Konoha Village.
Hokage Tower.
Hokage Office.
The so-called Konoha F4 were gathered once more.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was not wearing his familiar Hokage cloak.
Instead, he was wrapped in bandages from chest to thigh.
Broken ribs.
Internal trauma.
Hairline fractures in arm and leg bones.
None of it fatal.
But none of it minor.
And at the hospital's recommendation, he had refused advanced medical ninjutsu like the Mystical Palm Technique.
Why?
Because such techniques accelerate cellular division to heal injuries.
And cellular division is finite.
Speed it up too much — you shorten your lifespan.
For an elderly man already near the twilight of life?
That price was too steep.
So he chose slow recovery.
Time — the one resource he had little of.
"Shikaku has sent the latest report."
Hiruzen pushed several documents forward.
"The Three-Village Alliance has been completely repelled. The Battle of Kikyo Mountain is over."
"These include casualty reports… and his proposed next phase."
"Take a look."
Danzo stepped forward first.
He grabbed the files without hesitation and began scanning.
"2,346 killed.
589 critically wounded.
722 severely injured and unable to move.
33 missing.
Over 6,000 enemy casualties…"
His eye skimmed past Konoha's losses.
He didn't linger there.
Instead, he focused on the operational proposal.
"Remaining Iwa forces — over two thousand — split into more than a dozen segments.
Plan: wolf-pack attrition during pursuit.
Final annihilation at Tenchi Bridge in Grass Country…"
Danzo narrowed his single eye.
"That's fine for Iwagakure."
"But why is there no follow-up against Sunagakure and Kumogakure?"
"The Fourth Raikage is gravely wounded and fleeing with a few dozen survivors."
"The Fourth Kazekage's condition is unknown. Only that old hag Chiyo leads roughly a thousand Sand shinobi."
"This is the perfect moment to finish them."
"What is Shikaku thinking? Letting them walk away?"
His tone sharpened.
It edged toward accusation.
Toward distrust.
Hiruzen's eyes remained calm.
Too calm.
But beneath that surface calm…
There was frost.
Danzo felt it.
And fell silent.
He understood.
After the assassination attempt.
After colluding with enemies.
After provoking war.
Hiruzen's tolerance had reached its absolute limit.
The old days were gone.
No more slammed desks.
No more shouting matches.
No more reckless dominance.
The era of:
"You regret — I remain Hokage."
Was history.
Danzo no longer had that protection.
He said nothing further.
Homura took the documents next.
"Danzo… did you not read the casualty numbers?"
"There are fewer than three thousand combat-capable shinobi left at Kikyo Mountain."
"They're only able to pursue Iwa because momentum favors them."
"What exactly are they supposed to use to chase Sand and Cloud?"
"If they split further, even victory would become Pyrrhic."
"And how many would remain after that?"
Koharu added quietly:
"And that's just Kikyo Mountain."
"If we count everything…"
"The Cloud envoy incident inside the village.
The pursuit of that envoy.
The engagement before Kikyo Mountain.
The collapse of our border units in Grass and Rain…"
"That's already over a thousand casualties before this battle."
"Add Kikyo Mountain's three thousand."
"That's nearly five thousand shinobi lost."
"If the remaining three thousand are also spent?"
"That becomes eight thousand."
"Eight thousand."
She shook her head.
"If that happens — even if we win — Konoha falls from the strongest village… to the weakest of the Five."
On paper, it was a grand victory.
One village versus three.
Six thousand enemies killed.
Alliance shattered.
But reality?
The losses were distributed.
Three villages splitting casualties.
If they trade two lives for one of yours—
They still profit.
Homura concluded:
"Shikaku's decision is correct."
"Sunagakure was already the weakest of the Five."
"Losing three thousand has crippled them."
"Letting a thousand return changes little."
"Kumogakure's troop losses are lighter — but their elite losses are severe."
"And the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki is still in our hands."
"They'll be constrained."
"As long as we destroy Iwagakure's remaining two thousand…"
"Iwa will be incapable of launching a major war anytime soon."
A pause.
Then:
"Hiruzen."
"Order the River Country border forces to monitor the Sand remnants."
"If they behave, let them leave."
"If not…"
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
Hiruzen exhaled smoke slowly.
"I agree."
"Sand must be watched carefully."
"We only have five hundred defenders at the River border."
"Sand already had five hundred there to contain us."
"Add their thousand retreating troops…"
"That's fifteen hundred."
"And that doesn't include potential reinforcements."
"With numerical advantage…"
"There's always the chance of… foolish ideas."
He tapped ash from his pipe.
"So."
"I will send a strong shinobi with two hundred additional troops to River Country."
"To stabilize the border."
"Until this war truly ends."
His gaze shifted.
Directly.
Toward Danzo.
The room fell quiet.
And the meaning was clear.
This wasn't a request.
It was a decision.
And this time—
Danzo would not dictate terms.
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