“Hokage-sama, the battle report has arrived…”
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was planning to convene a meeting, someone suddenly arrived and handed over the battle report with both hands.
“Oh?
Is it the report from Sunagakure?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t think much of it; he assumed it was another report of victory.
He had grown tired of seeing them lately.
“No…
it’s the detailed casualty report from the Iwagakure front…”
The Ninja said with his head lowered.
He wasn’t as fast as the Root Ninjas, so he arrived a step later than they did.
“Is that so?
Let me see!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe and took the report from the Ninja’s hand.
“Wha…
What??!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression grew increasingly grim.
He had thought the ‘failure’ mentioned in his old friend’s letter meant a loss of a quarter at most.
But now, the statistics showed only a quarter remained?
Several clans were almost entirely wiped out!
Aside from the Yamanaka, Uchiha, and Inuzuka clans, which were fine, nearly everyone else had been annihilated?
When Hiruzen Sarutobi read Danzo Shimura’s letter earlier, he hadn’t expected this at all; he thought it was just an ordinary defeat.
But looking at it now, this was a crushing defeat!
A defeat that would impact the entire war effort!
Hiruzen Sarutobi began pacing back and forth.
“Danzo, oh Danzo, you…”
As he paced, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently blamed his old friend for not being clear.
Had he known it was like this, he wouldn’t have called for a meeting now.
He would have delayed it for at least a few days to figure out what to say.
But Otsu had already gone to notify them.
If all went as expected, most had been informed by now, and there was no point in calling him back.
If he suddenly told these clan heads the meeting was canceled, they would become suspicious anyway.
“Sigh!
You’ve really put me in a bind, Danzo!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and slumped into his chair.
He now had to consider how to compensate these clan heads.
The three who were fine were one thing, but those who suffered losses would be difficult to deal with…
But now, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only think of a counter-strategy, since he had already sent for the clan heads.
“Hokage-sama, all notifications have been completed!”
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was still deep in thought, the Anbu Otsu returned.
“You…
Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked.
He didn’t expect Otsu to be so quick; he hadn’t even come up with a plan yet!
“It’s like this: the heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans were dining together, so I notified all three at once.
That’s why it was a bit faster.”
Otsu replied truthfully.
Actually, it wasn’t that much faster.
It was mainly because Hiruzen Sarutobi was frantically trying to think of a plan, and Otsu returned before he could, even slightly earlier than Hiruzen’s estimate.
“You…
never mind…”
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t expect his luck to be so bad.
He could only wave his hand, signaling Otsu to withdraw.
Otsu bowed respectfully and withdrew, but he wondered why the Third Hokage hadn’t praised his efficiency.
Usually, when he handled things so quickly, the Third Hokage would offer a word of praise.
Filled with doubt, Otsu left.
“Fine, I’ll head to the meeting room first.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his forehead, deciding to tell the truth.
He would have to take more of the blame himself, saying it was caused by his own misjudgment of the battlefield.
That way, the clan heads wouldn’t point all their spears at Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura.
“What exactly did the Third Hokage call us here for?”
Akimichi Dentai, the head of the Akimichi Clan, asked with some confusion.
“Who knows…
but I have a feeling it’s nothing good.”
Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara Clan, looked serious.
He could sense that anything requiring a gathering of all the clan heads must be a major event.
And since it was wartime, a major event was bound to be bad news.
“Let’s go.
The Hokage is probably getting impatient waiting for us.”
Yamanaka Hoshi, the head of the Yamanaka clan, said.
The other two nodded, and the three quickly made their way toward the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, the heads of the other clans had also arrived at the Hokage Office.
“Uchiha Shin, you old fossil, you’re not dead yet?”
Hyuga Arashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan, had always been at odds with Uchiha Shin—or rather, the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans had always been at odds.
“If you’re not dead, how could I be?
Though, thinking about one of your sons becoming a slave really makes me want to laugh!”
The Uchiha Clan head sneered.
He knew exactly what to say to break Hyuga’s composure, and with just one sentence, Hyuga Arashi snapped.
“Uchiha Shin, you…”
“Enough, everyone be quiet.
Come in!”
Before the Hyuga head could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted their quarrel.
The Hyuga head could only swallow his half-spoken words, giving the Uchiha head a fierce glare.
The following news may not be very pleasant for you.”
Once everyone was seated, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.
“Not pleasant?
Third Hokage, what do you mean by that?!”
The head of the Uchiha Clan immediately bristled.
He could not accept the death of clan members he had sent to the battlefield.
“According to the battle reports from the Iwagakure front, the Aburame Clan and the Hyuga Clan…
were completely wiped out…”
“How is that possible!”
“All dead?
There must be more to this!”
As soon as Hiruzen finished, the Hyuga and Aburame Clan Heads exploded with anger.
They couldn’t accept that their people were all gone.
Even if just one or two remained, it would be something, but how were they supposed to face their clans if everyone was dead!
The Hyuga head was slightly better off, as the Branch House would mostly just hate the Main House more, but the Aburame Clan Head was in a truly difficult position.
“Also, the Sarutobi Clan…
the Shimura clan…
the Akimichi Clan…
only a few from these clans survived.
The survivors are: two from the Akimichi, three from the Sarutobi, and three from the Shimura.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, and the large meeting room fell into a dead silence.
Everyone stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, especially the four clan heads whose names hadn’t been called yet; they swallowed hard.
They were terrified of hearing bad news from Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mouth.
“Nara Kawahiro, the strategist sent by the Nara Clan, has fallen in battle.
The Yamanaka, Uchiha, and Inuzuka clans did not suffer heavy losses.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi finished in one breath, then watched the seated clan heads intently, waiting to see their reactions before deciding how to proceed.
“Our clan didn’t lose many?
Thank goodness, thank goodness…”
The Inuzuka clan head breathed a sigh of relief and slumped into his chair.
The psychological pressure just now was immense; he had thought the Inuzuka clan was wiped out too.
The Uchiha and Yamanaka clan heads thought the same.
As for the other clan heads, their expressions were as grim as could be.
Especially the Aburame Clan!
“Third Hokage, life and death are determined by fate on the battlefield, I won’t say much about that.
But what is your intention in calling us here now?”
The Aburame Clan Head took a deep breath, then looked coldly at Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked.
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