Chapter 55: Third Hokage’s Order
The Land of Rain, Konoha's Grand Camp~
Orochimaru frowned as he looked at the Third Hokage's order. He snorted coldly and tossed it aside to Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Seeing Orochimaru's expression, Jiraiya felt a sinking feeling in his chest.
"What's with that look?"
"Don't tell me something happened to Fuma."
However, when Jiraiya nervously finished reading, his face turned pale.
The order contained many words, but its message was simple.
The opening briefly and vaguely reported on Fuma's battle and the defeat of Shukaku, providing few details.
The rest of the message could be condensed into a single sentence:
[Launch an all-out attack on the Rain Village immediately and secure victory as quickly as possible.]
Fuma's earlier intense battle with Hanzo had forced Hanzo to reveal his trump cards. At that time, Fuma had not yet turned against the Hokage's faction and had reported the details of his battle with Hanzo to the Third Hokage.
Thus, Konoha's leadership had comprehensive intelligence on Hanzo.
In his report, Fuma had specifically emphasized Hanzo's devastating capabilities on the battlefield. This report had been delivered to the three of them at the start of the war.
All three of them understood how many casualties would result if they followed the Third Hokage's order to attack.
As the three-nation war had dragged on to this point, the situation had gradually become clearer.
On the battlefield between the Sand Village and Konoha, both sides had suffered heavy losses.
Fuma had killed Shukaku and Bunpuku, Dan Kato had killed Ebizo, and Sakumo Hatake had destroyed a significant portion of the puppet forces, inflicting devastating damage on the Sand Village.
However, Konoha had also suffered significant losses. Dan Kato had been killed by Chiyo, and the battles with Shukaku and Bunpuku had caused numerous casualties among Konoha's troops.
On the battlefield between Konoha and the Rain Village, however, the two sides had been at a stalemate, with no large-scale battles breaking out.
The Sand Village's defeat had already signaled the collapse of the joint invasion plan between the two nations. Without the Sand Village's support, the Rain Village was inevitably heading towards defeat.
If Konoha wanted to retaliate against the Rain Village's invasion, there was no need for such urgency.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his long fingers rhythmically tapping the table as he pondered the Third Hokage's intentions.
Tsunade, on the other hand, wasn't concerned with such matters. She was solely focused on the fact that Fuma had engaged in a fierce battle with a tailed beast.
All her thoughts were consumed with concern for Fuma's safety.
After all, the intelligence on Fuma's victory over the One-Tail was scant and left much to be desired.
After a silent pause lasting about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, it seemed the three of them had all realized something. The atmosphere grew heavier, yet no one spoke.
Finally, Jiraiya abruptly stood up and slammed his hand on the table, shattering it as he roared:
"Isn't this just sending those ninja to their deaths? The old man's issues with the Uchiha shouldn't drag everyone else down with them!"
"If we really have to fight, then let Fuma and Sakumo come and support us. Launching an attack now will only needlessly increase casualties!"
Tsunade let out a cold laugh. The Third Hokage's suppression of the Uchiha had already stirred resentment within her.
After all, her heart had already been filled by a certain man, and the way she thought about things had begun to change.
"You think the old man hasn't thought of that? He just doesn't want the Uchiha's current representative to become the most dazzling hero of the war."
"And we're the ones who are supposed to defeat the Rain Village without any support and become Konoha's heroes!"
"After all, we are the Third Hokage's prized disciples, aren't we? We're half his reputation!"
Hearing Tsunade's blunt sarcasm, Jiraiya fell silent. He had always despised the internal power struggles within the village.
Orochimaru's snake-like pupils narrowed as he coldly analyzed, "Fuma won't be able to support us. Even if he wants to, the old man has probably already tied him up in some scheme."
"Sakumo won't be able to help either. He fought Shukaku alongside Fuma and led the battle against the Sand Village. He's earned enough glory."
"If he were to come and support us, he'd overshadow us and become the strongest candidate for the Fourth Hokage."
"And our teacher loves to imitate the policies set by the Second Hokage, especially the idea of the Hokage title being passed down through master and apprentice."
Orochimaru's tone shifted from cold to mocking as he slowly unraveled the hidden meaning behind the order.
Jiraiya's face flushed with anger, but he couldn't refute Orochimaru's words. After all, what Orochimaru said was the reality he had experienced firsthand.
Tsunade's face was filled with disgust. Her feelings for the Third Hokage were far less deep than those of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who both came from common backgrounds.
Orochimaru's voice changed again as he continued, "The biggest issue now is how to attack the Land of Rain."
"According to Fuma's intelligence, Hanzo can create toxic rain clouds in the Land of Rain's environment. Any ninja below the rank of elite jonin will lose the ability to fight."
"While the Rain Village ninja probably can't withstand Hanzo's poison either, the control over the poison is in Hanzo's hands."
"If we bring only a small force into the Land of Rain, Hanzo will lead the Rain Village ninja to surround us."
"But if we mobilize our entire army, we'll inevitably be attacked by Hanzo's toxic rain clouds."
"So, in the coming battle, we'll need to select two thousand elite troops to match the Rain Village's numbers."
After speaking, all three of them were struck by the absurdity of the situation.
The two people most suited for attacking the Land of Rain were being kept off the battlefield for baseless reasons.
The internal conflicts within the giant beast that was Konoha had exceeded the limits of what the three of them could bear.
Jiraiya remained silent, as stiff as a piece of wood.
He was deep in thought, reflecting on the Will of Fire, humanity, and his memories of the Third Hokage. A chaotic swirl of thoughts filled his mind, causing some of his ideals to crumble in an instant.
In the anime, Jiraiya did not participate in the Third Great Ninja War either, choosing instead to travel the world in search of the "Child of Prophecy."
Did he abstain from the war because of his obsession with the prophecy, or was it because of his disappointment in the village?
Tsunade's face was equally grim as she slowly spoke, "If our troops have to fight in an environment filled with high concentrations of toxic mist, the antidote I developed won't be effective."
The Third Hokage's order seemed to side with Hanzo, effectively trapping Konoha's forces in the Rain Village battlefield.
The Third Hokage was not without his own frustrations; he understood the difficulties of this battlefield.
But the Third Hokage's brilliance lay in the fact that the casualties from the attack on the Rain Village were within his expectations.
Uchiha Fuma's ferocious achievement of slaying a tailed beast would easily draw the attention of some of the village's wavering clans, potentially forming a powerful faction.
To stabilize the overall situation, the Third Hokage had no choice but to place his hopes on the Rain Village battlefield.
And even if there were casualties on the Rain Village front, the Third Hokage could still spin it to his advantage.
Hanzo's title as the "Demi-God" of the ninja world gave the Third Hokage ample material to frame his three disciples as courageous heroes who fought valiantly to the bitter end.
Heroes who fought to the last breath against a demi-god to protect Konoha.
That didn't sound so bad, did it?
In the anime, Hanzo spared Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, granting them the humiliating title of the "Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha."
But over time, that title of the "Three Legendary Sannin" became their badge of honor instead.
For the Third Hokage, there could be victories and losses on the Rain Village battlefield, but the worst outcome would be for nothing to happen at all.
If Konoha merely remained in a stalemate with the Rain Village, then compared to the achievements of Sakumo Hatake and Uchiha Fuma, it would seem far too ordinary.
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