"Hokage-sama!"
Hatake Sakumo appeared inside the Hokage's office. He hadn't announced himself, but Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated behind his desk, didn't mind. Sakumo was one of the few who earned that level of privilege and trust.
The office was currently thick with a haze of tobacco smoke. Hiruzen looked weary, the lines on his face etched deep with concern. He stood up and said, "The Land of Lightning has suddenly mobilized over three thousand shinobi at their ports. The reason is unknown."
He paused, glancing at a map. "Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain, Tsunade sent out a distress signal. Our hidden support squads have already mobilized; a large-scale confrontation with the Iwa-nin is inevitable. By now, the Rain must have realized we're there as well."
Sakumo waited for Hiruzen to finish before asking simply, "Hokage-sama, what do you need me to do?"
Hiruzen paced the office for a long moment before answering. "I need you to lead a force to the northern border. Investigate why the Land of Lightning is gathering its strength. If they intend to enter the war, intercept them."
"The shinobi of the Cloud are known for being boisterous and impulsive, but their leadership isn't lacking in wisdom. Their mobilization might not be an intent to join the fray, but a move to stretch the front lines of other nations and scout for an opening."
"Therefore, it is best if we do not break out into open war with them. We must avoid giving the Land of Lightning any convenient excuse to launch a full-scale invasion."
Sakumo nodded, but his brow furrowed with concern. "That would leave our southeastern defense line shorthanded. The Land of Water is still out there..."
"The Land of Water sits isolated across the sea. Their internal clans are in such a state of upheaval that no Mizukage has ever managed to truly unify them. They are chaotic and impoverished—not a significant threat. Besides, with their recent adoption of that policy, they are practically tearing themselves apart.
"Under these circumstances, it is nearly impossible for the Third Mizukage to intervene in a Great Shinobi War. Even if they somehow unified their internal opinions and tried to seize the opportunity... the two advisors and I are still capable of taking the field!"
As Hiruzen spoke, the gloom on his face lifted slightly. Having sat in this office for so long, he occasionally forgot that he was, first and foremost, a shinobi—one ready to step onto the battlefield at a moment's notice.
The reminder of his own strength gave his words a surge of confidence.
As the Third Hokage, his raw power might not equal that of the First, Hashirama Senju. In terms of village administration, diplomacy, and grand strategy, he might not match his teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
But... if we were talking strictly about the impact on a single battlefield, Hiruzen was confident he had surpassed his master.
A ninja's strength shouldn't be measured by a single, narrow dimension. Every shinobi had their own specialty.
It was like comparing the Uchiha's Sharingan to the Hyuga's Byakugan; it was difficult to declare one superior. An Uchiha Jonin with a three-tomoe Sharingan might have the edge in a one-on-one duel against a Hyuga Jonin, but that didn't mean the Byakugan was inferior.
The Sharingan could sway a single fight, but the Byakugan could sway a tactical engagement. A group of Sharingan users could change the course of a battle, but a group of Byakugan users could change the course of an entire war.
The same logic applied to Hiruzen and Tobirama. In a direct duel, Hiruzen wouldn't bet on himself to win against his teacher's endless arsenal of forbidden techniques.
However, if they were each leading an army in a head-on collision, Hiruzen believed he could do better than Tobirama. After all, when his Five-Element Great Combo Blast fanned out across a battlefield, even his teacher would struggle to find an answer.
Seeing Hiruzen regain his spirit, Sakumo nodded. Then, he frowned. "What about Tsunade and the others?"
"Hanzo is not an impulsive man. Even if this incident infuriates him and hardens his resolve to join the war, it won't happen today. His ambition is too great, which makes him cautious. As long as our forces across the various fronts don't suffer a massive collapse, he won't dare lay a finger on my three students, even if he catches them!"
Hiruzen's words were decisive, as if he could see right through Hanzo from thousands of miles away. Sakumo looked puzzled but didn't press the issue. He simply nodded and said, "Then I will lead the unit to the northern border as quickly as possible."
"You have full authority. You decide who to take and how many. I have only one requirement: The Land of Lightning... must not enter this war!"
"Understood, Hokage-sama!"
At the same time, intelligence regarding the clash between the Leaf and the Stone reached the Hidden Stone Village in the Land of Earth.
Inside a conference room, a small old man with a balding head and a prominent bulbous nose couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as he heard the report.
"They've finally clashed, have they? They must follow my instructions—the bigger the commotion, the better!"
The high-ranking officials in the room looked at the old man with varying degrees of exasperation, but no one dared to contradict him. After all... this was their Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.
A teenager, currently handing out documents to the council, asked in confusion, "Father, why are you so happy that our ninjas are fighting the Leaf? Do you think we're guaranteed to win this battle?"
"Guaranteed to win? No, no, no... we are guaranteed to lose! I've already finished writing the apology letter."
Onoki shook his head excitedly and stood up on his chair. Even standing, he was barely as tall as the others who were sitting, which did little for his dignity as Tsuchikage—yet no one looked down on him.
After all, this was a man who had fought against the legendary Uchiha Madara and lived to tell the tale.
Crack!
As Onoki turned to pull something out of the ninja tool pouch at his lower back, he suddenly threw his back out. He clutched his waist, his face contorting in agony as he shouted at his son, "Akatsuchi! Akatsuchi! Get over here and help me get the letter out!"
Akatsuchi walked over with a sigh and pulled a crumpled envelope from the pouch. Onoki, one hand on his waist and the other bracing against the back of his chair, addressed the room.
"Take a look at the contents of this letter. I spent a long time researching it. If you think it's fine, we'll send it out exactly as written when the time comes."
The letter began to circulate. Akatsuchi, acting as the messenger boy, caught a glimpse of the contents.
The gist was this: The Land of Earth had investigated the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. To prevent the conflict from spreading, they sent a small number of shinobi to observe. Due to geographical constraints and the fact that the Leaf and Sand had extended their battlefield into the Land of Rain, the Stone had "no choice" but to borrow a path through Rain territory to conduct their investigation.
Regrettably, upon entering the Land of Rain, they encountered Leaf ninjas lurking maliciously in the shadows and were forced into a defensive battle. The Land of Earth admitted to the "path-borrowing" and the "skirmish" and offered a sincere apology.
Furthermore, they promised a full withdrawal from the Land of Rain and pledged not to send another shinobi into the country until a new diplomatic agreement was signed.
Initially, Akatsuchi was baffled. But as he watched the village elders gasp one after another, he began to think deeply about it. Then...
Hiss—!
Akatsuchi also sucked in a breath. He looked at the letter again, reading between the lines. Throughout the entire "apology," every sentence screamed two words: "Blame Shifting."
Why did Iwa send people? It was the Leaf's fault! They started the war with the Sand. Why did Iwa enter the Land of Rain? It was the Leaf's fault! They dragged the battlefield there. Why did Iwa fight in the Land of Rain? It was the Leaf's fault! Their ninjas attacked Iwa first.
Iwa admits it, Iwa knows it was wrong, and Iwa won't do it again. If you, the Land of Rain, are still unhappy... go settle the score with the Leaf! They're the real culprits!
Akatsuchi's gaze toward his father turned strange. This entire operation had been planned six months ago. That meant his father had perfectly predicted the Leaf's reaction and their countermeasures.
Six months ago, Akatsuchi had listened to his father suddenly announce that they would send ninjas through the Land of Rain to investigate the Land of Rivers. It was those very ninjas "investigating the war" who had baited the Leaf into a counter-investigation.
Akatsuchi could already guess how his father would answer if the Leaf tried to bring this up at a summit.
He would demand evidence. If the Leaf had no proof, it was a baseless frame-up. Even if the Leaf had proof that Iwa ninjas were caught, they were caught in the Land of Rivers—what proof was there that they had ever set foot in the Land of Rain?
Thinking through the layers of the scheme, Akatsuchi suddenly shivered. He felt that his father's actions weren't quite... in line with the "Will of Stone."
The entire stance of the Hidden Stone could be summarized as: I may have done something wrong, but it's definitely not my fault!
If a teenager like Akatsuchi could figure it out, the elders in the room certainly saw it too. Their eyes glowed with even deeper respect for the Tsuchikage.
The little old man, one hand on his hip and the other on his chair, suddenly looked like a peerless master of the craft.
Once they understood the logic behind the Tsuchikage's recent eccentricities, none of them had any objections. Besides, objections would be pointless—Onoki ran the Hidden Stone with an iron fist.
"Tsuchikage-sama, when do we deliver this apology?" an elder asked.
Onoki sat back down and said, "We wait. We wait for Hanzo to come out and stop the fight. The moment he intervenes, we stop, and we immediately offer the apology!"
Back in the Land of Rain, the clashing forces of the Leaf and the Stone were suddenly surrounded by a third party. Both sides sensed the shift in the atmosphere and began to pull back, their movements becoming cautious.
BOOM!
A figure tore through the rainforest canopy and landed in the center of the clearing. He was alone, with no companions in sight. Facing over a thousand foreign shinobi, the leader of the Land of Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander, gave a low, thunderous roar:
"ALL OF YOU... STOP AT ONCE!"
The moment the command left his lips, both the Leaf and Stone commanders issued immediate orders for their troops to cease fire. Before Hanzo could even react further, an Iwa-nin shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Lord Hanzo! The Hidden Stone withdraws from this unnecessary conflict! We never intended to fight; we were merely forced to defend ourselves! This is a personal letter from our Tsuchikage—please, have a look!"
While everyone else, including Hanzo, was momentarily stunned by the sheer speed of the Stone's capitulation, a familiar chime rang in Tatsuma's head. He checked the notification, and a look of pleasant surprise flashed across his face.
The system had restocked!