Northern border of the Land of Fire, a newly built military fortress.
Unlike the tense and fierce battles on the fronts of the Land of Rain, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth, this place was excessively quiet.
The sky was clear, without a single cloud, not even a breath of wind.
On the fortress walls, Konoha's ninja stood on high alert, but on everyone's face was a hint of undisguised anxiety and confusion.
"Hey, what do you think Lord Hokage is thinking? He's moved so many of us here, and all we do every day is sunbathe," a young ninja complained in a low voice to his comrade, leaning against a battlement.
"Who knows. The other three battlefields are already in full swing. Good news from Lord Sannin and Lord White Fang keeps coming back, but here, we haven't even seen a shadow of a Cloud ninja."
Another ninja also lowered his voice. "I heard that on Lord Uchiha Kagami's side, they captured the Third Tsuchikage's son without shedding a drop of blood. The scene, tsk tsk, they say those Iwagakure guys were so scared they crawled back into their holes themselves."
"Really? That amazing?"
"Of course it's true! It's the talk of the village now. They say Lord Hokage is a god descended to earth, that he can predict the future. Otherwise, how could he have guessed Iwagakure's actions so accurately?"
The ninjas' discussion was just loud enough to reach the ears of a man who was meditating with his eyes closed not far away.
Shimura Danzo.
His brow furrowed imperceptibly.
He couldn't figure it out either.
It had been almost a month since he received the Hokage's order to assist Hiruzen in guarding the northern defensive line as his second-in-command.
In this past month, Hiruzen had done almost nothing.
He hadn't strengthened the patrols, hadn't sent out scouts, and even the regular military meetings were held with a distracted air. The thing he did most every day was stay in the command room at the highest point of the fortress, slowly polishing his black staff.
The Adamantine Staff, transformed from his summoning animal, Enma.
Danzo had been tempted several times to ask Hiruzen what he was waiting for.
Would Kumogakure really, as he said, abandon the other battlefields and launch a surprise attack from here?
It was completely illogical.
But when he thought of Hiruzen's previous god-like predictions, Danzo swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
His feelings for Hiruzen were now very complex.
There was awe, there was conviction, but more than that, there was a deep sense of powerlessness.
He felt like an infant still learning to walk, while Hiruzen was already standing in the clouds, overlooking the entire chessboard.
"Danzo."
A calm voice came from behind him.
Danzo's body stiffened. He immediately stood up straight and turned around. "Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had, at some point, come up behind him.
He wasn't wearing the Hokage robe, just a light black combat suit, and in his hand was the Adamantine Staff, which had been polished to a shine.
"Still worried about Kumogakure's movements?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with a smile.
"...Yes."
Danzo hesitated for a moment, but decided to voice his confusion. "Hiruzen, I still don't understand. The Third Raikage, A, although known for his valor, is not a fool. With the powerful intelligence capabilities we've already demonstrated, would he really risk being discovered in advance to launch a large-scale surprise attack?"
"He will," Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was exceptionally certain.
He walked to the edge of the wall and looked out at the rolling mountain range of the Land of Lightning in the distance.
"Because he and I are two completely different kinds of people."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was actually far from calm. He was also waiting, even more anxiously than Danzo.
But he couldn't show it.
As the commander-in-chief, his emotions would directly affect the morale of the entire army.
He could only, through the simulator, confirm the future's course over and over again.
[Simulation Scenario: The decision-making process of the Third Raikage, A.]
[Scene 1: Kumogakure, Raikage's Office. A looks at the battle reports on Konoha's three-pronged attack and sneers. "Sarutobi Hiruzen is still too young. Dividing his forces into three may seem comprehensive, but in reality, it's full of weaknesses."]
[Scene 2: A Cloud jonin, a strategist, raises his concerns: "Lord Raikage, the intelligence capabilities Konoha has shown in the Land of Earth are extraordinary. If we attack rashly, I'm afraid we will repeat Iwagakure's mistake."]
[Scene 3: A smashes the desk to pieces with a single punch and says domineeringly, "Intelligence? In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are a joke! The failure of those weaklings from Iwagakure was only because they weren't strong enough! I, the Third Raikage, will use my indestructible fists to show Sarutobi Hiruzen what a real war is!"]
[Scene 4: A stubbornly believes that since Konoha has dispersed its main forces to the other three battlefields, its northern defensive line must be empty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break into the heartland of the Land of Fire. He wants to use a glorious victory to wash away the stigma of the coup that Kumogakure bore when the Second Hokage died, and to prove to the entire ninja world that Kumogakure is the strongest.]
The simulation ended.
"Sigh..." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in his heart.
As expected, the Third Raikage was a complete brute who was extremely confident in his own power.
However, his son did learn a lesson from him.
It wasn't that he couldn't see the risks, but he firmly believed that his strongest spear could pierce through any risk.
This kind of person was the most terrifying, and also the easiest to deal with.
You just had to follow his line of thought, give him a script he thought was perfect, and he would jump right in without hesitation.
All Sarutobi Hiruzen had to do now was wait quietly for the protagonist to make his entrance.
"Hiruzen, what are you looking at?" Danzo followed his gaze, but could see nothing but the continuous mountain range.
"I'm looking at the future of Konoha," Sarutobi Hiruzen answered cryptically.
He took a document from his robes and handed it to Danzo.
Danzo took it with a puzzled look. He opened it and found that it was a list and resume of the outstanding graduates of the Ninja Academy.
At the top of the list was a name he had never heard before.
"Namikaze Minato?"
"Mm."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "A very interesting little fellow. His theoretical scores and ninjutsu practicals are both number one. The report says his dream is to become a Hokage like me, who can protect everyone's smiles."
Danzo looked at the sunny smile on the blonde boy's face on the list, then at the man beside him with deep eyes, who seemed to carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"The war will end eventually," Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice held a hint of imperceptible weariness. "Our generation is destined to live through blood and fire. But every drop of blood we shed now is so that their generation won't have to go through this."
He patted Danzo's shoulder. "So, be patient, Danzo. What we are waiting for now is not just the victory of a battle, but to win a longer era of peace for them to grow up in safely."
Danzo held the list, his palm a little hot.
For the first time, he understood Hiruzen's strategy from this perspective.
He seemed to... understand something.
Just then.
"Screech—!"
A sharp cry of an eagle pierced the quiet sky.
A black reconnaissance hawk, from the direction of Kumogakure, dived down like a black bolt of lightning and landed precisely on the arm of an intelligence ninja in the fortress.
The intelligence ninja quickly untied the intelligence scroll from the hawk's leg. His face changed drastically, and he appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo with a Body Flicker Technique, kneeling on one knee, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Lord Hokage! Lord Danzo! S-rank urgent military intelligence!"
"The main force of Kumogakure has, half an hour ago, fully mobilized!"
"The Third Raikage, A, is leading the charge personally!"
They're here.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged a look.
The storm was about to arrive.
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