In the end, Danzo accepted his subordinate's suggestion. Although it stung his pride to admit it, the truth was clear—on the battlefield, Hoshiyomi and the others possessed far stronger leadership than he did.
There was, of course, another reason. He was worried that a military defeat might undermine his current influence. It was better to stick to his intelligence work—if Konoha won, he could still claim some credit; if they lost, he wouldn't have to take the fall. Earning wartime merit while barely lifting a finger? What could be sweeter than that?
Danzo immediately drafted a letter and had it sent to Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
Upon reading the contents, the Third Hokage's expression turned grave. Wasting no time, he turned to the ANBU beside him and ordered:
"Notify all of Konoha's Jonin and department heads to come to the conference room. This is an emergency wartime meeting. All Konoha Jonin must be present."
At that moment, Hoshiyomi was at the Senju compound with Tsunade, half-flirting, half-monitoring the training progress of their four younger protégés. Nawaki, a simple-minded kid, had naively come to believe he had the potential to develop Wood Release after Hoshiyomi gave him a grand speech.
The kid had completely abandoned his desire to go to the battlefield. Instead, he made it his mission to protect Kushina from going berserk and to prevent spies from other villages from triggering her tailed beast's rampage. He was now obsessed with trying to awaken Wood Release.
Given Nawaki's current drive and natural talent, he likely wouldn't become a second Hashirama. But turning into a stronger version of Yamato? That was a real possibility.
Nearby, Minato and Kuugetsu had just finished sparring when an ANBU arrived. Upon hearing that a wartime emergency meeting had been called, both Hoshiyomi and Tsunade frowned slightly—but didn't hesitate. They gave the four youths permission to train freely for the rest of the day, then made their way to the Hokage Building's conference room.
By the time they arrived, the conference room was already filled with jōnin. Though nearly half of Konoha's top-tier shinobi were currently deployed to the front, a significant number still remained as part of the village's internal defense forces.
When Hoshiyomi and Tsunade entered, Shinku and Orochimaru were already there, and they waved for them to come and sit together
Since they were all familiar with each other, Tsunade sat directly beside Shinku, and Hoshiyomi sat on Tsunade's other side.
Not long after they took their seats, a figure slid into the seat beside Hoshiyomi—familiar, yet unfamiliar.
Unfamiliar, because Hoshiyomi had never interacted with this man before. Familiar, because he recognized the face from his past life's memories of the original series.
The man had long, pale blue hair, fair skin, and symmetrical features—the kind of fresh-faced, handsome guy who'd easily attract female attention.
As soon as Hoshiyomi saw his face, he immediately identified him: this was none other than Kato Dan, Tsunade's first love from the original story.
In the original story, this very meeting had occurred after Nawaki's death, but before the Legendary Sannin faced Hanzō. Yet because of Hoshiyomi's presence and the resulting shifts in the war's trajectory, the timeline had changed. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had already become the "Sannin" ahead of schedule. As a result, this meeting was now happening at a different time—and it was Hoshiyomi sitting beside Tsunade instead of Jiraiya.
Seeing Dan sitting next to him, enthusiastically reaching out to greet him, Hoshiyomi looked back at Tsunade, who was grinning foolishly at his profile. He turned back around and shook Dan's hand with a smile.
He had no intention of shunning or mocking Dan. That would be petty. Only someone insecure in their relationship would feel the need to assert dominance through jealousy.
In terms of strength and looks, Hoshiyomi had Dan beat. Add to that the years of deep-rooted affection between him and Tsunade—there was no way Dan's sudden appearance would shake their bond.
Was he underestimating himself? Or was he underestimating Tsunade? If, after all this, Dan could still manage to steal her away… then what was the point of him being transmigrator in the first place?
And the truth supported that confidence. In the original timeline, Tsunade and Dan only grew close because Nawaki's death had left her emotionally vulnerable.
But now, Nawaki was alive and well—and Hoshiyomi had been by Tsunade's side for years. Naturally, her entire heart belonged to him. She didn't even glance in Dan's direction.
Dan himself was an upright man. The relationship between Tsunade and Hoshiyomi was no secret. With his kind of personality, he would never try to interfere in someone else's romance.
His reaching out to Hoshiyomi was purely out of respect for Hoshiyomi's reputation and strength. There were no ulterior motives.
After some brief, cordial small talk, the Third Hokage stepped up to the podium and announced the start of the meeting.
He began by explaining the dire state of the front lines. As he detailed the worsening situation, everyone in the room furrowed their brows.
After a sweeping glance at the gathered jōnin, Hiruzen continued:
"There are two main items on today's agenda.
First, the issue of providing additional food supplies to Amegakure.
The shipment we had previously promised was destroyed by Iwagakure's earth release burrowing unit.
I ask you all—should we send another shipment? And if so, how do we ensure the supplies won't be targeted again?
Second, we must finalize the list of personnel who will be deployed to the frontlines.
The war is upon us. I hope everyone speaks freely so we can formulate a sound, efficient battle plan."
As soon as the Hokage finished speaking, the room buzzed with discussion. This wasn't some company meeting or departmental conference from Hoshiyomi's past life.
This was war—one that involved their friends, brothers, and children. Everyone was deeply engaged. The atmosphere was intense.
Before long, a comprehensive strategy was finalized:
Konoha would send another shipment of food to Hanzō. For a village as resource-rich as Konoha, that wasn't difficult. The priority was to keep Amegakure from stirring up trouble. If they could contribute to the fight, all the better.
As for the issue of sabotage by the Earth Release units, a plan was proposed: the new supplies would only be delivered to the forward defense line. Transport beyond that point would be left to Hanzō's own men.
At most, Konoha would assign a couple of Uzumaki or Hyūga clan members to assist with sensory tasks. If Hanzō still managed to lose the supplies this time, well—he'd have no leg to stand on and could go throw himself at Iwagakure's mercy.
The battle strategy itself was also reaffirmed. Konoha would stick to its original two-front plan to prevent a full alliance between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
The existing offensive line would continue targeting Iwagakure, while the defensive line would hold off Sunagakure. Commanders would remain unchanged: Gekkō Hoshiyomi on one side, Hatake Sakumo on the other.
However, there were changes to the support roles.
Orochimaru and Tsunade would act as Sakumo's vice-commanders, while Jiraiya—still stationed in Amegakure—would serve as Hoshiyomi's vice-commander, alongside Shinko.
Each front would receive reinforcements consisting of:
30 jōnin
500 chūnin
200 genin
Total: 1,500 ninja per front. They were scheduled to depart in two days.
Don't let the numbers fool you—this was significant. The total number of active ninja in any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages rarely exceeded 20,000 to 30,000. This deployment was just the beginning. If the war dragged on, more reinforcements would follow.
Author's Notes:
This chapter served as a transitional setup. These early-stage war logistics were necessary to lay the groundwork. The next chapter will touch on the medical corps, then we'll return to full-scale war scenes.