Land of Water.
With Nakamaro and Tenzō following behind him, Hiruzen walked alongside Tobirama, who had rushed over from the Kumogakure front, listening to his report on the situation there.
In war, it was only under very rare circumstances that both sides would openly marshal their forces, throw everything they had into a head-on clash, and fight until only one side was left standing.
Everyone went to war because they wanted something...
At its core, war was about winning—gaining the greatest possible benefit at the lowest possible cost.
That was why the usual pattern was to turn the border or strategically important defensive terrain into contested ground, with both sides probing each other along a relatively well-established front.
It was like two professional boxers in the ring, constantly throwing light punches and jabs at first to gauge the opponent's strength, stamina, and movement speed.
Only after gathering enough information would they keep testing for openings and wait for the right moment to launch an all-out offensive.
They wouldn't immediately start throwing wild haymakers and biting each other's ears. That was the sort of thing where you might inflict a thousand casualties on the enemy while suffering two thousand yourself.
The same rules applied to the shinobi world.
The First Shinobi World War had lasted nearly three years. The main reason its intensity eventually spiraled out of control was that four of the Five Great Shinobi Villages' Second Kage had died.
Everyone had gone on a vicious rampage to avenge their respective leaders, and only after leaving corpses strewn everywhere had they finally sounded the retreat...
The Second Shinobi World War had been much more restrained.
Sunagakure, Konohagakure, and Iwagakure, all participants in the war, maintained a certain tacit understanding. Unless absolutely necessary, their Kage avoided appearing before one another, using this unwritten rule to keep the intensity of the battlefield under control.
From the outbreak of hostilities until all four sides completely ceased fighting, it took even longer than the First Shinobi World War.
As for Amegakure, Hanzō simply had no choice. At the time, he alone practically represented the entire village.
"On the Kumogakure front, the Third Raikage hasn't appeared. The relatively active ones are his son, the Fourth A, and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer B. Those two form the new generation's A-B Combo. There's also the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, Yugito Nii..."
"After they launched their first probe against our defensive line, our forces relied on favorable terrain and defensive installations, together with an integrated intelligence network formed by our aerial squads, the Hyūga, the Ino-Shika-Chō, the Aburame Clan, and the Inuzuka Clan, to make battlefield intelligence transparent to us while denying the enemy the same."
"We've inflicted heavy losses on the enemy's vanguard, and the front is currently in a stalemate..."
Tobirama reported in a grave voice.
"Mm..."
Hiruzen nodded.
Thanks to the Earth Grudge Communicator developed by Orochimaru, along with base stations built from miniature aerial fortresses reverse-engineered from Sky Village technology, they had established communication links across the ocean, allowing him to stay in timely contact with every front.
Tobirama's main reason for coming here this time was to take advantage of the current back-and-forth fighting on the front to establish a basic Flying Thunder God defensive base station in the Land of Water.
A man's reputation followed him like a tree's shadow...
And the Flying Thunder God Technique represented Senju Tobirama's reputation.
Once an array base station capable of supporting that technique stood legally on the soil of the Land of Water, certain thoughts the Kiri shinobi had no business entertaining would be strangled before they could even take root.
An appropriate degree of military deterrence was necessary. It also made things easier for both sides by preventing pointless internal friction.
Hiruzen liked efficiency.
"Since war has already broken out, we still need to follow its basic rules."
"The original plan remains unchanged. Compared with the three Great Shinobi Villages we're facing, we're relatively short on rank-and-file manpower, so our strategy of focusing on defensive counterattacks must not change."
"Without reliable intelligence and a clear opportunity, don't recklessly take the initiative. We need to keep using our intelligence advantage to steadily eliminate the enemy's effective fighting strength and break their morale..."
Hiruzen emphasized.
Not taking the initiative to attack didn't mean passively sitting there and taking a beating.
In fact, during the offense and defense of war, the side that launched an attack without sufficient intelligence was often the one that had to face ambushes and a hail of enemy fire, only to be smashed head-on by the defenders.
Especially when Konoha effectively had one-way transparency over the battlefield.
On top of that, Konoha's current high-end combat power could match that of the other shinobi villages.
Quite a few of its shinobi also possessed highly destructive ninjutsu, making the enemy reluctant to engage and afraid to launch large-scale mass charges.
Take Aburame Shikuro of Root, for example. When attacking with his poisonous nano-sized insects, he still had to figure out how to get them into contact with his opponents.
But in a defensive battle, the enemy had to come rushing toward him. That effectively erased the insects' greatest weakness, instantly turning them into something terrifyingly lethal. Even jōnin would go out of their way to avoid them.
"I understand, Hokage... sama," Tobirama said softly.
Now, his beloved disciple was the Hokage.
And this war had also allowed Tobirama himself to appreciate even more deeply just how rapidly Konoha had developed over the past few years.
Among the new generation alone, there were already several shinobi capable of contending with jinchūriki without being at a disadvantage.
"As long as the course of the war remains under control..."
Hiruzen pondered for a moment before continuing: "We should maintain the practice of veterans guiding newcomers. Let some of the shinobi who've never experienced a battlefield get a feel for what it's like, so they can complete the tempering that turns a 'new shinobi' into a 'veteran shinobi.'"
"Since the war has already happened, all we can do is accept it—and make use of it."
"But at the same time, logistical support absolutely has to be handled properly. Compensation, commendations, and supplies must never be withheld. Because you and Minato both have exceptional mobility, I'm granting the two of you full authority to serve as battlefield inspectors."
"If you discover a problem, you can deal with it first and report to me afterward. The hearts and morale of our people are among the most important things in war."
War would take shinobi lives, but at the same time, it was also an enormous crucible.
For shinobi who made it through, both their willpower and experience would undergo a qualitative improvement.
That was something difficult to gain no matter how many missions they completed.
At the same time, this would inevitably lead to shinobi casualties, but it still had to be done.
The Hokage silently lit a cigarette and sighed.
He wasn't Konoha's feudal patriarch, nor were Konoha's shinobi helpless infants who needed to be protected every waking moment.
As Konoha's supreme military commander, Hiruzen's creed was: 'Love your soldiers as your own children, but use them like mud.'
Loving his soldiers as his own children didn't mean treating Konoha's shinobi like actual children, to the point that they forgot their fundamental duty as shinobi was to fight.
It meant that before a war even began, he had already considered battlefield intelligence gathering, the establishment of logistical and medical support systems, reaching a consensus with the Land of Fire, and constructing defensive fortifications along the border in advance.
Before the war, he would do everything possible to reduce the chances of his own shinobi dying.
But once the war began, every Konoha shinobi had to shoulder their own responsibilities. Everything else had to give way to Konoha's interests, and each of them had to fulfill their role as a cog in the war machine.
But one point had to be emphasized: 'use them like mud' did not mean treating human lives as worthless. Any sacrifice had to possess strategic value.
The Will of Fire was not, "The Hokage protects everyone."
It was, "Everyone shares the burden of sacrifice to protect Konoha."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
Tobirama silently nodded.
In truth, when he saw Hiruzen looking somewhat somber, he was even a little puzzled.
Wasn't his beloved disciple being a little too softhearted?
There was no question that Tobirama loved Konoha's shinobi.
But as a powerful shinobi who had emerged from the Warring States Period, he had an extremely high tolerance for casualties among his own side during wartime. His nerves were practically numb to that sort of thing.
From Tobirama's perspective, Konoha was currently using the other three Great Shinobi Villages as whetstones, rapidly tempering its shinobi's combat capabilities and fundamentally transforming them at the lowest possible cost...
Even if there would be some casualties, if Tobirama had been the one making this decision, he would make the same choice ten thousand times out of ten thousand. From a broader perspective, it was unquestionably beneficial to Konoha.
{The Hokage's decision isn't wrong...}
Izuna was even explaining it to Tobirama, seemingly afraid he wouldn't understand the Hokage's way of thinking: {Judging from the reports on the First Shinobi World War recorded by Root, using war as a whole to temper the fundamental capabilities of Konoha's shinobi is necessary.}
{Logically speaking, given Konoha's strength, it should have performed better during the First Shinobi World War.}
{But because my brother and Hashirama were around, Konoha's shinobi enjoyed more than a decade that was simply too peaceful. As long as either the Shinobi of War or the God of Shinobi was present, even minor friction along the borders wouldn't occur.}
{Konoha's shinobi rarely encountered combat even while carrying out missions. Mentally, they also came to rely too heavily on that overwhelming military power, and to a certain extent, they grew lax in both their own training and the mindset expected of shinobi.}
Izuna continued slowly: {Judging from that lesson, even if Hiruzen's strength has already surpassed what can normally be called a 'Kage,' he's still some distance behind my brother and Hashirama. More importantly, Konoha's shinobi need to keep pace with him.}
{If the village's shinobi become too dependent on the 'Hokage' being capable of anything, then this system won't last. Just as Hiruzen said, 'Peace can be brought by one person, and it can also be taken away by one person'...}
The corners of Tobirama's mouth rose as he listened.
Not bad...
Izuna might only be the Uchiha Clan's second-in-command, but his ability to learn and his breadth of vision were still respectable. He was capable of considering problems from a 'Hokage's perspective.'
As expected of an Uchiha worthy of being his opponent.
{In this war, you've mastered that guy's Flying Thunder God Technique, and together with Minato, you've been entrusted with the important responsibilities of serving on the Kumogakure front, acting as a 'battlefield inspector,' and handling mobile communications. You absolutely have to make the most of this opportunity.}
Izuna earnestly continued advising him: {The Hokage is giving you greater responsibilities! It's proof of just how much he trusts you and the Uchiha! Perform well, and that seat on the Konoha Council will be yours. You don't want Tomie stealing your position, do you?}
Tobirama's expression darkened. This bastard really knew exactly where to poke where it hurt...
As if he could lose to some woman!
Whenever he thought of Tomie, Tobirama felt that his past hostility toward the Uchiha had been completely justified.
That clan's 'Eye That Reflects the Heart' was simply unreasonable. A woman with no foundation whatsoever in scientific research had somehow managed to become one of the Research Department's hottest rising stars purely through her dōjutsu...
In a single step, she had nearly caught up to the accumulation of decades of his work!
And this had influenced many other Uchiha...
For example, Tobirama's younger brother in this life, Obito. After seeing that both his teacher Minato and his older brother Seisui had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, he often fantasized about becoming like Tomie—awakening the Mangekyō and gaining a space-time ocular ability of his own...
When Tobirama learned about that idea, he was so exasperated he laughed.
Was the kid making wishes now?
But that was also why Tobirama was so determined to crack the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
The negative emotional energy within the Box of Ultimate Bliss could not only provide energy for Konoha, but could also eliminate the Sharingan's drawback of making the Uchiha's emotions excessively unstable.
And there was also Tobirama's own Mangekyō Sharingan to consider.
Tobirama had awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan through a kinjutsu that stimulated the soul, forcibly advancing it through pain.
But the Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't be awakened through the same method.
Otherwise, there was no telling whether his soul would give out first or the Mangekyō would awaken first.
Moreover, when he deliberately subjected himself to something like that, his underlying state of mind remained stable, making it difficult for truly negative emotions to erupt.
Tobirama had always possessed a calm disposition.
To a certain extent, that limited his potential as an Uchiha.
But the Box of Ultimate Bliss was different. The negative emotions inside could be used to slowly nurture the Sharingan, allowing him to awaken his eyes using other people's negative emotions...
{I understand. Stop bringing up that woman.}
Tobirama slowly continued: {I understand Hokage-sama's reasoning, and I know what you mean. Most of Konoha's shinobi can understand it as well. As for the handful who are particularly stubborn in their thinking, I'll make time to have a talk with them.}
He was actually referring to the Uchiha Clan...
After all, everyone understood that fighting wars was only natural for shinobi.
But given the Uchiha's particular traits, there was no telling whether one of them might lose a relative or friend and then lose their head...
{It's enough that you understand...} Izuna let out a long breath.
{But there probably won't be much of a problem. Hiruzen has always kept a firm grip on ideological education, and the Will of Fire has already taken deep root in everyone's hearts. The Uchiha Clan is no exception.}
As Izuna saw it, as long as no one deliberately set traps for young Uchiha the way the clan elders had during the Warring States Period...
Extreme situations were unlikely to occur.
And Isshin, Fugaku, and Seisui—the Uchiha Clan's current leaders—clearly had no intention of doing anything like that.
The enemy certainly wouldn't do it either, because while an extremist Uchiha with the Mangekyō might harm Konoha, they were even more likely to end up harming the enemy themselves...
'Hiruzen is using this war as the perfect opportunity to raise my standing within the village...'
Tobirama immediately understood what his beloved disciple intended.
Hiruzen looked at Tobirama and smiled faintly.
"Seisui, I trust you to get things done. You're on the front lines, so I'll leave the coordination of the various shinobi clans deployed across the fronts to you."
In theory, every battlefield needed shinobi from different clans whose abilities complemented and overlapped with one another.
But battlefields weren't static. The different fronts constantly needed reinforcements, and borrowing personnel from one another was commonplace.
And sometimes, commanders refusing to return borrowed personnel was simply another part of war.
External conflicts and internal friction were like the irreversible increase of entropy: they would constantly arise and needed someone to mediate them.
But with Tobirama, a former Hokage, handling matters, Hiruzen could rest much easier.
"I understand, Hokage-sama..."
Tobirama smiled as well.
This was the bond between master and disciple.
"Nakamaro..." Hiruzen turned toward him and said with a smile, "Come here."
Nakamaro tensed inwardly, but anticipation outweighed his nervousness...
After spending so long establishing himself within Kirigakure, he had finally returned to Konoha's system. Better yet, in one leap, he had become the Hokage's chosen representative for Konoha's affairs in Kirigakure.
He was no longer that narrow-minded frog at the bottom of a well who only knew how to shout about fighting and killing, with nothing but slaughter on his mind.
"Hokage-sama! Seisui-aniki!"
Even after all this time, however, Nakamaro still felt a little intimidated whenever he saw members of the Uchiha Clan.
There was no helping it. His experience of being "treated" by Uchiha En and Fugaku together right after arriving in Konoha was still vivid in his memory.
And Tobirama had left an even more indelible impression on Nakamaro at the Ninja Academy.
He was a genius?
Being a genius merely gave someone the qualifications to stand before Seisui-aniki, let alone Hokage-sama...
"Don't be nervous, young man..." Hiruzen said warmly, patting Nakamaro on the shoulder.
"A long time ago, Tenzō told me that an extraordinary young man had emerged from the Kaguya Clan and inherited his Nindō. I was quite surprised at the time."
"Now that I've seen you for myself, I can tell he wasn't exaggerating!"
The corners of Nakamaro's mouth unconsciously rose.
"Hokage-sama gives me too much credit! I merely followed Tenzō-ojiisan's arrangements and the Will of Fire and did a few small things..."
After leading Kirigakure's younger generation to join Hiruzen, Nakamaro had finally gotten what he had wished for: the chance to remain at Hokage-sama's side and learn from him...
At last, he understood why even someone as powerful as Tenzō was so loyal to this man.
Because Hokage-sama wasn't merely powerful. He was reasonable as well. He treated others with sincerity while giving them no room to make mistakes.
'Heh. The Will of Fire, huh?'
Hiruzen shook his head with an amused smile. He had noticed that Nakamaro displayed an especially severe case of what could only be called 'convert's zeal.'
Still, for both him and Konoha, that was ultimately a good thing.
Given the overall environment of the shinobi world and Kirigakure's current state of collapse, it was difficult for the Will of Fire and Konoha to have their own rhetoric come back to bite them. So in a certain sense, Nakamaro's zeal was entirely reasonable.
"Nakamaro, for the time being, you and the Kiri shinobi under your command will have to shoulder a heavier burden."
Hiruzen said softly: "What we're doing now is clearing away the poisonous legacy left behind by the Third Mizukage and bringing Kirigakure—after its collapse into numerous separate factions—back together again. In effect, we're pacifying the chaos in the Land of Water for a second time."
"Kiritori's personal moral decline inevitably dragged Kirigakure as a whole, and even the entire Land of Water, down with him. We need to put a stop to that trend as quickly as possible."
"You're a native Kiri shinobi, you come from the Kaguya Clan, a prestigious clan renowned throughout the shinobi world, and you also saved many innocent people while serving under the Third Mizukage. You have the influence needed to rally people."
"Now you have my backing, and we also have the legal authority of the Land of Water's Daimyō. You need to establish contact with the various scattered shinobi factions, do your best to bring them all back into the fold, and rebuild Kirigakure."
Nakamaro listened with utmost seriousness, nodding repeatedly.
Clearly, he would serve as Konoha's future representative in Kirigakure.
As a member of the Kaguya Clan, he naturally had friendly relations with the Hyūga Clan, which already gave him a connection to Konoha.
On top of that, he had inherited Tenzō's Nindō and had studied in Konoha. During his training at the Ninja Academy, he had also dealt with many of the parents who came to attend the public classes—in other words, many of Konoha's jōnin...
In the future, when Konoha shinobi came to Kirigakure to provide guidance or be stationed there, communication and cooperation would go smoothly. After all, they wouldn't be strangers meeting for the first time.
"Hokage-sama, I'll definitely do everything I can..."
"But..." Nakamaro hesitated for a moment. "In truth, we'll still have to rely on you. I've made contact with several splinter groups of wandering Kiri shinobi, and most of them only agreed to submit because of you."
"Everyone fears your strength, but they also trust your reputation and your name..."
Nakamaro was becoming increasingly aware of just what the name Sarutobi Hiruzen represented throughout the shinobi world.
Some of those wandering Kiri forces had even been personally routed by Hiruzen, yet once Nakamaro made contact with them, merely invoking Hokage-sama's name was usually enough to get negotiations started smoothly.
After that, all he had to do was tell them that he had come as Hiruzen's representative, that the Hokage had promised not to do anything to them as long as they followed his rules, and that everyone would work together to restore order to the Land of Water...
Most Kiri shinobi would let out a long sigh of relief, exchange glances with one another, and agree...
An age of chaos also meant that information barriers were breaking down.
What Hiruzen had done with Kusagakure and Amegakure, his previous approach toward Kirigakure, and his reputation as the inheritor of Senju Hashirama's will were gradually turning Sarutobi Hiruzen's name into a seal of unquestioned credibility.
"Don't worry. I won't be leaving Kirigakure anytime soon."
Hiruzen smiled. "At the very least, I'll stay until order has been reestablished in the Land of Water and Kirigakure, and everyone has gotten to know me as Hokage..."
It was true that Nakamaro would be Konoha's future spokesman in Kirigakure, but the true master of the Land of Water was Hiruzen, the Hokage himself.
If he wanted the Kiri shinobi and everyone throughout the Land of Water to follow Konoha's directives, and to completely transform this village—isolated overseas and originally one of Konoha's greatest potential threats—into part of the system built around the Will of Fire...
Then he, as Hokage, had to show his face. It was necessary both as a display of sincerity and to win over the people's support.
As supreme commander, what he should be doing above all else was completely absorbing Kirigakure into Konoha.
It was an enormous victory on a scale that could never normally emerge from a Shinobi World War, and something only he could accomplish.
"With you here, I feel much more at ease!"
Nakamaro let out a long breath. His entire body relaxed, and he felt completely reassured and full of confidence.
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