Chapter 61: Meeting

Konoha

Hokage's Office

Inside the Hokage's Office, a meeting was taking place between the 4 individuals who held major power in Konoha.

"Have Iwa made any reactions to us eliminating their spy?" asked Councilor Homura as he pushed his glasses up towards his face.

"They've showed no signs of making any moves, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be wary." Homura answered.

"We should counter attack while Onoki isn't expecting it. Sending them some false information and eliminating the squad they send out could be beneficial." Danzo added.

"We don't know if that could cause them to take any drastic actions like declaring war. We still need to recover our losses before we're ready for another one." Kagami said with a worried look on his face.

"If we don't attack them first, then this is a slap in the face of everything that Konoha stands for!! Don't forget that their spy was in close proximity with Hiruzen, who knows what forms of information they could have gotten." Danzo snorted and said, though he didn't forget to blame Hiruzen.

"Enough." Hiruzen finally said as everyone quieted down.

While Hiruzen could only passively resist against A a few years ago, his strength had grown by miles in the past few years, with him learning many of the ninjutsu that existed in Konoha, and even furthering his Compound Ninjutsu.

Hiruzen had truly grown into a powerhouse, with him even being called 'The Professor' around the village due to his level of ninjutsu mastery.

"We won't be sending false information to Iwa." Hiruzen said, but before Danzo and Koharu could argue against the decision, he continued.

"Instead, I'll invite them the Chunin Exams that we'll be hosting this year. Not only will it allow us to gain a better understanding on each of their views on our village, but it can also serve as deterence that'll buy us a few years before another war is started."

The room was quiet as Hiruzen finished, with Homura being the first to break the silence as he asked "How are you sure that the other villages will participate?"

Hiruzen simply gave a small smile as he answered "If I invite the Daimyo of the other nations and other influential figures, it'll be impossible for them to decline. If they do, the risk losing both mission request and funding from their Daimyo's for making them look bad."

Everyone looked stunned at Hiruzen's tactic, though Danzo quickly caught on as he asked "Was that why you prevented those children from taking the Chunin Exam?"

Hiruen simply nodded as everyone began to understand why this event could be important.

Not only could the take a look at the future generations of other villages, they would also be able to see which villages were openly hostile to Konoha and which would be more open to an alliance.

"Then we can nominate Teams 7,8,9,10, and 12 to all take the Chunin Exams this year." spoke Koharu, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll start sending out the invitations for us to hold the Exams in about 2 weeks. That means you should also start training your students to get them ready for the other villages." Hiruzen spoke as he showed a serious expression on his face.

Everyone then left the office, leaving Hiruzen akone as he smoked his pipe while looking over the village.

"Are you three actually ready for the dangers your going to face?" Hiruzen asked to himself while thinking of his students.

While he may not show it, he had grown exceptionally close to his students, with him viewing them all as if they were his younger siblings. Not only did he personally train them as often as he could with his shadow clones, but he also tried his hardest to prevent them from encountering any situations like they did against A.

'It seems I have to trust them like you trusted us, sensei. Now I know how you always felt.' Hiruzen smiled as he thought of Tobirama teaching them.

Hiruzen then turned back to his desk as he sent out the invitations as he awaited for a reply.

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