Naruto: In the name of the Senju, he made the ninja world tremble.

Chapter 101 Strategic Arrangements

Inside the Hokage's office, the sunlight streaming through the windows was obscured by thick clouds. Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his Hokage robes draped over his shoulders, held his signature pipe, yet not a single wisp of smoke rose from it.

He stood before the enormous map of the ninja world, staring blankly at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, his fingers lightly tapping his black pipe, seemingly pondering the purpose of the Hidden Stone Village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane remained silent, waiting for all those in Konoha who held power and authority to gather here.

The administrative staff moved silently through the corridors, delivering orders precisely to the relevant departments. There was no noise or commotion; Konoha's massive war machine began its high-speed operation in silence.

This is the foundation honed in the three great battles of the ninja world; Konoha will always be the undisputed number one in logistical preparation.

A short while later, the door to the Hokage's office was gently pushed open.

First to enter was the serious-looking Uchiha Fugaku, followed by the clan leaders of the Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, and others.

Before long, when Kakashi Hatake and the others arrived, the spacious Hokage's office already seemed a little crowded.

Left with no other choice, Chiba, who held the lowest position, could only close the door and stand at the entrance, listening to the discussion among the Konoha high-ranking officials. Even so, some people frequently looked at him with curious eyes.

This is Konoha's highest strategic meeting. Those present are either clan leaders, high-level advisors, or at the very least, special Jonin.

The fact that a Chunin is here is against the rules.

Hiashi Hyuga frowned almost imperceptibly; he strongly disliked those who broke the rules.

Fugaku Uchiha's gaze swept lightly over Senba, with a hint of scrutiny and indifference. This Senju clan youth was highly regarded by the Third Hokage.

At the front of the line, compared to Koharu Utatane who was focusing her attention on Chiba's appearance, Homura Mitokado remained calm and showed no surprise whatsoever.

As for the various gazes, Qianyu simply stood there quietly, without the slightest unease.

"Gentlemen, now that everyone is here, there's no need for further words."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gently tapped the table, drawing everyone's attention. He pointed to the huge map, his fingertip heavily marking the location of the Land of Rain.

"According to intelligence, the Hidden Stone Village, led by Onoki's son, Kotsuchi, has directly stationed itself in the Land of Rain with the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and 500 elite Hidden Stone soldiers as its commander."

"The reason?" Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and said sarcastically, "A Jonin from Iwagakure has gone missing in the Land of Rain, so a search is necessary!"

"Hokage-sama," Fugaku Uchiha stepped forward, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, "is Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure just going to watch Iwagakure take over the Land of Rain?"

"That's right, that's what I find strange too," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, looking in the direction of the Land of Rain with some confusion. "Hanzo the Salamander didn't react to this at all. He just laid a deadly poison at the pass leading to Amegakure, and didn't do anything else."

"No matter what, the Land of Rain is a buffer zone and also the front line of the battlefield. Whoever occupies this place, whether it is the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, or the Land of Wind, will have a strategic advantage that allows them to advance or retreat at will. We absolutely cannot let the Iwa ninja achieve their goal."

"The biggest problem now is that the number of people deployed by Iwagakure is very precise, and they haven't reached the scale of starting a war. However, the existence of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki is a thorn in our side."

Mitokado Homura stepped forward and pointed out the biggest problem with this operation: how many people should Konoha send? If there were too many people, it would raise suspicions of provoking a war first. If there were too few people, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki would probably have a hard time resisting.

"And then there are the other three major ninja villages," Nara Shikaku added, looking at the intelligence report in his hand. "Although Sunagakure is an ally, they won't help us unless Iwagakure infringes on their interests. They might even have other ideas."

"The relationship between Kumogakure and us has always been bad. With Jiraiya-sama there to stop us, there won't be any problems in the short term, but it also prevents him from coming to the Land of Rain."

As for Kirigakure...

'

As Nara Shikaku spoke, his brows furrowed. He couldn't understand the Fourth Mizukage's mysterious actions, but after all, it was a major ninja village and should not be underestimated.

"There's no need to worry about Kirigakure, and even Sand Village won't make any moves in the short term. Let's consider who will lead this team."

At this moment, Qianyu, who was in the back, was listening calmly to the discussions and arguments of the higher-ups in front, but in his heart, he was actually in turmoil.

Wow, it really was because of that Iwa ninja I killed. Onoki is so good at finding excuses, he made himself, like a butterfly, stir up a storm.

Moreover, Chiba clearly saw that the Third Hokage wanted to help him hide this matter, claiming to the outside world that Onoki had fabricated it out of thin air and wanted to spy on the strategic location of the Land of Rain.

Otherwise, at this time, there might be rumors like Qianyu instigating a war between the two countries and disrupting peace, allowing Qianyu to experience the feeling of being in the eye of the storm.

Since the Third Generation has done this, Chiba should cooperate in his subsequent actions; otherwise, how can one take the benefits without taking responsibility?

At that very moment, the Konoha leadership had already made a decision.

The main leader of this expedition to the Land of Rain, directly confronting the Iwagakure army, is Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan, while Mitokado Homura serves as the frontline strategist and leads the sealing team.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio led a portion of the ninja army to assist Jiraiya in blocking the Cloud Village. The Fourth Raikage, though seemingly rough, was actually quite shrewd and would definitely make a move.

As for Sunagakure, Koharu Utatane was sent to make contact, but she didn't have many people with her, which clearly showed that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't worried about the situation in Sunagakure.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was naturally stationed in Konoha to prevent any unexpected situations from occurring, a arrangement that puzzled Nara Shikaku.

For example, where did Shimura Danzo go? A war broke out; he's not still hiding underground like the Nine-Tails Night, is he?

However, out of respect for the Third Hokage, he suppressed his doubts and decided to ask after the meeting.

Kakashi Hatake and a group of young Jonin were assigned to Hiashi Hyuga's command, including Chiba. As for Asuma Sarutobi, he was even assigned to the vanguard, leaving everyone speechless.

The only one who wasn't too happy was Uchiha Fugaku, whose clan was once again excluded and could only perform police work such as maintaining stability in Konoha.

The only thing that gave him some comfort was that the younger generation, including Uchiha Shisui, were allowed to participate in the war, which meant that the Uchiha clan's opportunities to access the center of power had not been completely cut off.

Upon witnessing this scene, Chiyu felt only two words: "decline." The absolute decline of talent meant that the Hyuga clan leader, skilled in close combat, had no choice but to deal with Huang Tu, who was also adept at both ninjutsu and close combat.