Strike first!?
Hearing Kamizuru Iwazetsu's words, Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. Flanking her, Jiraiya and Shikaku both exhibited subtle shifts in their expressions.
This was an absolute display of sincerity.
In the previous joint encirclement, the Hidden Leaf had been the ones to initiate the attack. The Hidden Cloud's involvement had been a pure wild card—driven by the Fourth Raikage's desire to exploit the situation and his overflowing arrogance—so their initial push couldn't really be used as a metric.
But things were completely different now. Through a series of massive, back-to-back wars, Menma had proven exactly what he was capable of.
If anyone launched an assault on the Waterfall-Grass Alliance today, the vanguard would inevitably suffer the most devastating counterattack. For the Third Tsuchikage to actually make a promise to lead that charge... it was undeniably a massive show of good faith.
"Are those truly the exact words of your Tsuchikage?"
Tsunade leaned forward instinctively, eyeing Iwazetsu with deep suspicion. She hadn't crossed paths with the old man from the Hidden Stone many times, but she knew his reputation all too well.
He was the ultimate old fox.
A man even more difficult to deal with than her own former sensei.
Under normal circumstances, the Hidden Stone only made moves when it guaranteed them an advantage; they almost never took a loss. Looking at the current geopolitical landscape, Tsunade found it incredibly hard to believe the Third Tsuchikage would suddenly make such a bold, self-sacrificing decision.
"Heh. You must be joking, Lord Hokage. How could I ever dare to misrepresent Lord Tsuchikage's orders? Please, rest assured. Everything I've said comes directly from the top."
Iwazetsu offered a light smile before his tone shifted to deadly seriousness.
It was an incredibly firm confirmation.
Tsunade's gaze hardened.
She genuinely didn't want to believe the Third Tsuchikage would make this play. What was his motive? Was he truly that terrified of Menma's growing power? Or was he simply greedy for the Tailed Beasts?
For an ordinary leader, those would be more than enough reasons. But in Tsunade's eyes, the Third Tsuchikage didn't fit that mold.
She instinctively glanced at Jiraiya.
On the surface, the Toad Sage looked calm, but a distinct look of wariness flickered deep in his eyes. Having known him for decades, Tsunade instantly caught the subtle shift.
Taking a deep breath, she folded her hands on the desk and adopted a perfectly neutral expression. "I understand your village's position. However, a matter of this magnitude requires careful consideration. If you don't mind, Iwazetsu-san, please remain in the Leaf as our guest for the next two or three days. We will give you our answer then."
"Naturally. It is a monumental decision. Well then, I will excuse myself for today, Lord Hokage."
Still wearing that same polite smile, Iwazetsu bowed slightly before turning and striding confidently out of the office.
The moment the door clicked shut behind him.
"Jiraiya, Shikaku. What's your read on this? Is that old bastard actually planning to move against Menma Uzumaki, or is he just trying to play us?"
Tsunade's expression instantly darkened as she demanded answers.
"Hard to say. Based on Onoki's track record, both are equally possible. Even though he's serving us a platter full of 'sincerity' right now, you can never be certain with him until the very end."
Jiraiya frowned, pondering for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
Onoki of Both Scales was a living legend in the ninja world. Putting aside his god-tier Particle Style, his political ruthlessness was what truly made him terrifying.
When it came to pure leadership and administrative maneuvering, Onoki was arguably the most competent of all the Third-generation Kage. Hiruzen Sarutobi had undeniably led the pack in his early years, but he had grown complacent and soft in his old age.
The Third Raikage had never been much of a strategist to begin with. The Third Kazekage and Third Mizukage weren't even worth mentioning in this context.
Only Onoki had remained sharply competent his entire life. He was the type who only grew more cunning and dangerous with age, always analyzing every problem through a lens of absolute, cold rationality.
That was the exact reason the Hidden Stone had managed to maintain such a dominant, aggressive posture for so long.
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade were intimately familiar with the Third Tsuchikage's nature, naturally leading them to highly skeptical conclusions.
"I actually disagree with Jiraiya-sama on this one. Lord Fifth, I believe the Hidden Stone genuinely intends to strike Menma Uzumaki—or more accurately, the Waterfall-Grass Alliance. It's a calculation based entirely on their fundamental strategic security."
Shikaku, who had remained silent on the flank, gently shook his head. He looked at both Tsunade and Jiraiya with a dead-serious expression.
"Oh? Why do you say that, Shikaku? What's your reasoning?"
Tsunade and Jiraiya were both slightly taken aback. Tsunade stared directly at her chief strategist, demanding an explanation.
"Because the Waterfall-Grass Alliance is simply too close to the Hidden Stone. There are no buffer zones left. Historically, while the Five Great Villages have constantly waged war against one another, the sheer geographical distance and natural borders made launching full-scale invasions difficult. It forced a certain degree of restraint. But now..."
Shikaku walked over to a large map pinned to a nearby whiteboard. He pointed directly at the territories of the Hidden Waterfall and Hidden Grass, which he had already marked in stark red ink.
"Lord Fifth, Jiraiya-sama, look at the map. The Waterfall and Grass essentially form a semi-circle around the Hidden Stone. It's highly likely the Third Tsuchikage recognized this existential threat, which forced his hand."
Looking at the map, the reality of the situation was glaringly obvious.
The entire southeastern border of the Land of Earth was effectively trapped in a pincer between the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfall.
Most critically, the Hidden Stone Village itself was geographically situated relatively close to that border.
Stripping away all other political factors and looking purely at the military threat... if Menma wanted to, he could absolutely mobilize the combined armed forces of both villages and launch a devastating, lightning-fast strike directly at the heart of the Hidden Stone.
Tsunade and Jiraiya, who hadn't fully considered this specific geopolitical angle, instantly realized the gravity of Shikaku's point.
A strategic threat of this magnitude...
It wasn't a question of if Menma would attack.
It was a question of whether he could.
"Looking at it from that angle... it makes perfect sense..." Jiraiya muttered to himself, his face etched in deep thought.