"Danzo-sama, are we really going to help Hanzo deal with the Akatsuki Organization?"
After leaving Hidden Rain Village, Aburame Ryuma asked. He had heard the conditions Hanzo proposed earlier, which sounded easy and Hanzo himself should be able to handle, but why leave it to them?
"Before we came, Root also gathered some information on the Land of Rain. The Akatsuki Organization seems to be a group formed by some Hidden Rain Ninja, trying to achieve peace through negotiations with the major nations..."
"Hanzo is concerned about this kind of organization?"
Danzo paused for a moment, feeling a bit incredulous. Hanzo, after all, was referred to as a Demigod Ninja; though Hidden Rain Village lost to Konoha and the Hidden Sand Ninja in the last war, Hanzo himself did not lose.
Now they are wary of such a foolish domestic organization that they need to use Root to eliminate the opponent?
"At this time, we can't spare anyone else to do other things, first investigate, and then stall."
Danzo said to Aburame Ryuma, Root's focus was entirely on the other Great Ninja Villages, leaving no ninja to help Hanzo eliminate the Akatsuki Organization; they needed Hanzo's strength, not the other way round.
Only after defeating the Hidden Sand Ninja would Danzo consider.
The alliance agreement also clearly stated that only after defeating the Hidden Sand Ninja would other conditions be fulfilled.
Konoha, Hokage Office.
Utatane Koharu arrived here and immediately spoke to Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Hiruzen, Konoha Hospital is almost full, clear out the nearby buildings. Once the front line starts fighting again, more wounded might be sent back."
"So soon?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen expressed a hint of surprise upon hearing this. It hadn't been that long, and the eastern front with Hidden Cloud Ninja hadn't started a large-scale war yet.
"Kikyo Castle suddenly sent over seventy or eighty severely wounded people. You never consider how big Konoha Hospital is. The medical supplies are consumed quickly, and I'm not sure if Homura can buy them."
After finishing, Utatane Koharu directly complained to Sarutobi Hiruzen: "You shouldn't have let Tsunade leave. Hemophobia was just an excuse. Others might not know, but you should know Tsunade's abilities; even with hemophobia, she can still perform splitting treatment through Katsuyu!"
Hemophobia is merely a psychological trauma that triggers fear at the sight of blood. As long as she doesn't see blood, Tsunade's medical ninjutsu is still the best in Konoha.
There are so many methods, but Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to let her go, causing a significant increase in pressure on Konoha's medical team after Tsunade left.
To put it simply, Tsunade was the only medical ninja capable of holding her own and changing the battlefield situation once.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stayed silent, smoking without responding. Utatane Koharu's words were easy, but Tsunade's departure dragged on for more than a year, and Koharu never spoke up to stop it.
If stopping her were possible, he would have spoken long ago; among the three students, Tsunade was the hardest to persuade.
"Talking about it now is useless. Among the medical ninjas, isn't there Uzumaki... Uchiha Minami? Tsunade speaks highly of her, and she performed well at Kikyo Castle this time..."
"Her talent is good, but she's only been studying medical ninjutsu for less than two years. Even rescuing people is one by one."
Utatane Koharu spoke, "Hiruzen, why not let Uchiha Minami sign a summoning contract with Katsuyu and learn splitting treatment? That way, several medical ninjas can be redeployed from Kikyo Castle, reducing the pressure on Konoha Hospital substantially."
Oh, so that's your idea, Koharu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought for a moment; if Tsunade could pass down the ability for Katsuyu's splitting treatment, it would indeed greatly benefit Konoha. But given Tsunade's temperament... he couldn't guarantee it.
"I'll assign someone to find Tsunade and ask her. This kind of thing can't be rushed; since she didn't teach it when she was here, don't count on it too much now..."
While Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu were discussing things, someone came to the door.
After letting them in, it turned out to be Uchiha Fugaku.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "Fugaku, what's the matter?"
"There are two issues for the Third Hokage. First, the Security Team recently captured four spies and seven possible spies from other villages who've been handed over to the Interrogation Team; second, it's a private matter of the Uchiha Race—we want to purchase this land."
While speaking, Uchiha Fugaku spread the map he was holding for Sarutobi Hiruzen to see.
"Buying land?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen had no particular reaction to the first matter. The spies had already been handed over to the Interrogation Team, and he just needed to wait for updates, so he focused on the second matter.
"This doesn't seem to be well-developed; it's near the edge of the village. Fugaku, what do you want to buy this land for?"
"Because of some clan decisions, we want to build a combined market and consumer area here to cater to the daily needs of the clan members and villagers... There was already a decision before, but I've been busy with Security Team matters lately, so I'm only now bringing this to the Third Hokage."
Uchiha Fugaku spoke eloquently about it, although previously, it was only stalled because Uchiha Yoichi hadn't spoken up.
Once Uchiha Yoichi settled things, Mikota found a construction team, and Uchiha Fugaku approached the Third Hokage today.
Originally, Mikota could have handled this by herself, submitting the payment, buying the land, and then bringing the construction team into the village.
However, Uchiha Fugaku wanted to get involved, using the name of the Uchiha Race rather than Uchiha Yoichi, and thus this situation unfolded.