The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release

Hokage's Office.

A familiar room, a familiar layout, and four familiar faces.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still biting on his unlit pipe, quietly listening to Danzo's report.

"In the past three months, the number of minor border skirmishes has risen from the usual monthly average of five to fifteen. And that's not counting enemy encounters faced by our squads on foreign missions."

Danzo spoke in a calm tone, explaining the recent surge in border friction.

"Has peace lasted so long that some forces are beginning to stir again?"

Hiruzen smacked his lips, voicing his helpless sigh.

Prolonged peace always brings internal tensions.

Even the village of Konoha was no exception.

The most typical example was the Uchiha Clan, which had long sought greater political influence under their autonomous rights.

At this moment, the best way to redirect internal strife was to identify a common enemy and focus all energy outward.

Clearly, Konoha had become that external enemy.

"Can we confirm who the enemy is?" Mitokado Homura asked the crucial question.

If they could figure out who was behind it—or even obtain proof of their provocations—they could resolve the matter through diplomatic channels.

"They wore no forehead protectors, and their clothing bore no distinctive marks. It's clear they came prepared."

Danzo had naturally investigated thoroughly, but Konoha had too many enemies. Without an obvious slip-up from the other side, all he could do was have the ANBU investigate one by one.

"But if they wanted an excuse for war, they wouldn't be acting so sneaky. It must be for some other reason, right?" Koharu Utatane inferred based on Danzo's words.

"Testing Konoha's defenses?" Hiruzen voiced the thought Koharu hadn't said aloud. "Without the right opportunity, they wouldn't dare start a war outright. So this may be their way of probing for our weaknesses, seeing if they can gain any advantage, or simply trying to destabilize us."

"But that puts us at a disadvantage. We don't know who they are, so all we can do is passively defend." Homura frowned.

"Konoha's geographical location means we have no choice but to adopt a defensive stance. There's nothing we can do about that."

Hiruzen let out a sigh of resignation.

Konoha's location was indeed prosperous—but that prosperity also attracted the envy of other villages.

Too many enemies meant Konoha couldn't afford to be reckless. In every Ninja World War, Konoha had relied on its deep reserves and endurance to wear the enemy down.

"Ōnoki of Iwagakure has trained many shinobi over the years, but there's a limit to how many commissions the village can receive. If he can no longer support his ninjas, he'll launch a war immediately—and his target is likely to be us."

Danzo straightened up, listing the intel his subordinates had gathered:

"In order to obtain intelligence from Iwagakure, I've already lost three of my men. But even so, we managed to get a rough figure—their ninja count has surpassed ten thousand."

"Ten thousand?!" The two advisors jumped, both clearly alarmed by the news.

Iwagakure wasn't a wealthy village. How could they possibly sustain so many shinobi on such meager commissions?

Compared to the advisors' open shock, Hiruzen remained composed—he clearly already knew this piece of intel.

"Could the intel be wrong? Based on what I know about Iwagakure..." Homura's first reaction was doubt.

Koharu nodded in agreement after Homura spoke, clearly also skeptical of Danzo's report.

"Are you doubting my men?" Danzo said, slightly displeased.

"But..." Homura shook his head, unsure what else to say.

You could call Danzo ruthless, you could call him incompetent, even both—but one thing was undeniable: under his management, the intelligence division had never made a major blunder.

"Given this situation, it's absolutely necessary that we keep an eye on Iwagakure's movements. Fortunately, the Grass Village lies between us. If they make a move, the Grass Village will at least give us advance notice." Koharu sighed, having already accepted that Iwagakure might attack Konoha.

"It's not just Iwagakure. Kumogakure's brutes haven't forgotten their lust for land and resources either. In recent years, they've also been targeting bloodline limits and secret techniques—they're a threat we cannot ignore." Danzo continued, turning to talk about Kumogakure and Sunagakure:

"Even the most barren Sunagakure has begun to compensate for the loss of their military budget—cut by the Daimyō—by mining gold dust, all thanks to their 'strongest Kazekage.'"

At this point, Danzo paused, reached for the teacup in front of him, gently blew on it, took a small sip, and set the cup back down.

"Based on all this intelligence, we can conclude that war is only a matter of time. That's why I believe Konoha must begin preparations now."

Opening his single narrowed eye, Danzo revealed a fierce glare as he stated his position.

"Preparations for war... While I'd prefer diplomacy to resolve this peacefully, Danzo's intel clearly shows the stance of the other villages. We don't know exactly when war will break out, but if we wait until it does to prepare, it'll be too late." Though Homura had often criticized Danzo's hawkish stance, this time, he had no choice but to admit that preparation was the right move.

"That's right. Hiruzen, this time we should follow Danzo's advice." Koharu agreed and turned toward Hiruzen.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen simply shook his head, removed the pipe from his mouth, and sighed again.

"As expected, no matter the time or place, shinobi can never escape the fate of conflict. Let's go with your plan."

With consensus reached on the issue of preparing for war, the four quickly set to work according to their respective responsibilities.

To gather more intel, Danzo couldn't afford to continue Takeshi's training. He immediately summoned Aburame Ryōma and Yamanaka Akira back to his side, focusing entirely on intelligence and assassination work.

...

As usual, after playing with Kakashi and the others after academy, Takeshi returned home—only to find Nono sitting alone in the living room.

"Nono-san." Takeshi greeted her politely, taking off his shoes and approaching her.

"You're back, Takeshi." Smiling as she responded, Nono reached out to tidy Takeshi's hair, which had been messed up by Obito.

"You must be hungry. I'll go make something delicious."

"Okay. Then I'll go study in the library first." Takeshi didn't question why Danzo wasn't cooking today. After all, there were always a few days every month when Danzo mysteriously vanished. He was probably off causing trouble somewhere again.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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