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Compared to the pain of a severed arm, death was far more terrifying.
In Konoha, under the stillness of the late night, beneath the surface calm, a storm was brewing. Figures cloaked in darkness darted swiftly to various parts of the village.
"Advisor-sama."
Having been warned by Kazuki a few times, the Anbu ninjas no longer dared to casually barge into his home.
Especially not into his room.
Of course, that applied only to when he was sleeping at night.
During the day, if something came up, they could just come in and report.
Kazuki had no prejudice against the Anbu; he just didn't like people showing up at his house while he was sleeping.
"What's the matter?"
If the Anbu were coming to his door after he'd already gone to bed, it meant something big had happened.
"I don't know the details, but Hokage-sama has ordered you to head to the Hokage Building as quickly as possible."
'As quickly as possible…'
In less than twenty seconds, dressed in casual clothes, Kazuki opened his window and leaped out, racing through the dark toward the Hokage Building.
The Hokage Building was brightly lit, and many who had already been resting were roused by the Anbu.
Kazuki wasn't the first to arrive—when he got there, the Hokage Tower already had plenty of people.
"Looks like this is a big deal."
"Advisor-sama."
Shikaku and the clan heads who had already arrived greeted him respectfully.
"Enough with the formalities. Tsunade's probably getting impatient—let's head up."
Kazuki waved them off and took the lead, with the others following closely behind.
In the Hokage's office, when Kazuki pushed open the door, he saw that the Third Hokage, Homura, and Jiraiya were already there. Jiraiya looked like he hadn't slept, yawning and bleary-eyed, with crust still clinging to the corners of his eyes.
The Uchiha clan grounds were the farthest from the village's central area, so it was only natural that Kazuki arrived a bit late.
After all, he didn't know the Flying Thunder God technique. Look at Fugaku—he was even slower.
"No need to come in. Let's head straight to the meeting room. Shizune, make copies of the intelligence scroll's contents and distribute them later."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Shizune hurried off with a scroll in her arms.
Tsunade stood up from the Hokage's office and led everyone toward the meeting room.
"What were you up to last night, looking that tired?"
Jiraiya plopped down next to Kazuki, still yawning incessantly, looking utterly exhausted.
"Haha, just some stuff—kept me pretty busy."
Some things couldn't be said outright—it'd be awkward for everyone. Jiraiya scratched his head with a laugh and winked.
He was sure Kazuki would get the hint.
"…"
Kazuki did get it—and instantly.
No need to guess—Jiraiya had definitely been out carousing, probably until the wee hours, only to be dragged out of bed for this.
No wonder he was yawning his way to the Hokage Building.
As they waited, Fugaku and the others arrived.
Seeing that most of the expected attendees were present, Tsunade didn't waste words and signaled Shizune to distribute the copied documents.
Kazuki hadn't even opened his yet when Jiraiya, quicker on the draw, beat him to it.
After a few seconds of reading, Jiraiya's sleepiness vanished. He snapped awake, his crusty eyes wide as if he'd seen something unbelievable.
This must be big.
Kazuki guessed as much in his mind and opened the document for a quick scan.
No wonder they'd called everyone who could attend a meeting in the middle of the night—this was huge.
This had to be the Akatsuki's doing, right?
"Hiss~~~~"
The meeting room was filled with the sound of sharp gasps, as everyone collectively contributed to global warming.
"Has Sunagakure lost its mind?"
Homura, already advanced in years with a face full of wrinkles and whitening hair and beard, stood up in shock.
His reaction was the most dramatic.
The others, though startled by the document's contents, managed to keep their emotions in check—except for this guy, who literally jumped out of his seat.
"Assassinating the Land of Water's daimyo? Who gave them the guts?"
The Third Hokage's expression wasn't great either, sighing with worry:
"A turbulent time, indeed. If this isn't handled well, the two villages could erupt into war at any moment."
"Kazuki, what do you think?"
Tsunade scanned the meeting room, noticing that only Homura and the Third Hokage had spoken while the rest stayed silent. She focused her gaze on Kazuki.
"It's obvious—war is unavoidable. But Rasa probably isn't that crazy. This smells like an Akatsuki plot. Unfortunately, without evidence, it's hard to stop a war that could break out at any moment."
Kazuki set down the document and said:
"All we can do is stay on guard. As the Third said, we need to watch our enemies and keep ourselves from getting dragged into the war. This war doesn't belong to Konoha."
It's an Akatsuki scheme—everyone's thinking it. But where's the proof?
Even if you say it's the Akatsuki, would the Land of Water's daimyo just let it slide?
Don't be naive. With a severed arm and shaken to his core, he hasn't even woken up yet!
Given the temper of daimyos—whether from the Land of Fire or the Land of Water—they'd never let this go easily.
Control Yagura, orchestrate a war, and deplete the strength of the five great ninja villages?
That's probably the Akatsuki's plan.
First, let Kirigakure and Sunagakure duke it out, then seize the chance to pull the other villages in.
Once the five great villages are worn down, the Akatsuki swoops in, snatches the tailed beasts, and carries out their Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
You had to admit, after taking a hit, the Akatsuki had learned.
They'd started making better use of the power and leverage at their disposal.
The old Akatsuki wouldn't have even considered this approach.
They'd gotten smarter.
"Anyone else?"
After Kazuki shared his view, Tsunade raised her hand to ask.
"I agree with Advisor-sama's proposal." Fugaku raised his hand to voice his support.
"I agree too." Hiashi followed suit.
And then… the clan heads with good ties to the Uchiha and Hyuga, who'd had business dealings with them in recent years, all raised their hands.
"…"
The scene unfolding before him left the Third Hokage stunned. Back in his day, he never got this much support.
People mostly stayed silent—not speaking up, not supporting, just letting him do whatever.
Now? Whatever Kazuki said, these people backed him. Talk about double standards—did they even realize?
The Third Hokage's mouth twitched inexplicably.
Homura, sitting beside him, was equally speechless.
*****
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