In Konoha, on the main street, a loud and urgent shout pierced the sky.
"Extra! Extra! Breaking news! Lady Tsunade has won another major victory, completely annihilating over a hundred Suna ninjas at minimal cost!"
Hearing the cry, everyone stopped in their tracks, then quickly crowded around, eagerly asking for details.
War wasterrifying, because every battle led to significant casualties and loss.
Whether ninjas or ordinary civilians, no one actually wanted war to break out.
But once war truly began, people's attitudes quickly shifted, they began to pay close attention to the conflict, while desperately hoping for their side's victory.
However, for some unknown reason, the Hokage had been unusually secretive about the front-line situation.
The war had been going on for nearly four months, yet the citizens hadn't received a single official update.
This only made them more anxious.
They feared that the Hokage was hiding the news because the war wasn't going well on the front lines.
Two months ago, someone couldn't bear the silence any longer and began using every means available to gather intelligence from the front.
Each time they obtained information, they would spread it widely throughout Konoha.
That was why loud announcements in the street like today's had become a common occurrence.
Over the past half-month, smiles had returned to the faces of the citizens. Because victory after victory had been reported from the front.
And the most brilliant among the heroes were Tsunade, the Uchiha clan, and Sakumo.
They had fought countless battles, killed countless enemies, and had not suffered a single defeat to date.
Rumors even said that Suna ninjas would tremble just from hearing the names Tsunade and Sakumo.
The Uchiha clan had firmly established their status as Konoha's strongest clan, wherever they appeared, enemies would flee in fear.
Next came Shin.
His medical ninjutsu was said to be almost miraculous, capable of bringing people back from the brink of death. Because of him, many injured ninjas were perfectly healed, which gave Konoha's forces more courage and willingness to fight.
Another rising star was Minato.
Although he initially entered the battlefield while concealing his identity and movements, that didn't last long, he began showing his true strength.
He was now widely known for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique, constantly gathering intelligence for front-line troops.
And in battle, he was unstoppable, moving across the field at will, almost no one could rival him.
His golden blond hair and ghost-like speed had earned him the nickname "Konoha's Yellow Flash."
He still couldn't shake that nickname after all!
However, apart from these individuals, the others' performances were average. In fact, in several battles personally commanded by Danzō, they suffered heavy losses at the hands of Chiyo, who had previously been defeated by Tsunade.
Especially on the southern flank of the left border, where countless Suna ninjas had infiltrated.
These enemies entered the Land of Fire and began massacring civilians, looting supplies, and causing widespread outrage.
Even the daimyō was alarmed and sent people to question Hiruzen: why was such an incompetent like person appointed as the supreme commander?
This was also why the war had dragged on to this point.
Danzō had held them back. Aside from poor command, shouting, throwing tantrums, seizing control on the battlefield, and stealing credit, he was completely useless.
In short, he was as reliably awful as ever.
In the original timeline, Ame had declared war on Suna, Konoha, and the Land of Iron simultaneously.
In fact, Konoha had only faced half of Ame's forces, meaning they had a clear advantage. But that war, which should have been a one-sided crushing victory, was somehow dragged into a fierce deadlock, with Konoha suffering severe losses.
Danzō's blind commands and his practice of appointing only his own men to key positions played a decisive role in this disaster.
It went to show that there were differences between people, someone like Danzō was only fit to skulk in the shadows, scheming in dark corners. He should never be allowed on the main stage.
The key issue now was that the people of Konoha had become aware of all his failures.
Hiruzen was fully aware that the so-called "frontline informants" spreading news in the village were orchestrated by Shin.
But Shin had never once spread false information, which made Hiruzen even more frustrated.
He had thought about stopping the spread of news from the front.
But if he actually ordered the arrest of those sharing the good news, or forbade anyone from spreading information, his already terrible public image would collapse completely. Because now, the people of Konoha clearly understood why he had been hiding the war reports, and they hated him even more for it.
Wasn't it just because he couldn't stand to see Tsunade doing well?
Disgusting!
Hiruzen was filled with deep regret.
Had he known things would turn out like this, he would've just announced everything openly from the start, then at least people would have thought he was magnanimous.
One wrong step, and every step after goes wrong.
In his original plan, it was supposed to be Danzō and Orochimaru, using their authority as supreme commanders, who would lead Tsunade and her faction into enemy traps and wipe them out in one fell swoop. Even if they couldn't destroy them completely, they were supposed to suffer heavy losses.
To ensure this, he even instructed Orochimaru to constantly keep an eye on Shin, under no circumstances was Shin allowed to appear on the battlefield. But what he didn't expect was that while he successfully held back Shin, he couldn't stop Minato.
Another one who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He was baffled. A technique that others wouldn't even dream of learning, how had these two picked it up so easily?
Could it be that his teacher was somehow passing down the technique from the Pure Land?
But that didn't make sense either. Back then, Tobirama had earnestly taught all of them, yet none of them had even touched the threshold of mastering that jutsu.
The result of this failed scheme?
Tsunade's faction had gained immense prestige. Just mentioning their names was enough to make the villagers excited.
Especially the heartfelt respect the people showed for them, it made Hiruzen feel jealous. Because this was exactly the kind of admiration he had always craved, but had never received. And when the two sides were compared, his own reputation looked even worse.
While Tsunade was fighting fiercely on the front lines, here he was, the Hokage, sitting comfortably and refusing to even visit the battlefield. And the worst part was, they weren't wrong. Hiruzen really didn't risk going to the front lines.
Because he believed that Shin had already figured out his plot.
If he did go to the battlefield, would Shin seize the opportunity to get rid of him?
Hiruzen's original idea had been this: If Tsunade's faction obeyed orders and suffered heavy losses, he would then rush to the front and turn the tide, letting everyone see who the true savior of Konoha really was.
And with that setup, his trip to the front lines would be relatively safe. After all, if he died under such circumstances, many would suspect Tsunade. Knowing Shin's temperament and intellect, he figured Shin wouldn't act so recklessly.
And if Tsunade's faction disobeyed orders, he would seize the opportunity to make a public example of them, accusing them of insubordination and issuing severe punishment.
But in the end, Tsunade and the others never once disobeyed orders. They simply completed their missions without strictly following the original plan.
That made things much more complicated.
If they insisted it was due to changing battlefield conditions and that they adapted accordingly, what could he do?
If he punished them lightly, it would have no real impact, they wouldn't even care.
If he punished them harshly, people would question why, after all, they had won. On what grounds could he justify severe punishment?
The civilians didn't care about internal politics, they only cared about who won and who lost.
If following Danzō's orders led to defeat, and not following them led to victory, the people would start to believe that they shouldn't follow him. That all he did was send people to die.
They might even think that such a person had no business holding the position of supreme commander in the first place.
What Hiruzen hadn't expected was just how utterly useless Danzō turned out to be.
Before the war started, Danzō had confidently promised that he would successfully achieve all strategic goals. But in reality, he had done nothing but hold the entire battlefield back, and the whole of Konoha knew it.
So… should he replace Danzō?
He was locked in an intense internal debate.
But after a long time, he ultimately decided to wait and see a little longer.
Because not all the frontline news was bad.
For example, Orochimaru's right flank army had been racking up victories against Ame, and his reputation was rising quickly.
Not only had he perfectly defended against their attacks, causing massive losses to the enemy, he even pushed the front into the territory of the Land of Rain.
Hanzō had personally attempted a decapitation strike against Orochimaru, but Orochimaru had led his men and driven him back.
In the end, a frustrated Hanzō had no choice but to retreat and shrink his defenses.
Currently, both sides were regrouping and resting within the Land of Rain, forming a temporary stalemate.
Hiruzen, of course, made a big deal out of this, constantly dispatching people to boost Orochimaru's reputation, until his prestige now stood just below that of Tsunade.
Danzō might be useless, but with Orochimaru holding the line, his incompetence wasn't enough to collapse the entire war effort.
And as long as Danzō remained in place, the chain of command still belonged to Hiruzen.
If Danzō were removed now, who could take his place besides Tsunade?
And if Tsunade did take command, would he ever get that authority back?
So, for now, Danzō couldn't be dismissed.
But he also couldn't be allowed to continue screwing things up.
After thinking it over for a while, he came up with an idea.
It was time to send members of the Sarutobi clan to the front lines.
As long as they carried his orders and effectively sidelined Danzō, they could prevent further defeats, while keeping full control of command firmly in his own hands.