The meeting room at this moment could be described as a gathering of big shots.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sat in the main seat. On his left and right were the Hokage's Assistant Shimura Danzo and the elders Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. Then came Tsunade representing the Senju of the Forest, the patriarchs of the two great clans, Uchiha and Hyuga, followed by the patriarchs of the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, Hatake, Inuzuka, and Kurama clans.
People like Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Kato Dan, who had mastered the Super S-rank Ninjutsu Spirit Transformation Technique—these ace combatants of Konoha—could only sit in the backmost positions.
Even the Hokage's personal disciples, the future Sannin of Konoha, could only sit in the back. This showed just how luxurious Konoha's lineup was at present.
Yet, such a luxurious lineup would be played by Konoha to the point of having almost no cards left in less than ten years.
If not for the Yellow Flash emerging in the future, even if Konoha won the Third Great Ninja War, it would have been a very difficult victory.
"Since everyone is here, let's start the meeting."
When all the Jonin who could represent Konoha's higher-ups and, in special circumstances, even bypass the Hokage to issue A-rank missions to other ninjas were seated, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a look to Shimura Danzo, the Hokage's Assistant.
The latter immediately stood up, walked to the blackboard behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, and pulled down a scroll-like map of the Ninja World.
Using a red pen to draw two circles on the map, Shimura Danzo's next words changed the expressions of the Jonin present.
"According to intelligence sent back by our spies and verified by Anbu, it is now 100% certain that Amegakure has gone to war with Sunagakure."
"So they really started fighting? Did Amegakure declare war on Sunagakure, or did Sunagakure declare war on Amegakure?"
"Fortunately, the Land of Iron didn't break the historical agreement. Otherwise, with the assistance of the samurai army, that person from Amegakure would be even more formidable."
"..."
Looking at the Jonin who were only discussing Amegakure, Sunagakure, and Hanzo the Salamander without much sense of crisis, Shimura Danzo drew another circle on the map and said in a deep voice, "Besides the war between Amegakure and Sunagakure, our spies also discovered that the Land of Earth has increased its troops significantly on its southern border."
Hearing this, the atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became heavy.
Anyone who had seen the map of the Ninja World and had some military awareness realized the severity.
"Does the Land of Earth also have thoughts of joining the war? Are the meager resources of the Land of Rain worth their coveting?"
"Moving all troops to the southern border, aren't they afraid the Land of Lightning will intervene and take the opportunity to attack their eastern border and invade the Land of Earth?"
"Perhaps Onoki is just strengthening the defense of the southern border to prevent Hanzo the Salamander from suddenly changing targets?"
"..."
"Everyone..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen finally spoke, and the meeting room instantly quieted down.
Everyone looked at the Third Hokage respectfully, waiting for his next words.
"The uniqueness of the Land of Rain needs no further explanation. Our Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are separated by the Land of Rivers, which has vast natural landscapes. It is precisely because this buffer zone is easy to defend and hard to attack that we maintain a tacit balance with the Land of Wind."
"If the Land of Earth wants to invade our Land of Fire, they must either choose to cross the plains of the Land of Grass or pass through the Land of Waterfalls, which has 20 kilometers of coniferous forest. Given our relationship with Kusagakure and Takigakure, the Land of Earth, which has had a very poor reputation these years, simply cannot infiltrate the Land of Fire unknowingly."
"Only the Land of Rain, the junction of our Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth, which is shrouded in rain all year round and lacks vast undeveloped natural landscapes, waterfalls, and dense forests, has always been the best breakthrough point."
"In the past, this area was balanced by Hanzo the Salamander. No one wanted to face that Salamander with the deadliest poison in the Ninja World."
"Now Amegakure has actively broken the balance, and the Salamander is tied down by Sunagakure. This breakthrough point has lost its strongest obstacle. Whether for our Konoha or for Iwagakure, this is an excellent opportunity."
"Therefore, we cannot bet on Onoki's mercy. We must prepare for a rainy day."
The Jonin all looked thoughtful.
Immediately, the patriarch of the Hyuga Clan, a staunch supporter of the Hokage's lineage, Hyuga Tsubaki, slowly spoke: "Hokage-sama, what are your thoughts? On behalf of the Hyuga Clan, I will follow your arrangements."
"Seconded."
"Seconded."
"..."
The Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, Inuzuka, and other clans echoed in succession.
Then their gazes tacitly turned to the position of the Uchiha Clan.
After the Senju integrated into Konoha, the Uchiha was now the number one prestigious clan in the Ninja World and the strongest ninja clan.
Their Kekkei Genkai was known as an existence invincible in one-on-one combat.
This clan possessed the strength and foundation to not give face to the Hokage.
It was precisely because of this that the Second Hokage constantly suppressed this clan, and the Konoha Council of Elders, as his disciples, similarly regarded the Uchiha as a thorn in their side.
The patriarch of the Uchiha Clan wanted to curse very much at this moment.
But the proud Uchiha couldn't do such a degrading thing. He could only darken his face, cross his arms, and say, "Seconded."
Seeing the Uchiha also willing to follow arrangements, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a smile: "Thank you all for your support. My idea is to prepare for the worst in advance."
"Not only the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, but we must also treat the Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Rain as hypothetical enemies."
"The lesson of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools warns us that under special circumstances, these countries are very likely to put aside the hatred of the First Great Ninja War."
"We must not only prevent attacks from the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain but also be prepared for invasions from the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water at any time."
"Therefore, we cannot move all our troops to the western border. We must leave some troops and high-end combat power behind, ready to support the eastern and northern borders at any time."
"All patriarchs, like me, the Hokage, are the last line of defense for the country and the village. You can choose whether to personally lead teams to the front line. If you stay in Konoha to guard with me, please list the members participating in the war, and I will arrange them."
"If everyone has no objections, then the meeting ends here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced towards the back and called out names: "Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Danzo, you few stay behind."
As the words fell, the patriarchs of the major ninja clans and Elite Jonin like Kato Dan stood up and left the venue one after another.
Even the two elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, did the same.
A moment later, only Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, the future Sannin of Konoha, and Hatake Sakumo, who had already earned the title of Konoha's White Fang in the Ninja World, remained in the meeting room.
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