Almost the moment Haseo returned to Konoha, the village began mobilizing elite ninja under the Third Hokage's orders—likely conducting the final preparations for war.
Compared to before, this time the Hokage requested far fewer numbers—but each participating ninja had to possess considerable strength.
It was an interesting arrangement. When a ninja village launched an invasion against another nation, large-scale confrontations were inevitable—like what had happened in the past war between Konoha and Sunagakure.
But once one village successfully breached enemy defenses and brought the battlefield from open terrain into the heart of an opposing hidden village, the number of ninja required actually decreased.
Therefore, these few ninjas had to be the cream of the crop.
Ninjas generally preferred fighting outside their villages; if battle truly broke within the village walls, then the defending side no longer held any home-field or numerical advantage... For Konoha, the next fight would occur deep inside enemy territory, where even the slightest movement could cause devastating damage to the opposition.
No matter how strong someone's outer defenses looked, it wouldn't make their vitals any tougher. If Konoha truly invaded Amegakure, Amegakure would suffer heavy losses regardless of the scale—because even the least bloodthirsty ninja excelled at destruction.
Konoha wasn't some naive fool who'd fall for flattery or rush out of his brother's wife's belly at the sound of sweet words.
Even if Ame maintained full military strength, defending on home soil always forced them to prioritize self-preservation over eliminating enemies—the resulting advantage/disadvantage difference needing no explanation.
But since Amegakure refused to surrender and kept hunkering down, Konoha would inevitably resort to its ultimate offensive method—warfare contained no mercy nor sentimentality.
This ultimate operation might deploy fewer than four-digit manpower, perhaps not even half that number.
Certainly, while core combat forces remained small, the number of Konoha ninja providing external cover and support around Rain Country's perimeter would surely be substantial… Once you've pierced the enemy's heart, numbers no longer mattered—only the edge of the blade did.
The mission might last mere days, possibly even just a single day. Yet all the extensive preparations required for this campaign would have taken Konoha at least several months.
Fully supplied and battle-ready, Konoha wasn't taking risks—they pursued stability. Therefore, they absolutely wouldn't repeat past mistakes by rushing recklessly into decisive battles unprepared. Amegakure wasn't Sunagakure either—the former lacked equal strength.
Why else would Konoha stop at defeating Sunagakure instead of razing its homeland entirely? Not all ninja villages were created equal.
In the direction of Amegakure, Konoha's victory was practically guaranteed given their overwhelming advantage. What would become of Amegakure after this battle—whether it would be completely erased—depended entirely on how they chose to respond to Konoha's offensive.
Throughout the battle preparations, Haseo stayed in the village. However, he didn't visit Sansho frequently—not even occasionally. Too much closeness would only cause disturbance. That wasn't his style.
It wasn't until Konoha had completed all preparations that Haseo bid farewell to Sansho and prepared to return to the Front Line once again. He had come back to Konoha with Tsunade, and now it seemed they would head back to the battlefield together too.
"Tsunade… are you really determined not to stay in the village?"
As both Haseo and Tsunade walked toward one direction within the village, he finally couldn't help but ask.
"Why would I stay in the village? Isn't the most important battle about to begin? Once we win this battle, Konoha will finally be free from this war. At a moment like this, how could I possibly be content staying behind in the village?" Tsunade's answer was undeniably "correct."
Despite her intelligence and being a qualified ninja—even arguably someone hardened by life-and-death situations—what she'd witnessed as "life and death" was merely a specific type of intense, unnatural death. When combined with efforts to shield and protect her from harsh realities, it was only natural she didn't grasp everything completely.
But since everyone agreed upon her returning to the frontlines anyway, Haseo understood there was no need for him to say anything further.
Before long, the two arrived at an assembly point located somewhere within the village. From here, they were supposed to proceed alongside the summoned ninja toward the Front Line. Upon arriving, Haseo found the leader of this unit unexpectedly surprising—it was none other than Danzo Shimura, who had remained hidden in the village ever since the Second Hokage's passing, occupied with some unknown secretive affairs.
The team numbered around a hundred people total—a hundred strong—considered unusually large for ninja operations. A few individuals stood out immediately: Their attire and demeanor were clearly different from others, and their standing positions formed a clear boundary. Without much thought, Haseo knew immediately—they must have been members of the Uchiha clan.
Since they were even showing up for the fight, those little style differences didn't matter—it made no sense to hold anything against them at all.
Even someone like Danzo, who'd never left the village before, had decided to mobilize—this clearly indicated how determined Konoha was about winning the upcoming battle. Yet Haseo strongly suspected Danzo's true purpose in joining this operation was more about accumulating political capital.
Looking at later developments, aside from the second-generation students who had died early and Sarutobi—the Third Hokage—only Danzo truly wielded genuine power.
Others might rise as high as senior advisors of Konoha, but Danzo alone had carved out his own independent faction and maintained control over the village's military might. That kind of control couldn't have happened without some serious skill.
Danzo Shimura was fundamentally different from the advisors. The advisors held status, but their usefulness varied—sometimes they were valuable, sometimes completely useless. To put it plainly, they were great at giving advice, but utterly useless when actual action was needed.
But Danzo wasn't like that. He was always useful, whether in a good way or a bad way.
Compared to their last meeting, Haseo found Danzo Shimura even gloomier now. Though, this wasn't entirely his personality—it had much to do with the nature of his work… Could one really expect cheerfulness from someone doing such dirty and exhausting tasks?
Actually, Haseo had been somewhat biased. The truth was, Danzo hadn't gone to the frontlines by choice—he'd been ordered there by the Third Hokage.
It made sense for Danzo's demeanor to shift slightly, but what puzzled Haseo was his oddly cold attitude toward Tsunade.
After they gathered here, Danzo Shimura had only shot them a glance and said absolutely nothing. It was fine if Danzo wanted to ignore him, but shouldn't Tsunade at least deserve a bit of basic respect? Even if he couldn't expect Danzo to treat her with the same warmth as the Third Hokage, wouldn't a little common decency be appropriate? Yet Danzo acted way too cold toward her.
Could it be that he just disliked dealing with someone so young? Or did he hold something against the Senju? What about his connection with the Second Hokage? Had it really faded away so quickly?
In any case, Danzo's behavior was worth watching closely. Haseo didn't care what games Danzo played, but he needed to make sure he didn't get caught up in them—whenever Danzo tried to set a trap, he almost always succeeded.
Danzo cast another glance at Haseo, then finally spoke, "Everyone's here. Let's move out."
Haseo ignored whatever emotion lingered in Danzo's eyes. He thought to himself: I'm neither loyal to the Hokage nor to Danzo—I'm purely on Team Senju. Who do you think you are trying to control me?
Well…actually, Danzo kind of could.
He glanced briefly toward a certain direction of the village, then stepped forward and followed the advancing group.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>