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A day and a half later, in the IT department;
"You shouldn't have said that," Hiruzen said, his calm voice making it eerie in the surrounding prison cell.
In front of Hiruzen was Masaru, who was bound and had a seal on his forehead. His clothes had seen better days, with sections either cut or completely torn off. His arms and limbs were bandaged, hiding the teeth and claw marks that Ryuu's dire wolves left on his body after hunting them down.
True to Hiruzen's orders, the Anbu teams were able to bring all eight escapees back alive. But that didn't mean they returned in one piece. Most of them fought back to avoid capture, which resulted in them having injuries with various degrees of severity, some even losing a limb, or being dragged back to Konoha with severe injuries.
Each Anbu team was responsible for catching one or two members of the Kumo convoy and bringing them back to Konoha.
Masaru was the last one caught as he was running directly towards the land of hot springs with Team Shi hot on his tail. Masaru had tried everything to shake off his pursuers, but to no avail. Team Shi, along with packs of Ryuu's Dire wolves, made it impossible for him to escape.
What Masaru and his companions did had voided their diplomatic immunity. Not only did they leave their place of residence when they were instructed not to, but they also killed one of the Anbu stationed to watch them, along with injuring two others.
Now they are treated like prisoners from an enemy village, their belongings taken and their freedoms stripped.
Hiruzen eyed the silent Masaru for a moment before he turned around to face Inoichi Yamanaka and Ibiki Morino, who stood behind him.
"I will entrust them in your hands. I want to know what their plan was. I will need every detail you can get from them. Just make sure that you keep them alive. They are more useful alive than dead," Hiruzen said in a blank tone.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Inoichi and Ibiki said, to which Hiruzen nodded before walking away.
About a day later, in the Hokage office;
Hiruzen let out a sigh as he sat behind his desk, while completing his daily work. He could sense the tension in the air with Shinobi on their toes, especially after the council meeting the day after the attempted kidnapping.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"Come in," Hiruzen said as he looked up from his paperwork
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," Ibiki said as he and Inoichi entered the room.
"Here you go, Sandaime-sama," Inoichi said as he pasted their initial report to Hiruzen, who took it and started to read it carefully.
"So, Kumo wasn't looking for peace negotiations," Hiruzen said with a sigh
"No, Hokage-sama. It was all a disguise so they could come to Konoha to try and acquire the Byakugan." Ibiki said
"The pill that the Anbu team retrieved from the assistant's mouth was a fast-acting, fatal poison. They planned that if they failed to get away with the Heiress, is to die in the hands of Leaf Shinobi, either by the pill or by the Leaf Nin killing them. That way, they could throw the blame on Konoha, deny any attempts at Kidnapping, and demand compensation." Inoichi said
"But with us capturing the assistant, their plan has failed, and the ambassador attempted to escape. He knew everything would be revealed the moment we interrogated his assistant." Ibiki finished.
Hiruzen stayed silent for a bit, deep in thought. He then looked at the two and said, "Kumo's plan is already stopped with all their cards in the open. We will have to wait for Kumo's response. I hope they don't escalate the situation."
"You two are dismissed, see if our 'guests' have anything more to t….."
Knock, knock, knock.
Hiruzen was interrupted by a knock at the door, making him, along with Ibiki and Inoichi, turn towards the door.
"Come in," Hiruzen said
"Sorry to interrupt, Hokage-sama. But there is a message for you that arrives on our fast messenger birds." A chunin said before passing a scroll to Hiruzen, then bowed before leaving the room.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at the scroll in his hands. Usually, fast messenger birds are reserved for urgent messages or if a spy wants a message to arrive as fast as possible.
Hiruzen checked the scroll thoroughly before opening it, his eyes narrowing and his expression turning grim as he deciphered the message's contents.
"What is it, Hokage-sama?" Inoichi asked
"Kumo is mobilizing its forces," Hiruzen replied
"This doesn't sound good," Ibiki said with his usual gloomy expression
"No, it isn't," Hiruzen said under his breath
"Inu," Hiruzen called, with Inu appearing in front of him the next moment. Team Ro was tasked with guarding the Hokage today.
"Call for a council meeting and tell Ryuu to be there in his regular Shinobi attire," Hiruzen ordered
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Inu said before he disappeared in a body flicker.
"You two are dismissed," Hiruzen said to Ibiki and Inoichi, who nodded before leaving.
As they left, Hiruzen pulled out a scroll and started to write an urgent message.
Two hours later, in the council room;
"So, this is the Situation as of right now. What are your thoughts?" Hiruzen said to the council after describing the current situation to them.
The council has been in session for some time now, with all the members listening silently to Hiruzen.
"We shouldn't have welcomed them," Hiashi said with cold detachment. Many of those present nodded in agreement.
"What is done, is done. Right now, we need to navigate carefully through this situation."Shikaku said with a blank tone.
"Hiruzen, since we have proof of Kumo's ill intent. Shouldn't we inform the fire Daimyo so he can demand an explanation from the lightning Daimyo?" Koharu asked
"Already ahead of you. I have sent a message to the Daimyo." Hiruzen said
"Hokage-sama, shouldn't we discuss the intel that arrived about Kumo's mobilization?" Inoichi said
"Considering the timing, they are surely up to no good," Homura said with a matter-of-fact tone.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
The sudden knock on the door surprised all those present. Council meetings shouldn't be disturbed unless it is urgent.
"Come in," Hiruzen said, looking at the door which opened, revealing his Anbu commander.
"I apologize for the interruption, Hokage-sama. But this just arrived from Kumo, you should read it." Hawk said with an undertone of urgency before walking around the council table and handing the opened scroll to Hiruzen.
Usually, no one, other than the Hokage, is permitted to open any message that arrives at the Hokage's building. But with the Hokage being busy, only his Anbu commander is permitted to open the message to evaluate the urgency of the message.
Hiruzen took the scroll from Hawk and started reading it, his expression gloomier with every word.
"What is it, Hiruzen?" Koharu asked upon seeing Hiruzen's darkening expression.
"Kumo denied any attempt at kidnapping, accusing us of fabricating the entire ordeal to sabotage their efforts to achieve peace. They demand the release of their convoy and compensation for this incident. The compensation is being a Hyuga clan member," Hiruzen said with a flat tone. Upon hearing this, the room fell into a deafening silence.
"Upsurd," Hiashi shouted as he stood violently from his chair.
"Who do they think they are?"
"They are caught red-handed and have the nerve to demand compensation."
"Even thieves have more shame than this."
These were some of the shouts that came from the council members, with many other things being shouted and spoken.
"Enough," Hiruzen shouted, making the agitated council quiet down.
"Quiet down and think carefully about what we should respond," Hiruzen said
"What is there to think about Hiruzen? We absolutely refuse such absurd demands. I was with you when Kumo 'offered' peace talks, but their shamelessness is absurd." Koharu said with an agitated tone, with the whole council nodding in agreement.
"Shouldn't we at least negotiate a compromise with them?" Hiruzen stated
BANG
Tsunade, who was quietly talking to her son, who stood behind her, slammed her hands on the table the moment she heard Hiruzen say that.
"Compromise with who, those Shameless Kumo Shinobi? Are you out of your mind, Sensei? They came to our home, tried to kidnap our children, and when they failed, they tried to intimidate us. If we compromise with them, or Kami forbids, we give them what they want. What is stopping them from doing it again? What is stopping Iwa from trying their luck? They have been eyeing us with thirst for revenge since the last Shinobi war. If Kumo wants war, we should give it to them." Tsunade said with a tone filled with fury. Many members of the council agreed with her.
"We aren't ready for war, Tsunade." Hiruzen sighed. The last war and the Kyuubi attack had taken many good Shinobi from Konoha, and the financial strain from the Kyuubi's assault had left the treasury in a poor state due to the repairs.
"We have proof that Kumo is the one who initiated this mess. If we presented it to the fire Daimyo, he would be more than willing to fund us if we went to war, especially since Kumo wanted a part of the land of fire in the negotiations, which I am one hundred percent sure he wouldn't like at all." Tsunade said with confidence.
"Hiruzen, we have the numbers and the talent, and it will be quite simple to secure funding. We can't look weak now. It will come and bite us later." Homura said
Hearing this, Hiruzen sighed as he fell into deep thought. After a minute or so of silence, he looked at the council.
"If we take this route and the situation escalates, we will be going to war. Who is with this notion?" Hiruzen said with a grim tone.
Almost immediately, the Shinobi side of the council and the two advisors raised their hands. Some of the civilian council members raised their hands, while some looked hesitant. At the end, almost all of the council had their hands raised, with very few from the civilian council not raising their hand.
Seeing the almost unanimous agreement, Hiruzen let out a sigh before standing up from his chair.
"As of now, the village is under Martial law. No one enters or leaves the village without orders. Call upon all available Jonin and assemble the war room." Hiruzen said with a serious grim tone.
The elemental nations may be witnessing the dawn of a new war. A war that sparked from greed.
To be continued.
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