With fresh reinforcements arriving, even if the Iwagakure officially joined the war, it would help ease the strain caused by Konoha's shortage of shinobi. Hearing Koharu's words, Hiruzen let out a sigh and softened his expression into a kind smile.
"Yes, the future of Konoha rests in their hands," he agreed. But then his face grew serious again. "We still have to prepare for the worst. Intelligence reports show that before the war even started, the Iwagakure was already carrying out large-scale shinobi operations. And while the kusagakure's involvement might buy us some time..." Before he could finish, the door suddenly burst open.
"Hokage-sama!" An Anbu shinobi rushed in, clearly tense. "The Iwagakure has officially joined the war!"
Everyone froze. They had just been talking about it, and now it was happening already? Hiruzen's eyes widened, and he let out a heavy sigh. "I was expecting this, but I didn't think the Iwagakure would make their move so soon."
Fixing the Anbu with a sharp look, he ordered, "Tell all our shinobi to prepare immediately. The kusagakure won't hold out much longer!"
The Anbu hesitated for a moment, swallowing nervously as if unsure how to deliver the next piece of news.
"What is it?" Hiruzen pressed.
"The Iwagakure forces have already reached the Land of Fire's border."
Hiruzen's hand trembled slightly, and his mouth twitched as he stared at the messenger in disbelief. "The kusagakure? It's already over?"
"This money was totally worth it!" The elders in the Iwagakure meeting room breathed a collective sigh of relief as they received the latest intelligence from the front lines.
Just a few years ago, when they were still pressured by the small kusagakure, there had been some frustration among them. After all, Iwagakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, while kusagakure was a tiny, almost insignificant village, one that had even been wiped out once before.
Yet, after rebuilding, the kusagakure had the audacity to challenge Iwagakure? Ridiculous!
Back then, when Iwagakure sent their jonin, the kusagakure lord simply ignored them, sending some nobody to lead their teams on pointless detours. It was a clear insult to Iwagakure's pride.
However, things changed when the Squad uncovered internal conflicts within the kusagakure and acted decisively, winning over an adviser from the land of grass. At the time, they were still wary of relying on a single adviser from a minor village who kept demanding money.
For Iwagakure's stubborn elders, this was unacceptable. But since war hadn't broken out yet and they needed to keep Konoha unaware to launch a surprise attack across the Land of Fire's border, help from Kusa shinobi was crucial.
After much debate, they finally decided to take the risk and buy intelligence, or rather, purchase ten tractors, from the kusagakure. Although Kusa shinobi hadn't delivered what they'd sold them yet, it no longer mattered.
In the end, the investment proved completely worthwhile. "Jonin Kodo deserves credit!" one elder said with a satisfied smile, glancing at Kodo standing nearby. Then, growing serious, he asked, "Now... how should Iwagakure proceed from here?"
The other elders' smiles faded. Folding their hands on the table and furrowing their brows, they fell into deep thought.
Launching a surprise strike across the Land of Fire's border and pushing the frontlines into Fire Country itself was a major advantage for Iwagakure. After all, now Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure were all at war with Konoha.
Three of the Four Great Shinobi Villages had declared war on Konoha, presenting a rare and valuable opportunity.
After some time, one of the elders spoke with a serious tone. "We need to keep pushing our advantage. The front line has to be advanced deeper into the Land of Fire."
"Exactly," another elder agreed. "We have to keep this momentum going.
In all our past battles with Konoha, we've never managed to break far into their territory. They've always held the borders. We can't afford to lose this edge now."
"The front line must be solid," a third elder added firmly. "The Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass is absolutely critical in this war. We can't afford any mistakes."
At the mention of the bridge, the elders sighed and glanced toward the straightforward and honest Jonin, Kodo. Even the usually stern Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, gave a slight nod when he looked at him.
This success was largely thanks to Kodo. If he hadn't returned with detailed intelligence on the kusagakure, including thorough notes on the hidden, dangerous paths beneath the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure wouldn't have gained this vital upper hand. But...
The Kusa shinobi were a real problem. The elders' faces tightened at the thought, hesitating before one finally said, "We still need to be careful with the Kusa shinobi. You never know, they might betray us and sell us out."
That kind of behavior was all too familiar from the kusagakure. "Maybe it's time we declared war on the Kusa shinobi?" one elder suggested.
"No!" The others immediately rejected the idea, their expressions serious.
"Even though Kusa shinobi is a weak village, they have their own ways to survive. If we don't take them out fast, they'll just turn around and side with Konoha, selling us out."
A heavy sigh filled the room. "Those guys are like weeds, hard to get rid of."
The group nodded in agreement. They had to admit, the Kusa shinobi were truly sneaky. Otherwise, they wouldn't have pulled such dirty tricks during the First Shinobi World War.
Back then, they promised that the intelligence they sold would be exclusive to one village, only to turn around and sell it to multiple others. And that wasn't even the worst part, the information they provided was fake! If their service had been as reliable back then as it was now, maybe their village's destruction could have been prevented.
At that moment, Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, who was seated in the place of honor, furrowed his brow and spoke up.
"According to our intelligence, the new lord of the kusagakure is different from those before him. Over the years, we've all noticed some changes among the Kusa shinobi. Maybe…"
He glanced toward Kodo. "We should hear what Jonin Kodo thinks first. He's probably the one who knows the kusagakure best."
Just as he finished speaking, Kodo blinked in surprise. Looking between his father and the Third Tsuchikage, he paused thoughtfully before answering seriously, "The adviser from the kusagakure, Mujie, has been clashing with the new lord because they have very different ideals.
I've heard that Mujie has been imprisoned several times by the new lord. But since Mujie is a senior member of the village and comes from the old Mujie clan, while the new lord's roots aren't very strong, they've had to find a compromise to keep the village stable."
He hesitated as if recalling something else. "Maybe this time, we should try to understand his perspective."