Chapter 44: Let Sakumo Take Over!

Danzō watched the Third Hokage in his moment of hesitation, his brows knitting together, a deep sense of disgust welling up in his heart.

"Such a person... can he really be a good Hokage? Tobirama-sensei, even you made mistakes."

But he didn't realize that perhaps the Third had lost his decisiveness by now, but he had still stepped up when needed. Meanwhile, Danzō, who prided himself on being the Root of Konoha, also showed weakness in the face of life and death, even for his mentor.

Danzō stood up, cast a cold glance at the silent higher-ups, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going, Danzō?" The hoarse voice of the Third Hokage stopped him in his tracks.

"Doing something is better than doing nothing. Hiruzen, I'm very disappointed in you."

This time, without waiting for a response from the Third, Danzō strode out, disappearing down the corridor.

The Third Hokage's expression grew darker. Danzō's criticism weighed heavily on his heart. He gave a heavy sigh and looked at the still-silent individuals around him, his eyes nearly brimming with dissatisfaction.

Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, how could Tobirama-sensei have brought up students like you!

The Third turned to Nara Shikakazu, his voice stern, "Shikakazu, give me your opinion, even if it's radical!"

Nara Shikakazu, current head of the Nara clan, was also a strategist and staunch supporter of the Third Hokage.

"So troublesome, why do I have to come up with ideas?"

"It's just fighting Sand and Rain ninja. How did it come to this?"

Shikakazu stood up, slightly hunched, maintaining a respectful posture as he slowly spoke: 

"Based on Uchiha Hanma's intelligence, we can't move against the Rain village for now, so our focus has to be on Sand."

"Although the situation at Sand is not ideal, as long as you give the order, I believe Sakumo Hatake will find a way."

The Third Hokage looked at Shikakazu with dissatisfaction. This wasn't the solution he wanted. Konoha's ninja had already reached an unfavorable casualty ratio against the Sand.

Nara Shikakazu, noticing the Third's displeasure, began to explain the situation in a low voice.

"On our side, Chiyo and Ebizō are up against Sakumo Hatake and Dan Katō. Although the battle is intense, we still hold a slight advantage overall."

"On the Rain front, Orochimaru and others are up against Hanzō, and it's a strenuous fight. Hanzō has large-scale destructive jutsu, making it difficult for us to counterattack the Land of Rain."

"At present, if we want to change the tide of the battle, we can only rely on Sakumo Hatake to break through. Hanzō poses a significant threat to our Konoha ninjas, and pushing from the Rain side could result in unacceptable casualties."

Shikakazu smartly avoided mentioning the existence of the hunting parties. This year of constant clash with the Uchiha had shown him the transformation of the clan.

"The Uchiha are no longer just brutes who only know how to kill. They have a leader now."

In Shikakazu's mind, the Uchiha clan was not something he should meddle with. The clan's development over this year of war was clear to all ninja tribes. They were growing through combat!

No clan wanted to conflict with the current Uchiha, not even in secret. These matters were best left for the Hokage to handle.

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe, determination in his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "I will go to the front lines myself to end this battle!"

Shikakazu sighed deeply, feeling a sense of helplessness with Konoha's current turbulence.

"What good will that do...? The Sand village also has their Kazekage, and their Jinchūriki can be mobilized."

Shikakazu suppressed his internal complaints and respectfully bowed low, advising:

"Lord Hokage, if your appearance on the battlefield doesn't end the war, it will bring about more problems..."

"Please trust our Konoha ninjas. They just haven't experienced war in a long time. If they need you to face the likes of mere Sand and Rain ninja, it will provoke thoughts of probing from other ninja villages."

"Given the current strategy, it's still best to have Sakumo Hatake intensify the push against the Sand, and observe the situation a bit longer."

The Third Hokage, who had just appeared resolute, now hesitated as he pondered over the war map once again.

Shikakazu remained silent, waiting for the Third's decision. As a wise man, he understood that the Hokage had to make decisions by himself; no one could help him.

The whole Hokage conference room fell into an awkward silence. Stranger than this prolonged silence was how everyone seemed to have forgotten about Hanma, not mentioning the deployment of the hunting parties.

After all, based on the intelligence from the past year, Uchiha Hanma's contributions had been outstanding.

The Third Hokage silently contemplated the viability of deploying Hanma. Recalling his previous interactions with Hanma, he shook his head.

"Uchiha Hanma still prioritizes his clan over the village. His sense of belonging to Konoha isn't strong enough. We can't let him continue."

"Even if front-line ninjas have to bleed more, we must prevent the Uchiha from becoming uncontrollable. This is Tobirama-sensei's will."

The Third walked to the window, gazing into the distance and taking a deep breath of fresh air, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.

To him, the Hokage Rock in the distance seemed to come to life, bearing an expression of reproach.

As he looked at the familiar yet stern face of Tobirama, a sense of unwillingness and bitterness rose in his heart.

"Back then, Tobirama-sensei led Konoha against the entire ninja world. Now, why has Konoha become like this?"

"Maybe it's because I haven't done well enough."

With a heavy heart, he returned to his Hokage seat and ordered:

"Order Sakumo Hatake to launch a full-scale attack on the Sand. Break through at any cost!"

"Yes!"

Nara Shikakazu lowered his head, like a machine without emotion, conveying the order to the Sand battlefield.

Sand battlefield.

A few Konoha ninjas gritted their teeth as they picked the rotten flesh from their arms, cursing the Sand ninjas.

"Are there any more medical bandages? Damn those Sand, using poison tactics!"

"Stop complaining. The village can't help it either, and Lady Tsunade is still at the Rain battlefield."

"I say we should just retreat. If they want the Land of Rivers, why do we need to intervene?"

Sakumo Hatake, patrolling the camp, heard the wounded soldiers' complaints, frowning but saying nothing. He whispered a few words to a nearby medical ninja, sending a box of medical supplies.

"At this rate, morale is becoming a critical issue."

Just as Sakumo was contemplating the morale problem, Nara Shikayama walked in with new orders.

"Sakumo, the Hokage orders us to launch a full-scale attack!"

The end.