Escape From Konoha

This December.

The four great nations of fire, wind, earth, and water formed an alliance.

Waging war against the Kingdom of Ghosts.

The three key sentences were immediately captured by the ninja clan leaders present. Even those who were calm by nature couldn't help but change their faces in shock when they heard Tsunade suddenly announce such a thing.

The atmosphere in the conference room immediately felt like it was falling into a quagmire, which made people feel extremely depressed.

"Huo, Hokage-sama...are you saying that you want to start a war in the Kingdom of Demons?"

A ninja clan leader stood up and questioned, thinking that his ears had heard wrongly or that he was hearing hallucinations.

To start a war at this time, or to go to the Kingdom of Ghosts... This is obviously a showdown with the wrong opponent at the wrong time. As for Konoha, there is a high probability that they will be defeated by the other party.

Some of them couldn't help but feel shocked and panicked.

"Yes. This matter has passed a high-level resolution, and the daimyo also fully supports this decision. Moreover, Sunagakure of the Kingdom of Wind, Iwagakure of the Kingdom of Earth, and Kirigakure of the Kingdom of Water will also be They are allies of Konoha. Do you have any questions about this?"

Tsunade sat calmly and calmly. From being irritable at the beginning, she gradually became able to stabilize her mentality.

Since the fact that the four countries jointly attacked the Kingdom of Ghosts could not be changed, she could only fulfill her responsibilities as a Hokage, finalize the matter, and promote its implementation.

Compared to Tsunade's calmness, the ninja clan leaders below looked at each other, questions? How could there be no doubt? It would be better to say that the questions in their minds now are simply more than mountains.

There are also some ninja clan leaders who are thoughtful.

Although they provoked a war against the Kingdom of Ghosts, they did not know about this until now.

But if you think about it carefully, there are traces to follow.

If a war is to be fought, then sufficient supplies must be prepared, such as grain, grass and medicine, which are indispensable and important war preparation resources.

Obviously, it is impossible to raise these things at the beginning of the war. It is the correct approach to prepare these war preparation materials in advance.

Reminiscent of the fact that the village has purchased more medicinal materials, medicines and other items from outside recently than in the past, and these matters are handled directly by the advisory group... Some of the ninja clan leaders suddenly realized something.

Quietly, Konoha has actually entered the pre-war state silently, but it is only now officially proposed at high-level meetings.

"I have objections! Lord Hokage, I think it is too risky to start a war with the Kingdom of Demons... To put it bluntly, with our current strength in Konoha, it is not enough to fight the Kingdom of Demons. . If this continues, the village will be doomed!"

Another ninja clan leader stood up and sternly refuted the war with the Kingdom of Demons, and directly stated that Konoha was no match for the Kingdom of Demons.

"Not necessarily. Didn't Lord Hokage say that? This military operation against the Kingdom of Demons is not just our Konoha family, Sunagakure, Iwagakure and Kirigakure will also be our helpers. Each family only needs a little If we can squeeze out some effort, we can gather an alliance army composed of 20,000 ninjas... plus several five-kage level ninja leaders, I think this matter has great potential."

The man sitting at the seat of the Sarutobi clan gave this response after a brief thought.

The other ninja clan leaders are also considering the pros and cons.

It is true that the military power of the Demon Country is obvious to all. Even Kumogakure, who now nominally occupies the title of No. 1 Ninja Village, may not be able to compete with the Demon Country in terms of military strength.

Although they are unwilling to admit it, the senior officials of each Ninja Village have compared the military strength of their village with the Kingdom of Demons. That is, it is difficult for a single Ninja Village from a large country to compete with the Kingdom of Demons in terms of military strength. .

The three people in the head alone may be equivalent to the combined power of a large country's ninja village.

If we really want to deal with the Kingdom of Demons, we must at least bring out the strength of the Ninja Village of two major countries to compete with it.

Konoha once had such a powerful military force. On the battlefields of the first two ninja wars, Konoha won the final victory in a one-to-many situation, establishing the reputation of Konoha as the strongest ninja village. .

At this time, the Kingdom of Ghosts was like the Konoha Ninja Village at that time.

Therefore, if only Konoha's side participates in the war, then there is no chance of winning this war, because the chance of victory is really slim.

But if the Ninja Villages of the four major countries launch military operations against the Kingdom of Demons at the same time, then in the eyes of the Ninja clan leaders, this matter will be worthy of a try.

At this time, the consultant Mito Kaden who had been silent coughed twice, focused everyone's attention, and said: "Everyone, the power of the Demon Country is getting stronger and stronger now, and it has affected the balance between countries. , if it is not restricted now, it will be more difficult to deal with it in the future. Finally, don’t forget who is leading that country. For us, Konoha, this is an existential crisis. We, Konoha, love peace. But in order to survive, this is a forced war.”

Although this kind of statement sounds a bit alarmist, one thing Mito Kadenyan said is true, that is, the diplomatic relationship between Konoha, and even the Country of Fire, and the Country of Ghosts is very bad.

Otherwise, over the years, Konoha would not have formed an alliance with the Sunagakure Village, its old rival in the Third Ninja War, to advance and retreat together on the stance against the Kingdom of Demons. It was because he felt the pressure from the Kingdom of Demons that he had to come together with Sunagakure Village.

In this matter, Konoha has no room to retreat.

As Mito Kadoen's words rang out, the ninja clan leaders who were originally hesitant gradually made up their minds.

Yes, by now, they have lost the space to retreat.

The more powerful the Kingdom of Ghosts becomes, the smaller the living space for the Country of Fire and Konoha becomes.

Moreover, the system implemented by the Kingdom of Demons against ninjas is not conducive to the development of the ninja clan, especially the ninja clan who each have their own secret techniques. Once they lose the safe haven of Konoha, you can imagine the consequences they will face. To put it bluntly, they and the Kingdom of Ghosts are on natural opposites, and there is no possibility of peaceful coexistence.

"In that case, I, the Sarutobi clan, second the proposal. When the time comes, our clan will support thirty elite ninjas for the village."

The man sitting on the seat of the Sarutobi clan agreed on the spot and expressed his willingness to support thirty elite ninjas in this war.

And his words quickly aroused the enthusiasm of the others.

"The Hyuga clan seconded the proposal."

"The Akimichi clan seconded the proposal."

"The Aburame clan seconded the proposal."

"The Inuzuka clan seconded the proposal."

As a ninja clan leader seconded the proposal to participate in the war, those who still had concerns had no choice but to nod and acquiesce, choosing to second the proposal and agree to participate in the war.

Seeing the clan leaders actively participating in the battle, the two advisory elders sitting on both sides of Tsunade also nodded in approval.

With such an indomitable will to fight, there are basically no worries about the upcoming war.

"Then, this meeting is over. Please go back and pretend that nothing happened. Just select your close relatives in the family and arrange the arrangements secretly."

Xiaochun, who went to bed, added a sentence at the end, telling everyone to be careful.

Everyone nodded, understanding the importance of this matter and saying they would act carefully.

After all, there are still eight or nine months until December, which is enough for them to prepare for the war and deal a painful blow to the Kingdom of Ghosts.

After the meeting, one by one, the ninja clan chiefs left the conference room. In the end, only Tsunade was left. Koharu, Mito Kaden, Jiraiya, and Shikaku stayed in the conference room without leaving.

"Then, we have to arrange things quickly here. However, I didn't expect that the attack time would be December. What's going on?"

After going to bed, Xiaochun began to ask about this matter.

"This is the result of a joint discussion between the Hokage, the Tsuchikage, the Kazekage, and the Mizukage. Because December is approaching the end of the year, and it is winter, it can catch people off guard. Moreover, targeting Chiba Shiraishi and Uchiha Ruri As well as Hyuga Ayane’s combat power, we also need to formulate a plan to limit their actions, which requires a lot of time to arrange.”

Shikaku explained from the side.

After listening to this, Koharu and Mito Kadoyan nodded slightly and agreed with this reason.

"So, do you have any good suggestions on how to restrain those three people, Shikaku?"

Mito Menen glanced at Shikaku, wanting to hear his opinion.

Lu Jiu shook his head helplessly and replied: "From the information I have obtained so far, the basic human sea tactics are basically ineffective against the three of them. Although to a certain extent, using human sea tactics can indeed contain their actions, but As long as they want to leave, it will be difficult for ordinary ninjas to stop them. At this time, we can only use ninjas of the same level to limit their range of activities. Other than that, there is no other way."

"Shikaku's views are basically the same as mine. I don't know much about the situation of Uchiha Ruri and Hinata Ayane, so I won't express my opinion. But I have personally experienced Chiba Shiraishi's strength. His clone He has a variety of abilities, covering three attack modes: short-range, medium-range and long-range. If you fight him alone, you have no chance of winning. Even if Tsunade and I join forces, I'm afraid the result will be..."

Jiraiya didn't continue talking until he said this, but the meaning expressed was already very obvious.

"From this point of view, it is a wiser decision to set the attack time in December. However, in fact, there is no need to worry too much about how to target Chiba Shiraishi. We are not the only ones participating in the war this time in Konoha. In order to resist attacks from other directions, it is impossible for the three of them to gather together. There is a high probability that they will be scattered to three battlefields and fight on their own. In this way, their threat will be greatly reduced, and they can be defeated individually when the time comes. .”

Mito Kadoyan was not frightened by Jiraiya's remarks, but pointed out the weakness of the Demon Country. As long as the three of them spread out, there would be a way to defeat them.

"Tsunade, what do you think? You may need your help then."

Koharu turned to bed and looked at Tsunade, the Hokage.

"Just do what you said. I won't get involved in strategic arrangements. You can just make your own decisions through discussion. During this time, I will focus on internal management. The time is almost up, so I'll leave first. "

After Tsunade said this, she stood up from her seat and disappeared towards the door.

"Tsunade, she..."

After going to bed, Xiaochun frowned and stopped talking.

"Forget it, Xiaochun, let her calm down alone for a while. Let's just do our job well and don't do unnecessary things."

Mito Monohan shook his head, stopped Koharu from sleeping, and then closed his eyes and said nothing.

…

After Tsunade left the conference room, she did not go to the office, but came to the personal lounge of the Hokage Building.

As if all the strength had been drained from her body, she fell onto the soft bed. Tsunade closed her eyes and put her hands on her forehead, which made her feel quite tired.

After lying on the bed for about a few minutes, Tsunade suddenly opened her eyes. With a certain determination in her eyes, she stood up from the bed in an instant and walked quickly to the work table in the lounge.

Open the notebook, turn to a blank page, pick up the pen, and write quickly on the paper.

Halfway through writing, Tsunade frowned, scoffed, tore off the page, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into her pocket.

Then he wrote in the notebook again, and he just finished writing a line. He tore it out again, crumpled it into a ball of paper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

It wasn't until the third time that I wrote the words 'transaction terminated' on the paper that I was barely satisfied. I tore the page out of the notebook and folded it into a square shape for confidentiality.

Then, she bit her finger and quickly formed a seal. While circulating the chakra in her body, she slapped it towards the ground and performed the psychic technique.

What appeared along with the thick smoke was a slug the size of an arm.

"Tsunade-sama, are you looking for me?"

The soft and waxy sound of the living dragon sounded, and it raised its upper body, and its two tentacles contracted in the air.

"Ah, I have something to ask of you."

Tsunade placed the folded square piece of paper on the workbench in front of the living creature.

"This is……"

The living creature moved, wondering what Tsunade meant by putting the paper in front of her.

"Give this thing to the man from the Kingdom of Ghosts."

Tsunade believed that Shiraishi would understand what it meant after seeing this message.

This means that the verbal agreement they made before is invalid.

"Master Shiraishi? I understand."

The beast didn't ask Tsunade the reason for doing this. It squirmed forward very obediently, came into contact with the square paper, and then directly integrated the square paper into its soft and sticky body.

"Please, you bastard."

"Well, if Tsunade-sama has no other orders, then I will leave first."

"Go ahead."

Tsunade nodded and let the beast leave.

The live dragon exploded into a cloud of white smoke with a loud bang, disappeared from the lounge, and returned to the wet bone forest.

Watching the living creature leave, Tsunade felt a little sad, and a look of loneliness flashed in her eyes.

But this look of loneliness quickly disappeared from Tsunade's eyes and turned into a look of determination.

"The next time we meet, we will be enemies."

◎

Transaction terminated.

Seeing the message conveyed by the living beast, Bai Shi, who was working in the office, was slightly silent.

Immediately, he smiled relaxedly.

"It really looks like Tsunade-sensei's style."

Obviously she could use the information gap to deceive him and keep him in the dark, but Tsunade did not choose to do this. Instead, she used this neutral text to sever all ties. In this way, he not only broke off from him, but also did not betray his village. He was worthy of his position as Hokage.

Making such a choice, to a certain extent, represents the other person's heart. In just a few days, he must have gone through a struggle that ordinary people can't imagine.

Will we be enemies next time we meet?

It doesn't matter, Shiraishi has already made such a psychological realization.

Rather, Tsunade's response made him feel a lot more relaxed.

◎

Half a month passed and it was mid-March.

Although in the darkness of Konoha, a large amount of supplies needed for the war began to be secretly stored, but on the surface, Konoha Village was as peaceful as usual, without any abnormalities.

Tsunade also performed the duties and responsibilities of the Hokage step by step. Every day, she had two-point and one-line communication between her home and the Hokage's building. Occasionally she would go to an izakaya to drink and relax, focusing on her work.

After several months of hard work, the mess left by the previous Hokage finally got better.

In terms of task entrustment, things are gradually improving. Jonin, chuunin and genin have all begun to resume work. There are a large number of tasks waiting for them every day. The busy appearance makes Konoha look a bit prosperous.

However, this good mood was soon broken by uninvited guests.

"I remember you were called Shanfeng. Why did you come to see me? Could it be that you guys are trying to cause some trouble?"

Tsunade's calm tone was full of sarcasm.

However, Shanfeng's expression did not change after being ridiculed by Tsunade, but he answered honestly: "Hokage-sama, I am here to offer you a gift."

"Gift? If you don't even bother me, I should be grateful. I don't dare accept your gift."

Tsunade continued to be sarcastic.

Shanfeng took out a portfolio and still didn't care about Tsunade's sarcasm. Instead, he calmly placed the portfolio on the table in front of Tsunade.

Tsunade's eyes glanced at the file bag, wondering what the other party's intention was.

"We know at our core that Lord Hokage is cleaning out the 'rats' in the village recently, so we specially offer this gift to help Lord Hokage establish his prestige. This file bag records the detailed information of those 'rats', Naruto Your Excellency can send ANBU to capture them at any time and bring them to justice.”

Mountain wind has a calm face.

After Tsunade heard this, she fell into deep thought.

This gift is not a small one.

As the saying goes, she only became Hokage after taking up the post. She urgently needs to do a few things that can affect the village to establish her prestige as soon as possible, recruit more talents who can be used for her, and accumulate political capital.

Although she doesn't like roots, sometimes she has to admit the power of this organization. The contents in this file are most likely genuine and not fraudulent.

"There is absolutely no problem with the information in this file. The guys recorded in it are all scum who have truly betrayed the interests of the village. These people are at your disposal, Hokage-sama."

Shanfeng guarantees this.

"What do you need? I don't believe you will help me without any purpose."

Tsunade was not intimidated by the immediate benefits, but calmly asked Shanfeng's conditions.

"Sir Danzo heard that Team 7, where Uzumaki Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, is still missing one member, so Lord Danzo hopes to send an outstanding root ninja to join Team 7 to protect the safety of the son of Hokage. This It is also to make up for the mistakes that Genbu has committed in the past. What do you think, Hokage-sama?"

Shanfeng's eyes flashed and he told his purpose.

Tsunade's breathing quickened, and she knew that Genbu's intention in sending such a big gift was definitely not simple.

But I didn't expect that Danzo would take aim at Naruto.

Aren't you still giving up on the power of tailed beasts?

Just as he was about to refuse sternly, Shanfeng continued: "Of course, this is not enough to show the sincerity of our Roots. If Lord Hokage agrees to this request, from today on, Roots will obey Lord Hokage's arrangements from top to bottom. Moreover, Naruto Sir, there is no need to worry that we will be unfavorable to Naruto. With the other party's current identity and status, no one will be willing to take risks, and our roots are no exception."

Tsunade took a deep breath, stared at Shanfeng, and said: "In that case, I can give you one of the places in Class 7, but forget about gathering your roots. I still want to live for two more years." ."

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama. Then I won't disturb you and take my leave."

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Shanfeng bowed respectfully to Tsunade, then turned around and left the office quickly.