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"Teacher Tobirama, you've really made me suffer..." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in his heart, but still opened the envelope.
No matter how cruel the result is, he, as the Hokage, still has to face it.
Jiraiya walked around the desk and stood behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, staring at the contents of the letter.
Jiraiya is one of the ninjas who knows the current combat power best in Konoha Village.
After all, he had contributed to Konoha and fought on the front lines in the last Ninja World War.
During the Second Ninja World War, Konoha, which only fought against Sunagakure and Amegakure, was already exhausted. This was when Sunagakure and Amegakure did not unite and were also fighting each other.
If other hidden villages are involved, Jiraiya cannot imagine how much pressure Konoha will face...
In fact, there was nothing wrong with Jiraiya's worries.
If in the original time and space, Iwagakure and Kumogakure had not self-destructed each other halfway through their attack on Konoha, resulting in the loss of the Third Raikage and nearly 10,000 ninjas from Iwagakure...
Then the ending of Konoha would not be just heavy casualties.
"This this…"
With a heavy heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen opened the letter and began to read it. His expression changed from nervousness to confusion.
Jiraiya stared at the reply letter in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand with his eyes widened.
It was totally different from what they expected!
None of the other four hidden villages plus the Hidden Rain Village declared war on Konoha...
Although the tone was still blaming, they all felt inexplicably guilty, and were even mainly busy clarifying themselves in their replies.
We in the Sand Village have a very good relationship with the Daimyo, and the apprentice of the Kazekage does not need to mine. It is enough to clarify the misunderstanding of Hatake Sakumo, and don't slander us economically!
Although we have many ninjas in the Iwagakure Village, we will never use war to consume our compatriots. Every Iwagakure ninja is not a cannon fodder, so don't be mean!
We in the Hidden Mist Village are a loving family. Even if there are some minor conflicts, there is no need for outsiders to interfere. Please pay attention to the sense of boundaries, Konoha!
Although we in the Hidden Cloud Village have mastered the Jinchūriki technique, we have no intention of starting a war. By the way, could you please let me know what new techniques Konoha has invented to deal with the tailed beasts?
Hanzo is even funnier, saying that he has the reputation of being a demigod in the ninja world, so how can he not be a good-for-nothing?
Please, have some respect!
"It's really strange, Jiraiya..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen unconsciously took the cigarette rod in his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke: "Is this the correct way of diplomacy?"
Jiraiya covered his face: "I don't know, old man, if I was scolded by a beautiful woman, I would not be angry, but Qingshui is not a beautiful woman, and the shadows of other villages are not me..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded silently, not commenting on Jiraiya's strange quirk for the time being.
He wondered why things turned out like this.
Qingshui even stepped on your heads and scolded you, how can you not be angry!
"Is that so..."
After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was lost in thought, nodded as if he had realized something: "As expected of Tobi... Aomizu."
"What are you talking about, old man? Just tell me what you understand!"
Jiraiya shook Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulders vigorously:
"If peace can be achieved in this way, then why am I still looking for the child of prophecy? I can just write novels to criticize the five hidden villages every day..."
"What an idiot you are, Jiraiya!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Jiraiya's head seriously and said with emotion:
"At first we all thought Qingshui was just forcing a hawkish stance, but every word he said was extremely targeted."
"It seems like they are provoking the various hidden villages, but in fact they are revealing the most secret information and their reliance, telling everyone one-on-one that Konoha knows all their information and is not afraid of them."
Jiraiya frowned, picked up Qingshui's response and read it carefully again.
This is so wrong!
"If the Kingdom of Wind really fell out with the Daimyo, and Hanzo's power really declined and became insignificant, what do you think they would think when they saw Qingshui's tough response?"
"They will be panicked and feel guilty, just like they are evasive in their responses!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly:
"Compared to the arrogant self-proclaimed demigod of the ninja world before, Hanzo now lacks the sharpness of the Second Ninja World War. Qingshui can be said to have trampled on his face, but he explained it instead..."
"This shows that Hanzo has no confidence in the war, and the economy of the Wind Country is worse than expected."
"There are also Kirigakure and Iwagakure, these two villages that have always been fanatical about war, but now they are eager to announce their internal peace to the ninja world. This can only mean that the conflicts within their villages are also abnormally intensified."
"The internal unrest in Kirigakure may have really reached the point where the ninja clan would revolt, and the population of Iwagakure has also reached the upper limit of the economic burden. However, Qingshui said these things that cannot be put on the table. Before there is a suitable excuse to start a war, they must first stabilize the voices of their own people."
"Only Kumogakure still had a relatively tough attitude, but Qingshui told them bluntly that even if they had the technology to master the power of the tailed beasts, Konoha was not afraid and ignored their reliance."
"If you were Kumogakure, would you rashly start a war against such a confident enemy?"
As Sarutobi Hiruzen interpreted it for Jiraiya, he felt somewhat shocked.
The negotiations between the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Sand Village, Hanzo's current strength, the current status of the Kirigakure purge, and the population burden of the Iwagakure are all top secret intelligence in the ninja world. There are only partial and vague information, and no one knows whether it is true or false.
But judging from their reactions, they seemed to be guilty as if their secrets had been exposed, which made Konoha seem very confident and well-informed about all the hidden villages, as if they couldn't wait for the war to start right now.
"If what Qingshui said is true, then it's not surprising that they reacted like this..."
Jiraiya muttered to himself, "But how did Qingshui know their information and thoughts?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know either.
No matter how advanced the intelligence capabilities of the Konoha Anbu are, they cannot sneak into the Kazekage's office to peek at the letters exchanged between the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, nor can they sneak into the closed-off and geographically isolated Mist Village, let alone send spies to Hanzo who has not taken action for a long time.
"Qing Shui, what an amazing ninja..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed in a low voice: "Just after taking charge of the Root, I got these top-secret information."
Jiraiya pursed his lips and wanted to retort, but logic and facts told him that Sarutobi Hiruzen's guess was most likely correct.
But why did the roots suddenly become so powerful?
In Jiraiya's mind, the Root can perform some small sabotage missions, but when it comes to the real battle, they are no better than the Anbu...
Could it be that only two days after Uchiha Aomizu's arrival, those brainwashed tools of the Root who were controlled by Shimura Danzo had pledged their allegiance to him, and they had also dug up information about the various hidden villages so quickly?
Jiraiya really doesn't understand!
"Did you see that? Jiraiya..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen acted mysterious and said slowly: "This is why Qingshui was allowed to take charge of the Root!"
"In such a short time, all the information and secrets of the five hidden villages have been mastered. If it were Minato, do you think he could do it?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya with sharp eyes, as if to say -
This is how I, as the Third Hokage, see it. You, my apprentice, are still too young!
Jiraiya opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
Can Minato Namikaze do it?
Even though he believed that his disciple had the potential to be the son of prophecy, he couldn't argue at this moment.
He repelled the pressure from the five hidden villages and the demigods of the ninja world by rebuking them. His ability to dig out and grasp the terrifying intelligence was much stronger than that of Shimura Danzo, who was known as the Darkness of the Ninja World...
Minato Namikaze really doesn't have the ability of Qingshui in this area.
"Old man, this is different, this is different..."
Jiraiya shook his head and sighed, "I admit that Qingshui is somewhat different from ordinary people. Everyone knows that he went berserk that day. He has a secret in his body."
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen's increasingly dangerous and serious gaze, Jiraiya quickly waved his hand:
"Of course, old man, you told me that this is a restricted area, and I have no intention of exploring Qingshui."
"But I still have to say that the war will come. Although Qingshui can help the village delay for a while, judging by their nature, they will eventually have to speak on the battlefield..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, "So, go prepare for battle, Jiraiya."
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidence returned.
In fact, just like what Jiraiya thought, he didn't think Qingshui could take control of the Root so quickly. The ninjas in the Root didn't even listen to him, the Hokage, and were only loyal to Shimura Danzo.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's opinion, even he would need to put in some effort to activate the Root.
But seeing how Aoki had achieved such great results with the Root, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already realized in his heart that this must be the result of Tobirama teacher exerting his strength again, subtly controlling Aoki.
If it was Tobirama-sensei who had the Root under his control and had obtained the hidden intelligence of the major hidden villages, then everything would seem to make sense...
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a little disappointed about Tobirama taking over Aomizu's body.
However, when he thought that in the future war, Tobirama Senju, who was more terrifying than the Nine-Tails, was about to return, the pressure in Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart was indeed mostly dissipated, and he even felt a little bit of anticipation.
"Jiraiya, you need to stop looking for the child of prophecy for now."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly: "Didn't you tell me that you were going to take Minato to Mount Myoki to practice and master the Sage Mode?"
"If you still feel dissatisfied with Aomizu being the leader of the Root, then in future wars, I will allow you and Minato to achieve more dazzling feats than Aomizu and Tsunade."
"As the Hokage, I will treat everyone equally. As long as the contributions are great enough, Namikaze Minato can be promoted as an exception!"
"But from what we can see now, Qingshui has obtained a lot of extremely valuable intelligence for the village and delayed the outbreak of the war. Do you have any objection to this?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen painted a big picture for Jiraiya.
Didn’t you say you were dissatisfied with Qingshui being the leader of the Root?
Then fair play!
He has already fired the first shot and made a contribution. You can't just close your mouth and ask for the position of Hokage, right?
Anyway, Sarutobi Hiruzen doesn't think that the combination of Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya can compete with Aomizu and Senju Tobirama...
Jiraiya blushed, "What you said is true, old man. As long as you are fair, then of course I will agree to it!"
Although Jiraiya had no desire for the position of Hokage, he really wanted Minato Namikaze to become Hokage.
Jiraiya also likes his apprentice very much, and Namikaze Minato also has the potential to be the child of prophecy. If he can become the Hokage of Konoha, it will definitely be of great benefit to the future peace of the ninja world...
"I'll go find Minato later, old man!"
Jiraiya snorted, "As long as Minato and I master the Sage Mode, we will have the confidence to deal with those Jinchuriki!"