"At this point, there's only one option."
"I'll go first. Alone."
Hiruzen suddenly said something astonishing.
Orochimaru and Hizashi froze.
Then both of their faces took on expressions that could only be described as horrified, completely at odds with their usual composure.
Let the Hokage—their teacher—go to the battlefield alone?
Wouldn't the entire village curse them to death for that?!
And being cursed was the least of their concerns.
What if something happened to the Hokage—to their teacher?!
Neither Orochimaru nor Hizashi even dared imagine what would happen to the entire shinobi world if something happened to Hiruzen under the current circumstances...
It would plunge into unprecedented chaos and warfare!
"No! Absolutely not, Sensei!"
Orochimaru's voice was unusually urgent. "How can you go alone? What if something happens to you? Let me go instead!"
"I have experience infiltrating Kumogakure with a team and dealing with the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Blue B..."
"Exactly, Hokage-sama! This is far too dangerous!"
Even Hizashi's pale skin had flushed red with anxiety. "You absolutely cannot do this!"
"Quiet."
Hiruzen shook his head and motioned for them both to stop.
"Orochimaru, what you did was infiltration. That's different from a battlefield environment, and you know that yourself."
"The cruelty of the battlefield is equally fair to the strong and the weak. Most powerful shinobi may possess impressive offensive ninjutsu, but their defenses often fail to keep pace."
"Your Soft Physique Modification is like that, and so is an Uchiha's Mangekyō Susanoo. If you're hit by a hundred Iwa shinobi collectively casting an Earth Release technique like the Mountain Earth Technique, or dozens of Kumo shinobi using a Lightning Attraction Technique, you still won't be able to withstand it."
"But I'm different..."
"Shinobi weaker than me don't have the opportunity to release ninjutsu in front of me. Numbers don't mean very much against me. I can easily tear through any tightly organized battle formation."
"Compared to ninjutsu cast by individuals, collective war-scale ninjutsu is riddled with openings. I can use Spirit Release to dismantle their chakra links with ease."
"Combined with my physique, speed, strength, and overall one-on-one combat ability, I can ignore the basic logic of warfare and choose my breakthrough direction at will."
Hiruzen calmly explained his advantages.
In truth, as more and more Kekkei Genkai threads accumulated within him, he was gradually approaching a special level within the shinobi world.
Something similar to Madara after awakening the Rinnegan.
Pressure from ordinary individual combatants no longer mattered to him. Only when individual fighters reached a certain level of strength and appeared in sufficient numbers could they pose a threat to Hiruzen.
On a battlefield, the more enemies there were who could not threaten him, the more they actually served as cover for Hiruzen, forcing the enemy's top-tier fighters to hold themselves back.
That was the advantage brought by an evolution in the level and structure of one's life.
"Sensei, even so, you still can't!"
"Hokage-sama, please reconsider!"
Orochimaru and Hizashi both thought Hiruzen's reasoning made sense, but they still did not want Konoha's absolute core to take such a risk.
Nothing like this had happened anywhere in the shinobi world for decades.
This was no longer a matter of one overwhelmingly powerful leader taking troops into battle...
He intended to solo more than ten thousand enemy shinobi!
"My mind is made up. Neither of you needs to say anything else."
Hiruzen's tone was extremely firm. He looked toward Orochimaru, who still wanted to argue.
"Kid, I'm the Hokage!"
"Pass down my orders."
"Have the aerial squad immediately send over their fastest aerial ninja tool. I will descend directly into the heart of the enemy and disrupt their defensive formation as quickly as possible!"
"The moment I appear, their internal forces will inevitably fall into chaos. Compared to me, the Hokage, neither Seisui nor Danzō will count as a high-value target anymore."
"Iwagakure and Kumogakure—whether it's Ōnoki or the Third Raikage—will certainly do everything they can to deal with me. The same goes for whatever reserve forces that mysterious organization has."
"In that case, the defensive line Iwagakure and Kumogakure have deployed along the front will weaken drastically. Our shinobi will no longer be disadvantaged simply because they're shifting from defense to offense. They'll be able to fight on equal terms."
Under Hiruzen's imposing gaze, Orochimaru and Hizashi found themselves unable to get a word out.
All they could do was listen as Hiruzen alone laid out this terrifying plan!
"On your end, organize our forces immediately. Have the Amegakure side, the Kirigakure side, and every Konoha Council Member under us assemble their units into orderly, structured columns and advance deep into enemy territory!"
"One objective is to find Danzō and Seisui as quickly as possible. The other is to reinforce me."
Under circumstances like these, Hiruzen actually smiled faintly.
"I'm not young anymore, after all. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold out, so don't keep me waiting too long."
"But remember, you also need to arrange sufficient forces to defend home. The more severe the situation, the more carefully every aspect has to be considered. I don't have the time to handle any of that now, so Orochimaru, Hizashi—you two have full authority."
"All right. Get moving!"
As he spoke, Hiruzen deftly pulled out a scroll and swiftly donned the heavy black armor Madara had worn in his youth.
He clapped his hands together, and Enma appeared in the office as well.
"Enma, we've got a hard battle ahead of us this time!"
Hiruzen smiled at his old partner.
Enma did not say much. He silently transformed into a halberd.
"Hiruzen, I haven't spent the last year and more training at Mount Myōboku for nothing..."
"From this moment on, I'll begin gathering natural energy. You may not know Sage Mode, but as your most reliable weapon, I'll help solve that problem for you!"
"Then I'll be counting on you, Enma..."
Hiruzen gripped the halberd and drew a deep breath.
The aerial squad's fastest model was already waiting for him in the sky.
Hiruzen strode toward the exit.
He moved so quickly and with such determination that Orochimaru and Hizashi barely had time to react before, in a single instant, they saw the same bearing Hiruzen had shown on the Kirigakure battlefield.
The doors of the Hokage's office opened.
Click.
"Sensei!"
Orochimaru's mind suddenly went blank, as though he had stepped into empty air, and he could not stop himself from shouting.
"Hokage-sama!"
Hizashi hurriedly called out as well.
"Take me with you!"
"You two are still too green. You're already old enough to settle down and establish yourselves, but in my eyes, you're still only seeds that need further tempering."
"Don't rush. Perhaps one day in the future, you'll find yourselves doing what I'm doing now."
"I only hope it can end with me..."
Hiruzen paused.
Then he slowly turned around and spoke seriously.
"Orochimaru, if I don't come back, from that day onward, you will be Konoha's Hokage."
"Hizashi, if that situation truly comes to pass, you are to support Orochimaru properly."
Orochimaru and Hizashi exchanged a glance.
Both saw the undisguised shock in the other's eyes, along with a trace of fear buried deep within them.
What kind of thing was that to say?!
But Hiruzen did not actually believe he would fail to return.
This was simply a necessary procedure.
There was no need to repeat Tobirama's mistake of appointing him Hokage only after being forced into it by a crisis.
Besides, Hiruzen regarded this as an opportunity.
Just as he had told Hizashi and Orochimaru...
A major opportunity hidden within danger!
This was a stage on which he could display individual heroism, an exceptional chance to use absolute violence to raise his prestige and reputation across the entire shinobi world!
In a certain sense, Hiruzen was capable of "feeding war with war."
The greater his prestige within Konoha became, the more his talent would rise along with it.
Previously, however, Iwagakure and Kumogakure had never given him such an opportunity.
Only Kirigakure had done so, thanks to the Mizukage Kiritori—now erased from history—who had provided him with such a stage through his world-shaking wisdom...
Moreover, with Hiruzen's position, every move he made would be interpreted by far too many people both within Konoha and across the shinobi world.
If he started wars casually, the effect might be to make the shinobi beneath him overly warlike, which could instead damage the village's long-term internal development.
That meant he could no longer express himself however he pleased.
Such were the constraints of authority and responsibility being bound together.
But Danzō and Seisui becoming trapped had given Hiruzen an utterly legitimate excuse.
For once, he could indulge himself as much as he wanted and test just how strong he had become within the shinobi world...
Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru and Hizashi, glanced toward the door beside him, and smiled faintly.
"Suddenly I feel like copying Danzō and slamming the door on my way out. No idea why. Maybe I miss him."
"I'm off. You two get everything moving as fast as possible!"
Orochimaru and Hizashi's hearts trembled.
People always said that the essence of the Will of Fire was bonds...
Wasn't the Hokage the same?
And this, too, fell within Hiruzen's "calculations"—or perhaps it would be better described as a small bit of cleverness born from simply going along with the situation.
If prestige could contain a sense of human warmth, then it was like adding other metals to iron to form a stronger alloy.
To rescue his own brother and his teacher's descendant, while not wanting his own shinobi to suffer excessive casualties because of it, he chose to descend from the sky alone and plunge straight into the enemy formation...
Perhaps it would become a story people across the shinobi world would still talk about for decades to come.
It might be somewhat reckless, but the Will of Fire and the human warmth within it had already become so rich that they were impossible to miss.
It would become one of the defining works of Hiruzen's career, a story celebrated throughout Konoha and the shinobi world.
The prestige carried by the Hokage line would rise because of it.
"What are you still standing there for?!"
After Hiruzen left, Hizashi suddenly shouted.
"I'll go speak with Mito-sama about defending the village. You immediately contact every Konoha Council Member in the various regions!"
"Tell those bastards to drop whatever they're doing right now. Even if they're holding spoils worth a fortune or some enormous reward, they are to abandon it all and head for the Land of Earth's front lines at full speed, no matter the cost!"
Boundless fighting spirit and fury surged within Hizashi's Byakugan.
As though only by doing this could he suppress that faint, indescribable panic in his heart.
"I know!"
Orochimaru snatched up the Earth Grudge Communicator.
In a tone far harsher than usual, he quickly contacted the Yamanaka Clan's command center and issued absolute orders to every region under Konoha's effective control.
It was an enormous mobilization effort.
At that moment...
Kirigakure, Amegakure, every Konoha Council Member, and every jōnin erupted into action.
Everyone listened intently to their marching orders, afraid of being even a single step late.
In the Land of Water...
Nakamaro and Kisame were leading troops in clearing out the last stubborn groups of wandering shinobi.
Because Hiruzen had not fully integrated the Land of Water into Konoha, the region would remain largely self-contained for the next several years.
And since some nobles were excessively disobedient, Nakamaro and Kisame could still use methods carrying a bit of Kirigakure's old flavor to give these anti-Konoha elements a direct and straightforward "education."
They just had to make sure they gathered the evidence afterward.
Unlike in Konoha, where, except in extremely special circumstances, evidence still had to come first.
"We hit the jackpot this time..."
"They were hiding this much chakra metal? These parasites in the Land of Water barely know a handful of decent ninjutsu, yet they hauled all these precious resources into their own homes!"
Nakamaro inspected the spoils while thinking about something Orochimaru had told him a few days earlier.
Konoha was going to pursue informatization...
What exactly was informatization?
Nakamaro had read plenty of books, but the concept was still far too advanced for him.
Still, there was one thing he understood.
It was Hokage-sama's intention.
And informatization required enormous quantities of raw chakra metal stock and ore.
Clearly, this haul was exactly what Konoha needed!
At that moment...
The Earth Grudge Communicator at Nakamaro's waist rang.
Under the envious gazes of the other Kirigakure shinobi, he gave it a rather stylish little shake, flipped open the cover, and held it to his ear.
'This is Nakamaro...'
Suddenly, Nakamaro's expression turned incomparably grim.
'All right. Understood!'
Kisame froze.
What had happened?
"Drop every piece of loot you're holding. We don't want any of it. Forget all of it for now!"
"Leave Terumī Mei behind to hold the fort. Every other Kirigakure jōnin, special jōnin, and sufficiently experienced chūnin is to assemble at full speed. We're going to reinforce Hokage-sama!"
"Tell everyone this is Kirigakure's chance to show what we're worth. Anyone who drags us down, I'll cut their head off!"
Nakamaro's expression was vicious.
His Byakugan were filled with ferocity, and not a trace remained of the smiling expression he usually wore when imitating Tenzō.
Kisame immediately said: "We'll summon sharks! Tell Council Member Orochimaru we'll land from the side of the Land of Earth. We definitely won't arrive any slower than they do!"
"Good!"
Nakamaro slapped Kisame on the shoulder.
The two brothers immediately sprang into action.
The same happened in Amegakure.
The moment Hanzō received the news, he immediately mobilized all of Amegakure's forces.
The generosity and kindness shown by his sworn brother, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had long since warmed the entire Land of Rain and Amegakure like a blazing fire...
When Hanzō had chosen to open the floodgates and release the reservoir against Sunagakure, Hiruzen had even allocated a special reconstruction fund to the people of the Land of Rain after the war ended, helping them rebuild their homes.
Every aspect had been considered thoroughly and properly...
To the point that most people inside Amegakure were now calculating how much military merit they would need to transfer into Konoha, practically wishing they could officially move their registration over to the Land of Fire the very next day.
There was no helping it.
Hanzō-sama might be extremely strong, but compared to Hokage-sama, he still didn't inspire the same sense of security...
And Hanzō himself was consciously pushing things in that direction.
It had long since become an understanding between him and Hiruzen—to merge Amegakure into Konoha in a dignified way that left both sides satisfied, turning them into one family.
...
"Move out! Reinforce the Hokage!"
Inside Konoha, the various Council Members moved even faster.
Not a single one of them wanted the Hokage fighting alone behind enemy lines.
The war machine Hiruzen had personally built began operating at astonishing speed in the span of an instant.
As though heralding that the situation in the shinobi world—and the Third Shinobi World War itself—was about to reach its most important turning point.
What would the future of this war become?
For now, no one knew...
Meanwhile...
High in the sky, Hiruzen slowly sealed the chakra of all nine tailed beasts into his Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal as he looked down at the land below.
He had made up his mind...
He would refine the chakra of all nine tailed beasts and test his own upper limit!
After all, the shinobi world ran far too deep.
He could not be satisfied with his current state...
High-intensity warfare, combined with multiple bursts of chakra inside his body, would make an excellent catalyst for promoting the fusion of the tailed beasts' chakra within him.
It was similar to "heating up the furnace."
Hiruzen leapt down.
Hokage-sama had entered the war ahead of everyone else—alone!
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