After leaving the hall,Fumori Masaki instructed the school leaders who followed him out, telling them to pay attention to the students' conditions, monitor their emotions, and ensure that such an incident would not happen again. The school leaders nodded in agreement, and just as they were about to escort Fumori Masaki to the door, he waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need an escort and that they should attend to their duties, as he intended to stroll around the school himself.
Fumori Masaki then walked around the school. When the students who had left the hall saw him, they greeted him happily, intending to speak with him, but under the teachers' urging, they reluctantly headed to their classrooms.
Watching the students leave,Fumori Masaki noticed someone approaching him. He turned, smiled, and said, "Lady Toka."
The person was Senju Toka, who had a close relationship with Fumori Masaki. After the First Shinobi World War, she developed a chronic illness and became a teacher at the school. Having lost most of her combat ability, her extensive experience and knowledge were her only assets. She was very dedicated to her work at the school and held a very high position there now.
Besides her teaching career, Senju Toka, no longer needing to go on missions, also found love. She married the head of a shinobi clan named Fujino and had a son, ensuring her comfort in old age. No matter how close Rimi and she were, like mother and daughter, in the future, only that one person would be by Senju Toka's side.
The aging Senju Toka no longer looked as she once did; her hair had turned white, and wrinkles had appeared on her face, but her former spirit was still discernible. Although she could no longer go out on missions, Senju Toka found new purpose in the Ninja Academy, and her mindset had not aged with her body.
"Although I knew you wouldn't send young students to battle, I'm surprised you even sent out the graduates. In my opinion, not just the graduates, but even the sixth-year students who are about to graduate, possess enough strength to stand on their own," Senju Toka said.
"While that's true, they are still too young. Unexpected things might happen on the battlefield, so it's better to take it slow. Besides, the village isn't so desperate that it needs them to fight yet,"Fumori Masaki said with a smile.
"That's true," Senju Toka thought for a moment and nodded. She had fought as a ninja when she was even younger than these students, but that was due to the brutal environment of the Warring States period. The current situation in Konoha Village was not that dire.
The two walked through the campus, talking. Senju Toka was particularly concerned about Asuna's situation. Rimi and Akemi were both in the village, but Asuna remained in the Land of Rain, fighting against Sunagakure. After hearing about Sunagakure's suicidal resolve, she truly worried that something might happen to Asuna.
As a father,Fumori Masaki was naturally also very worried about Asuna's situation, but he also understood that as his daughter, Asuna had to possess the strength to protect herself and be completely self-reliant. From the moment Asuna chose to become a combat ninja, she was destined to face such challenges. No matter what, she had to overcome them; he couldn't protect her for her entire life.
"According to Sakumo, Asuna is performing very well on the battlefield. I don't think we need to worry too much. As for the risks of the battlefield, we can only choose to accept them,"Fumori Masaki said quietly.
"Alas, the ninja profession always comes with risks; anyone can get into trouble," Senju Toka sighed softly. In her lifetime, she had witnessed countless cruel fates, and she was somewhat mentally prepared for the dangers ninjas might encounter.
"By the way, what's the war situation like? What are your plans?" Senju Toka asked. Since she could no longer fight, she naturally couldn't serve as a Jonin anymore. Given her contributions and status in the village, she was given the honorary title of Jonin, retaining the basic rights of a Jonin.
However, she could not participate in the high-level decisions of the village like a true Jonin, and aside from managing the education department, she didn't know much about the war situation.
"Hmm, if Lady Toka wants to know, I'll reveal a few things first,"Fumori Masaki thought for a moment and said. After all, Senju Toka was once a Jonin in the village and also his elder. So, he briefly explained the current strategic plan to her.
"You want to drag Iwagakure into this?" Senju Toka was a little stunned. "I understand this is to mutually restrain Kumogakure, but does Iwagakure really intend to participate in this war?"
"They will definitely come. Onoki will not let Sunagakure lose to us easily. Once Sunagakure's situation becomes unfavorable, but they can still cause us trouble, he will certainly provide some support. If we perform poorly, he will definitely be willing to step in himself,"Fumori Masaki said seriously.
"Thinking back to the last Shinobi World War, we were allies fighting together, but now…" Senju Toka recalled once teaming up with Onoki to raid Kumogakure's grain reserves and couldn't help but lament the impermanence of fate.
"Indeed,"Fumori Masaki also nodded as if in emotion. Although they once fought side by side, they were now the leaders of two ninja villages, destined to fight for the interests of their respective countries and villages. Onoki had publicly declared that he would remain a ninja of Iwagakure until his death, fighting for the interests of the Land of Earth. In other words, Onoki would not miss any opportunity to weaken other countries.
Of course, this opportunistic attitude later caused Onoki considerable trouble, leading to the loss of two Tailed Beasts. And now,Fumori Masaki would also make Onoki understand that such tactics couldn't always be used.
"If Onoki is the opponent, never mind the other strengths of Iwagakure; he alone possesses an extremely troublesome jutsu. You must find a way to deal with it," Senju Toka said.
"Lady Toka is referring to — Dust Release, right?"Fumori Masaki's gaze narrowed slightly as he spoke the name of the powerful ninjutsu that made Onoki famous.
Dust Release, formed by the fusion of three chakra natures, is a Kekkei Tota that surpasses Kekkei Genkai. Its power is enough to reduce everything to molecular-sized particles. Except for the Rinnegan or jutsu based on four or more chakra natures, there is almost nothing that can withstand Dust Release.
Onoki's teacher, the Second Tsuchikage Mu, once used Dust Release to annihilate thousands of organized elite samurai in one go. The same applies to Onoki. Once Iwagakure joins the war, Onoki's Dust Release will become a strategic-level ninjutsu, surpassing that of the Third Kazekage. Its threat is no less than a Tailed Beast Bomb. Under the shroud of Dust Release, no matter how sturdy a city wall or how many hundreds or thousands of troops, they will be easily reduced to nothingness.
"Once the war begins, Onoki's movements must be monitored at all times. If we miss even a moment, it could lead to irreversible massive losses on the battlefield,"Fumori Masaki said gravely.
If Onoki were allowed to unleash Dust Release, even if he couldn't use it indefinitely, just destroying a city or annihilating an elite army could have an incalculable impact on the battlefield situation. Therefore, wherever Onoki is on the battlefield, there must be someone capable of restraining him. Konoha Village cannot deploy such experts on every important battlefield, so the responsibilities of the Anbu and Intelligence Department are extremely crucial.
"It all depends on the Anbu's capabilities. Hmm, according to your previous plan, to drag Iwagakure into the fight, you'll also need to find evidence of their support for the Land of Wind, right?" Senju Toka said.
"Yes, although the Land of Wind and Land of Earth are not at war, normally, trade between the two countries would not stop. However, we had previously pressured the Land of Earth not to aid the aggressors, and Onoki also has his pride to maintain, so he indeed did not allow domestic merchants to supply grain. But, secretly, it's a different story,"Fumori Masaki said.
"That's already pretty good. If it weren't for this 'righteous war' pretext, and trade between the two countries hadn't stopped, it wouldn't be so easy to drag Iwagakure into the water," Senju Toka said with a slight smile.
"If we don't find evidence or if they stubbornly deny it, I'll have to force them into the fray from another angle. That might be my first serious battle since becoming Hokage,"Fumori Masaki said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Senju Toka immediately sensed a different meaning. The serious battleFumori Masaki spoke of definitely didn't refer to strategic planning and command, but rather a ninja's battle against an enemy. However, she couldn't immediately figure out what kind of situation would require him, the Hokage, to fight, and how it related to forcing Iwagakure into the war.
Fumori Masaki didn't explain. He glanced at the sky and said it was almost time for him to return to his office. If Senju Toka had time, she could visit his home and see Rimi. Senju Toka thought for a moment, having nothing else to say, and then bid farewell toFumori Masaki.
Fumori Masaki returned to his office and, based on the upcoming strategic deployment, wrote an Anbu order. It was sent out through secret channels to Anbu members on the western front, where his other student, Hattori Heizo, was conducting covert activities.
Hattori Heizo's Anbu squad had infiltrated the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth early on. Because the two countries were not at war, this area had not been drawn into the quagmire of conflict, and aside from necessary precautions, the situation was relatively stable. Based on the intelligence gathered, Hattori Heizo was certain that Iwagakure and Sunagakure had a secret collaboration, and the seemingly vigilant towns were only maintaining appearances.
AfterFumori Masaki's Anbu order reached Captain Hyuga Kei, Hyuga Kei quickly memorized the order and gathered the Anbu members who were in action, informing them of the Hokage's command. Upon hearing that they needed to collect evidence of Iwagakure supporting Sunagakure, the team members first laid out the current situation.
"Because of the village's previous pressure, merchants have stopped trading with the Land of Wind. In other words, if they truly are providing support, it can only be through unofficial, underground activities. Given this, the smuggling routes might be utilized by Iwagakure. Those places are very secret and not easily discoverable," Hyuga Kei said.
"So, our investigation will focus mainly on this area, right?" an Anbu member asked.
"Exactly. At the same time, we can also investigate the granaries within the Land of Earth and the civilian grain merchants. The amount of supplies given to Sunagakure cannot be small. Such large-scale material movements, even if conducted secretly, or even drawn from multiple locations, will surely leave clues. We'll start with these, understand?" Hyuga Kei looked at each team member, speaking with a serious tone.
"Yes!" Everyone responded. After Hyuga Kei assigned each team member their reconnaissance direction, they instantly vanished from the spot. When they appeared outside, they transformed into their disguised identities and began gathering intelligence in the border town.
Every member of the Anbu was an elite personally selected byFumori Masaki, having achieved success in various fields. As a unit directly under the Hokage, they dedicated their loyalty to him, diligently carrying out secret missions.
Under their full-scale intelligence gathering, they indeed uncovered some clues. Originally, the matter of Iwagakure's support was merely a highly probable speculation, with no concrete evidence. However, now, based on the clues obtained by the Anbu, there was indeed a transfer of grain from granaries within the Land of Earth, and its destination was unknown. Although they had concealed it very well, drawing grain from different granaries, the Anbu's meticulous investigation still found their weak points.
"Very good. Now we need to ascertain the specific transportation routes for this grain," Hyuga Kei said to everyone after reviewing all the investigation reports.
Now that they knew about the grain transfers from those locations, it was easier to find out where the grain was going. Following the trail, they had located the channels Iwagakure was secretly using to transport goods to the Land of Wind, including the transportation channels within the Land of Wind itself.
All the reports and data were compiled and sent to Konoha Village through Hyuga Kei's secret contact channels, informing Fumori Masaki.
As soon as Fumori Masaki received the Anbu report, he immediately had diplomatic documents drafted and sent to Iwagakure, warning the Third Tsuchikage Onoki to cease supporting the Land of Wind. Otherwise, the Land of Earth would be considered a country aiding aggression and would become an enemy of Konoha Village, and Konoha Village would take appropriate measures accordingly.