Advice

"Mitokado Homura!! Danzo!!! What the hell are you doing?!"

After reading the urgent intelligence sent from the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer contain his anger and began cursing loudly inside the tent. If the report had not said that Utatane Koharu was already dead, he would have cursed her too.

Something this huge had happened in the village. The Uchiha Clan had not been wiped out, and every Ninja Clan had learned about the Nine-Tails’ Rampage and the Konoha Higher-ups’ covert suppression of the Uchiha. What pained Sarutobi Hiruzen most was that the Uchiha had not been destroyed; only over a hundred civilians and nearly eighty Military Police Force Ninja had died.

Meanwhile, Konoha had lost over a hundred men from the Anbu and Root alone, and they had even let Kushina and Uzumaki Naruto escape.

"Danzo!!"

After reading the detailed report, Sarutobi Hiruzen wished he could return immediately, strip Danzo of his position, and arrest him for interrogation.

He had tolerated Danzo making a move against Shisui Uchiha, but Danzo had actually grown so arrogant that he dared lay hands on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Worse still, he had been caught by Uzumaki Kushina, who then exposed Root’s dirty dealings before most of Konoha’s Ninja Clans.

If Utatane Koharu had not immediately come up with an excuse, every Ninja Clan would have become wary of the Konoha Higher-ups and drifted away from them.

Those internal blunders would have been bad enough, but Danzo’s Root had actually killed the Kazekage’s Assistant of the Saudi Federation!

No wonder scouts had recently discovered that the Saudi Federation had gathered a force of more than seven hundred Ninja at the border. According to the Anbu’s investigation, the Fifth Kazekage appeared to have arrived at the border as well. From the looks of it, the Saudi Federation intended to launch an all-out assault.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had originally been deeply puzzled. Konoha and Iwagakure had merely shown signs of planning a move against the Rain Country, so why was the Saudi Federation reacting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on?

Now Sarutobi Hiruzen understood. It was not because of the Rain Country. It was because his old teammate had killed their Kazekage’s Assistant.

"Hokage-sama."

Outside the tent, Shikaku heard Sarutobi Hiruzen’s furious roar and prepared to enter, worriedly intending to ask what had happened. He had just received a message from the Anbu, and after reading it, the Third Hokage had become this agitated. Shikaku was truly curious what kind of intelligence could provoke such fury from him.

"Shikaku, come in." Sarutobi Hiruzen’s voice came from inside the tent, considerably calmer this time.

Nara Shikaku then lifted the tent flap and walked in. By then, Sarutobi Hiruzen had reined in his anger, though a dry bitterness still lingered on his face.

"Hokage-sama, that intelligence just now was…?"

Nara Shikaku asked directly. Whether it concerned the village or the battlefield, he, as head of the Jonin Corps and front-line strategist, had the right to know. And if it had anything to do with the battlefield, he needed to know even more so he could make preparations in advance.

"Take a look at this report, Shikaku. Things have become rather troublesome."

Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the intelligence report in his hand to Nara Shikaku. Shikaku took it and glanced through it, his brow immediately furrowing tightly.

After reading the entire report, Nara Shikaku’s brows had twisted into a deep crease.

Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s expression, Nara Shikaku guessed that he wanted to return to the village to deal with the aftermath of the Uchiha matter. But under the current circumstances…

"Hokage-sama, you cannot leave the front line."

After thinking for a long time, Nara Shikaku still could not come up with a way for Sarutobi Hiruzen to return and handle village affairs. Konoha could not stop fighting now. If they withdrew, they would not only betray Iwagakure, but the Saudi Federation would not cease its offensive either.

Not only could they not return, they had to request reinforcements from the village. Otherwise, forget attacking the Rain Country—Konoha might not even be able to hold Kikyo Castle.

Thinking of this, Shikaku rubbed at his aching head and complained, "How could Lord Danzo…"

"Ahem. Don’t worry, Shikaku. This time, I will remove Danzo from every position he holds. I will never allow him to wield power again."

Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed twice in embarrassment as he gave his assurance. Danzo had developed this kind of nerve partly because of his indulgence. But Danzo had gone too far this time. If he did not bring him down, Konoha truly might be finished.

"Third Hokage, please immediately order someone to find Tsunade-sama. Once she returns to the village, immediately pass the Hokage position to her and let her handle the village’s affairs."

Nara Shikaku only spoke after pondering for a while.

"Only a new Hokage can immediately unite the village’s strength. I will also send word to my clan and have them join forces with Choza and Inoichi to swiftly settle this matter. Only once the village is stable can the front line continue fighting."

"Tsunade… It seems this is the only way."

Sarutobi Hiruzen considered it. This truly was the best solution. The situation at the front line simply did not allow him to return to the village, while Danzo and Mitokado Homura’s various actions had made him unwilling to trust them with authority again.

"I will immediately send orders to the Anbu to reclaim the Advisors’ authority and spare no effort in locating Tsunade. Shikaku, what do you think about the Saudi Federation?"

"The conflict between us is nearly impossible to reconcile. But for now, we should focus on defense. The upcoming battle plans also need to be revised, with Iwagakure taking the lead."

Nara Shikaku spoke directly. The two then began discussing matters inside the tent, and Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately dispatched the Anbu at his side back to the village, ordering the Anbu Captain to recover all authority and investigate Tsunade’s whereabouts.

Konoha’s front line also needed to divert part of its forces to garrison Kikyo Castle.

They also needed to inform Iwagakure. Konoha was suddenly providing over half fewer troops than promised, and if they were not warned beforehand, Iwagakure would certainly think Konoha was trying to deceive them and force Iwagakure’s Ninja to the front.

The upheaval in Konoha was simply too great. Even the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been lost, yet Sarutobi Hiruzen was firmly nailed to the front line by the Saudi Federation’s deployment.

If he left and the Saudi Federation immediately sent troops to attack the Land of Fire, would that not make it seem as though Sarutobi Hiruzen had fled the battlefield in fear, allowing the Saudi Federation to seize Land of Fire territory?

Anyone could see that with even a little thought. If such a thing happened, being removed from the Hokage position would be a light punishment for Sarutobi Hiruzen. Fleeing battle out of fear was a great taboo in Konoha. Even a Hokage had to pay a certain price.

"Ahhh, why did I lose again? I clearly used the gambling techniques Hyuga Mirai taught me, so why did I still lose?"

After leaving the casino, Tsunade angrily grabbed Shizune beside her and kept shaking her as she demanded an answer.

"Shizune, those people were cheating just now, right? Otherwise, I’ve already learned gambling techniques, so why am I still losing money?"

"No, Tsunade-sama. Your skill was simply terrible just now."

Shizune mercilessly stabbed Tsunade in the heart. At first, she had not understood much about gambling, but after following Tsunade for so long, she had learned a little just from watching.

In those rounds just now, Tsunade-sama had played her cards for no apparent reason, her ideas wildly unconventional. There had not been the slightest sign that she knew any gambling techniques.

Forget one or two hundred million; even if the stakes were multiplied tenfold, she probably would not last long before losing it all.