Chương 61: Chapter 61: Strategic Decisions Before the Battle
After much insistence from Chiyo, Hattori drowsily took a seat beside her, occupying a position symbolizing seniority within the Village Hidden in the Sand.
Seeing this, Rasa, sitting nearby, frowned slightly but remained silent. The others, naturally, had even less to say.
From this alone, it was evident how authoritative Chiyo and Ebizō had become within the Sand Village.
Once Hattori settled down, Chiyo spoke again.
"Let's continue our earlier discussion. Now, regarding the comprehensive attack on the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts!"
"I agree!"
As soon as Chiyo finished speaking, a senior member of the Sand Village raised his hand.
Following his lead, others began to raise their hands one by one.
"I agree as well!"
"I also support declaring all-out war on the Leaf Village!"
"And me too..."
In no time, more than half the attendees had raised their hands.
Seeing this, Hattori, initially stunned, suddenly snapped out of his daze and stood up involuntarily.
"Why though? Wasn't it the Stone Village that attacked us earlier? So why are we going after the Leaf Village?"
Hattori was genuinely perplexed.
To him, if retaliation was necessary, it should be directed at the Stone Village—not the Leaf Village. And an all-out war, no less? The Sand Village leaders must have lost their minds!
Noticing his confusion, Chiyo promptly explained.
"Of course, we'll deal with the Stone Village, but our primary enemy is the Leaf Village. We must defeat the Leaf first; only then can we free ourselves to take on the Stone!"
"Exactly!"
Ebizō, standing beside her, nodded in agreement as soon as Chiyo finished.
"We were just attacked by the Stone Village, so they're bound to be on high alert. If we start a war with them now, our losses would be substantial.
"And with the Mist Village and the Leaf Village flanking us, attacking the Stone could leave us vulnerable to ambushes from both. The consequences would be disastrous!"
Hattori: "…"
That's the reasoning behind attacking the Leaf Village?
After hearing Ebizō's explanation, Hattori's mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
"Well, if that's the case, can't we just refrain from attacking anyone? Let's build up our strength for now and take them on one by one when we're ready."
"Absolutely not!"
Before Hattori could finish, Ebizō shook his head firmly.
"We can't let this opportunity slip by. The Stone Village, fearing our retaliation, is focusing on defending its territory and won't dare deploy troops lightly. By dispatching a small force to feign an attack, we can hold them at bay.
"Then, we can pull our forces from the northern front and concentrate them on the eastern battlefield, taking down the Leaf Village in one decisive blow!"
Hattori: ╭(°A°`)╮
Are you kidding me?
Looking at Ebizō's calculating expression, Hattori found it hard to reconcile this master strategist with the retired old man from the original storyline, who spent his days fishing and half-dozing alongside Chiyo.
"No wonder they call him the 'Brain of the Sand Village.' He truly lives up to the title."
Though Hattori admired Ebizō's intellect, he didn't agree with his strategy.
Despite its seemingly sound approach, the plan lacked real value.
In the storyline Hattori knew, the Sand Village ultimately lost its war with the Leaf.
In war, only the result matters—not the process.
No matter how clever the strategy, how much effort, or how many sacrifices are made, if you lose, it's all for nothing.
If it had been before, Hattori wouldn't have cared. But after so much time, he'd come to see himself as part of the Sand Village.
He couldn't bear to watch the Sand Village launch a war destined for failure.
Considering the current state of the Sand Village, even with significant effort, victory over the Leaf seemed highly unlikely.
The best option would actually be to form an alliance with the Leaf.
By allying with the Leaf, they could redirect their eastern forces southward to deal with the Mist Village, consolidating power before turning against the Stone.
But that was Hattori's view alone, and he knew Chiyo, for one, would never agree.
Her hatred for the Leaf Village ran deep. Her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of the Leaf's Sakumo Hatake, and Sasori's defection had only deepened her resentment.
In Chiyo's mind, the Leaf Village was even more detestable than the Stone Village, making any notion of alliance unthinkable.
Hattori understood this, but knowing the strength of the Leaf Village, he still felt compelled to try and prevent the Sand from making a costly mistake.
After organizing his thoughts, he turned to Chiyo.
"Teacher, during the two days I was missing from the eastern front, I wasn't slacking off—I infiltrated Leaf territory through the River Crossing Gorge to gather intelligence."
"What? That was reckless!"
Chiyo immediately scolded him but then seemed to realize something, her brow furrowing.
"I remember you were seeking a contract with the slug summon. Did you go to the Leaf to find Tsunade?"
"Yes!"
Chiyo had conveniently given him an excuse, and Hattori seized on it, continuing down that path.
"I wanted to see if I could steal her summoning technique. Although I didn't find her, I did manage to infiltrate the Leaf's ranks and uncover two critical pieces of information!"
"Two critical pieces of information?" Ebizō's eyes lit up.
As a master of espionage, he had a keen interest in intelligence and urged Hattori to continue.
"Go on, tell us! What did you find?"
"Yes!"
Nodding, Hattori held up a single finger.
"The first key piece of information is that Tsunade, due to her lover Dan Katō's death, has developed hemophobia and left the Leaf Village!"
"What?"
The entire room reacted with shock, Ebizō in particular standing up in excitement.
"I knew Tsunade was absent from the eastern front, but I had no idea she developed hemophobia and left the Leaf entirely. And the 'Spirit Transformation' user, Dan Katō, is dead too. That's two fewer major threats for us in the Sand!"
Clapping his thigh in excitement, he looked over at Chiyo.
"Young Hattori's information sounds credible!"
"Yes!"
With Ebizō's endorsement, Hattori's credibility skyrocketed, and Chiyo's face showed a hint of excitement.
"That increases our odds of victory against the Leaf considerably!"
She turned to Hattori again.
"You said you uncovered two important pieces of information. We've heard the first; what's the second?"
Hattori's first revelation was merely groundwork for the second.
Seeing Chiyo's anticipation, he hesitated briefly before speaking again.
"Sakumo Hatake… the White Fang of the Leaf… is also dead!"
"..."
With Hattori's words, Chiyo's expression froze, and she was stunned into silence.
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