Chapter 7 - An Eventful Night - Part 2

Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire.

Hokage Office.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also listening to an Anbu report alongside his advisors and comrades, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Hokage assistant Shimura Danzo.

"That's the current situation, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smoked his pipe to relieve his stress while listening to the report. After a few moments, he nodded and dismissed the Anbu member.

"I see, thank you for your hard work. Please leave us for now."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

After the Anbu member disappeared from the room, Hiruzen sat by and looked to his comrades for their thoughts.

"What do you guys think?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked at each other and shook their heads.

"This is a disaster, Hiruzen. Our allies have been wiped out and all we managed to save was a single girl. The Uzumaki clan is finished," Koharu said.

Homura nodded nervously and then added, "What did Mito-sama say?"

Hiruzen smoked even heavier upon hearing the question with a guilty look on his face.

"She understands our difficulties."

"Hmph! I told you, Hiruzen, we should have garrisoned immediately! Now is not too late, we must launch a counter-attack against Kirigakure and Kumogakure. My roots tell me that their foundations have been substantially damaged by this war and as many as a quarter of their ninjas have been lost."

As a loyal representative of the war faction, Danzo did not miss an opportunity to launch a war against the other five nations. Especially against Kumogakure. Danzo was a loyal student to Senju Tobirama and has always held a grudge against their village for their betrayal and subsequent killing of his teacher.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and shook his head at his friend's suggestion.

"We can't. Now is not the time for war. The village is still recovering from the losses in the First Ninja World War. We can't afford to challenge two nations at the same time. Once we start, the other nations will not miss the opportunity to stab us in the back."

"Hmph! How foolish, Hiruzen! It's because of your indecision that our ally the Uzumaki clan was wiped out. Do you plan to wait for them to master the method for controlling tailed beasts before you see the light? By then we won't only face a multi-front war, but a multi-front war with tailed beast bombs flying above our heads! If it not for the sacrifice of my root agents, who knows how many other sealing techniques they would have acquired," Danzo pressed.

"Enough, Danzo. I will compensate you for the root's losses and allocate you additional funding."

Hearing this, Danzo finally settled down satisfied, and did not press further.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu did not interrupt their friend's quarrels, this has been a common scene for years.

"Hiruzen, Danzo does make some sense. Kirigakure and Kumogakure would not leave empty-handed. We need to prepare for the worst. Let's step up the village war preparations and speed up the school graduation," Koharu suggested.

Hiruzen thought for a moment before nodding, agreeing to his friend's suggestion.

Seeing the situation resolved, Danzo did not continue the topic but instead moved on to another issue.

"Hiruzen, what do you plan to do about Hanzo of the Salamander?"

"What's there to do? The affairs of the small ninja villages should be left to Daimyo to mediate," Hiruzen answered.

"Don't be blinded, Hiruzen. Can't you see the ambitions of Hanzo? This time he declared war on the Land of Iron and plundered many war supplies. He is gearing to challenge the status quo of the five major nations."

Hiruzen shook his head and responded, "A small raid can't be considered a declaration of war. This is not the first time something like this has happened and it won't be the last. If we show aggression, it would give the other four nations an excuse to attack us."

"Hiruzen, I've received a report that Hanzo is planning to attack our allies in the Land of Grass. If he were allowed to expand his power, with the added resources and population he would be strong enough to challenge us! Are you going to stand by and watch as we become bordered by a large hostile force?"

"Idle speculation, as far as I know, Hanzo is still busy trying to solidify power in the Land of Rain. How could he afford to launch an attack on the Land of Grass?" Hiruzen retorted.

"And what will you do if you are wrong? You should know Iwagakure has been trying to sway our control in the Land of Grass for years if you give them this opportunity, the next war front won't be isolated to the minor nations but our border!"

"Enough, Danzo! If Hanzo of the Salamander really dares to attack our allies, then I will be the first to wage war against him!" Hiruzen yelled, tired of Danzo's antics.

"Hmph, I hope you remember these words, Hiruzen. Your weakness and passivity disgusts me. If it were Tobirama-sensei, he would not hesitate against wiping out such a dangerous element."

Danzo then stood up to leave the conference room.

"Danzo, you will do well to remember that I am the Hokage. Don't do anything unnecessary."

Just as Danzo was about to exit the room, he heard Hiruzen's admonishing words. Danzo gripped the door handle tight and did not look back.

"You will regret these decisions today, Hiruzen!"

Leaving behind these words, Danzo left the room while slamming the door shut.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu looked at each other and sighed, knowing that they needed to play mediator again.

"Hiruzen, calm down. Danzo does make some sense. Kusagakure has sent an envoy more than once complaining about Hanzo's rogue actions. Maybe he does have more nefarious plans," Homura said.

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked back up his pipe and took a deep breath, trying to soothe his nerves while thinking.

"Sunagakure and Iwagakure will not sit back and watch Hanzo rise to dominance. The troubles we face are equal to theirs, if Hanzo really has bigger plans, they will interfere. For now, let's step up our war preparations and be ready to garrison at any time."

Koharu and Homura nodded in agreeance.

Seeing that the topic was over, Hiruzen dismissed his friends and stood up to look at the sun starting to rise on the horizon over Konoha village.

"I will never allow war to reach the borders of our village. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade. You guys must grow up quickly. The future depends on you."

Hiruzen exhaled a stream of smoke, which drifted across the window and appeared to form a foreboding omen floating above the village.