novelhk Page 38
Page 38
Chapter 48 Tsunade: Is this something to be wrong?
Kirigakure was no longer able to fight and had to withdraw from the war. Even if it was not explicitly stated, its actions had already proven this.
The news that Iwagakure wanted to negotiate had already been delivered to Hiruzen Sarutobi before Hakubaki and Tsunade returned.
Good news came from Kirigakure: they were no longer able to fight, meaning they could no longer threaten the eastern border of the Land of Fire. Although the Uchiha clan stole the show in this battle, it was not entirely unacceptable.
On another battlefield, Minato Namikaze, on whom Hiruzen Sarutobi had placed high hopes, turned the tide and thwarted Iwagakure's invasion plan in one fell swoop.
If the 1,000 Iwagakure ninja were to break in, it would be really difficult to resist. Considering that the Konoha border defense force was reduced to only four men after being wiped out by more than 50 Iwagakure ninja, if they were to break in, the Konoha would definitely suffer losses in the early stages.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident that he could deal with the invading Iwagakure, he would definitely suffer heavy losses in the early stages. However, if he could keep the enemy out of the country, it would certainly benefit Konoha.
The fact that Iwagakure is now taking the initiative to negotiate means that even the old man Onoki can't hold on any longer, and Hiruzen Sarutobi has long since given up on fighting, so this negotiation is necessary.
If Iwagakure withdraws, even if it's just a temporary speculation, it will be of great help to Konoha, because it means they can free up their resources to completely eliminate Sunagakure.
With Sunagakure defeated and Kirigakure leaving prematurely, what can Iwagakure do?
They certainly wouldn't dare to make any rash moves again.
And so...
The only remaining major enemy is Kumogakure.
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed his plan was pretty good, and he was naturally more lenient on the terms of the peace talks. As long as he didn't suffer any losses, there was no need to be fixated on any particular thing.
In short, the main objective is peace talks, a ceasefire with Iwagakure, focusing efforts on defeating Sunagakure, and finally a showdown with Kumogakure to see who emerges victorious.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained confident that Konoha would ultimately prevail.
Cloud Hidden is merely a spent force.
The Third Raikage is dead.
Are you really going to die from 18 kowtows?
It's probably impossible.
If both sides can get along, there's a high probability of a ceasefire. Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi believes that this peace talk with Iwagakure will be a turning point in the Third Shinobi World War.
That old bastard Onoki is also wary of Kumogakure. Now that their main force cannot enter the Land of Fire, it means that Iwagakure will no longer entangle with us, unless there are further changes.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident that there would be no major changes in the future, and that everything would develop in a direction favorable to Konoha, so the peace talks were bound to succeed.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to do. Moreover, they supported Iwagakure's peace talks at this time, which meant reduced pressure and was beneficial to Konoha. So how could they say they didn't support it?
Therefore, without Hiruzen Sarutobi even having to speak, they all expressed their opinions, and clearly supported peace talks.
“Hiruzen, since Iwagakure wants to negotiate, it means they are no longer able to fight. Even if Onoki has some other schemes, as long as a ceasefire is reached, it will benefit us. So this matter must be brought to fruition.”
"Yes, Hiruzen, that's my opinion too."
As Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu expressed their opinions, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very pleased, as his two old friends still understood him. Now it was time to see Danzo.
"Danzo, what's your opinion on this?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo Shimura beside him and said calmly.
Danzo sneered, "Hiruzen, do you really think that old bastard Onoki's so-called peace talks are genuine peace talks?"
Can we trust that old geezer, Onoki?
He wouldn't believe it.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly replied, "Danzo, what's important now isn't Onoki's sincerity; none of that matters. The key is how we can free up our resources to deal with the problems in Sunagakure and Kumogakure. Therefore, peace talks and a ceasefire with Iwagakure are of paramount importance."
Do you think I would believe that Onoki?
I don't trust Onoki, but I know that continuing to fight Iwagakure like this will be very detrimental to Konoha. Therefore, for the sake of the bigger picture, we need to stop the war with Iwagakure.
There was no other choice, especially since they were willing to do so. Now was a rare opportunity, and we had to make it happen as soon as possible so that our forces could quickly eliminate Sunagakure and then we could concentrate our strength to deal with Kumogakure.
Although Kumogakure is not to be underestimated, the Third Raikage is gone. Can Kumogakure really risk everything to fight us to the death?
They definitely can't, and won't, do that, so the Hidden Cloud Village will eventually be willing to negotiate.
In this way, the war came to an end.
Koharu Utatane stated frankly that peace talks are very important, and getting Iwagakure to withdraw from the battlefield is of paramount importance. It would be a major turning point in the Ninja World War and would be even more beneficial to Konoha.
Based on this, she said, "Hiruzen is right. The key now is the withdrawal of Iwagakure. As long as Iwagakure is willing to withdraw, even if it means making concessions, it is acceptable. However, I do not recommend doing so."
"Hmph, all you know is how to talk. Iwagakure is showing signs of weakness on the battlefield in the Land of Grass. In my opinion, Minato Namikaze should lead the army to fight there."
Danzo was naturally unhappy and instead pushed Minato Namikaze to continue fighting, demanding that he lead the main force to continue fighting against the main force of Iwagakure.
"Danzo, this is not advisable."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, with his old pipe dangling from his lips, immediately objected upon hearing Danzo's radical remarks.
“Why is it unacceptable? Minato Namikaze is capable; he can do this.” Danzo snorted coldly, expressing his great dissatisfaction.
Why did Hiruzen Sarutobi oppose it?
This doesn't mean he doesn't approve of Minato Namikaze.
To be precise, Hiruzen Sarutobi greatly admired Minato Namikaze, but this style of commanding large-scale battles was not suitable for Minato.
On the contrary, he is better suited to solo attacks, where no one can hold him back and he can maximize the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Minato Namikaze should go alone, but rather that he is suitable as a breakthrough point for individual soldiers, focusing on those elite squads of Iwagakure, rather than leading a large army to fight Iwagakure's main force head-on.
“Danzo, Minato is capable, but he is not suitable for commanding large-scale battles. It is unreasonable for you to ask him to lead a large force to fight against the main force of Iwagakure. You cannot fully utilize Minato’s abilities, so let’s not bring this up again.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi was well aware of Danzo's intentions. He simply wanted to keep Minato Namikaze on the battlefield so that something bad would happen to him. Even the Third Raikage could die, so what about Minato Namikaze?
This was Danzo's idea, not to mention that this guy might secretly do something bad.
He knew Danzo too well, and he knew that Danzo would stop at nothing to achieve certain goals. Sometimes Hiruzen Sarutobi would turn a blind eye, but not now.
"Hiruzen, don't misunderstand." Danzo knew very well what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking; he had misunderstood him.
Yes, Danzo had some issues with Minato Namikaze because the kid had been a bit out of control lately, with an impressive track record, but that didn't warrant being overly wary of a younger generation.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a few puffs of his cigarette before slowly saying, "Danzo, I know you're radical and I know you care about Konoha, but this isn't how you fight. Besides, Minato has other missions; I need him to go to another battlefield..."
"Hiruzen, you mean Kumogakure?"
Koharu, who was turning the dorm, guessed, but she wasn't sure if it was true, so her tone was somewhat questioning.
"Yes, it's Kumogakure. We can't ignore that." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said in a low voice.
Hidden in the clouds!
That's a real threat.
For Konoha, the pain inflicted by Kumogakure was unforgettable.
The Second Hokage, their teacher—Tobirama Senju—sacrificed himself because of the Hidden Cloud Village. If it weren't for the rebellion in the Hidden Cloud Village, how could the Second Hokage have been lost?
It's all Yunyin's fault!
"We all know that, but what do you plan to do?" Koharu Utatane said, "We all understand what Hiruzen Sarutobi is saying, but how to do it is the question."
"How to do it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself repeatedly.
To be honest, the Cloud Village needs a dedicated person to take charge, and the most suitable candidate is none other than Minato Namikaze. He had this intention, and more importantly, he wanted to allow Minato Namikaze to continue racking up battle records.
Although there are risks, he has faith in Minato Namikaze's abilities. Even if there is danger, with Minato's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, escaping danger will not be difficult.
"I'm planning to……"
After pondering for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly spoke.
Just then, the office door was pushed open.
Tsunade appeared at the doorway, her face dark as she looked at the people inside the room.
"Tsunade, what are you doing?" Upon seeing Tsunade, Koharu Utatane immediately questioned her.
This is outrageous!
You can't do that; you need to know the rules.
"What are you doing? What do you mean, what are you doing? The situation on the front lines is so urgent, and you're still calling for me to come back. What are you up to?"
Tsunade snorted coldly.
As soon as she got back, she put a hat on her head.
Danzo remained unmoved, instead criticizing Tsunade's recklessness, questioning her inaction, and asking who would take responsibility if she dared to command the front-line battle on her own and made a mistake.
"Tsunade, you're being ridiculous. Stop fooling around. You left the village without permission, and when the Fourth Shinobi World War broke out, you didn't care. Now you're running to the front lines and giving orders haphazardly. Do you know that if something goes wrong, the enemy will take advantage of the situation on our eastern front? Do you know the consequences?"
The problem is that Danzo's methods have little effect on Tsunade.
She sneered, "So, you're saying I'm the one in the wrong?"
"Tell me what you mean now!" Danzo sneered, ignoring Tsunade's question and instead asking her what she meant.
"Danzo, shut up!"
Before Tsunade could arrive, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his face grim, looked at Danzo.
Danzo's face turned somewhat ugly after being rebuked by Hiruzen Sarutobi, but knowing the other party's intentions, he could only force himself to endure it. He couldn't very well say that he had really fallen out with Tsunade, could he?
That wasn't worth it, so Danzo had no choice but to hold back, but he still couldn't help asking Hiruzen Sarutobi, "What exactly do you want to say, and what are you planning to do?"
"Hiruzen, what do you mean?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Danzo, put down his pipe, and looked at Tsunade with a serious expression.
"Tsunade, where is Uchiha Hakubaki? And where is Miroku?"
Where is my son?
Where is Uchiha Hakumu?
You can't just say that you came back alone, can you?
Tsunade shrugged and said calmly, "Your son is too slow, he's behind. As for Uchiha Hakubaku..."
At this point, Tsunade paused briefly before continuing, "He's right here, waiting for the Hokage to summon him!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."