"Shikaku, what do you think?"
Since almost everyone was siding with Yan, Tsunade had no choice but to call someone out.
Nara Shikaku stood up after being named and said:
"Hokage-sama, I agree with the Advisor. I don't think Sunagakure would do something so reckless and stupid, and Rasa isn't that kind of madman either.
There's definitely some plot behind this that we don't know about. It could even be the Akatsuki pulling the strings.
As for their motive, it's probably to weaken the power of the five great ninja villages.
The problem is, we don't have any solid proof that this is really the Akatsuki's doing."
"The Land of Water's Daimyo lost a hand and is now being taken back to the Daimyo residence by our camp's ninja. With something like this happening, there's no way Kirigakure won't demand an explanation from Sunagakure.
To defend their Daimyo's honor, and for justice, I don't think war can be avoided."
Konohagakure got the news so quickly because the wounded Daimyo of the Land of Water had been escorted all the way to the Fire Country's border to seek help.
When the ninja at the border camp saw the Daimyo—missing a hand, covered in blood, and unconscious—their minds went completely blank.
They immediately began treating him and sent word back to the village, while also assigning people to escort him—now stable—back to the Daimyo residence.
Once he was delivered there, what happened afterward no longer concerned Konohagakure.
Kirigakure would send their own people to pick him up, or the Daimyo might choose to rest and recover at the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence.
But it's unlikely the Daimyo will stay in the Land of Fire. Kirigakure will probably send someone to bring him back as soon as possible.
After all, no one knows what will happen once the war breaks out.
They definitely can't risk leaving their Daimyo exposed.
"Send word to the other villages, including Sunagakure. Rasa might not even know yet that something this serious happened on his own land."
If the battle disturbance was noticed by Sunagakure's ninja, that would be one thing. But if they missed it, they'd still be totally in the dark.
Konohagakure can't stop a war that might break out at any moment, and they're in no position to help mediate something that big.
The only thing they *can* do is help pass on the news, so that the other villages aren't caught completely off guard.
At the end, Yan added:
"By the way, no need to notify Kirigakure Village. They'll hear about it soon enough.
Just send messages to Sunagakure Village, Iwagakure Village, and Kumogakure Village. Use the ninja hawks."
"For now, our relations with the other villages are still okay. If hawks can deliver the messages, there's no need to send anyone in person."
"Besides passing on the news, I think we should send a team to the border to stand guard—just in case the war breaks out and drags Land of Fire and Konohagakure into it."
"We're not afraid of war, but we also don't want to be dragged into one for no reason."
"I'll go," Jiraiya offered. "There's not much else I can help with right now anyway. Might as well take up a post at the border."
He also planned to take Naruto out with him. It'd be a good chance to travel and also keep watch on the front lines.
Just in case Sunagakure and Kirigakure lose their heads and start doing something stupid.
"In that case..."
Tsunade thought for a moment, then made her decision:
"Shikaku, send out the order. Gather a team of shinobi to go with Jiraiya to the border camp. We absolutely can't let someone in the shadows drag Konohagakure into this mess."
"Yan is right. Konohagakure doesn't fear war—we just don't want to fight in a war that has no point."
"Understood."
Nara Shikaku, the head of the Jonin squad, was the right person for this kind of job:
"But how many ninja should we send from the village?"
Ask him!
Tsunade raised her eyebrows at Yan.
Yan thought for a bit, estimating the number and strength of the border camp ninja:
"Five hundred elite shinobi. It's not a huge number, but not small either, and they're all top-level.
As long as the enemy doesn't come in overwhelming numbers, they should be able to hold the line. Plus, with Jiraiya there, things should stay under control."
Sending too many people would be a waste. Even though Konohagakure isn't broke right now, they're not exactly overflowing with money either.
Unless Konohagakure actually gets pulled into the war, there's no point in constantly sending more and more ninja to the border.
"Understood."
Shikaku stood up and left to get things ready.
After some discussion over the small details, the meeting finally ended—just as the sun came up.
Jiraiya waited on purpose until everyone had left, then smiled and made his request:
"Tsunade, Yan—I'd like to bring Naruto with me to the border."
As long as both Yan and Tsunade agreed, there wouldn't be any issues. As for the Third Hokage...
Jiraiya decided to ignore him on purpose.
That stubborn old man definitely wouldn't approve.
And since he wouldn't, why even ask him? He should just enjoy his retirement and stay out of the village's business.
"Go talk to Yan yourself. I've got a ton of stuff to deal with. I just went to bed and now I'm getting blasted out of it."
Jiraiya was tired. Tsunade was tired. Tsunade was nearly losing her mind from all the work, while Jiraiya was just exhausted from goofing off.
As he watched Tsunade leave in a hurry with Shizune, Jiraiya propped his chin on one hand and looked Yan up and down.
"Why do I feel like *you're* more like the Hokage than Tsunade is?"
"Don't feel like taking Naruto out?"
Yan shot the question back at him.
"...."
Caught off guard, Jiraiya let out a dry cough.
"Uh… how about we just pretend I never said anything, okay? Forget it completely."
"Screw off."
Yan couldn't be bothered with him. He stood up, stretched, and started walking out of the meeting room.
"You decide what to do with Naruto. If you take him out, just make sure he comes back safe. I don't have a problem with it.
But I suggest you don't run this by the Third Hokage. He'll 100% say no."
"I'm not stupid!!"
With that sorted, Jiraiya looked like he was in a pretty good mood. He hung back a bit, hands behind his back, humming a little tune.
Instead of going back to his office, Yan walked out of the Hokage building and gave a nod to Hiashi and Fugaku, who were waiting outside, signaling it was time to go.
The two of them had already given him a subtle signal earlier when they left the meeting room.
"Tch… Looks like the Hyuga and Uchiha really are working together now. Well, I guess that's a good thing."
Jiraiya muttered to himself as he watched the three of them walk away, then turned and headed home.
He needed to go wake up Naruto and get ready for the trip.
Can we pick a different place?
Watching Yan walk into Ichiraku Ramen, Fugaku and Hiashi both felt the urge to cover their faces and turn around.
We're here to talk about serious matters, and he brings us to a ramen shop?
At least take us somewhere with decent food.