The Third Hokage merely glanced at him without saying a word.
As for his old comrade, the Third Hokage knew Danzo all too well.
If Konoha had actually handled matters according to Danzo’s methods, the village would have ceased to exist long ago.
Did Danzo really think Konoha was still the same village it had been when the First and Second Hokage were alive?!
“What’s with that look, Hiruzen?
They’ve already pushed us this far.
Are you still planning to keep compromising?” Enraged by the Third Hokage’s expression, Danzo nearly slammed his fist onto the table.
The only thing stopping him was the presence of the others.
“Compromise is naturally impossible!” The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe.
What Kumogakure wanted was the corpse of the Hyūga clan’s head.
If Konoha actually compromised, then aside from completely losing face, even the Hyūga clan—which was aligned with the Hokage’s faction—would turn against him.
“Since we’re not going to compromise, then let’s simply go to war with them!
It’s only Kumogakure.
It’s not as though we’ve never fought them before!” Danzo snorted.
In previous shinobi wars, Konoha had often fought several villages at once.
Now there was only Kumogakure.
Could they really lose?
“The Third Shinobi World War only ended a few years ago, and the village hasn’t recovered yet.
After everything we’ve endured during the war, not to mention the Nine-Tails’ attack a few years ago, most of the shinobi in the village want some time to recuperate.
More importantly, we’re lacking top-level combat power!” After hearing the Third Hokage’s final statement, Danzo fell silent as well.
In battles between shinobi villages, genin and chūnin were little more than cannon fodder.
Jōnin were the main combat force, while the true top-level combatants were the famous shinobi who represented each village’s greatest strength.
People such as the former Konoha’s White Fang, Sakumo Hatake; the Legendary Sannin; and the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, belonged to this category.
They were the ones who could ultimately determine the outcome of a war.
But Konoha at present was in an extremely weakened state.
The Third Hokage was already old.
The Sannin had either left the village or defected, leaving none of them in Konoha.
The Fourth Hokage had died alongside his wife.
The village’s strategic weapon, the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, was still only a child.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan had fallen into conflict with Konoha following the Nine-Tails’ attack.
At this point, Konoha could be said to be in one of the weakest states in its history.
“Then… are you saying we’re just supposed to swallow our pride?” Danzo was deeply unwilling to accept it, but given the current circumstances, even he was powerless.
“Sigh.
You all go back for now.
I need to think about what we should do.” The Third Hokage waved everyone away.
As smoke filled the office, the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to deepen.
Danzo and Hiashi Hyūga left the office.
Along the way, Hiashi’s expression was frighteningly grim.
The enemy’s objective was already obvious.
They were coming specifically for him.
Given the Third Hokage’s usual way of handling matters, Hiashi suspected that the village would ultimately make a partial compromise and hand over the corpse of a member of the Hyūga main family.
Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the village became increasingly tense.
Almost everyone knew about Kumogakure pressuring Konoha.
Fear of war immediately spread throughout the village.
Fewer people could be seen walking along the streets, and Ichiraku Ramen’s business was severely affected.
“Have you guys heard about what’s been happening in the village lately?” Ichiraku Ramen was unusually quiet.
With nothing else to do, several of them gathered together and discussed recent events in the village.
Ino, who had learned some details from her father, spoke with a mysterious expression.
[Image] “I heard from my father that people from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning have already begun preparing for war along the border!” “These guys are seriously going too far!” Kiba crossed his arms, looking furious.
The Inuzuka clan had always maintained relatively close ties with the Hyūga clan, so he had heard about what had happened.
“They were the ones who tried to kidnap Hinata in the first place.
When the Hyūga clan head discovered them, they resisted to the bitter end and were ultimately killed by him.
And now they’re actually trying to turn the whole thing around and blame us?
That’s absolutely shameless!” “What?
They were trying to kidnap Hinata?!” The others were shocked, and their anger quickly followed.
Hinata was such a gentle and adorable girl that everyone liked her.
Even Sasuke, who disliked the Hyūga clan because of the rivalry between their families, couldn’t bring himself to dislike Hinata.
“Don’t worry.
This war isn’t going to happen!” Sakura sighed.
She knew how the story was supposed to unfold from here.
Next would come the Third Hokage’s partial compromise, followed by Hizashi Hyūga being pressured by the Hyūga clan elders into sacrificing himself for his brother.
“Damn it!
If the Sannin and the Fourth Hokage were still around, they wouldn’t dare pull something like this!” Shikamaru said unhappily.
Shikamaru Nara had already analyzed the situation with his father, Shikaku Nara.
The reason Kumogakure was being so aggressive was simply that they had recognized how severely Konoha’s ranks had been depleted.
Just as everyone was voicing their anger toward Kumogakure, a white-haired figure dressed as ANBU suddenly appeared.
“Sakura Haruno, Lord Third would like to see you.” Sakura followed the ANBU-clad Kakashi Hatake to the Hokage’s office.
She was rather puzzled.
Why would the Third Hokage want to see her at a time like this?
Could he be planning to hand me over as a scapegoat for helping kill the Kumogakure delegation leader?
“Sakura, I’d like to ask you something.
What do you think about the situation with Kumogakure?” The moment they met, the Third Hokage got straight to the point.
This surprised Sakura.
“Why would Lord Third want to hear my opinion?” Sakura asked, confused.
She was only four years old.
No matter how she looked at it, this sort of major political decision shouldn’t have anything to do with her.
“Intuition!” The Third Hokage smiled, though his face was filled with exhaustion.
“I have a feeling you might have a solution.” “Huh?!” Sakura was immediately speechless.
People say women have a sixth sense, but why is an old man getting in on it too?!
“My intuition is very reliable!” The Third Hokage laughed.
In truth, he was simply at his wits’ end and wanted to find someone to talk to in order to relieve some of the pressure.
That was when he thought of Sakura, the girl who possessed a mysterious kekkei genkai.
“If you really want my opinion, I think we should just hit them right back.” Sakura sat on her Demon Sword and floated up until she was at the same height as the Third Hokage.
“If they want war, then give them war!” “It isn’t that simple…” The Third Hokage shook his head.
Konoha simply couldn’t afford another war right now.
“I know.
It’s because we’re short on combat power, right?” Sakura naturally knew Konoha’s current situation.
If this had happened a few years earlier, Kumogakure wouldn’t have dared attempt to kidnap anyone from Konoha in the first place.
[Image] “Exactly.
If Konoha goes to war with Kumogakure, the other villages will definitely take advantage of the situation.
Once that happens, Konoha will be in danger!” The Third Hokage nodded.
Konoha’s geographical position was exceptionally advantageous.
The other major shinobi villages had long wanted to destroy Konoha and seize its territory.