As was customary, the Jōnin Meeting was held inside the Hokage Office Building.
Those present included clan heads who had remained in the village instead of going to the battlefield, ninja like Hayashi who had recently withdrawn from one front and were about to be reassigned to another, and Jōnin who had already rotated back to Konoha for rest.
When Hayashi arrived that morning, it was almost eight o'clock. Mikoto and Kushina were not with him.
The reason was simple.
The three of them had stayed up far too late the previous night. To be precise, they had spent more than half the night playing Fight the Landlord.
As a result, both girls were still asleep early in the morning, leaving Hayashi to attend the meeting alone.
Sakumo had arrived very early. By the time Hayashi stepped into the hall, Sakumo had already been waiting for quite some time.
Gradually, the remaining Jōnin in Konoha began to arrive one after another until the room slowly filled.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, the Third Hokage finally spoke.
"Very well. Let the Jōnin Meeting begin."
His voice was calm but firm.
"The memorial ceremony at the Konoha Memorial Stone has already passed. Those we lost will remain in our hearts."
He paused briefly, looking around the room.
"But Konoha's new sparks must continue to be passed on."
"This time, nearly eighty new students have graduated from the Ninja Academy. Taking advantage of the current pause in the war, I plan to deploy them to the battlefield."
Many people in the room immediately understood the implication.
The graduation season for the Ninja Academy had long passed, so the appearance of these new graduates could only mean one thing.
They had been pushed through early because of the war.
Calling them cannon fodder would not be an exaggeration.
They were simply unfortunate enough to graduate during such a dangerous time.
Before Hayashi's own graduation years ago, the village had deliberately arranged for experienced Jōnin to take the students on missions so they could gradually adapt to combat and killing.
This group, however, would not receive that luxury.
They would step onto the battlefield immediately after graduation, and the first blood they witnessed would likely be from enemy ninja.
Even if their abilities were acceptable, many of them would struggle mentally when faced with real combat.
On the other hand, ninja from a younger generation, such as Obito and Guy, would most likely miss this war entirely.
Compared to the original timeline, the conflict had begun four or five years earlier. At this point, Obito's group had only been studying at the academy for a little more than a year.
Of course, Kakashi was a different story.
With his extraordinary talent, he would almost certainly complete the tasks Hayashi had given him and graduate ahead of schedule.
The Third Hokage continued.
"At present, the village does not have enough Jōnin available to serve as mentors. Therefore, some of these graduates will be temporarily assigned to Chūnin squads."
"However, I have explained the responsibilities of a Jōnin mentor many times before. You should all be familiar with them. The list of Genin will be distributed after the meeting."
Hayashi remained silent while listening to the Hokage's arrangements.
Given the responsibilities he was about to undertake, it was impossible for him to act as a mentor at the moment.
The meeting moved forward efficiently.
Because Konoha itself was far from the front lines, the Third Hokage did not discuss detailed battlefield tactics. That was the responsibility of the commanders stationed at each front.
His duty was to look at the war from a broader perspective and allocate manpower and resources where they were needed most.
The front in the Land of Wind was progressing well.
Konoha had won several battles recently and had even captured the One Tail Jinchuriki. Among all battlefields, it was currently the one with the most significant achievements.
However, the situation in the Land of Hot Springs was far less favorable.
That front was mainly fighting against Kumogakure.
Danzo served as the commander there and had a mixed force under his leadership consisting of clan ninja and civilians alike.
Unfortunately, Kumogakure had deployed two Jinchuriki.
The Eight Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, was still young but had already demonstrated exceptional talent in controlling his Tailed Beast.
The Two Tails Jinchuriki, meanwhile, belonged to the same generation as the previous Eight Tails host and was currently in the peak of her strength.
Although the Third Hokage praised Danzo for managing to hold off the Third Raikage's son and the Eight Tails Jinchuriki by himself, the truth remained that he had been injured and the front line had suffered defeat.
That reality could not be concealed.
Danzo was undoubtedly a capable comrade.
When it came to conspiracies, intelligence gathering, and underground operations, he was extremely skilled.
But wars were not won through schemes alone.
In the end, strength remained the decisive factor.
Facing young monsters on the battlefield, Danzo was clearly beginning to fall behind.
Hayashi was not certain when Danzo first developed his obsession with the power of the Sharingan or other forbidden abilities, but one thing was clear.
His desire for power was steadily reaching its peak.
This could easily be seen through his increasingly frequent contact with Orochimaru.
Naturally, the Third Hokage could not ignore the worsening situation in the Land of Hot Springs, especially since his longtime comrade was fighting there.
After taking a sip of tea, he raised his hand and spoke decisively.
"Homura, I am assigning two thousand ninja to you. You will support Danzo and stabilize the situation in the Land of Hot Springs."
Homura Mitokado nodded calmly.
"Understood."
As one of Konoha's senior advisors, he had no choice but to step forward at a moment like this.
Still, after living a comfortable life in the village for more than ten years, no one could say for certain how much of his former strength remained.
Once the Kumogakure front had been addressed, attention shifted to another battlefield.
The Hidden Mist.
The Third Hokage continued.
"Under Tsunade's command, the Hidden Mist base in the Land of Bears has been destroyed. As a result, the enemy has pulled back and reinforced their defensive line."
"They are now concentrating their forces in the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Waves."
"The enemy has recently begun mobilizing troops again, which suggests that reinforcements may soon arrive."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"However, Tsunade has been reassigned to the Land of Wind."
"So for the Mist front..."
His gaze moved across the room.
"I appoint Sakumo Hatake as supreme commander of the base."
A slight pause followed.
"And Uchiha Hayashi."
Before the room could fully react to the announcement, the Hokage continued speaking.
"Additionally, for this campaign against the Hidden Mist, we will send a number of Sensor Ninja along with the troops already deployed at the front."
The meeting then moved on to further discussions regarding supply distribution and troop movements across other battle zones.
Eventually, the Jōnin Meeting came to an end.
However, the Third Hokage asked Sakumo and Hayashi to remain behind.
Some matters were too sensitive to discuss publicly.
Even if there were no spies present, it was still inappropriate to speak about certain things in a large gathering.
The Hokage handed them several documents.
"This is the detailed personnel configuration list. I am leaving it to the two of you."
"I have also arranged for additional Hyuga clan ninja to accompany your forces to the front line."
He then produced another list.
"Regarding supplies, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire has recently provided another shipment. For the time being, there will be no shortage of food or weapons."
"Here is the inventory. The supplies will depart together with your troops in one week."
"Understood."
Hayashi accepted the list while Sakumo carefully examined the intelligence files concerning the ninja assigned to their forces.
The Third Hokage looked at Hayashi with a serious expression.
"Konoha expects victory from you."
"But if mistakes occur, the village will not condemn you excessively."
"Hayashi, this is your first time carrying such responsibility. Both the village and I have very high expectations for you."
Hayashi nodded firmly.
"I will do my best."
"Good."
The Hokage smiled slightly.
"Then I will leave the Hidden Mist front to you."
"Do not disappoint me."
After leaving the Hokage Office Building, Sakumo suddenly chuckled.
"When the Second Great Ninja War first began, the Third Hokage said almost the same thing to me."
Hayashi looked at him curiously.
"So what did you say back then, Big Brother Sakumo?"
Sakumo lowered his head as if recalling the memory.
After a moment, he lifted his face, completely expressionless, and quietly said,
"Oh."
Hayashi blinked.
"That was it?"
"What else was I supposed to say?" Sakumo replied casually. "Should I have promised to defeat a legendary opponent or something dramatic like that?"
Hayashi gave him a thumbs up.
"Very steady."
Sakumo laughed.
"Forget that. Tomorrow we will go inspect the prepared supplies."
"As for Tsunade..."
He glanced at Hayashi.
"You will need to speak with her."
Hayashi nodded.
"Leave Tsunade sensei to me."
As the commander currently stationed at the front, Tsunade was undoubtedly the person who understood the Hidden Mist situation best.
Although Hayashi could gather information after arriving at the battlefield, it would be far better to familiarize himself with the situation beforehand.
When they reached a fork in the road, Sakumo patted Hayashi on the shoulder.
"Kakashi is your student."
"As his teacher, you cannot spend the next two days constantly wandering around with Mikoto and Kushina."
"I know, I know."
Hayashi rolled his eyes slightly before lowering his voice.
"What about you?"
"As his father, you cannot keep pushing your son onto me while you spend every day with Sister Axiu."
Sakumo laughed heartily.
"I still want a daughter."
After saying that, he patted Hayashi's shoulder once more and began walking toward the Hatake clan compound.
Hayashi simply shook his head with a helpless smile.
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