Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Homura Mitokado before speaking quietly.
"...Naruto is only three years old."
Homura met his gaze without the slightest hesitation.
"But he’s also Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
Hiruzen lowered his eyes.
"...He’s Minato’s son..."
Homura continued calmly,
"When the Fourth Hokage sealed the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, wasn’t it because he hoped the boy would one day protect Konoha?"
"If Minato knew his son could now help defend the village..."
"I’m sure he’d be smiling from the Pure Land."
"..."
Hiruzen remained silent.
Lost in thought.
Seeing that Hiruzen hadn’t rejected the proposal outright, Homura exchanged a subtle glance with Koharu Utatane.
The three of them had worked together for decades.
He understood Hiruzen better than anyone.
The old man wasn’t refusing.
He was simply...
Searching for a reason to convince himself.
Receiving the signal, Koharu—who oversaw Konoha’s finances—immediately spoke.
"Hiruzen, what are you still hesitating for?"
"The Hidden Cloud has already crossed into the Land of Fire."
"Many of the country’s largest merchants are preparing to liquidate their assets because they’re afraid the invasion will spread."
"If Konoha keeps retreating..."
"The Land of Fire’s economy will inevitably suffer."
"The Daimyō has already questioned us more than once."
"He asked whether we truly have confidence in defeating the Hidden Cloud."
"If we don’t..."
"Then he’s willing to accept Kumogakure’s earlier demands and pay the reparations himself."
"But if we do..."
"He expects Konoha to drive the enemy out of the Land of Fire first."
"Only then will he approve funding for the remainder of the war."
"Hiruzen..."
"At the very least, send the Jinchūriki to the battlefield."
"Even if he only lightens Jiraiya’s burden a little..."
"We must push the Hidden Cloud back and secure the Daimyō’s financial support."
"Without funding..."
"This war can’t continue."
Before Hiruzen could answer, Homura immediately continued.
"Exactly."
"The other great nations have already begun making their moves."
"Even the Land of Wind, our ally, keeps insisting it still hasn’t recovered from the last war and refuses to send reinforcements."
"We need a decisive victory."
"A clean victory."
"Otherwise..."
"The Hidden Mist and Hidden Stone may join the war."
"Even the Sand Village could abandon our alliance."
"If that happens..."
"Konoha will be fighting on every front."
"..."
Hiruzen let out a slow breath.
The shrinking war budget had become a noose tightening around Konoha’s neck.
And the movements of the other great nations...
Hung over the village like a sword ready to fall.
At last...
He took out a scroll.
Koharu immediately stepped forward and ground the ink.
As she watched Hiruzen begin writing an urgent order to the front lines...
She and Homura exchanged satisfied looks.
Then Homura suddenly remembered something.
"Hiruzen."
"We should prepare a backup plan."
"Send the Hyūga heiress to the battlefield as well."
"If Jiraiya and the Jinchūriki still can’t turn things around..."
"Then we’ll accept Kumogakure’s demands."
"And inform the Hyūga Clan Head of that decision."
"Eighty percent of the Hyūga Clan’s shinobi are already on the battlefield."
"They’ve accomplished very little."
"I’m afraid they’re only pretending to fight."
"This will put some pressure on the clan."
"Perhaps it’ll encourage them to contribute more."
After being openly ignored by Hiashi Hyūga before...
Homura had no reservations about sending Hiashi’s daughter to the front.
He was utterly ruthless.
Hiruzen glanced at him and sighed inwardly.
Then...
He lowered his head once more.
And added another order.
Dispatch Hinata Hyūga to the battlefield.
After finishing both emergency directives...
He rolled up the scroll.
Tied it shut.
Pressed the official seal onto it.
Then called out,
"Someone!"
"Lord Hokage!"
An ANBU operative appeared in an instant, kneeling before him.
"Select two elite ANBU squads."
"Escort the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki and the Hyūga heiress safely to the battlefield."
"And deliver these orders personally to Commander Jiraiya."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Taking the scroll...
The ANBU disappeared without another word.
After the operative left...
Koharu suddenly asked,
"Hiruzen..."
"Any progress on the assassin?"
Hiruzen slowly shook his head.
"None."
"Nothing at all."
Homura frowned.
"Have you investigated everyone who ever attempted to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"What if someone finally mastered it?"
Hiruzen nodded.
"Everyone except the Three Sannin."
"Almost everyone who inherited the technique died during the war."
"The few survivors were merely Minato’s personal guards."
"They can only perform the technique together as a three-man team."
"The Three Sannin..."
Koharu narrowed her eyes.
"...Could Orochimaru be responsible?"
Neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya made any sense.
That left only Orochimaru.
Hiruzen shook his head once again.
"I considered that possibility."
"I even wondered whether Orochimaru mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique after leaving Konoha."
"But..."
"The assassination methods don’t resemble his style at all."
In the end...
The massacre of the Hidden Cloud envoys remained...
An unsolved mystery.
A shadow that continued to loom over Konoha.
South Naka River
Thin trails of smoke drifted into the sky.
The rich aroma of grilled fish filled the air.
Naruto glanced curiously at Izumi, who sat beside him, unconsciously swallowing every few moments.
"I thought you were going to the Hokage Tower to pick up a mission."
"So why are you here grilling fish with me instead?"
Earlier that afternoon...
Izumi had intended to accept another mission.
But the moment Naruto casually mentioned he was going fishing...
And that he’d be grilling the catch...
She had immediately abandoned the idea.
Izumi slowly turned one of the skewers over the fire before answering,
"Forget it."
"With the war going on, hardly anyone’s posting missions anymore."
"I’m just a Genin."
"I can only accept D-rank missions."
"There aren’t many available."
"Besides..."
"I’ve already saved up several tens of thousands of ryō."
"That’s enough to live on for a while."
Naruto shot her a sidelong glance.
"Didn’t the Third Hokage pay you for looking after me?"
Izumi’s face instantly flushed red.
She nodded.
"How much?"
"..."
Awkwardly, she raised one hand.
"Five thousand a month?"
"Not bad."
"No wonder you still have to take missions."
Izumi’s face turned even redder.
"...It’s fifty thousand."
Naruto froze.
Then he silently looked at her.
A moment later...
His gaze slowly dropped to the fish roasting over the fire.
How generous of you...
Third Hokage.
Three thousand ryō a month for the Fourth Hokage’s son.
Not even enough to match the minimum reward for a D-rank mission.
Yet fifty thousand ryō a month for Izumi...
Naruto silently added another entry to Hiruzen’s ever-growing list of debts.
Seeing him fall silent...
Izumi immediately panicked.
"Naruto!"
"What’s with that look?"
"I spent all fifty thousand on our living expenses!"
"Look how much healthier you’ve gotten!"
"I only bought myself a few clothes..."
"And I bought some for you too!"
"I didn’t keep a single ryō for myself!"
Naruto slowly reached out.
Barely able to reach the top of her head.
He gently ruffled her hair.
"I know."
"...Thank you."