“Hey! Have you heard?”
“Hm? Heard what?”
“Idiot! How can you not know about something this big? Iwagakure has assembled an army and is advancing toward the northern region of the Land of Fire!”
“How could this happen…? Sigh, I guess it’s not surprising. How could something this big possibly be kept secret?”
“Right now, it’s only the Land of Earth. We don’t even know whether the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water will decide to make a move.”
“We barely survived the Nine-Tails, and now we’re inevitably going to be dragged into another war?”
…
…
A major piece of news began spreading throughout Konoha’s shinobi circles.
The explosive nature of this news easily overshadowed the discussions from the previous few days about Yusuke beating up the Hokage’s son in public.
After all, that incident didn’t affect the interests of most people.
From their perspective, they could simply sit back and watch the spectacle.
But this matter was completely different.
It didn’t just involve their interests; it concerned their very lives—
Iwagakure had assembled an army and begun advancing toward the Land of Fire.
After learning of this, Konoha’s shinobi didn’t show much surprise.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, they had already expected the other nations to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stab Konoha in the back.
For now, it was only Iwagakure.
They didn’t even know whether Kumogakure and Kirigakure were planning to make a move.
At that moment, within the Senju clan grounds, inside the residence of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage and clan head of the Sarutobi clan—
Bang!
The purple clay teapot Sarutobi Hiruzen had treasured for years was smashed heavily onto the floor, instantly shattering into pieces.
Behind Hiruzen stood Shimura Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado, all watching their old friend with grim expressions.
Koharu Utatane narrowed her eyes into slits.
“We knew something like this would happen eventually, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon.”
“Danzo, who should we send?”
“Jiraiya sent word earlier that he’s already preparing to return to Konoha. We might as well have him lead the troops against Iwagakure.”
Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his aching forehead and ground his teeth.
“Onoki… That bastard chose to do this at a time like this…”
“No, Hiruzen.”
Danzo spoke up, opposing Hiruzen’s decision.
“Someone like Jiraiya, whom you can trust, should be kept somewhere safer.”
Hiruzen frowned and looked toward Danzo.
Danzo continued,
“Although Iwagakure has already launched its attack, we still don’t know what Kumogakure and Kirigakure intend to do. To prevent them from suddenly declaring war on Konoha as well, we also need to send troops to the northeastern and southeastern coastal regions of the Land of Fire to guard against an attack.”
“Hm, Danzo has a point.”
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado immediately agreed.
“Although they haven’t made any moves yet, after seeing Iwagakure take action, there’s a high possibility they’ll attack Konoha as well. We can’t afford to let our guard down.”
“Recall Jiraiya and have him lead troops to defend the Land of Fire against Kumogakure’s attack. As for the clan shinobi forces led by the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Inuzuka, and the Aburame, send them to the southeastern coastal region to defend against Kirigakure.”
Danzo put forward his proposal.
“Then, according to you, who do you intend to send against Onoki…?”
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
He had already vaguely guessed what Danzo was thinking.
Danzo gave him a knowing smile.
“Isn’t it obvious? We have a ready-made source of combat power. Why not use it?”
“Him?”
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also guessed Danzo’s choice.
At the same time, however, the same concern arose in all three of their minds—
…
…
Meanwhile, at the Senju clan grounds.
“Hello, Yusuke-sama.”
An elderly woman sweeping the ground greeted Yusuke.
“Mm, hello.”
Yusuke smiled and nodded in response.
The Senju clan grounds were enormous, yet one could walk for quite some time before encountering even a single person.
It was enough to show just how thoroughly the Senju clan had declined.
Normally, outsiders would never be allowed to enter a clan’s territory so easily.
But the Senju clan barely had anyone left now, and considering Yusuke’s reputation in the village, let alone the Senju, there probably wouldn’t be many people in even the Uchiha clan who would dare stop him if he wanted to enter.
“I heard you and little Tsunade have been getting along quite well lately. That girl has been learning to gamble from the First Hokage since she was little, so you’d better be prepared for that~”
The elderly woman teased him.
“Word travels fast, huh?”
Yusuke laughed helplessly and looked at the empty houses around them.
The Nine-Tails had destroyed most of Konoha’s buildings, but a portion had survived the disaster.
The Senju clan grounds were one of those places.
“Granny, what will happen to all these vacant houses?”
Yusuke asked curiously.
“They’ll probably be taken back by Konoha. The entire Senju clan grounds will likely be requisitioned by the village.”
The elderly woman wore a bitter expression.
“After all, the Senju clan has already become what it is now. Many of the owners of these properties no longer have any relatives to inherit them. And with the village currently undergoing reconstruction, the only option is for all of this to become the village’s property.”
Yusuke scratched his chin, deep in thought.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him:
“Y-Yusuke, the Hokage wants you to go see him…”