Time flies, and the years pass like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, several years have slipped away.
The beginning of the 37th year of Konoha.
The atmosphere in the Hokage's Office was heavy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at the head of the table. His face had lost its youthful look, and a neat, short beard now adorned his chin, making him appear more majestic and profound.
The Hokage robe on his body had been replaced with a new style, but his eyes were even deeper than they were years ago, as if they could see through everything in the world.
On the office wall hung a huge map of the ninja world.
The map was densely marked with various red arrows and symbols, representing the recent frequent military movements of the major ninja villages.
An invisible cloud was looming over the entire ninja world.
Peace was like a brief respite between two great wars, and now, that breath seemed to have reached its end.
"Lord Hokage! An S-rank urgent intelligence from Amegakure!"
An Anbu ninja appeared in the center of the office in a flicker, kneeling on one knee and holding a scroll sealed with special waterproof material high above his head.
Sarutobi Hiruzen reached out, took it, and opened the scroll.
The handwriting on the scroll was messy, obviously written by the intelligence officer in an extremely urgent situation.
But the content was crystal clear.
The leader of Amegakure, the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander, had, this morning, under the pretext of "balancing the power of the ninja world and re-establishing the world order," declared war on the Land of Fire's Konoha, the Land of Wind's Sunagakure, and the Land of Earth's Iwagakure simultaneously!
The Second Great Ninja War had officially broken out.
"Finally... it has come."
Sarutobi Hiruzen put down the scroll, his eyes calm, without a hint of surprise.
Over the past few years, he had seen the future of the war's outbreak countless times through the simulator.
He had been preparing for this day all along.
Expanding the military, nurturing talent, establishing the Medical Department, appeasing the Uchiha...
Everything he did was so that today, Konoha could face this storm that was sweeping across the entire ninja world in its strongest state.
"Relay my orders! Convene a highest-level emergency military meeting!"
"Yes!"
...
Hokage Building, the highest conference room.
All of Konoha's top officials were gathered.
Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Shimura Danzo, Uchiha Kagami, Akimichi Torifu, as well as the heads of the major clans and the captain of the Anbu.
Every face was filled with solemnity.
"This is the situation."
Sarutobi Hiruzen passed the intelligence report around. "Hanzo of the Salamander, the man known as a demigod, has declared war on us."
"How dare he! A mere small country dares to declare war on us three great nations at the same time? Who does he think he is? The Sage of Six Paths?"
The hot-tempered Shimura Danzo slammed the table, the flesh on his face trembling with anger.
"We can't be careless, Danzo."
Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses, his expression serious. "Hanzo of the Salamander's strength is beyond doubt. More importantly, Amegakure's geographical location—it's sandwiched between us, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. Once the war starts, it will inevitably become the most brutal meat grinder."
"Homura is right."
Utatane Koharu's face was also grim. "This move by Hanzo is dragging all three of us into the water. If we, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure fight to a mutual ruin in the Land of Rain, who will be the one to profit?"
Everyone's gaze, in unison, turned to the location in the northeast corner of the map.
The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
"We could be trapped in a desperate quagmire of a three-front war!" Koharu's voice held a hint of panic.
The meeting room was instantly filled with heated debate.
Some advocated for an all-out attack, to destroy Amegakure with lightning speed to intimidate Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Some advocated for a defensive stance, to fortify the borders and avoid being dragged into the vortex of war.
Shimura Danzo said nothing at this time, just listening coldly, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat under the table.
Uchiha Kagami, on the other hand, looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen at the head of the table, awaiting his final decision.
In these past few years, Hiruzen had established absolute authority in their hearts with countless god-tier predictions.
They believed that Lord Hokage must have a way to deal with this.
Finally, Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his hand and pressed it down.
The noisy meeting room fell silent in an instant.
All eyes were on him.
"Everyone, do not panic."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was calm and steady, carrying a force that could soothe people's hearts.
"The war has indeed begun."
"But we have more than one enemy."
He stood up, walked to the map, and picked up a long red pointer. He did not point to Amegakure, nor to Sunagakure or Iwagakure.
Instead, he pointed it firmly at the location of Kumogakure.
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