Chapter 106: Hokage, Help, Save Us!
One hour later.
Looking at the pool of blood that was already as high as the Hokage Building.
He took two deep puffs of his pipe.
A trace of regret arose in his heart.
[If I had known, I would have struck first!]
Three hours later.
Looking at the pool of blood that was almost reaching the chin of the Hokage statue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's regret deepened further.
"Go, evacuate the nearby people, and tell the Sealing Team to expand the barrier's range."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
After an hour of preparation and arrangement.
The pool of blood, which had almost covered the height of the statue, lowered once again.
It returned to the height of the roof.
"Patriarch Ooyashiro, I have underestimated you."
"But with so much blood flowing out, you must be running out of stock soon."
Inside the barrier.
Hearing what Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
Miya Jomon expressed that he didn't want to respond.
At the same time, he pulled out another sealing scroll from his person.
Then.
Blood outlet +1.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Ugh!!!"
"If you have the guts, take out another scroll!"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.
Miya Jomon expressed that he had never heard such a request in his life.
Then he signaled to the clansmen beside him with a look.
Then.
Blood outlet +1.
"Ugh!!!"
"I don't believe..."
Blood outlet +1.
This time, before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish speaking.
A member of the Chinoike Clan inside the barrier took a scroll from their bosom and unsealed it.
[Ugh!!!]
"I haven't even said..."
Blood outlet +1.
"You're being a sore loser..."
Blood outlet +1.
"You..."
Blood outlet +1.
"I..."
Blood outlet +1.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to speak again.
The Konoha Ninja nearby hurriedly held him back.
"Hokage-sama! Please stop talking!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama! They are playing you!"
Reminded by the Konoha Ninja.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was about to lose his mind, also snapped back to his senses.
Looking at the Chinoike Clan members who were rowing boats inside the barrier.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a cold snort and immediately left, returning to the Hokage Office.
For no other reason than "out of sight, out of mind."
Besides, the crystal ball was there, and he could use it to relax.
Inside the barrier.
After seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi successfully driven away in anger.
The members of the Chinoike Clan burst into laughter.
"Patriarch."
"Hmm? What's wrong, Kiko?"
"How do you have so much blood, and why is this sealing scroll so big!"
Hearing that Miya Kiko hadn't come to give him advice.
A smile also appeared on Miya Jomon's face.
"Hahaha, Kiko, you've stayed in Konoha for too long and don't know about the development of Hidden Sand Village. Here, take one and see for yourself."
After saying that, he pulled out another scroll from his bosom and handed it to Kiko.
Seeing this, Miya Kiko took the scroll.
As soon as she got it, she noticed something unusual.
Because... it was too heavy!
Of course, it wasn't actually heavy.
It just wasn't the weight a scroll of that size should have.
Compared to ordinary scrolls of the same type, this scroll was at least five times heavier.
Seeing Miya Kiko's eyes suddenly widen after taking the scroll.
Miya Jomon knew that Kiko had discovered something.
"Hehe, did you notice? Open it and take a look."
Hearing Miya Jomon's words, Miya Kiko no longer hesitated and directly unrolled the scroll.
Because she was also very curious about what it looked like inside.
Then came a cry of surprise.
"This is..." Miya Kiko first let out a cry of surprise, but then she realized she was in Konoha and it wouldn't be good if people noticed.
She immediately held the scroll in her hand a bit higher and asked in a low voice.
"Composite Sealing Technique?"
"Hehe, exactly!"
"And it's more than just one layer."
"The reason this scroll is so heavy is that there are ten layers stacked inside!"
"Stacked ten layers?"
"Yes, you can understand it as many sealing runes strung together; there were too many and they were too long, so they were eventually stacked and then made into the form of a scroll."
Miya Kiko: [Why do I feel like I could do this too?]
"So is the Village using this kind of scroll for everything now?"
"Not really. Although this scroll holds a lot, the release is very slow."
"For example, with an ordinary scroll, if you put Kunai in it, they can be shot out, but this Special Scroll can't do that; they would just fall at your feet."
"So currently, this Special Scroll is only used for stea—ahem—transporting some supplies."
[Oh~ I get it! It's more convenient for stealing soil!]
After explaining the scroll, Miya Jomon also spoke about the origin of the blood.
"As for the blood, that's even simpler."
"I contracted a slaughterhouse; thousands of animals are killed every day. How could there not be a lot of blood!"
"So..."
"This is all pig blood?"
"Not exactly, there's also chicken, duck, cattle, and sheep..."
...---
Inside the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office chair, holding a crystal ball, preparing to soothe his wounded soul.
Ten minutes later.
His mood became even worse.
Because the previous pool of blood was so high, all the Konoha villagers had seen it.
Everyone had gone to take refuge.
How could anyone still be bathing!
Ah... no!
There were still people bathing.
Weren't there people soaking in the pool of blood!
Ugh!!!
The thought of it gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a headache.
If he had known that those scrolls could hold so much blood, he would have eliminated them even if it meant losing several Anbu members.
As for Hidden Sand Village's retaliation?
That would still be better than them returning to Hidden Sand Village and then coming back to attack Konoha!
Besides, I am someone who can kill Hanzou; why would I fear a brat?
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking about how to handle things after eliminating the Chinoike Clan.
A piece of news from the Intelligence Department completely disrupted him.
[The Third Kazekage has appeared at the border of the Land of Fire leading the Sand Ninja!]
"What!"
This news startled Hiruzen Sarutobi so much that the crystal ball in his hand almost fell.
Wait! How did they just appear at the border?
Where did my huge buffer zone go!
"Quickly, go and call all the elders!"
---
Ten minutes later.
The other three of the "F4" arrived in the office.
"Hiruzen, did something happen that you called us over in such a hurry?"
As soon as she stepped through the office door, Utatane Koharu's voice was the first to ask.
Then, as usual, she pulled out a stool and sat down leisurely.
Of course, the other two did the same.
But in the next second.
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke!
The three of them shot up from their stools.
Shocked expressions appeared on their faces.
Danzo Shimura was the first to react, and then spoke up angrily.
"Hidden Sand Village actually dares to start a war without a declaration!"
"Hiruzen! Give the order to gather manpower now, and I will lead an army to kill them."
"With only three thousand... no... two thousand Ninjas, as long as there are two thousand Ninjas plus the two thousand at the border, I guarantee I can beat back Hidden Sand Village and charge into the Land of Wind!"
It wasn't that Danzo Shimura wanted to go to the battlefield, but rather that he had just taken the blame for something and had to find a way to make up for it!
At this thought, Danzo Shimura's gaze became even more intense, staring fixedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi. He believed his old friend would understand his meaning upon seeing his gaze.
But the outcome was bound to disappoint him.
"It's not necessary, Danzo."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's single sentence directly extinguished the flame in Danzo's eyes.
It was immediately replaced by eyes full of anger.
"Hiruzen! What do you mean by this? Do you think I'm too old! Or do you no longer trust me!"
"No!"
"Then what is it!"
"Because it's no longer necessary."
"What do you mean? You don't need me anymore, is that it?"
"No! It's that there's no need to go anymore!"
"Because the border has already fallen!"
"?"
"What has fallen?"
As if he thought he had misheard, Danzo Shimura asked again.
"The border has fallen!"
"What! The border has fallen!" *2
These were the exclamations of the other two Advisors. Having just regained their composure, they heard even more explosive news and fell into a daze once again.
"Yes! This is the intelligence that was just sent back from the front line. Have a look!"
After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the intelligence in his hand to the three.
Danzo grabbed the intelligence and quickly opened it.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also poked their heads over.
The intelligence was very short, with only six words.
No, to be precise, the content was only six words.
[Hokage, save us, exchange people.]
Below it was the seal of the Commander-in-Chief of the border.
And... the Kazekage's seal.
Along with a smiley face making a peace sign.
Ugh!!!
---
In the large meeting room of the Hokage Office.
At this time, all the Jonin in the Village had arrived.
After reading the intelligence, everyone fell into silence.
It was too fake!
They would rather believe they were the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage than believe the authenticity of the intelligence.
However, the surrounding environment proved that the intelligence was not fake.
In that case... Hidden Sand Village was too terrifying!
Calculating from the time interval between the two pieces of intelligence... it had been less than half an hour.
Although the other side had five thousand troops and the Third Kazekage.
The two thousand Ninjas at the Konoha border weren't bad either.
There were elite Ninjas from various clans among them.
Those two thousand Ninjas were meant to defend against Hidden Sand Village's army.
Otherwise, which Ninja Village would station so many Ninjas at the border during peacetime!
He remembered when the proposal to form the border army was made.
It was also in this meeting room.
What did Hokage-sama say back then?
[To prevent the Sand Ninja army stationed at the border from suddenly raiding the Land of Fire, I have decided to increase the garrison Ninjas at the Wind-Fire border.
In order to give the Village sufficient preparation time, the number of garrison Ninjas must be enough to hold out for three days without reinforcements!]
Now... thirty minutes?
"Ahem." Seeing that everyone kept their heads down and didn't speak after reading the intelligence, and seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi on the stage staring at him.
The current patriarch of the Nara Clan—Nara Shikaku, bit the bullet and stood up to speak.
"Hokage-sama, based on the information in the intelligence, it can be inferred that the Third Kazekage likely wants to exchange the Ninjas of the Chinoike Clan and the Hatake Clan with us. The Ninjas at the border shouldn't have suffered heavy casualties."
After hearing Nara Shikaku's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly.
"Hmm! I think so too."
"Then, Shikaku, do you think we should make the exchange?"
[Nonsense! Of course we should! The border has the elites of our Ino–Shika–Chō clans!]
Although he thought so in his heart, he certainly couldn't say it out loud.
And he couldn't answer this question!
If I say don't exchange! Wouldn't that offend all the major clans!
If I say exchange! What if the Hokage doesn't want to?
After all, the Chinoike Clan had just finished mocking the Hokage.
If he's still angry... if he can't take it out on others, can't he take it out on me?
Thus, Nara Shikaku had a sudden inspiration and then said solemnly.
"Hokage-sama! I believe the urgent matter is not whether to exchange or not!"
"Instead, we need to dispatch Ninjas to other borders to prevent other Ninja Villages from taking the opportunity to invade the Land of Fire after receiving the news. As for the exchange, since the Third Kazekage's purpose is not to invade the Land of Fire, we can wait and see if they have any other demands."
[Whatever, anyway, the question of whether to exchange or not must be delayed for a while. At least I have to confirm if the Hokage has calmed down and confirm his attitude before making a final conclusion!]
"Hmm! Shikaku has a point!"
"Tsunade! Orochimaru! Jiraiya!"
"Here!" *3
"Each of you lead a thousand Ninjas to the borders of Earth, Lightning, and Water for defensive coordination!"
"Yes!"
Soon, the three of them were ready to set off.
Of course.
One-third of the Jonin in the meeting room also went with them.
"Koharu, you continue to contact the border side and see what other conditions the Kazekage has."
"Hmm, leave it to me, Hiruzen!"
"Alright, then let's dismiss for now."
Before long, the people in the meeting room had all left.
After all... so many things had happened at once today, and they all needed to go back and sort things out. At the same time, they needed to contact their clan Ninjas at the border to find out what was really going on.
Only Hiruzen Sarutobi was left there, thinking about something.
"Strange! Why do I feel like I've forgotten something."
---
At night, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to his home.
Looking at Asuma Sarutobi, who was being beaten by his mother for skipping class during the day.
A smile also appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face after a busy day.
It's great; I get to see such an interesting show as soon as I get home.
My heart has also lightened quite a bit.
But in the next second, he could no longer be happy.
"Why is it just you back? Where's our son?"
"?"
"Aren't you hitting our son right now?"
"I mean our eldest son!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "???!!!"
"Him! He went on a mission and won't be back for a few days."
"By the way, I remembered I have unfinished business; I need to go back for a bit."
After saying that, before Biwako Sarutobi could say anything, he left with a Body Flicker Technique.
[Crap! I was so busy I forgot about my son!]
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's panicked look, how could Biwako, as his old wife, not guess what the situation was.
"You old geezer! If you dare lose my son, you'll see how I deal with you!"
...But there was no response.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was on his way to the Intelligence Department.
Now he finally remembered what he had forgotten during the day.
He had sent his son to the front line.
And he had sent him in the direction of Hidden Sand Village.
Thinking that there were many people there, it would be relatively safe.
As it turned out, that side had fallen.
I hope my good eldest son slackered off a bit on the way.
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