Chapter 43: The Pre-War Council
"Th-this…"
Mitokado Homura hesitated, words caught in his throat.
Beside him, however, Utatane Koharu clenched her jaw, rose decisively, and answered without the slightest pause:
"As a disciple, I cannot shirk this duty! I am eager to take to the front lines and fight the barbarians of the Land of Lightning to the death!"
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Senju Morin's eyes. He nodded in approval.
"Commendable courage."
Yet as he looked at Koharu's resolute, almost death-defying expression—then at Shimura Danzō's darkened face, and finally at Homura's ashen complexion—his tone shifted smoothly.
"However, avenging the Second Hokage does not require charging into battle personally."
"Jōnin Koharu, you will remain in the village and assist Clan Head Aburame in coordinating logistics and transporting supplies."
He announced calmly:
"I hereby appoint Jōnin Aburame Shima as Head of the Logistics Division, and Jōnin Utatane Koharu as Deputy Head."
Morin cast a meaningful glance toward Danzō, then turned his eyes back to Koharu.
"I trust the two of you will shoulder this responsibility with diligence and resolve."
"Yes!"
They answered in unison.
As they sat down, a faint glimmer passed behind Aburame Shima's dark glasses—he already understood the deeper meaning behind the appointment.
Koharu, after a brief moment of stunned disbelief, felt a complicated sense of relief well up inside her.
At least… I wasn't treated like Danzō.
Beside her, Mitokado Homura opened his mouth as if to speak—then closed it again.
Something about the scene before him felt eerily familiar.
In the end, he slumped back into his seat, powerless, a trace of regret silently crossing his face.
Morin paid no further attention to the trio and continued calling names.
"Inuzuka Dō."
"Present!"
Amid the Inuzuka clan jōnin, Inuzuka Dō's eyes lit up. He sprang to his feet with a sharp motion.
Morin's order followed immediately.
"I will establish a Frontline Reconnaissance and Rapid Response Unit. You will serve as its captain. You may select your own members—submit the roster afterward."
"Yes, sir!"
Dō responded loudly, barely containing his excitement.
Morin's gaze moved on, soon settling on the still-seated Ino–Shika–Chō trio.
Aside from Nara Shikatsune, who sat beside him in his capacity as an advisor, both Akimichi Dingwei, the Akimichi clan head, and Yamanaka Hikohiko, the Yamanaka clan head, were present.
After a brief pause, Morin asked with mild curiosity:
"Why is Jōnin Torifu absent?"
Akimichi Dingwei immediately stood, his round face filled with respectful urgency.
"My apologies, Hokage-sama. Torifu's old injuries have flared up—he is confined to bed, recovering in the clan compound."
"However," he added quickly, "I visited him this very morning. Though bedridden, Torifu specifically instructed me to convey this message: that he will obey the Hokage's commands without hesitation, and face any danger necessary for the sake of the village."
Senju Morin immediately understood the implication.
Akimichi Torifu had grown disheartened. He no longer wished to step forward in support of that former small circle, nor did he intend to continue involving himself in clan-level decision-making.
As for the latter half—those words about "following the Hokage's orders without hesitation"—they were almost certainly fabricated by Akimichi Dingwei himself, little more than polite fiction.
Yet Torifu's withdrawal carried an upside.
With him stepping back, the Akimichi clan no longer needed to concern itself with old school ties to Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others. They could now openly, decisively realign—bringing the Yamanaka clan with them—and choose a new side without hesitation.
After a brief moment of consideration, Morin spoke calmly:
"In that case, Jōnin Dingwei, Jōnin Hikohiko—you will both enter the Advisory Department and assist Shikatsune in its work."
He then turned toward Nara Shikatsune, his tone gentle.
"Shikatsune, Torifu is your close friend. Once this meeting concludes, you should visit the Akimichi compound—and convey my regards as well."
"That was already my intention, Hokage-sama."
Shikatsune rose smoothly with a smile, answering with composure.
Inwardly, he once again marveled at how wise his earlier decision had been.
With Morin's words, the minor rift that had formed within the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance was no longer an issue.
From this day forward, he would not only mend relations with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans—he would also assume an irreplaceable leading position within the tri-clan alliance, effectively becoming its sole external spokesperson.
All of it stemmed from a single choice made at the right moment.
Only then did Morin turn to another matter.
"Advisor Sōgo, how proceeds the preparation of the Defense Division?"
"Reporting to the Hokage," Hyūga Sōgo rose sharply, voice firm.
"All personnel have been fully assembled and are on standby, ready to serve the village at a moment's notice."
Morin nodded.
"Good. Effective immediately—begin a full purge of foreign agents operating within the village. In particular, spies and sleeper operatives dispatched by Kumogakure and Iwagakure."
"Leave none behind."
"Yes, sir."
Sōgo answered without hesitation. In his view, no spy could evade the scrutiny of the Hyūga clan's Byakugan.
At that moment, another figure suddenly stood.
"Hokage-sama!"
Morin turned toward the voice—and saw Uchiha Isshin, head of the Uchiha clan.
Not just Morin, but the entire assembly was drawn to him.
Standing beneath countless gazes, Isshin met them head-on without the slightest retreat. His voice rang through the hall, carrying the pride and steel unique to the Uchiha:
"Hokage-sama! With Kumogakure threatening our village, the Uchiha clan is willing to stake our lives. We request the honor of serving as the vanguard!"
Silence fell over the chamber.
All eyes shifted between Isshin and the figure on the dais—Senju Morin.
No one questioned the Uchiha's combat power.
Their pride, however, was just as formidable—and just as dangerous.
Morin regarded Isshin calmly. There was no surprise on his face—only a trace of approval.
"Clan Head Isshin's request was fully within my expectations."
He spoke slowly, his voice carrying to every corner of the room.
"When the village was first founded, it was the Senju and the Uchiha, fighting side by side, who forged Konohagakure."
"The Uchiha's strength and loyalty are indispensable pillars of this village."
Yet Morin did not immediately issue their assignment.
Instead, his gaze swept across the hall, finally settling on a Senju jōnin seated upright among his clansmen.
"Jōnin Sōji."
"Present!"
Senju Sōji sprang to his feet.
"I hereby command you to lead the elite forces of the Senju clan, incorporating jōnin and chūnin from other clans as well, to form the First Combat Division."
"You will serve as its captain."
"Yes!"
Sōji answered in a deep, resolute voice, his determination unmistakable.
Morin then turned back to Isshin.
"Jōnin Isshin."
"Present!"
"I appoint you captain of the Second Combat Division. The Uchiha clan will operate as an independent formation, incorporating selected jōnin and chūnin from other clans."
At those words, a trace of nostalgia surfaced in the eyes of several veteran jōnin.
The Uchiha might be unpopular—but none could deny that Konoha's golden age had begun when Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara stood together, founding the village and dominating the shinobi world.
Isshin, meanwhile, was nearly beside himself.
His three-tomoe Sharingan flared open uncontrollably, crimson spinning as he shouted:
"Understood!!!"
Morin rose from his seat and swept his arm decisively.
"All orders are to be executed immediately!"
"At dawn tomorrow, all divisions will depart with me for the front lines."
"We march to meet Kumogakure."
With that single meeting, Senju Morin completed the village's wartime mobilization and command restructuring.
The entire war machine of Konohagakure had begun to turn—
efficiently, relentlessly, and wholly in accordance with his will alone.