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The news of the Uchiha clan head and the Hyuga clan head accompanying the Hokage's advisor to eat ramen at Ichiraku—if it got out…
Well, truth be told, many in Konoha were already used to it.
Their advisor was just that casual, and the Uchiha clan head didn't seem to find it odd at all.
The Hyuga clan head, though—that was a bit unusual.
After all, the Hyuga clan placed great importance on such matters.
Once the news spread, it'd probably only be the Hyuga who'd feel uncomfortable.
Their clan head and future son-in-law slurping ramen at Ichiraku…
"Teuchi-san, three bowls of ramen—one as usual."
"Coming right up."
Teuchi smiled and got to work. Outside, Fugaku could tell Hiashi was somewhat uneasy.
"Let's go."
It's just eating ramen—what's the big deal? Only your Hyuga clan would care about this stuff.
Fugaku lifted the curtain and sat next to Kazuki. Hiashi, exasperated, stood there for a moment before gritting his teeth and stepping forward.
"I thought you two weren't coming in."
Glancing at the two clan heads, Kazuki's smile was full of teasing. Fugaku took it in stride, but Hiashi looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Kazuki, I think next time we could pick a more… suitable place."
Hiashi wasn't looking down on Ichiraku Ramen, but the Hyuga clan had too many rules. If word got out that he was eating ramen here, it might stir some discontent within the clan.
Fortunately, with Kazuki leading the way and Fugaku along, it'd probably keep the clan's mouths shut.
"The Hyuga have too many rules."
Kazuki shook his head, picked up his chopsticks, and dug in. After slurping a couple of bites, he continued:
"No need for you two to overthink this. Just wait calmly—war might not even involve Konoha. Even if someone wants to drag Konoha into it, it won't be that easy."
"A war's coming?"
Teuchi, who'd just finished cooking Fugaku and Hiashi's ramen, overheard and was startled.
Kazuki looked up with a smile:
"Something big happened in the Land of Wind that'll affect Sunagakure and Kirigakure. It's got nothing to do with us. The news hasn't been made public yet, so it can't be openly discussed."
He gestured with his hand.
Teuchi nodded:
"Don't worry, I'll keep it confidential. Unless the news goes public, no one will hear it from me."
To be fair, Teuchi was a decent guy, and he was good at keeping secrets.
He never spilled the beans.
Besides, even if it got out, it wouldn't matter much—it couldn't stay hidden for long anyway.
"So, war's basically unavoidable?"
Fugaku took a couple of bites of his noodles. From his practiced manner, it was clear he'd snuck out for meals like this plenty of times.
Hiashi gave him an odd look, gritted his teeth, and started eating too.
Since it'd come to this, what was the point of caring? Eat first, talk later.
If anyone in the clan dared to complain, he'd just pin it on Kazuki.
What—you gonna refuse when the Hokage's advisor invites you for ramen?
Can you refuse?
Hiashi was confident those two lines would shut the clan up tight.
"Pretty much."
If the Akatsuki weren't meddling, there'd still be room to de-escalate.
At most, they'd need to placate the Land of Water's daimyo—offer some hefty compensation and a groveling apology.
But with the Akatsuki pulling strings, even if the Land of Water's daimyo was willing to accept an apology and reparations, the Akatsuki wouldn't let things calm down.
This war had to happen.
Not only did it have to happen, it needed to be fierce—preferably dragging in the other villages.
"For now, all we can do is stabilize the village and stay prepared. It won't affect us in the short term."
Wars don't just start or end on a whim.
There'd be a long period of maneuvering in between.
And frankly, Kirigakure and Sunagakure's strengths were about on par—neither was head and shoulders above the other. Once war broke out, it'd drag on for a while.
Finishing his ramen, Kazuki grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth, left money on the counter, and stood to leave.
"So we just carry on as usual?"
Hiashi set down his chopsticks, glancing at Fugaku, who was sipping his broth, with an odd look.
"What else?"
Fugaku set down his bowl, satisfied:
"Some things aren't up to you or me. We just need to follow Kazuki's lead—he won't steer us wrong. Besides, neither Kazuki nor Hokage-sama are like the previous ones. You can put your worries aside.
The Hyuga might see more ninja deployments, but it'll mostly be for reconnaissance, not throwing you into the meat grinder."
Why had Hiashi and Fugaku hinted at wanting to talk with Kazuki?
It was all for their clans' sake—they wanted reassurance, and Kazuki gave it to them straight.
Clan ninjas were the backbone, but they weren't expendable.
It was a harsh truth, but that's how it was.
If war broke out, clan ninjas would be the main force on the battlefield, while the expendable ones would be the numerous but less-skilled civilian ninjas.
Fortunately, neither Kazuki nor Tsunade were heartless—they wouldn't favor one side or deliberately send the bloated ranks of civilian ninjas to their deaths.
That was their bottom line.
"And we've got time to prepare. The war's flames shouldn't reach Konoha right away—just be mentally ready."
The Uchiha never fear war.
The Hyuga, though… their branch family ninjas would jump into action, but the main family… well, that was harder to say.
That's why Fugaku could boldly declare the Uchiha didn't fear war, while Hiashi couldn't.
He risked getting slapped in the face if he did.
Konoha sprang into action.
A team of five hundred elite ninjas was assembled and sent with Jiraiya to the border camp to prevent any unexpected incidents.
Meanwhile, ninja hawks flew out from Konoha, heading to Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure at top speed.
As for Kirigakure, there was no need for Konoha to notify them—they were already holding an emergency meeting.
Their top brass were cursing up a storm, railing against Sunagakure's wrongs, with plenty calling for a crusade to demand justice for the village and the daimyo.
The Mizukage represented Kirigakure's face, but the Land of Water's face was the daimyo.
Now that the daimyo had been attacked—and by Sunagakure, no less—how could they tolerate it?
When the news came back, Kirigakure's leadership was floored.
Had Sunagakure lost its mind, or were they just tired of living? Were they trying to start a war with Kirigakure?
So, in the shortest time possible, the high-level meeting kicked off.
The daimyo was the untouchable bottom line. Barring some suicidal lunatics, any village assassinating another country's daimyo was tantamount to declaring war.
*****
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