Hinata: I'm in charge of Konoha.

Chapter 131 Renxiong's Final Choice

In the brightly lit conference room of the Hokage Building, all the Jonin from Konoha Village were present.

"Hokage-sama————"

"Your body————"

Everyone looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting in the main seat with a sickly pale face, and couldn't help but feel worried.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. My old bones can still handle it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, indicating that everyone in the room had nothing to worry about.

"Hiruzen, you are seriously injured and should take good care of yourself. Leave this kind of meeting to me, En, and Koharu."

Danzo Shimura, who was sitting next to Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at his teammate and rival of several decades and slowly spoke.

"No need for you to worry about that, Danzo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced calmly at Danzo beside him and gave a curt reply.

Logically speaking, Shimura Danzo had already been dismissed by Sarutobi Hiruzen and was not qualified to appear in such an occasion. However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was indifferent to Shimura Danzo's presence and did not even make a symbolic inquiry.

Just as everyone in the arena was worried about Hiruzen Sarutobi's health, a member of the Hokage's direct ANBU appeared beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and whispered a few words to him. Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded upon hearing this and then looked at Homura Mitokado beside him.

"Alright, everyone is here now."

"The meeting is now in session. The Hokage has already made a decision regarding the matters discussed during the day."

"Let's begin."

The meeting room fell silent as Mitokado Homura announced the start of the meeting. All the Jonin in the room sat up straight, waiting for the results to be announced.

War is now imminent, no—

It has officially begun.

Intelligence has arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields, indicating that the Hidden Cloud Village has begun its invasion of the Land of Rice Fields.

The troops currently stationed on the border of the Fire Field have taken the initiative to cross the border to intercept the Cloud Village forces, thus slowing down the Cloud Village's offensive.

Fortunately, the Hokage had already made emergency arrangements before the Konoha Crush plan, otherwise the Hidden Cloud Village would probably have already reached the border of the Land of Fire.

"After the Hokage's decision."

"The villains of Kumogakure, having failed in their attempt to obtain the Byakugan, have colluded with Kirigakure to invade the Land of Fire."

"This is outrageous! In the sixty years since Konoha was founded, we have never suffered such humiliation."

"Kumakuya must pay the price!"

"Jiraiya is hereby appointed as the commander-in-chief, personally leading 3,000 troops, plus 3,000 troops from the border, for a total of 6,000 elite soldiers to meet the Hidden Cloud Village."

As Mitokado Homura finished speaking, everyone was startled, their eyes gleaming.

Danzo Shimura, standing to the side, showed no outward emotion, but his heart was in turmoil.

While seemingly launching a counterattack against Kumogakure, his words implied that Kirigakure was also included in the enemy's category. Given Hiruzen's pacifist nature, Shimura Danzo had known Hiruzen for decades and could even tell what Hiruzen had eaten the day before just by smelling his fart.

These few words made Danzo Shimura sense something unusual.

"The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura Karatachi, colluded with the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure, A. Although there was a mastermind behind it, they have already taken concrete actions and played a key role in the Konoha Crush plan."

"No one can guarantee that the other high-ranking members of Kirigakure will not be infiltrated, so from this moment on, Kirigakure is included in the list of targets for the Konoha War."

"Among them."

"With Nara Shikaku as the commander-in-chief, and Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza as deputy commanders, a thousand soldiers will be sent to the Land of Whirlpools to join the three thousand troops on the border, for a total of four thousand elite troops to build the Kirigakure defense line."

As Mitokado Homura finished speaking, everyone in the room was taken aback.

Is this... also going to become an enemy of Kirigakure?

But Mitokado Homura continued speaking, clearing his throat and saying, "The heart of Sunagakure is known to all. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was the mastermind behind the so-called Konoha Crush Plan."

"Now that he is dead, Sunagakure has made no statement."

"The Hokage, upholding the Will of Fire of Konoha, will never let anyone who tries to harm Konoha go unpunished, and has decided to wage war against Sunagakure."

"The commander-in-chief is—"

At this point, Mitokado Yan's eyes darkened slightly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi

The moment these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, before erupting into a deafening roar!

Even Shimura Danzo, who was standing next to Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with disbelief!

"Hokage-sama!"

"No way! Since the founding of Konoha, there has never been a precedent of a Hokage being deployed at the very beginning of a war!"

"You are too old, and your health is not yet fully recovered. How can you possibly play!"

"We Konoha ninjas have never feared any external enemy. If we were to send you into battle injured at this time, wouldn't that be an insult to us!"

"Besides, once you leave the village, who will take charge of things?"

The moment the name of the Sand Village Commander appeared, almost all the Jonin in the audience unanimously began to advise Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen, you—"

Danzo Shimura stared blankly at his old friend beside him.

Like the other ninjas, he instinctively wanted to stop Hiruzen Sarutobi from stepping onto the battlefield.

But he swallowed the words back down.

As some have said off the field, once Hiruzen Sarutobi steps onto the battlefield, who will be in charge of the overall situation?

Danzo Shimura asked Konoha, "Who in the entire village besides myself has the ability and the qualifications to rule the whole village?"

Numerous battlefields?

It can only be him!

Danzo Shimura!

and--

Danzo Shimura silently observed Hiruzen Sarutobi, who remained calm beside him.

If Hiruzen had died on the battlefield...

No—not if.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to go to the Sand Village despite his injuries, so he didn't expect to come back alive.

Looking at the four Hokage of Konoha throughout history, all of them except the First Hokage sacrificed themselves on the battlefield.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, fought Madara Uchiha before returning to Konoha and dying. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, fought alone to protect his comrades, blocking the forces of the Hidden Cloud Village's Gold and Silver Brothers, and died in battle. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, turned the tide during the Nine-Tails' rampage, sacrificing his life to seal the Nine-Tails.

This applies not only to the Hokage of each generation, but also to the Kage of other ninja villages.

The Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, and the Second Tsuchikage perished together. The Second Raikage, A, was defeated and killed in battle against the Gold and Silver Brothers. The Third Raikage, A, died protecting his comrades. Although the Fourth Kazekage and the Fourth Mizukage died as part of the Konoha Crush plan, they were still considered...

He died on the battlefield.

Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi is old and seriously injured, if he doesn't step onto the battlefield now, he will never have another chance.

If he didn't do that, he, known as the "Hero of the Ninja," would become the first Hokage in history to die on his sickbed.

Is this a good result?

For an ordinary ninja, this would naturally be a good result.

But for Hiruzen Sarutobi, this was an ending he could not accept under any circumstances.

Therefore, he chose his own end!

"Don't bring this up again; my mind is made up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly, his words, though soft, struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.