บท 175: Chapter 175: Race and Hokage's Summoning
For the past four months, though Tatsuma hasn't been assigned any missions, the ninja world hasn't stopped turning, and the wars have not ceased.
In the north, led by the Uchiha, the front line is split into two by the Konoha Ninja. One group frequently sails to the Land of Lightning for reconnaissance missions, albeit with a very low survival rate.
However, this greatly disrupts the Cloud Ninja's actions, preventing them from moving the front line out of the Land of Lightning under stealth.
The other group, meanwhile, passes through the Land of Frost, reaching the northeastern border of the Land of Frost to station troops, effectively cutting off the land route for Cloud Ninja to leave the Land of Lightning.
The Uchiha on duty are constantly engaging in skirmishes with the Cloud Ninja, resulting in casualties after casualties, but the Konoha Elders don't seem to care, nor do the Uchiha themselves, who even seem somewhat excited.
In the northwest direction, the Konoha Ninjas who were called back have formed multiple teams and entered smaller countries like the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fields, assisting them in clearing out the "unidentified ninjas" within their borders.
Though they're called unidentified ninjas, Konoha has long known their identities. They are not just ninjas from small villages or rogue ninja, but rather ninja from the Land of Rain, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning.
At the same time, Orochimaru, under disguise, has been active between the countries of Earth, Rain, Rivers, and Fields, disrupting the ninja tool trades of Earth and Rain more than once.
In one particularly brutal incident, the Explosive Tags handed over by the Rock Ninjas to the Rain Ninjas detonated without reason, causing an entire warehouse of Explosive Tags, throwing weapons, armor, Military Rations Pills, smoke bombs, and more to be burned to ashes, and dozens of Rain Ninjas lost their lives.
All of this was told to Tatsuma by Tsunade and Jiraiya upon their return from missions. Orochimaru's current missions are ones that will never see the light of day.
Meanwhile, the ANBU Black Ops temporarily separated from the main branch, led by Sakumo Hatake, are carrying out Assassination operations against key figures in ninja organizations of various countries, while another part is returning to their old ways of conducting this war.
Rooted in the Lands of Earth and Rain, continuously spreading various achievements of Onoki, due to these remarks, and the repeated incidents with exchanged ninja tools, Hanzo and Onoki began negotiations several days ago.
As for the outcome of the negotiations, perhaps it hasn't been reached yet. After all, Tsunade left the village again to carry out missions right after delivering this news.
Actually, both Hanzo and Onoki can definitely see that these two incidents must have been caused by someone, and it's likely they've already pinned it on Konoha.
After all, the direct beneficiary is the Land of Fire, and Konoha has gone through this process before.
But without evidence, they can't accuse Konoha openly, and they might even be thinking about using this as an opportunity to cause trouble.
For Hanzo, the repeated problems with ninja tools can serve as an excuse for him to push for lower prices, or even more ruthlessly, demand that all defective ninja tools be replaced and supplemented, and demand compensation from the Land of Earth for the losses incurred by the Land of Rain.
As for Onoki, the increasingly booming reputation is more advantageous for him to further control both inside and outside the Hidden Rock Village. After all, the people of the country and even other nations are all praising Onoki. At this point, how dare the other ninjas who are dissatisfied with Onoki show their faces?
Onoki can use this turmoil to sweep away some stubborn elements within the village. With this public support as backing, even if he does something unreasonable, he will be forgiven.
On the other hand, the Hidden Sand Village, which was most active in the early stages of the war, suddenly went silent. The Sand Ninjas, who had only withdrawn to the borders of the Land of Wind, also returned to the village in batches due to the large number of casualties.
The Hidden Sand Village now appears to have withdrawn from the war, but the Third Kazekage has not issued a formal declaration, which puzzles Tatsuma.
Since the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has refused funding more than once since Chiyo's major defeat, without financial support, no matter how talented the Third Kazekage is, they cannot continue supporting the war.
Now, the most sensible approach for the Hidden Sand Village is to announce their withdrawal from the war, cancel the state of readiness, show sincerity, and even take the lead in calling for a ceasefire with other countries.
By doing so, the Hidden Sand Village can salvage some of its reputation, allowing smaller countries to see its peace-loving side and continue entrusting missions to the Hidden Sand Village.
"Sakamoto Tatsuma, Minato Namikaze! Hokage-sama has summoned you to the Hokage Building."
Just as Tatsuma was quickly reviewing the intelligence of the past few months in his mind, an ANBU-clad ninja wearing a mask landed not far from them and addressed the two.
Seeing the arrival of the ANBU ninja, both Tatsuma and Minato quickly got up, nodding in acknowledgment. "Yes!" they replied in unison.
After their agreement, the ANBU ninja disappeared once again, but now, under Tatsuma's Chakra Sensing, the ANBU's movements were no longer as mysterious.
After briefly considering the route taken by the ANBU upon leaving, Tatsuma quickly calculated three alternative, more discreet routes. He shook his head slightly and looked at Minato.
Minato, now somewhat puzzled, met Tatsuma's gaze. "I understand why Hokage-sama would summon you, but I'm not sure why they called for me," he remarked.
The summoning of Jonin hawks had just occurred, indicating that there would be a Jonin meeting at the Hokage Building. Although the village wasn't in the same state as before, unable to gather as many Jonin, it didn't involve Chunin at all.
Summoning Tatsuma seemed normal to Minato, as Tatsuma had already demonstrated political skills that were not inferior, or one might say, even surpassed those of most Jonin.
Many recent actions of the village in the past few months had been initiated based on Tatsuma's previous speculations, and Tatsuma's speculations had been gradually confirmed step by step.
However, Minato truly couldn't fathom the necessity of him going to the Hokage Building. Right now, he could only understand the contents of Tatsuma's speculations, but he still couldn't speculate like Tatsuma.
"Don't underestimate yourself," Tatsuma lightly patted Minato's shoulder and said, "With your abilities, attending the Jonin meeting will be no problem. Let's compare and see who can reach the Hokage Building faster."
"Alright!"
Hearing that Tatsuma was once again going to compare their speed, Minato, in a rare moment, showed a smile on his face that was not so gentle but rather filled with confidence.
"Begin!"
As Tatsuma's words rang out, Minato was about to start running, but the hand Tatsuma had placed on his shoulder suddenly exerted force, and Minato felt everything in front of him suddenly become towering and immense.
By the time he realized it, only his shoulders and head were still above the ground, with the rest buried beneath, while Tatsuma had already swiftly moved his legs and headed towards the Hokage Building.
"Sakamoto Tatsuma!" Minato shouted loudly, hastily freeing himself from the ground, then rushing towards the direction where Tatsuma had left. His speed was faster than Tatsuma's, and the distance between them was getting shorter.
Along the way, Tatsuma kept setting obstacles, making it impossible for Minato to catch up, let alone surpass him.
When the two arrived at the Hokage Building, Tatsuma's speed suddenly slowed down slightly. Minato seized the opportunity to surpass Tatsuma, stepping into the Hokage Building ahead of him.
"Phew~" Minato turned around, looking somewhat puzzled at Tatsuma. After all, with Tatsuma's competitiveness, it was surprising that he would give up victory at the last moment. Tatsuma just smiled and said, "Rare to see you so eager!"
Upon hearing this, Minato finally realized that Tatsuma had intentionally tricked him into exerting himself and focusing on running, rather than getting lost in his thoughts along the way.
After all, with his personality, Minato would surely ponder the reasons why the Hokage summoned the Jonin, as well as the specific reason for the Hokage summoning the two of them. However, the more he thought about it, the more it just added to his distress.
Once he came to terms with it, Minato reluctantly smiled. Sometimes, overthinking didn't help at all. The truth was right in front of him, yet he still found himself habitually entangled in reaching it.
His tendency to worry excessively was his flaw, and this flaw in his character was the most difficult to correct, especially in the past year or so, where Tatsuma's excellence had made Minato constantly measure himself against Tatsuma, exacerbating his "condition."
"Tatsuma, Minato, please come to the Hokage's office. The meeting will be delayed," a ninja said to them at that moment. Tatsuma nodded, leading Minato upstairs to the Hokage's office.
"That damn Mifune! He calls himself a samurai, but in my eyes, he's just a coward who fears death!"
Before even entering the Hokage's office, Tatsuma heard the furious voice inside, not Sarutobi Hiruzen's, but Shimura Danzo's.
"Alright, Danzo, we have no reason to stop Mifune from withdrawing his troops. If you have any suggestions, save them for the later meeting," Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rang out, not as agitated as Danzo's, but carrying a sense of sorrow.
Tatsuma and Minato exchanged a glance. Tatsuma didn't immediately approach the door; instead, he waited for a moment, making sure there were no more loud outbursts from inside before lightly knocking on the office door.
"Come in," Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice came from inside. At this moment, Tatsuma slowly and smoothly opened the office door. Inside, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had already composed themselves, sitting upright in their seats.
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama," Tatsuma and Minato bowed respectfully. This gesture earned nods of approval from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo. With their abilities, they could sense, or even hear, Tatsuma and Minato waiting outside, giving them time to regain their composure.
"Come closer," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile, beckoning the two over. Once they were nearby, he asked in a probing tone, "Mifune has withdrawn with the samurai from the Land of Iron. What are your thoughts?"
"I'll just watch," Tatsuma thought of a somewhat unconventional answer, but he didn't say it aloud. Instead, he looked to Minato. After pondering for a moment, Minato asked, "Did the Cloud Ninja break through our Konoha blockade?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained composed, looking to Tatsuma, clearly waiting for his response. Danzo subtly closed his eyes, and the duration of his closure seemed a bit prolonged.
Tatsuma knew the answer, but he deliberately pondered for a moment before saying, "Did Hanzo personally intervene?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained calm, but Danzo's lips curved into a smile.
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