Konoha, in today's ninja world, is without a doubt the biggest winner and maintainer of the current order, so naturally it has no intention of ruining its own livelihood.
At least, there's no need to lose face over a mere Land of Iron.
The simplest approach would be to say some impressive words, use force as a deterrent, and openly divide up the cake Kusagakure has made, eating the ready-made fruit.
After Nara Shikaku brought up this topic, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also echoed, giving the impression that they had everything under control.
It's not that they're arrogant. The two Hokage advisors know very well what Kusagakure is relying on to do all this, and a single tailed beast-level power is clearly not enough to deal with Konoha's actions.
The Third Hokage shook his head, ordered his subordinates to bring out a map of the ninja world, spread it out on the long table, and pointed to the Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfall, and the Land of Iron in turn.
"The Kusagakure ninja destroyed Takigakure Village and also ruined the samurai's village. Now they have connected three small countries, and even started to recruit a large number of wandering ninja to expand the village's strength. We can't treat them with the same old eyes anymore."
"So what?" Utatane Koharu countered, "They are just a group of wandering ninja, at most Chunin. Their strength increase is limited, and apart from the monster inside the Box of Paradise, Kusagakure's strength hasn't changed much. On the contrary, by spreading out personnel, their power has become weaker..."
From her perspective, Kusagakure's actions are too radical. Tailed beast-level power is not only for fighting, but also as a deterrent. Slowly encroaching on neighboring countries' land is a better approach. That's the way to run things.
Right now, they have indeed completely solved the problem of the samurai, but with Konoha around, whether they can actually eat it is still unknown. It's very likely they're doing the work for someone else.
Orochimaru scoffed at Utatane Koharu's words.
"You didn't understand the old man's point. This isn't about whether Kusagakure can handle Konoha. They've already shown their strength, and someone will come to help them."
"In the ninja world, Konoha has more than one enemy."
The two Hokage advisors' expressions changed, and their gaze turned to the map on the table.
Indeed, right now, the buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth has changed from three to one. And Kusagakure is ambitious and obviously won't stop there, obediently bowing down to Konoha. What they should be doing is...
"Heh... I've received some news."
Danzo, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice, "The day before yesterday, a team of Kusagakure ninja secretly arrived at Iwagakure Village."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's faces darkened upon hearing this.
Forming alliances, pulling in the relatively weaker Iwagakure Village to stand against the powerful Konoha, is a reasonable approach, nothing surprising.
What annoyed and even embarrassed the two was that Danzo had received the news, but they hadn't.
How many underground intelligence personnel does Danzo still have in Konoha's hands?
Of course, this question is not suitable for discussion now. What Konoha needs to think about now is: With the Land of Earth, and possibly the Land of Thunder later, as backing, should the village continue to send troops, or should it allow the Kusagakure ninja to continue expanding like this?…
The two advisor elders are always cautious, and this time is no exception.
Bullying a Kusagakure is fine, but it's not worth escalating the conflict with Iwagakure Village for the sake of the Land of Iron.
The Land of Fire has a solid foundation, so there's no need to do this.
But if you only think that way, you're being too shallow.
The Third Hokage didn't commit to either of their opinions, and glanced at Danzo out of the corner of his eye, sighing slightly in his heart.
Although suppressing Danzo and Root is the right thing to do for Konoha's benefit, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Without Danzo, the militant faction, the conservative forces in the village have become much stronger.
As Hokage, he can't easily express his opinion. Sometimes, he even has to conform to the situation and be controlled by it, otherwise he'd be too isolated and lose too much authority.
After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage looked past Nara Shikaku, who wasn't suitable to speak, and landed on Orochimaru.
If possible, he wouldn't want to hand this matter over to Orochimaru. He could predict that although Orochimaru wouldn't have any problems on the whole, he wouldn't be satisfied with the details.
But right now, there isn't anyone more suitable than Orochimaru.
Tsunade is emotional, and Jiraiya is casual. They might not even be able to see the situation clearly. The other ninja clan leaders don't have enough weight.
Orochimaru blinked, seemingly understanding the Third Hokage's look, and a wicked smile appeared on his face.
He interrupted Utatane Koharu's argument, and under her dissatisfied gaze, he took out a spare pen from his sleeve.
Swish, swish, swish...
The pen tip landed on the map, and following what the Third Hokage had drawn before, he included the 'Land of Rivers' bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire, as well as the 'Land of Hot Water' and 'Land of Sound' bordering the Land of Thunder and the Land of Fire, outlining a circle, or rather, a 'ring'.
After finishing, Orochimaru put the pen back in his sleeve, looked around, and finally landed on Utatane Koharu, saying slowly,
"Now, are you still going to say that Kusagakure's actions have nothing to do with Konoha?"
Utatane Koharu glanced at the map, instantly understanding Orochimaru's meaning. As long as everyone present isn't brain-dead, they can understand it. It's very clear.
But understanding doesn't mean agreeing, and it doesn't mean believing.
Utatane Koharu frowned, "Kusagakure wants to surround Konoha?"
This is what most people are thinking. It's not that they look down on Kusagakure, but that's the reality. Kusagakure's strength simply doesn't support them doing these things.
"It seems you still didn't understand what I said earlier."
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curved into a smile, and he scoffed, "Kusagakure doesn't need to fight against Konoha. As long as it has the ability to destroy these small countries and rule over them, the support from other places will definitely not be small."
"The Land of Earth, the Land of Thunder, and even the Land of Wind, they will all be very happy to have Kusagakure as a military barrier, which can save a lot of garrison expenses."
"And after that, guess what they'll do with that money?"
Orochimaru smiled, "Putting myself in their shoes, I'm very inclined to think they'll find some trouble for Konoha."
The two Hokage advisors opened their mouths, unable to refute. Everyone else present also fell silent.
If Kusagakure's actions are allowed to continue, it's likely to develop to this point, and the probability is quite high.
Konoha certainly won't be destroyed because of this, but without a doubt, it will have a very hard time.
Having a lot of wealth doesn't mean you have everything. If it's subjected to resource blockades, the Land of Fire will definitely not be as prosperous as before.
"So, this war must be fought." Orochimaru glanced at everyone, "The Land of Iron is irrelevant, but the ambition of the Kusagakure ninja must be crushed."
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