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Becoming Hokage takes three steps: a village-wide vote, a jōnin vote, and the daimyo's approval.
Shimura Danzo felt that the scene of so many jōnin endorsing Tsunade as frontline commander was practically a dry run for the jōnin vote itself.
As for the villagers' vote—no need to belabor it. The Senju clan carries enormous prestige in Konoha. Just being the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju would be enough on its own.
The daimyo's approval wouldn't be difficult either. Tsunade is well acquainted with the daimyo's household, and as a medical ninja she's treated them before.
The more Danzo thought about it, the more hopeless he felt. Compared to Tsunade, he had no advantage in the Hokage race. There wasn't a single front on which he could win—it was a complete defeat. Should he just give up? No—impossible. Becoming Hokage was the obsession of his life. As long as he lived, he would never give up.
"The frontline commander will be Tsunade; the staff adviser will be Nara Shikaku," Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a low voice.
The adviser role had traditionally gone to the Nara because of their keen intellect and strategy.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Nara Shikaku stood at once and answered.
Tsunade was more casual; she simply nodded. She hadn't wanted to serve as frontline commander, but for a mix of reasons she accepted.
First, this war started because of Kitazawa. As his teacher, she did bear responsibility, and she had also been the one handling negotiations with the Mist.
Second, she had no intention of letting Shimura Danzo get his way. If she took the command, he wouldn't be able to reclaim his former standing.
Third, because of Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was her teacher; he was getting old; and he was now intent on helping her take the top seat. Tsunade feared nothing—except Hiruzen playing the "sentiment" card on her. In the end, she couldn't harden her heart against him.
"Shikaku, brief us on the current situation," Hiruzen said, looking over.
"Although the Fourth Mizukage has declared war, there's been no large-scale movement from Kirigakure. It's possible they've dispatched reconnaissance teams," Shikaku said after a pause. "Our Anbu have already departed to alert the shinobi stationed along the southeastern border of the Land of Fire as quickly as possible."
The Land of Water lies to the southeast of the Land of Fire across the sea. If the Mist want to invade Konoha, they have to land along the Fire Country's southeastern coast—that's the fastest route.
Konoha maintains outposts along its borders even in times outside of full-scale war, precisely to prevent surprise attacks by other villages. But those outposts are lightly manned and serve mainly as early warning.
"Tsunade, what's your take?" Hiruzen asked after a brief consideration.
"Send an advance unit today. Once the Mist's main force sets off, we can add reinforcements according to their numbers," Tsunade said offhandedly.
In short: adapt as events unfold. The cause of this war was too strange. Konoha might be stronger than the Mist, but it had no desire to be dragged into a large-scale conflict. When the sandpiper and the clam fight, the fisherman profits. If Konoha shows any sign of faltering, other villages—like the Hidden Cloud—will jump at the opening. That's how the first three shinobi world wars went from sparks to a conflagration.
"We should strike first and smash the Mist so they don't dare offend us again!" Danzo rose, voice hard and hawkish.
"We don't even know the Mist's true situation. Doing that would only give other villages a perfect opening," Tsunade replied coolly, glancing his way.
"Tsunade is right. We'll proceed as you propose," Hiruzen agreed at once.
"Hiruzen, you—" Danzo's fists clenched reflexively.
"Tsunade, who should lead the advance unit?" Hiruzen ignored Danzo and turned back to her.
"The Hyuga clan," Tsunade said after a moment's thought.
The Hyuga's Byakugan made them the best at handling sudden developments, and they weren't just scouts—they had excellent combat strength. Of course, an advance unit wouldn't be composed solely of Hyuga. In truth, Hiruzen's question was about who would command it.
Hyuga Hiashi couldn't help being taken aback. The Hyuga and the Uchiha both went to war, but they rarely served as field commanders. That was Hiruzen's balancing act at work—he didn't want either clan racking up too much battlefield merit. Tsunade wasn't Hokage yet, but Hiashi could already feel the difference between her and Hiruzen.
"Very well," Hiruzen hesitated briefly, then agreed. With Tsunade already named frontline commander, to overrule her would be to undercut his own appointment.
"Hiashi," Hiruzen ordered, "when this meeting ends, take a thousand shinobi to the southeastern border of the Land of Fire at once."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hyuga Hiashi said solemnly. This was a rare chance for the Hyuga to earn distinction. The advance unit would be first to clash with the enemy.
"Who's in charge of intelligence?" Danzo suddenly asked.
"The Anbu," Hiruzen answered.
"The Anbu report directly to the Hokage, and you'll be staying to oversee Konoha," Danzo volunteered. "Why not let me handle intelligence? I ran Root and have years of experience."
"Tsunade is the frontline commander. Have the Anbu take their orders directly from her," Hiruzen said, seeing straight through Danzo's ploy. He was still chasing power.
Danzo's face froze. Rebuffed again, he finally understood where Hiruzen stood. Very well—if you are merciless, don't blame me for being ruthless.
He fell silent and didn't speak again until the jōnin meeting adjourned.
"That's it for now. We'll reconvene once the Mist make their move," Hiruzen said as he rose. "Go make your preparations. Dismissed."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," everyone answered in unison.
As soon as Hiruzen left, people clustered around Tsunade. As field commander, it was her job to direct from here.
"Tsunade-sama, I'll head back to the academy," Kitazawa said.
"Handle the academy business, but you're coming with me this time," Tsunade reminded him.
If Kitazawa were just an ordinary chūnin instructor, he wouldn't need to go. But his strength already put him among the elite jōnin; he'd be far more useful on the battlefield. Besides, since this war started because of him, skipping it would ding his reputation.
"Mm." Kitazawa nodded. He was going, no question. He was the only one who knew the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was being controlled. To end the war, they had to break that control.
[Because a war began with you, it should end with you.]
[Current Mission: Help the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, break free of control.]
[Reward: +30% Senju bloodline, +20% Byakugan purity.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes widened. The reward was unprecedentedly generous. He already had 70% Senju bloodline and 20% Byakugan purity. If he completed the quest, he'd reach 100% Senju blood and 40% Byakugan purity.
No doubt 100% Senju bloodline would come with special abilities. As for 40% Byakugan purity—harder to say, but the odds of a special trait were high. He was even more curious what would happen at 100% Byakugan purity.
Tenseigan? Probably not.
The Tenseigan is the counterpart to the Rinnegan; the system wouldn't hand it over that easily. More likely, at 100% he'd have a Byakugan on par with the Ōtsutsuki on the moon.
It was too early to dwell on that. A rich reward meant matching difficulty. The quest looked simple but was especially tricky. Yagura wouldn't appear at the front right away. Either Kitazawa infiltrated the Mist, or he forced Yagura to the front—both difficult.
The Mist Village was the enemy's home base; if he was exposed, he was done. Forcing Yagura forward seemed more feasible. If the Mist kept losing, Yagura wouldn't be able to sit in the rear.
Kitazawa accepted the quest and left the conference room. Hatake Kakashi walked out with him.
"Kakashi, are you taking part in this war?" Kitazawa asked, curious.
"I'll do as the Hokage assigns," Kakashi said after a pause. "If I can, I'd rather keep teaching." He'd been through too many wars and lost too much. Endless killing meant nothing. After two months teaching the Advanced Class, he preferred this life.
"Good," Kitazawa chuckled. "If both of us go, Kosuke-senpai will be swamped."
Kakashi blinked. So Kitazawa was going to war? On reflection, that made sense. The war was closely tied to him; dodging it would be hard.
"Let's head back and hold a meeting. I'll get everything arranged," Kitazawa thought. As it happened, his plan for the last month had been to send the Advanced Class students to other classes as mentors. Training would slow, entering a semi-stall—perfect for picking up again after he returned from the war. He just didn't know how long this war would last.
They returned to the academy. Because the jōnin meeting had taken over an hour, the final "challenge" segment of the practical exam was already finished. The Advanced Class students had gone home; the yard was empty.
"I'll get Kosuke-senpai," Kakashi offered.
"Mm," Kitazawa nodded. "I'll find Iruka. Let's gather in my office."
Kakashi vanished—afternoon was a day off, so Maruboshi Kosuke had already headed home, and Kakashi would have to fetch him. Umino Iruka was still around, compiling the school-wide rankings. Kitazawa called to him, and the two went to the office together.
"Kitazawa-senpai," Iruka said, remembering something, "like last time, the Advanced Class won every challenge."
"As expected," Kitazawa smiled. "Have a seat and wait. We'll start when Kakashi and Kosuke-senpai arrive."
"Okay," Iruka said, assuming they were going to discuss the mentor program.
A moment later came a knock. Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke walked in.
"Make yourselves comfortable," Kitazawa said, gesturing.
The two sat on the sofa with Iruka.
"Kakashi and I just came from the jōnin meeting," Kitazawa began. "The Mist have declared war on us. A conflict is inevitable."
"What?" Iruka stared, shocked.
"Every war claims many lives," Maruboshi Kosuke sighed.
"As academy teachers, you won't be going for now," Kitazawa continued. "But I have to. I'll need you to cover classes."
"Kitazawa-senpai, you…" Worry spread across Iruka's face. Blades have no eyes—no matter how strong a shinobi is, they can still fall on the battlefield.
"I'm going with Tsunade-sama. It won't be too dangerous," Kitazawa said after a beat. "All right, here's the plan."
Iruka held his tongue.
Kitazawa's arrangements had two parts.
First, the Advanced Class mentor program. Starting next week, let standouts like Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Neji, and Aburame Shino test the waters. Once a fixed model and process were set, the rest of the Advanced Class would also serve as mentors.
Second, special training for the Advanced Class. Some would continue their current regimens—Kurama Yakumo, Hyuga Hinata, Hyuga Neji, Yamanaka Ino, and the like.
Others would start new training—Akimichi Choji would learn Human Boulder; Uzumaki Naruto would learn Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. As for Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, Kitazawa left them to Hatake Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke.
"That's the gist," Kitazawa concluded.
"Got it, Kitazawa-senpai," Iruka said. "I'll teach exactly as you outlined."
"Same here," Maruboshi Kosuke added.
"We don't know when this war will end. If I don't make it back in time, you'll run the end-of-term exams," Kitazawa reminded them. Fortunately, he hadn't triggered any system quest tied to those exams; he wouldn't lose anything by skipping them.
"Any questions?" he asked.
"No," the three shook their heads.
"Then let's wrap up," Kitazawa said, standing.
"Kitazawa-senpai, be careful," Iruka said gravely.
"Don't be reckless on the battlefield—follow Tsunade-sama's orders," Maruboshi Kosuke cautioned. In his youth, haste had cost two teammates their lives.
Kakashi said nothing; he just gave Kitazawa a nod.
After the three left, Kitazawa went to a secluded spot on the academy grounds. Sasuke and the others had gone home, but his three-man squad hadn't. If he was going to war, he would take Yakushi Kabuto, Aburame Torune, and Uchiha Izumi.
Partly to grind quests for them. Partly to trigger system missions.
"Kitazawa-sensei," the three stopped training and came over as soon as they saw him.
"Go home and get ready. You're coming with me to the southeast border of the Land of Fire," Kitazawa said, telling them about the Mist's declaration of war.
"War again?" Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses. He himself was a war orphan, adopted by Yakushi Nonō during the Third Shinobi World War. War wasn't unfamiliar to him. Aburame Torune and Uchiha Izumi were less acclimated—especially the latter, who grew tense. Young and never on a battlefield, she still knew how brutal it was.
"Don't worry. Trust your own strength," Kitazawa said, patting Izumi on the shoulder.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Uchiha Izumi answered, somewhat reassured. Her teammates and teacher were all exceptional. She was luckier than most her age.
[Current Mission: Make a name for your squad in this war.]
[Reward: A Kekkei Genkai and its corresponding jutsu.]
[Accept?]
[Note: The exact reward depends on the renown you earn.]
Kitazawa arched a brow at the four lines of text. A rare quest with a floating reward. He accepted immediately. Any kekkei genkai would be strong—as long as it wasn't Moonlight Hayate's Transparent Release. He had no desire to turn into an invalid. The best part was that this reward included the matching techniques for the kekkei genkai.
…
Suikazan Fuguki and the others returned to the Hidden Mist. Mei Terumi, however, was summoned by Elder Genshi. The moment she stepped into the sitting room, she sensed something was off: besides Genshi, several Mist jōnin were present.
"Mei Terumi," Genshi began slowly, "tell us how the negotiations with Konoha went."
"All right," Mei pressed down her doubts and recounted what had happened—mostly back-and-forth stalling.
"So it really was by the Mizukage's order," Genshi nodded when he heard that Suikazan Fuguki had abruptly ended the talks.
"What's happened?" Mei couldn't help asking.
"The Mizukage has declared war on Konoha," Genshi sighed.
"How is that possible?" Mei frowned. "Why would the Mizukage start a war with Konoha?"
"We'd like to know that too," said Ao, seated beside Genshi. "With our current strength, the Mist would struggle to beat Konoha." Ao—an elder-level jōnin of the Mist—was known as the "Byakugan Killer," having acquired a Byakugan during the Third War. It was the only confirmed Byakugan in circulation.
"You didn't try to dissuade him?" Mei asked.
"It was useless," Genshi shook his head. "He wouldn't listen even to me and insisted on launching the war."
In the Mist, the elders' authority was second only to the Mizukage, and in status they were hardly inferior.
"As a compromise, I appointed Ao as commander for this war," Genshi said gravely. "Hold Konoha at the front if you can. We'll do our best to uncover the real reason the Mizukage started this conflict."
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