Chapter 12

"Even so, we should still know why such an incident occurred and how to prevent it from ever occurring again as despite being on a much smaller scale, we still lost shinobi lives." Said Mitokado Homura one of the advisors of the Hokage.

"Have you managed to find anything about the culprit or what their motive was?"

Hiruzen shook his head with a sombre look "No we haven't managed to find out the identity of the culprit as whoever they were managed to cover their tracks very well. They even used spices of different varieties to confuse the tracking capabilities of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans. Also, they mostly attacked the elder home using explosion tags which ended up eradicating their footsteps or anything that could be used to link to them such as drops of their blood. We did, however, manage to find the bodies of the dead old shinobi floating downstream which had been reported by one of our returning shinobi who was coming back from a mission through that direction otherwise we would have never found them."

"Through the bodies of the dead shinobi we were able to discern one thing about the shinobi's identity….."

Everyone's ears peaked as they waited for Hiruzen to finish his statement while also cursing him for his antics of always drawing out his sentences in order to create suspense.

"….Judging by the jutsus used and the marks made by the enemies' fighting style, we have concluded that the enemy is a shinobi from Kumogakure."

"What!! Those bastards again?!" shouted Hiashi Hyuga in outrage "First they try to kidnap my daughter to use as a breeding stock resulting in the death of my brother, then they slaughter the villages surrounding the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf and as if that wasn't enough, they now target our jinchuriki! Do they want a war or something?!"

"Indeed, their actions are too much as even though we desire peace, our patience for their actions is reaching its limits." Said Yamato Izumo whose face was currently scrunched in fury.

 "I agree…."

"Me too…."

Numerous clan heads present at the scene nodded in agreement feeling that this time Kumogakure had taken things too far. They needed to retaliate in one way or another otherwise they, considered the strongest of the five shinobi villages, would lose even more of their reputation which in turn could affect numerous things such as their funding from the various Daimyo. After all, no one would want to fund a village that filled with cowards for their own missions.

Hiruzen couldn't help hut sigh as he glanced around at the clan leaders who were currently expressing a great desire for revenge. Even though Hiruzen too understood and felt great rage and the desire for revenge, he also understood the consequences of such actions which in the worst case could lead to war which was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I agree that what Kumogakure had done is beyond acceptable however we should also remember that any vengeful actions we take could lead to war with Kumogakure which I'm sure none of us want" said Hiruzen, his words aimed at expressing his dissatisfaction with Kumogakure yet his desire to avoid war as much as possible in concern for the village showing his capabilities as a wise Hokage.

"I agree Hokage however still something must be done or else we will look weak in the shinobi world." Said Yakumo Kurama speaking for the first time in the entire meeting.

"I agree which is why I have decided to send four teams of shinobi to infiltrate the land of lightning and cause a significant amount of chaos and damage. However, on the off chance that the culprit isn't actually from Kumogakure, I had them dress in Iwagakure clothing and use their techniques unless the situation is dire enough at which point, they are allowed to use their own normal jutsus. Even if Kumogakure finds out and demands retribution for the damages done to their lands we can use the argument of the Hyuga incident to shut them down." Explained Hiruzen.

The rest of the leaders present seemed to think it was a good idea as no one argued against him. Hiruzen seeing that there was no one else stepping up to talk continued.

"As for the dead shinobi I will have some shinobi pay a visit to inform their families after which we will have a funeral tomorrow."

"I think that's everything needed to be covered for now. I will inform you all if anything new about the investigation comes up" said Hiruzen after which he gave a short quick glance at Danzo before gazing at the door. The leaders all took the hint that the meeting was over and quickly exited the room each with their own thoughts. Soon only Danzo and Hiruzen were left in the room.

"Where were your forces during the entire incident?" immediately questioned Hiruzen as soon as they were alone.

"They were chasing after the two rogue S-rank ninjas Orochimaru and Itachi as I'm sure you are well aware." Replied Danzo. Hiruzen stared at him for a few seconds with a stern expression as he knew deep in his heart that what Danzo said was only half the truth. Danzo indeed had his forces monitor Itachi and Orochimaru's movements however doing so didn't even require a quarter of his total forces which meant that Danzo had spare forces to lend aid during the attack last night but chose not to do so probably hoping to dwindle the forces of Hiruzen's Anbu corps. Hiruzen however couldn't call bullshit on Danzo's claims as he had no proof he could use to expose Danzo's lie. That's how meticulous Danzo was with the secrecy of his root members activity. Instead Hiruzen simply chose to ignore the lie and move on.

"And how are things on that end?" he asked instead paying close attention to Danzo's words.

"There is still no sight of Orochimaru so far however Itachi is currently roaming within the land of lightning, his purpose is still unclear." Answered Danzo.

Hiruzen stared at Danzo in complete silence for a few minutes before he nodded acknowledging his claims. Danzo took this as a sign of the meeting between them being over and was about to leave the room when he paused after hearing Hiruzen speak again.

"As you know the village faced a co-ordinated attack yesterday and the assistance of Root in finding the culprit would be greatly appreciated."

"I'll see what I can do" said Danzo as he once more continued walking, leaving the room.

Hiruzen, now currently alone in his office, took out a pipe, lit it and inhaled a large volume of the drug-filled smoke. He immediately felt the tension in his old bones and muscles relax after which he released the smoke which floated and lingered before dispersing after a few seconds.

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