When Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, arrived, the gathered shinobi quickly surrounded him. At this point, those left at the garrison were mostly wounded soldiers. The few remaining able-bodied fighters had already been dispatched to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
This naturally left the rear somewhat understaffed. However, this was still the Land of Fire. For Sunagakure and Iwagakure to push deep inside was no easy task. Moreover, Konoha possessed several clans skilled in detection.
For example, the Inuzuka clan's ninken and the Hyūga clan's Byakugan ensured that any invading force would be detected long before penetrating deep into the Land of Fire.
With these two "cheat-like" clans in place, enemy nations had little chance of infiltration. Every invasion attempt basically had to be fought head-on.
Only if they somehow learned Konoha's patrol layouts and found gaps without sensor ninja could infiltration even be attempted.
Hiruzen had made the journey without being ambushed by Arata, which allowed him to relax somewhat.
Even if he had run into Arata, he didn't believe he would die—he had plenty of loyal subordinates around him and was confident he could at least use a summoning technique to escape.
Still, avoiding Arata altogether was preferable. The coming battles wouldn't be easy, and if possible, Hiruzen wanted as many of his people to survive as he could.
That would keep Konoha from becoming too passive once the fighting started.
For that reason, he even hoped Arata would hold back and not interfere until the war was over.
However, Arata's lack of action instead made Hiruzen underestimate him. In Hiruzen's view, those who achieved great things couldn't be overly concerned with appearances. If Arata avoided striking political enemies just to protect his image, then perhaps he wasn't as threatening as imagined.
If Hiruzen were in his place, he would have seized such a golden opportunity without hesitation. As for the cleanup afterward, as long as it was flawless, no one in the village could question it.
After all, this was the border—enemy attacks were always possible. A death here would be completely normal.
At that moment, the garrison commander stepped forward, looking wary.
"Hokage-sama, why are you here? We didn't receive any notice that you'd be coming to the battlefield."
His caution was understandable. Hiruzen rarely appeared on the front lines—almost never.
And if he were coming, there should have been advance notice. Appearing silently like this was suspicious.
His first thought was that this might be someone disguised with a Transformation Jutsu. But after careful observation, he couldn't find anything wrong.
Since Hiruzen had departed on short notice, he naturally had no formal documents.
Still, he trusted that his chakra signature would be recognizable.
Sure enough, sensing Hiruzen's mid-Kage-level chakra, the commander became mostly convinced.
Then the ANBU behind Hiruzen presented identification documents. At that point, the commander no longer doubted him.
"Hokage-sama! It really is you. You've finally come. The front lines are in a terrible situation…"
After confirming his identity, the commander immediately began pouring out complaints.
Hiruzen knew the front-line troops had it hard. This commander was someone he had personally appointed—a shinobi loyal to his faction. Not a Sarutobi by blood, but like Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, he was aligned with the Sarutobi camp.
Hiruzen reassured him:
"Report the current battle situation. And how is Danzō recovering?"
The commander answered without hesitation:
"Konoha's forces are down to around four thousand. Nearly half have been lost. Sunagakure and Iwagakure each lost close to two thousand as well, but they're two nations combined—they still hold an absolute advantage."
Hearing this made Hiruzen's expression grow heavier. The situation was worse than he expected.
If he remembered correctly, Sunagakure had deployed around seven thousand and Iwagakure about eight thousand. Even after their losses, their combined force still exceeded ten thousand.
Under those conditions, Konoha's defense was little more than a desperate struggle. If they lost even one more top-tier fighter, defeat would be inevitable.
Hiruzen immediately turned to an ANBU behind him:
"Redeploy forces from Konoha's defenses. Transfer another 5,000 troops to the battlefield!"
Konoha normally kept several thousand shinobi on defensive duty. Many of the civilian ninja Arata had recently recruited were handling minor missions in the village.
But at a moment where the nation's survival was at stake, Hiruzen couldn't afford to hold anything back. He was now pulling every usable combat force to the front.
The benefit was obvious. With 5,000 reinforcements, Konoha would field around 9,000 troops—enough to match Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
Hiruzen also understood that although those two villages were allied, distrust likely already existed between them. Among the Five Great Nations, alliances were never permanent. In the face of benefits, even the strongest alliance was fragile.
Sunagakure might look united with Iwagakure now, but if Konoha truly collapsed, Suna might immediately turn on Iwa.
And Ōnoki was just as ruthless and pragmatic as Hiruzen himself.
Both sides would remain wary of each other. That mutual suspicion prevented them from quickly finishing off Konoha.
Hiruzen even suspected they were already arguing over how to divide the Land of Fire afterward. Otherwise, Konoha's four thousand shinobi would have already been crushed by the ten-thousand-strong allied army.
The ANBU nodded and left to carry out the order.
The garrison commander immediately looked relieved. With 5,000 more troops, the pressure on the front lines would ease considerably.
He then hurriedly reported on Danzō:
"Danzō-sama lost an arm, but he still retains Kage-level combat ability. Lately he's been keeping a low profile, as if waiting for someone."
He didn't finish the sentence, but it was obvious who Danzō was waiting for—
Hiruzen Sarutobi.