Everyone in the conference room turned their gaze toward Minato Namikaze upon hearing the report.
Minato himself was momentarily stunned.
My disciple?
But his only surviving student, Hatake Kakashi, had already departed with Hyūga Hiashi to reinforce the Konoha Military Police Force at the earliest possible moment. There was no reason for him to appear here.
Moreover, the ANBU had said the person was from the Uchiha clan.
Among Minato's students, only Uchiha Obito fit that description.
But…
Obito was supposed to be dead.
Minato immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"Very well. Let him in."
While Minato was still thinking, Mitokado Homura made the decision and added an explanation:
"The Uchiha Clan Head left the village immediately with the Military Police to pursue the enemy. Perhaps this is someone he sent back."
The people in the conference room nodded.
It was indeed the most reasonable guess.
The ANBU acknowledged the order and left. Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Then a young man appeared at the doorway.
He wore a Konoha forehead protector and the traditional clothing of the Uchiha clan. The right side of his face was horribly scarred.
Many people in the room felt that the boy looked familiar.
It was as if they had seen him somewhere before.
Yet strangely, they couldn't remember who he was.
That was odd—normally, someone with such distinctive facial scars would be unforgettable after seeing them once.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze had already widened his eyes in shock. His mouth hung open as he instinctively stood up, too stunned to speak.
"Long time no see… Minato-sensei."
Uchiha Obito spoke with emotion.
But unlike Minato, he had already prepared himself mentally and managed to remain composed.
"…Obito?!!"
Minato finally snapped back to his senses.
In a flash, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear directly in front of Obito, staring at him in disbelief as he examined the boy whose appearance had changed so much—yet still carried traces of the student he once knew.
Inside the meeting room, the crowd erupted into discussion.
"Obito? That name sounds familiar!"
"Wasn't that the name of one of Minato's former students?"
"That's right—Uchiha Obito!"
"But didn't he die already? Kakashi's Sharingan was the one he gave him!"
The entire conference room exploded into chatter.
The idea that someone who had supposedly died had suddenly returned to life was simply unbelievable.
"Sensei, I didn't die. Someone saved me back then."
Obito glanced around the room. He didn't explain further. Instead, he gave Minato a meaningful look before continuing:
"Originally, I planned to give you a surprise after you became Hokage."
"But an emergency has arisen on the front lines. Clan Head Ren had no choice but to send me here to notify you."
Minato immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Obito's words.
With so many people present, this was clearly not the time to dig into the details.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked,
"What exactly happened?"
Everyone else in the room also looked toward Obito, extremely curious about what kind of intelligence a man who had returned from the dead would bring.
Obito began his report.
"Clan Head Ren has already led the Konoha Military Police Force in capturing the escaping Kumogakure delegation along with the Eight-Tails jinchūriki."
"At the same time, they intercepted a critical piece of intelligence."
"Kumogakure has already reached a cooperation agreement with Iwagakure and Sunagakure."
"The two thousand Kumogakure shinobi currently inside the Land of Fire are being led by the Fourth Raikage, A, and are rushing toward Kikyō Mountain."
"At the same time, Sunagakure and Iwagakure are gathering troops along the borders of the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers."
"The situation is extremely urgent. I ask that you make a decision as soon as possible."
Obito spoke concisely, quickly summarizing all the intelligence.
The effect was immediate.
Everyone in the room—including Shimura Danzō—had their expressions change dramatically.
"Kikyō Mountain?!!"
The Jōnin Commander, Nara Shikaku, suddenly stood up.
"If Kikyō Mountain falls, Konoha will have no natural defenses left."
"The enemy would only need one day to reach the gates of the village."
"Furthermore, our border defense forces along the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers currently total only 1,500 shinobi. They cannot hold back Iwagakure and Sunagakure for long."
"If those forces break through and establish Kikyō Mountain as their stronghold, the war will inevitably spread directly to the village!"
Mitokado Homura's expression turned extremely grim.
He looked at Obito and asked,
"Uchiha Obito, correct? Can you guarantee the accuracy of this intelligence?"
The consequences of losing Kikyō Mountain were simply too severe.
Even now, Homura still clung to a sliver of hope that the intelligence might be wrong.
Before Obito could answer, Nara Shikaku spoke first.
"Elder Homura, this isn't a matter of whether the intelligence is accurate."
"This is the only opportunity for those two thousand Kumogakure shinobi to make a desperate counterattack."
"If they see this opportunity, they will absolutely seize it."
"And we cannot afford to ignore that possibility."
Unlike Homura, Shikaku—the strategic mind of Konoha—never relied on luck.
Instead, he prepared contingency plans for every possible scenario.
Homura's irritation became visible as he turned toward Danzō.
"Danzō… was this also part of your plan?"
Danzō shifted his gaze away from Obito and replied calmly,
"What's the point of discussing that now?"
"Immediately notify Hyūga Hiashi and Orochimaru to change course and reinforce Kikyō Mountain."
"At the same time, mobilize another group of shinobi from the village to support the battlefield."
Shikaku continued,
"Jiraiya-sama and the forces under his command cannot move."
"Although Kumogakure's elites are currently inside the Land of Fire, the village itself can still gather an army of at least four thousand shinobi."
"With the Fourth Raikage trapped in the Land of Fire, we must guard against Kumogakure launching a desperate retaliation."
"Additionally, we must keep two thousand shinobi inside the village to guard against Kirigakure."
"Since Kumogakure has already formed alliances with Iwagakure and Sunagakure, they must have contacted Kirigakure as well."
"Even if Kirigakure hasn't made any moves yet, that doesn't mean they won't act later."
"We must prepare for that possibility."
Utatane Koharu frowned.
"If that's the case, the most we can mobilize is two thousand additional shinobi."
"But the borders toward the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Grass, Land of Rivers, and even the Land of Rain all require defenses."
"So how should these two thousand reinforcements be used?"
"Should they support Kikyō Mountain, or reinforce the other defensive lines?"
Shikaku shook his head.
"The forces we currently have are nowhere near enough to defend such a long border."
"If we spread them out, they will simply be defeated one by one."
"So instead of dispersing our troops, we should concentrate them."
"My proposal is this—"
"Not only should the two thousand reinforcements go to Kikyō Mountain, but the 1,500 border guards currently stationed in the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers should also withdraw and regroup there."
"We will concentrate our superior forces and draw all enemy troops toward Kikyō Mountain."
He paused.
His eyes sharpened as he delivered the final line.
"The first battle will decide the war."
"Victory or defeat will be determined in a single battle."
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