"An Iwagakure ninja disguised as a missing-nin swapped the scroll holding Hizashi's body for one packed with explosive tags?"
"Root operatives suddenly stepped in, and Akimichi Dōtō's team ended up fighting Toroi from Kumogakure?"
"And the aftershocks from their clash just happened to release some kind of humanoid monster sealed at the handover point?"
"You're saying that monster used some unknown, twisted power to kill Toroi and nearly a hundred Cloud reinforcements?"
Mitokado Homura rushed forward and snatched the scroll from Hiruzen's hands. As he scanned the contents, the color drained from his face.
By the time he finished, he stood completely stunned, rooted to the spot, wondering if he was trapped in a nightmare.
Every word made sense on its own, yet together they felt utterly alien. Was this even the language of the shinobi world anymore?
Thud.
Sarutobi Hiruzen staggered back to his desk, gripping the edge with shaky hands as he dropped into his chair.
"Toroi—a Magnet Release user known throughout the shinobi world—along with nearly a hundred Kumogakure shinobi stationed at the border." His voice had grown so hoarse it nearly cracked. "Konoha cannot shoulder this blood debt."
The dazed Homura shuddered at the words. In a panic he looked at Hiruzen and burst out, "But those people were clearly—"
"No one will believe us."
Hiruzen cut him off before he could finish. He closed his eyes in anguish and went on, "Aside from the few survivors like Akimichi Dōtō and ourselves, no one will accept that those people died to some inexplicable monster."
That was Toroi, the famed Magnet Release ninja.
Nearly a hundred border guards from the Hidden Cloud.
Nearly a hundred Cloud shinobi with families waiting for them back home.
All wiped out.
Who would take Konoha's word for it now?
Even if other witnesses had survived, who would trust them?
Kumogakure?
Losing Toroi and nearly a hundred of their men gave them the perfect excuse to declare war on Konoha. Not even the daimyō of the Land of Lightning could hold back the fury of the victims' families.
And Iwagakure?
This entire incident had carried the Hidden Stone's shadow from the very beginning. They would be thrilled to watch Konoha and Kumogakure tear each other apart so they could swoop in and claim the spoils.
Therefore…
"Go assemble the jōnin. Convene an emergency jōnin meeting and begin preparations."
In that moment Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to have aged more than a decade. Hunched in his chair with his eyes closed, his hoarse voice carried an eerie calm. "This time… war is truly upon us."
"Yes, sir."
The kneeling ANBU's voice trembled slightly. He didn't know the full details, but he had seen the battered, miserable state of Akimichi Dōtō and the others.
Out of more than a dozen men, only four or five had returned. The handover with the Cloud had clearly gone horribly wrong. A major incident had occurred along the way.
This was no longer something they could talk their way out of. This was the real fuse that would ignite war.
No one except the ambitious, the bloodthirsty, and those consumed by hatred wanted to face another cruel, bloody conflict.
Click.
After the ANBU left, Mitokado Homura snapped back to reality. He clutched the scroll tightly, his face dark with foreboding.
Just as he turned to speak to Hiruzen—
Tap… tap… tap…
The light tap of a cane on the floor echoed as Shimura Danzō pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Noticing the deathly silence, a faint smile crept onto his cold, hard features.
"Hiruzen," Danzō said calmly. "I told you from the start—if they're truly determined to start a war, there's no avoiding it."
"…"
Homura's heart sank. He instinctively glanced at Hiruzen's reaction.
Hiruzen said nothing. He kept his head bowed, eyes closed in silence.
After a long pause he slowly raised his head. His cloudy eyes fixed on his old friend.
"Danzō… Oh, Danzō…"
Hiruzen exhaled, trying to steady himself, yet veins bulged on his forehead.
Still holding back, he spoke in a low, suppressed, hoarse voice. "Who gave you permission to send Root members to follow the escort team?"
"How could you dare do something like this?!"
"Hiruzen." Danzō stood in the shadows untouched by sunlight and frowned slightly. "This truly has nothing to do with me this time. I only placed my people in the escort team as a precaution. As for those three who attacked the Kumogakure shinobi…"
Bang!!
Before he could finish, Hiruzen hurled his smoking pipe, striking Danzō square in the face as he roared, "Nothing to do with you?! Do you actually believe that?!"
"Tell me! Are you colluding with Iwagakure?! Have the spies you sent been working with the Hidden Stone?! Answer me!"
The pipe, now streaked with blood, clattered to the floor. Pain flared from the cut on Danzō's forehead. His cold expression twisted at the accusation.
"I have not!" Forgetting any thought of mockery, he quickly defended himself. "You know me. Everything I do is for—"
This really wasn't his doing. He had clearly instructed his men that if the Cloud behaved and left peacefully, they were to stand down.
Besides, the spies he had dispatched to the other villages were only there to gather intelligence.
"Get out!"
Hiruzen's roar cut him off again. Danzō opened his mouth to speak further, but Homura grabbed his arm and shook his head.
Hiruzen was genuinely furious this time. He had even accused him of colluding with a foreign enemy. No explanation would convince him now.
"Hiruzen, I'll notify the clan heads and send letters to Jiraiya and Tsunade asking them to return at once," Homura said gravely.
With that, he pulled the grim-faced Danzō toward the door. Before leaving, he glanced back at Hiruzen one last time and said softly, "Don't worry too much, Hiruzen. It's only another war."
Even when they had once fought against four great nations, Konoha had still prevailed.
The only real problem would come after the war, when they faced the heavy casualties. As Hokage, Hiruzen would have to bear most of the blame and would likely be forced to resign—just as he had stepped down for Minato before.
Click.
Once Danzō and Homura had left, Sarutobi Hiruzen remained seated in his chair for a long time, unmoving.
He looked like a polished machine on the outside, yet inside the gears had long since rusted and were groaning under unbearable strain, reeking of decay.
He had already sacrificed Hyūga Hizashi.
He had already found a way to break the deadlock.
He had already steeled his resolve for everything.
He had even cast aside every last shred of his old dignity…
So why… how had it come to this?!
After sitting there like a stone statue for what felt like an eternity, Sarutobi Hiruzen gradually calmed down.
Anger and regret were useless now. He had to figure out exactly what had happened. Perhaps there was still a way to salvage the situation.
There were still too many unknowns about the details. He needed to question the survivors who had returned—Akimichi Dōtō, Hyūga Kumokawa, and the rest…
Taking a deep breath, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up, walked forward, and bent down to retrieve the blood-stained pipe.
His figure vanished from the office, streaking across the rooftops as a blur toward Konoha Hospital.
***
Hi guys, Elenea here. I hope you're all doing well.
I wanted to let you know that I'm currently working on one of the best projects you might ever read. This project is set in the world of Fairy Tail with some combined elements from the Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
I'm confident you won't regret giving it a try, so don't hesitate to visit my second account's page (elenea) and start reading it.
[Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu Gi Oh Deck?]
Synopsis:
Getting isekai'd into the world of Fairy Tail sounds amazing with all the magic and beautiful girls in it...
But do you know what's even more fun than that?
Getting isekai'd with a Yu-Gi-Oh deck!
(No knowledge of Yu-Gi-Oh is needed, so don't worry.)
...
If you like it feel free to giving it a try.