The night was deep and heavy, but the meeting room of the Hokage Building blazed with light.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood at the head of the table. His fingers tapped lightly on the surface, and his expression carried an unusual ease.
He looked around at everyone present and began to speak.
"Everyone, good news has arrived from the front lines.
The tactics Chiya arranged have been highly effective. The elite members of each clan cooperated seamlessly, the Suna-nin's offensive has been completely held back, and Kikyojo has been defended!"
The moment those words fell, a ripple of quiet discussion spread through the meeting room.
Hyūga Sakusei gave a slight nod. The head of the Aburame Clan also showed an expression of approval.
After all, under Chiya's deployment, the ninja from each of their respective clans had played a key role on the battlefield.
As long as nothing unexpected occurred, returning to the village would mean battle honors.
However, at that very moment.
"Hmph. All they managed to do was hold the defensive line."
Danzo leaned on his cane and slowly rose to his feet. His voice was low and hoarse.
His single eye swept across everyone present and finally settled on Chiya. The corner of his mouth curved into a cold sneer.
"True victory should mean utterly crushing the Suna-nin, not passive defense."
The atmosphere in the meeting room froze for an instant.
The Third's brow furrowed slightly.
"Danzo, what exactly do you mean?"
Danzo drew a deep breath and spoke earnestly.
"Since this war has already begun, we should be pursuing greater gains for the village.
I believe Konoha needs bolder and more decisive command!"
He paused. His single eye narrowed, and his tone turned cold.
"Therefore, I propose that I, Danzo, take over the battlefield against the Suna-nin and personally take command."
Chiya's gaze went cold. He laughed to himself inwardly.
'This move from Danzo is obvious. He sees the situation has stabilized and wants to swoop in and claim the fruits of victory.
More importantly, he will never allow the reputation of the Uchiha to rise again. That is why he has chosen to jump out at this exact moment.'
"Oh?"
Chiya slowly rose to his feet. He braced both hands on the table, his gaze sharp as the edge of a blade.
"Danzo, you are so eager to take over the command authority against the Suna-nin. Does that mean you feel I, Uchiha Chiya, have not done well enough?"
Danzo's face was expressionless.
"I simply believe that war requires harsher methods."
"Harsher methods?"
Chiya let out a scornful laugh.
"Such as conducting forbidden human experimentation in secret? Or colluding with rogue ninja?"
"What?!"
The meeting room erupted instantly!
The faces of the assembled clan heads changed sharply. Every gaze snapped toward Danzo.
Danzo's expression turned as dark as stagnant water.
"Uchiha Chiya! You are slandering me!"
"Slander?"
Chiya laughed coldly. He drew a scroll from his sleeve and slapped it down on the table with a sharp crack.
"This is an investigation report from Root. It contains detailed evidence recording how your subordinates captured civilians and ninja along the border to conduct forbidden jutsu experiments."
"And furthermore..."
"Before Orochimaru defected, who provided him with funding? Who supplied him with materials and ninja?
In this matter, Danzo, you bear an inescapable responsibility!"
A flash of killing intent passed through Danzo's single eye, but he quickly suppressed it.
He said coldly.
"Nonsense! These so-called pieces of evidence are nothing but a frame-up by the Uchiha!"
The mockery on Chiya's face grew sharper.
"This was not investigated by the Uchiha. It was investigated by the ANBU."
"The ANBU? So what? Does that mean they cannot fabricate things?"
The ANBU was currently led by Hatake Sakumo. The majority of its members were elite ninja drawn from the major clans.
Doubting the Uchiha was one thing, but now Danzo was doubting the ANBU.
The atmosphere inside the meeting room shifted in an instant.
Hatake Sakumo appeared indifferent, as though he had not heard a word.
But Hyūga Sakusei's brow furrowed tight. The head of the Aburame Clan went even further and rose directly to his feet, saying in a firm voice.
"Danzo, if these accusations are true, then the nature of this matter is something else entirely."
"That is correct."
Nara Shikaku also spoke up slowly.
"At a time like this, we absolutely cannot afford to have this kind of threat lurking inside the village."
Danzo's expression grew uglier by the moment.
Seeing the situation, Hiruzen immediately raised a hand to stop it.
"Enough!"
His voice was low and commanding.
"We are in the middle of opposing the Suna-nin. Internal quarreling will only give the enemy an opening!"
He looked around at everyone, and his gaze finally settled on Tsunade.
"Since the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the position of temporary commander for the battlefield against the Suna-nin will be held by Tsunade for now!"
"What?"
Tsunade was caught off guard. It was clear she had not expected Hiruzen to call on her so suddenly.
Danzo's head snapped toward him.
"Hiruzen! This..."
The Third raised a hand to cut him off.
"Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage. She has been through battles of all sizes, and above all, her medical ninjutsu is unmatched in the entire shinobi world. Having her oversee the battle is the most fitting choice."
The corner of Chiya's mouth lifted slightly. He raised no objection.
'Whether it is me or Tsunade who serves as the top commander on the battlefield against the Suna-nin, the difference is minimal.
But it absolutely cannot be Danzo.'
Chiya gave Tsunade a look that told her to accept.
Tsunade was surprised, but she quickly composed herself. She crossed her arms and let out a cold snort.
"Fine. Since the old man puts it that way, I suppose I will grudgingly take this burden on."
Danzo's face turned an iron shade of grey. But with all eyes on him, he could no longer argue. He could only sit back down with a dark expression.
After the meeting ended, Tsunade grabbed Chiya's sleeve and lowered her voice.
"What were you thinking? Why did you let me agree to this?"
Chiya laughed lightly.
"Haven't you always wanted to reform the medical system?
This is the perfect chance to use the war as an opportunity to raise the standing of medical ninja."
"And if the standing of medical ninja rises, wouldn't that make you, the master of medicine, rise even higher?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"You really do calculate everything carefully."
Chiya shrugged.
"Of course. I am doing all of this for you."
He looked out the window. The night outside was as dark as ink.
"For me?"
Tsunade's gaze turned a little unfriendly as she looked Chiya over.
"How long has it been since you last came to see me? Are you about to forget I exist? I don't care. Tonight I will be waiting at my place and you are not allowed to refuse!"
Chiya looked at the burning intensity in Tsunade's gaze. He leaned close to her ear, the corner of his mouth curving.
"For Lady Tsunade's sake, I will be there on time."
"Oh, and tonight, I must trouble Lady Tsunade to prepare a few more battle outfits. We can take turns trying each one on."
The news of the Suna-nin's attack on the Land of Fire was deliberately spread by the Sand, and it swept through the entire shinobi world like a storm.
The other hidden villages received a challenge from the Suna-nin all at the same time.
The challenge was, naturally, about the alliance that had been agreed upon beforehand, the one to divide the Land of Fire together.
Now that the Suna-nin's offensive had run into trouble, the others were apparently still sitting on their hands.
Receiving this news, the other hidden villages that had already been itching to move were at last unable to hold back any longer.
Each village began mobilizing their forces and marching directly toward the borders of the Land of Fire.
As the large-scale movements began,
Root spies embedded in the other villages detected the change and performed exactly as they were supposed to.
The intelligence was swiftly delivered to Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, read over the intelligence reports sent in by Root. His face was heavy with worry.
The Suna-nin attacking Konoha alone would have been manageable.
But now, the other hidden villages as well...
It seemed they too were beginning to target Konoha and were preparing to go to war.
This would be the destruction of Konoha!
The Suna-nin, the Mist, the Iwa-nin, Kumogakure...
The five great ninja villages, every one of them except Konoha itself.
All of them were Konoha's enemies!
Konoha was facing the entire shinobi world with its strength alone!
The Third Hokage lifted his gaze to the portraits of past Hokage hanging on the wall, and for a moment his mind drifted.
After ten minutes, he finally turned to the ninja of his escort guard and spoke.
"Notify each of the major clans of this intelligence. Furthermore, effective immediately."
"Konoha will enter a state of full-scale war!!"
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