renya glanced up, saw the disappointment on their faces, then lowered his head again to continue his work on the poisons.
He didn't share his theory with them. If it ended up failing, he didn't want to get their hopes up for nothing.
Now that there was a temporary ceasefire between Konoha and Kumogakure, he had to develop a chakra-corroding poison as quickly as possible.