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Chapter 267 - Chapter 267: Pre-Battle Meeting

After settling Naruto down, Jiraiya hurried back to the village.

As expected, the entire village was gripped by an air of anxiety and dread.

The streets were deserted and strangely lifeless.

Squads of ninja were rapidly mobilizing through the village.

A feeling of impending storm hung over every corner of Konoha — as if war was just around the corner.

Jiraiya quickly rushed into the Hokage Tower.

He was immediately struck by something unexpected.

Compared to the tense atmosphere outside,

the mood inside the tower seemed almost absurdly calm and relaxed.

Some people were even sitting at the balcony entrance sipping hot drinks.

Confused, Jiraiya made his way to the Hokage's office and knocked before entering.

Inside, he discovered something surprising.

All the village's high-ranking officials had already gathered.

First Hokage Hashirama, The Second Hokage Tobirama, Tsunade, Anbu leader Sarutobi Shin'nosuke, close combat unit Captain Asuma Sarutobi, head of the Interrogation Department Ibiki Morino, temporary Root division head Kakashi Hatake, Hokage guards Might Guy and Yamato...

Almost every senior official, old and new, that Jiraiya knew who held actual power had gathered here.

Even Jiraiya spotted the ever-elegant and refined 'Master Jigen' standing quietly in one corner.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Tsunade shouted loudly.

She slapped Jiraiya on the back and pulled him toward the center of the crowd.

"What's this?"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, his face frozen in confusion.

"A pre-battle meeting. We're formulating our battle strategies and objectives."

Tsunade whispered to explain.

Despite that near-death experience they shared, things between her and Jiraiya had actually gotten closer.

Well, not all bad came out of it either.

"Oh... Oh!"

At this moment, Tobirama at the center of the meeting shot Jiraiya a sharp glare, signaling him to keep quiet.

Then he continued the meeting.

"Let me restate clearly — the primary objective of this plan is:

to eliminate members related to the Akatsuki organization, locate their base, and destroy it completely!"

Hearing this, Jiraiya became confused again:

"Wait a second..."

"Didn't Iwagakure and Sunagakure just start fighting each other?"

"So why has our target shifted to dealing with the Akatsuki organization?"

"Shouldn't we be thinking about how to stop this war instead?"

Jiraiya's foolish question caused everyone in the office to stare blankly.

Tobirama frowned deeply, looking at Jiraiya with complete confusion.

Then he turned his gaze toward his older brother Hashirama beside him.

"Brother, didn't you inform Jiraiya about the plan beforehand?"

Hashirama hesitated for a moment, then laughed heartily:

"Well… uh…"

"I've been too busy the past couple of days, so I forgot…"

"Hahaha!"

Tobirama slapped his forehead, clearly frustrated:

"Brother, could you please be more careful?"

With no choice, he spent another minute or two simply explaining everything to Jiraiya.

In reality,

this war between Iwagakure and Sunagakure wasn't sudden at all.

It was actually initiated by Konoha — carefully orchestrated and deliberately provoked.

The purpose was to lure out the Akatsuki Organization and wipe them out in one strike!

Here's how the overall plan roughly went:

First, take advantage of historical tensions and trade conflicts between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind to create a believable dispute.

Let the Land of Earth declare war on the Land of Wind.

This would bring both ninja villages into play, deploying their forces to the borderlands with increasing skirmishes escalating tensions...

During this time, Sunagakure would appear at a disadvantage.

Eventually pressured by economic strain, they would be forced to deploy the tailed beast prematurely onto the battlefield.

Once that happened, the Akatsuki Organization—who desired the tailed beasts—would almost certainly take action...

At that moment, Konoha's "peacekeeping" force would also launch its attack.

With three powers combined,

they could completely annihilate the exposed Akatsuki Organization!

In short,

this was a classic case of "performing a sword dance with an ulterior motive"—a decoy strategy straight from the tale of Xiang Zhuang and Pei Gong.

The war between the two nations was merely a facade. The One-Tail from Sunagakure was the bait. And in the end, Konoha was the true hunter!

Of course, the plan had many potential flaws and questionable aspects.

For example:

How could Iwagakure and Sunagakure be convinced to go to real war?

How could Sunagakure willingly risk its precious tailed beast?

How could they guarantee that the Akatsuki would bite?

And so on...

However, these were not real issues for Tobirama.

He quickly silenced all objections by offering substantial concessions that successfully persuaded Iwagakure and Sunagakure to join the plan.

Naturally, Hashirama originally opposed the entire scheme.

In his view, whether acting genuine or feigning realistically,

once war broke out, it would only bring disaster...

Yet everyone else supported Tobirama's idea;

moreover, Master Jigen—the plan's proposer himself—made Hashirama feel he couldn't simply ignore the matter.

Besides, Hashirama clearly understood

that the imminent threat posed by Akatsuki and Madara could no longer be ignored.

Better to strike first than sit around waiting for them to attack.

Setting the battlefield at the borderlands—where casualties would be minimal—

was still better than allowing another Akatsuki assault on Konoha Village, right?

So Hashirama eventually agreed to the plan.

...

When Jiraiya learned all the details, he immediately saw through everything.

At the same time, he was left utterly stunned.

Originally, he thought a real war was about to break out.

Who knew it was all a grand performance orchestrated entirely by their own leadership!

No wonder Sunagakure and Iwagakure—who were allies—had suddenly turned hostile and gone to war.

It was all under Tobirama's command!

What incredible promises had Tobirama made that allowed him to convince the two hidden villages so effectively?

"This plan... isn't it a bit too aggressive?" 

Jiraiya hesitantly asked.

"There are risks, yes." 

Tobirama replied.

"But tell me, does anyone here wish to see our village destroyed again?"

He glared around the room with burning eyes, challenging everyone present with overwhelming intensity.

Jiraiya stayed silent. So did everyone else.

Clearly, none of them wanted to witness their beloved village reduced to ruins once more.

That unbearable sorrow was something no one could afford to endure.

The previous two great wars have already shaken Konoha to its core...

No wonder even the First Hokage would agree to such a high-risk plan.

...

"But what if Akatsuki doesn't take the bait?"

"Then wouldn't all our efforts from the three villages be in vain?"

Jiraiya once again raised this crucial question.

Tobirama cast Jiraiya a sharp look before continuing his explanation:

"It won't be in vain. I've already released information about other lures besides the Tailed Beasts."

"There's a high chance Akatsuki will bite."

"Furthermore, whether or not Akatsuki takes the bait, nothing will be wasted (nothing done in vain)."

"Whether we successfully eliminate Akatsuki members during Phase One or not."

"In the next phase, our three villages will unite for a coordinated strike."

"Starting at the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, we'll advance northeastward, wiping out every minor ninja village along the way—the Land of Stone, the Land of Birds, the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and even the Land of Waterfalls."

"Finally, we'll destroy Akatsuki's hideout once and for all!"

"That way, covering the war costs will be no problem at all..."

As Tobirama spoke, he traced his finger across the map, revealing the ultimate objective of this military operation.

"Tobirama, you never mentioned this before!"

"Why attack those small countries? This will only increase the death toll further!"

Hashirama was visibly upset, raising his voice in protest.

For someone as kind-hearted as him, agreeing to this plan had already been a massive compromise.

He really didn't want the flames of war spreading any further.

"Brother! It's necessary!"

"Do you expect our village alone to shoulder all the costs of this operation? Does our village even have funds left anymore?"

"And besides, you know exactly what those small ninja villages are like!"

"If they hadn't conspired together and used those forbidden artifacts before, how could Xiao Gang have been wounded?"

"Brother, this is war—not child's play!"

"Without substantial rewards and incentives, why would Iwagakure Village and Sunagakure Village ever agree to cooperate?"

Tobirama strongly rebutted, overpowering Hashirama's argument.

Hashirama: "But... even so, we can't just go around killing people recklessly!"

Tobirama: "I understand your concerns, Brother."

"But this truly is the best course of action available."

"At that time, our three villages will combine forces and push forward together—our advantage will be overwhelming beyond anything we've seen before!"

"I promise to keep our troops under control—no harm shall come to innocent civilians, only these few small ninja villages will be destroyed."

"We'll also do our best to capture enemy ninja instead of simply killing them."

"This way, we can reduce casualties while permanently eliminating future threats. Isn't that better?"

Hashirama hesitated: "This..."

Standing nearby, Tsunade chimed in agreement: "Grandfather, Lord Tobirama makes sense."

"This really is the best possible strategy."

"You should trust Lord Tobirama too! He wouldn't just massacre people without reason..."

Clearly, after being betrayed last time, Tsunade held no goodwill toward those smaller ninja villages either.

Hashirama sighed deeply but finally conceded:

"All right, all right. Let it be this way then."

Seeing this, Tobirama let out a long breath of relief.

He feared nothing more than his elder brother's stubbornness. If the brother kept opposing him, things would get really complicated.

That was why he hadn't revealed the second phase of the plan beforehand.

Of course, Tobirama hadn't completely exposed everything about this plan either.

There was still a third phase to it.

According to his calculations,

after destroying Akatsuki's base—if any forces remained—

he could lead the armies of the three nations straight toward Homura Hidden Village.

And incidentally wipe out the evil Uchiha Clan as well.

But right now, if he announced this openly,

his elder brother would definitely disagree.

Once the mission started and command shifted to me, however, his elder brother wouldn't have any say in opposition anymore.

Once the surprise attack succeeded and the deed was done,

his elder brother would have no choice but to take action.

Although his elder brother felt affection for the Uchiha Clan,

when weighing their own village against the Uchiha Clan, he understood which mattered more.

"Sorry, Elder Brother!"

"Everything I'm doing is for our village!"

Tobirama sighed inwardly.

His elder brother couldn't bear to do this.

Then he'd just have to become the villain himself.

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