Naruto: The Tavern Speech Begins to Make the Land of Rain Great

The bright moonlight shone on the Hokage Building in Konoha Village and also on Hiruzen Sarutobi's slightly bewildered face.

Ever since Tobirama stayed behind to cover the retreat and appointed him as the Third Hokage, he had been in a state of prolonged torment.

He has been recognized by the ninjas of Konoha, and the village is now thriving under his leadership.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that this seemingly prosperous scene was just a thin layer of window paper.

It breaks easily.

The Second Shinobi World War, which broke out during his term, pushed Konoha Village into the eye of the storm.

At the same time, the village was engaged in wars on multiple fronts with Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and even Amegakure, making Konoha, which had not yet fully recovered from the First Shinobi World War, even more precarious.

However, Konoha had no other choice in this matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood that if he retreated in this war, Konoha would truly be doomed.

A large number of commissioned missions will be lost from Konoha Village, the Daimyo will be disappointed with Konoha Village, and financial support may even decrease.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi will likely also encounter some trust issues.

However, compared to the trust crisis and the issue of term limits, the losses suffered by Konoha are clearly more significant.

At least that's what Hiruzen Sarutobi still thinks right now.

According to current intelligence, Konoha Village is close to victory.

According to information from the Anbu, some war-weariness has emerged within Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

Their logistics also gradually became more and more difficult.

This means that perhaps the time has come to end the war.

Konoha, as the leading ninja village fighting on three fronts, undoubtedly shone the brightest in this war.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, after this war, Konoha's commissioned missions and financial support will reach a new level.

At that time, Konoha will enter a brand new golden age.

However, just as victory was within reach, an unexpected event occurred.

Today, he needs to deal with this unexpected situation immediately.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the pipe on the table and took a deep drag.

Smoke billowed from his mouth, slowly spreading until it filled the entire office.

Just as he was smoking, the office door was pushed open.

The man who walked in had a scar on his chin and a slightly gloomy look in his eyes.

He sat down in the chair opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi without a care in the world, staring intently at Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, what do you want from me so late?"

"Where are Xiaochun and Yan?"

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado are both Hokage advisors. Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the three Hokage advisors this time because he had something very important to deal with.

"We're here."

Two figures emerged from the gate, walked up to Hiruzen Sarutobi, nodded to him, and then sat down in the chair opposite him.

Once everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out the scroll from the table.

This was the information Orochimaru left for him.

He slowly opened it, and the text inside appeared before the eyes of the three Hokage advisors.

"Take a look."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed the scroll toward the other side.

"Huh? Jiraiya and Tsunade have been captured?"

Xiaochun frowned as she turned to her new room, a look of surprise on her face.

He also had some understanding of the three men's abilities.

Putting aside everything else, there are definitely elite Jonin among them.

With such strength, even Hiruzen Sarutobi would find it somewhat troublesome to deal with.

But they were captured?

This is illogical.

She continued reading.

The second line of information reads...

Xiaoguang Meeting?

What kind of organization is this?

This new organization in the Land of Rain actually managed to capture Jiraiya and Tsunade.

And the leader of the Xiaoguang Society...

"Watanabe Toru?"

Although Xiaochun didn't know this person, she remembered the name firmly in her heart.

The third piece of information reassured Koharu Utatane a little.

Xiaoguang would exchange Tsunade and Jiraiya for food and money, which means two things.

Firstly, there is no immediate concern about Jiraiya and Tsunade's lives; they are safe until sufficient ransom is obtained.

Secondly, it can be determined that this new force does not have enough resources and still needs to rely on extortion as its main means of acquiring resources.

With these two points in mind, you can basically feel a little more at ease.

Koharu Utatane wasn't the only one to make this series of judgments; Danzo and Homura Mitokado also did.

None of the three were stupid, so they could easily figure out the intricacies of the situation.

So now we need to make a decision based on the information we have.

"Finished watching?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe, raised his head, and said solemnly.

"Um."

The ones who responded to Hiruzen Sarutobi were Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.

As for Danzo?

He was looking down, his brows furrowed, deep in thought.

As a member of Konoha's Root, he had to do something about it.

Before he could figure it out, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke first.

What are everyone's thoughts?

"The Xiaoguang Society's goal is probably resources, but how much exactly does Orochimaru mean by 'quite a lot'?"

The first to answer Hiruzen Sarutobi was Homura Mitokado, who adjusted his glasses and continued.

"But as long as it's for the sake of resources, Jiraiya and Tsunade will be safe for the time being."

"That's right."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, clearly satisfied with this reasoning.

"We absolutely must protect Jiraiya and Tsunade."

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, also expressed her opinion, and her attitude was very clear.

Protect Jiraiya and Tsunade.

She was an excellent medical ninja, and she knew how valuable a new generation of medical ninja like Tsunade was.

They also knew how outstanding Tsunade's talent was.

In addition, Tsunade's special status and Jiraiya's combat talent...

This is what made Koharu Utatane determined to protect Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Is everyone's attitude towards redeeming Tsunade and Jiraiya?"

This result was not unexpected for Hiruzen Sarutobi; Jiraiya and Tsunade's strategic value clearly exceeded that of food and money.

Both of them were raised by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he knew very well that their talents had not yet been fully realized.

If this trend continues, they may very well reach the level of a Kage in the future.

For a little money, they lost two pillars of Konoha.

This deal is not worthwhile.

Konoha certainly has many talented people, but we can't just waste them.

"Then, I will send someone to negotiate with Xiaoguang Association to test their demands and bottom line for releasing the person."

Without a doubt, redeeming Tsunade and Jiraiya is the most prudent choice.

Of course, there is another way...

That is plundering by force.

They snatched Tsunade and Jiraiya directly from the other side's hands.

However, such risks are clearly higher.

What if the other side notices something is wrong and kills the hostage?

Then Konoha will lose two of its top generals.

I doubt any of the four of them would be a fool to make that decision.

"Alright, that concludes this meeting..."

"I object."

Danzo Shimura suddenly raised his head.

"Hiruzen, Konoha cannot back down at this critical juncture."

"If we use appeasement this time, the enemy will definitely think that Konoha is easy to mess with, and they will use this method to kidnap Konoha ninjas again next time."

"If we kidnap one Konoha ninja today, and two Konoha ninjas tomorrow, Konoha Village doesn't have enough money to ransom an endless number of ninjas."

"The best method is undoubtedly to fight."

"Only by letting those despicable enemies witness the iron fist of Konoha will they be terrified and the possibility of kidnapping Konoha ninjas be eliminated."

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't resist taking another puff of his pipe.

Inhale, exhale.

A wisp of smoke drifted through the Hokage's office.

The atmosphere on the field seemed to become tense and anxious because of that puff of smoke.

The focus, however, was on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He responded after a moment.

"They are different."

Danzo snorted coldly when he heard this familiar answer.

"No one is different; it's just that they are your disciples that gave you this choice."

"No, we cannot afford to lose Tsunade and the others."

"Ninjas must learn to dedicate themselves and make sacrifices. If things don't go well, then it's time for them to sacrifice themselves."

"Danzo!"

"Hiruzen!"

The two men stood up abruptly, their tone becoming stiff.

Their eyes met, as if sparks were flying.

"Hiruzen, you've become weak."

"No, it's you who are too cold-hearted."

indifferent?

Danzo chuckled coldly. He felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi had become increasingly indecisive since becoming Hokage.

This indecisiveness is destined to drag Konoha into the abyss.

And he, as the root of Konoha, is the hope for Konoha's rise.

He needs to do something.

Thinking of this, Danzo's hoarse voice escaped his lips.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

"Bang."