Torifu was usually a small, unnoticed figure among Konoha's higher-ups, but today he couldn't stay silent. He said that the Senju and Uzumaki clans had always been close allies, so why shouldn't the Ino-Shika-Chō trio be just as loyal?
Seeing the others ready to abandon their allies without a fight, he had no choice but to step up and speak.
"Easy for you to say!" Koharu said. "Hiruzen is the Hokage, not the leader of the Land of Whirlpools. Why should he make enemies of the entire shinobi world just for the sake of some so-called ally?"
Ever since her family started experiencing one disaster after another, with clan members constantly disappearing, her personality had grown nastier. Her words were anything but polite.
"What do you take an ally for?" Torifu said angrily. "To just cast them aside when convenient? How is that any different from abandoning your comrades and running off on the battlefield? And what do you mean by 'the entire shinobi world'? Stop fearmongering."
He had discussed this meeting at length with Shikakami and had already prepared his arguments.
"Those so-called four great villages may appear to have temporarily allied, but they're completely disorganized. They've been arguing endlessly over conflicting interests. That's why things have dragged on this long with no resolution. And with all the old conflicts between those villages, they nearly ended up fighting each other. This so-called alliance is nothing more than lip service."
"You've all seen the intel. The four great villages aren't anywhere close to being prepared for an all-out war with Konoha. They've mobilized some forces, but nothing significant, clearly they're hoping to reap the most rewards at the lowest cost. If we take a firmer stance, they won't to act rashly."
"Oh? You sound so confident," Koharu continued sarcastically. "But what if you're wrong? Are you willing to take responsibility for that?"
Cough, cough…
Torifu was suddenly left speechless. Shikakami hadn't taught him how to handle that one...
What was he supposed to say? Help! Need answers, ASAP!
And Koharu had no sense of honor. Who the hell would to take responsibility for something this big? Shouldn't this be the time for unity and collective decision-making?
But now she was singling him out?
Seeing that Torifu's momentum had faltered, she pressed on relentlessly, "If you can't take responsibility, then you'd best stop talking. Konoha can't afford to gamble. We're lucky enough just to survive right now."
"This level of capitulation is beneath us," Torifu finally responded. "We haven't even seen actual military engagement from these villages, yet we're already abandoning our allies at the first hint of pressure. If those four villages learn that mere joint statements are enough to make us retreat, what happens next time? Do we continue compromising until there's nothing left to concede? You've always advocated for aggressive positions in the past. Why this sudden caution now?"
"Torifu—!"
"Enough!" Hiruzen interrupted sternly. "Torifu, she is right. I'm the leader of Konoha. I can't gamble with the entire village. What if we fail to save the Land of Whirlpools and drag Konoha down with it?"
"So we simply watch as the Land of Whirlpools falls?" Torifu asked anxiously.
"We'll save them, of course, but we must do it wisely," Hiruzen concluded.
Hearing Hiruzen's words, the usually quiet Danzō couldn't help but sneer internally. Based on his understanding of Hiruzen, when he said "do it wisely," what he really meant was "don't do it at all," just dressed up in pretty words.
But not rescuing the Land of Whirlpools actually aligned with his interests. So he also spoke up at that moment, "I support Hiruzen's decision. We can station our troops at the border and stay ready to respond. If needed, we can always provide aid at the critical moment."
Hiruzen met Danzō's eyes. Looks like we're on the same page.
Over the past two years, Hiruzen's opposition to Danzō's establishment of Root had grown noticeably weaker. With Koharu and Homura also backing Danzō from the sidelines, he was nearly ready to give in. The last time the two had discussed it, he refused Danzō's proposal with the excuse that "the village has no money."
Using money as an excuse meant the real resistance was gone, because anything that money could fix wasn't a real problem. And what Danzō had his eye on was the wealth of the Land of Whirlpools.
Judging from the look in Hiruzen's eyes earlier, he was thinking the same thing.
The strength of the Land of Whirlpools was no joke, undeniably the most powerful ninja village after the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
And thanks to its unique geography, any war effort by the other villages would be stretched over long supply lines, making logistics a nightmare. Unless they went all-in, the other villages had no hope of success.
If Konoha timed its move well, stealthy enough to stay hidden, they could swoop in and take the prize.
In the end, Konoha would be the sole beneficiary of the war. The other villages could fight each other to the death and still walk away empty-handed. As for whether the other villages would be angry, what did that matter to Konoha?
Did they really think Konoha was afraid of them?
As long as everything was done in the shadows, on what grounds could they accuse Konoha? Besides, by the time the four great villages were bled dry from the fighting, they wouldn't even have the strength to wage war on Konoha.
What Torifu said was actually correct. The alliance between the four villages was flimsy at best. Once war broke out, they'd fight their own battles, and might even turn on each other.
Hiruzen would never really back down just because of a joint verbal warning from them, otherwise, how could he lead Konoha in the future?
But the Council had long been eyeing the riches of the Land of Whirlpools. At this point, they didn't even need to speak aloud, their intentions were perfectly aligned.
---
One day later, at the Senju residence, Mito looked dispirited. She never imagined that Hiruzen and the others would truly stand by and watch the Land of Whirlpools fall.
Worse, they were even plotting to swoop in at the last moment, to seize all the wealth the Land of Whirlpools had built up over the years.
Was the position of Hokage so poisonous that it could turn someone like the Professor into such a monster?
Allies? In Hiruzen's eyes, allies were nothing more than a meal on the table.
Turns out, Shin was right. If this continues, Konoha will be destroyed at Hiruzen's hands.
She used to think that Shin was just biased because of old conflicts with Hiruzen. But now it looked like his words had come true.
At this moment, she wished she could turn back time thirty years, so she could enter the battlefield in her prime and fight with her own hands. But now, she was old and frail, powerless in the face of such treachery.
"Mito-sama, do you have any ideas?" Torifu asked anxiously upon seeing Mito so dejected.
"Sigh…" Mito let out a heavy breath, then turned to Nawaki, who was training nearby, and said, "Go bring your sister back, immediately. And Shin, too. What time do they think it is, going out on a date now?"
"Uh…" Nawaki shrank back a bit at her words.
He knew exactly how fierce his sister could be—especially when she was out on a date with her future husband.
If he dared to interrupt her now, he'd be in for a nightmare for the next ten days at least.
"I'll go instead!" Minato, who had been instructing Nawaki in training, quickly offered.
Nawaki immediately shot Minato a grateful look, once again, he'd saved his life.
As expected of Minato!