Hiruzen's killing intent was intense.
So much so that Koharu and Homura were both stunned.
Hadn't they just been discussing reform a moment ago?
How had the topic suddenly shifted to war?
Moreover, the Sarutobi Hiruzen of the past had always been a traditional dove, someone who was never enthusiastic about war.
During the Second Shinobi World War, even though Sunagakure had clearly fallen into a disadvantageous position, Hiruzen, in order to bring the war to an end as early as possible, chose equal peace negotiations rather than demanding reparations or other conditions.
At the time, this decision had sparked considerable controversy within the village.
Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Danzō's eyes instantly lit up.
As Konohagakure's former most prominent hardline militarist, he had always held a keen interest in war.
"Leave it to me!" Danzō said immediately.
"Shouldn't we think this through a bit more?" Homura said after a moment's consideration. "Should we wait until the reforms have at least initially taken effect before carrying out this retaliatory action?"
Koharu's expression turned grave. "What if this provokes a war? Is the village prepared to deal with it?"
Danzō viciously turned his head and shouted, "You two need to stop being so conservative all the time! Endurance is useless!"
"Danzō, you're being far too rash!"
"War is not child's play—it requires careful consideration!" Homura and Koharu shot back at Danzō.
"Enough arguing."
Hiruzen motioned for them to listen to him. "Retaliation is imperative. This isn't to start a war—on the contrary, it's to prevent a war."
Homura and Koharu looked puzzled.
Kill the other side's jinchūriki, and that prevents war?
"Let me use an inappropriate analogy—don't overthink it."
Hiruzen pointed at Danzō. "Suppose Danzō took all of ANBU's authority, and I didn't say a word. What do you think he'd do next?"
Homura and Koharu gave awkward smiles.
Need you even ask?
He'd start sidelining you next!
Danzō's expression stiffened.
No—who makes an example like that?
"He'd come over and chew me out, remind me that as Hokage I need to pay attention to centralizing authority and properly fulfill my duties as his superior, but he'd definitely put the focus on criticizing my weakness."
Hiruzen laughed, patting Danzō on the shoulder. "Am I right?"
Danzō forced out a dry laugh. "Haha, of course."
Was Hiruzen really joking?
"Danzō is my good partner. Even if I did that, he'd still think I was weak…"
"But what if it's an enemy? An enemy won't come over to remind me—remind you—remind Konohagakure!"
"They'll think we're weak and easy to bully—that we can even back down on the matter of the jinchūriki!"
Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "So we must retaliate as soon as possible. When dealing with an enemy, we cannot yield a single inch—we must make them feel the harshness of Konohagakure's iron fist!"
Koharu and Homura thought for a moment, then each voiced an opinion.
"If that's the case, I agree."
"I agree as well. Do you have a concrete plan, Hiruzen…?"
Hiruzen motioned for them to raise any objections they had.
Judging from past memories and recent interactions, his two old comrades and advisers were, in essence, not problematic—only overly conservative in their thinking.
People like that, when used in the right place, were actually quite useful.
"What about starting from infrastructure? A jinchūriki might not be the best target."
Homura continued, "Or perhaps an important ninja, or a blood relative of the Raikage?"
Hiruzen pondered and said, "From Kumogakure's abduction of Uzumaki Kushina, I infer that there is a high probability that their jinchūriki has issues."
"Danzō, do we have concrete intelligence on the intensity of the recent years' frictions between Kumogakure and Iwagakure?"
"I've compiled the data. Over the past two-plus years, most of the provocations came from Iwagakure; Kumogakure exercised considerable restraint," Danzō replied promptly. "Root has the relevant records."
"Very good." Hiruzen cast Danzō an approving glance.
"Kumogakure and Iwagakure have a longstanding blood feud. That's a historical issue determined by the composition of their shinobi clans and their geography. Given Kumogakure's style and temperament, for them to rein themselves in suggests, with high probability, a major internal problem."
"Moreover, with the current situation in the shinobi world growing increasingly tense, their taking the initiative to break the unspoken rules and target our jinchūriki shows that their problems have reached a point where they can no longer be ignored!"
In the shinobi world, there are no overt, codified rules to speak of.
But there are still certain unspoken rules that restrain the intensity of conflict and prevent meaningless attrition.
Within national borders and near borderlines, clashes between ANBU units are tacitly permitted.
But when it comes to important figures—especially when the matter involves the "Tailed Beasts," a concept of major significance—
—it is, in essence, scarcely different from a declaration of war.
"Kumogakure doing this does indeed point to some issues…"
"If they were truly strong and well-prepared, deliberately provoking a war, why would they proactively reduce friction with Iwagakure?"
Koharu analyzed, "That doesn't make sense. The conflict between Kumogakure and Iwagakure isn't something that can be suppressed so easily. Doing so would affect the Raikage's authority."
"Exactly…"
Hiruzen said in a low voice, "So, taken together, all signs indicate that Kumogakure's jinchūriki is very likely on the verge of collapse!"
The three present all brightened.
This line of reasoning was sound…
"Danzō, we need to verify this conjecture as soon as possible."
Hiruzen took in everyone's expressions and continued, "My view is that we cannot simply kill them by force. We must covertly release the Eight-Tails from within, without leaving any evidence."
"As Konoha stands now, we also cannot afford to bear the image of having proactively provoked a war or assassinated another nation's jinchūriki."
"Internally, it's enough for the key people to know."
"As for Kumogakure—after suffering such a blow, they will naturally descend into frantic suspicion of everything. There's no need for us to remind them."
Danzō nodded, indicating his approval.
He was a hardliner, but not a mindless one.
He also did not want Konoha to be used as a pretext for an explosive war with the Four Great Hidden Villages.
"Once you've confirmed the intelligence, we'll convene a meeting as quickly as possible."
"They must pay a price in blood. That is also the bare minimum compensation we owe to Uzumaki Mito-sama and to the Uzumaki clan."
"What do you think?"
At the mention of Uzumaki Mito and the Uzumaki clan, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
During the Second Shinobi World War,
Konoha had been mired deep in the quagmire of war, with every front stretched to its limits,
and had neglected its responsibility to look after its allies.
Although the tragedy of Uzushiogakure had many contributing factors—for example, Uzushiogakure's location on a remote island between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, and its refusal to relocate inland and integrate into Konoha, which severely constrained the speed of support—in the final analysis, it was still a major failure on the part of Konoha's leadership.
Especially after the fall of Uzushiogakure, even the care given to Uzumaki Kushina had gone wrong…
That was simply indefensible.
If they did not show a clear stance, this matter would remain a latent danger forever!
"As for Uzumaki Kushina's treatment, we must raise it across the board. And for the surviving orphans of the Uzumaki clan, we should also search for them when the timing is right."
Hiruzen pointed at Koharu.
"Koharu, you must see to this as soon as possible. Make sure Uzumaki Kushina understands our apology, and make her feel that this is her home—that the village is watching over her. Do you understand?"
"The past cannot be changed, but it's never too late to correct our mistakes. We can't wait any longer."
Koharu responded, "Understood, Third."
"All right. Go attend to your respective duties." Hiruzen gestured for them to get back to work.
The three of them moved into action quickly.
With a pipe clenched between his teeth, Hiruzen looked down over the village through the office window, narrowing his eyes.
In this village, if there was still one person he could not afford to ignore as a shinobi—
or rather, someone who had already transcended the very concept of a shinobi—it was the First Hokage's wife, the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito!
Whether in terms of the knowledge she possessed, her combat strength, or her identity, from every possible angle…
As Hokage, he needed to find a way to clean up the mess left behind and regain the approval of this "matriarch."
That would bring enormous benefits.
Continuing to avoid her out of guilt, as he had in the past… was truly far too terrible.
"That child who fused with the First Hokage's cells might be a breakthrough…"
"An elderly person, and a jinchūriki—she should be rather lonely, right?"
"But before that, the preparatory work must be done. We have to present tangible results to show sincerity and remorse."
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, yet he did not feel tired at all.
He rather enjoyed this feeling.
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