The next morning, after washing up and having breakfast, Hinata Kaze arrived at the clan training ground earlier than he remembered. Then, in accordance with his usual level, he carefully controlled his strength and began to drive the iron wooden stakes into the empty training ground.
About half an hour later, all the other eligible children in the family, the ninjas assigned by the family to provide guidance, and several Chunin who provided support all arrived.
Everyone was somewhat surprised by Hinata Kaze's early arrival, but no one said much about it.
The instructor first demonstrated Gentle Fist as usual, explaining the key points. Then, he arranged for everyone to practice separately, with several Chunin from the Hyuga clan distributing themselves to supervise and guide them.
"These Chunin all look rather grave, probably because of Hyuga Hizashi's matter," Hyuga Kaze thought to himself, his face remaining impassive as he continued attacking the ironwood stake.
Hinata Kaze controlled his strength very well, and his performance was no different from before.
However, in terms of emotions, he deliberately displayed a mixture of anger, rage, and repression, practicing soft boxing with the attitude of treating the iron stake as an enemy.
Meanwhile, the main door to the Hokage's office, the symbol of the highest power in Konoha, was tightly closed, and even the protective barrier was activated, so neither the Byakugan nor the Transparent Release could obtain information from this room.
The atmosphere in the office was heavy. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with his advisors Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane, had been discussing the demands made by the Cloud Ninja in private for the past few days.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, a pipe dangling from his mouth as he puffed out smoke, the billowing smoke swirling around him and making his old face appear grim and uncertain.
Not long ago, he thought that the long-awaited peace could finally arrive. After multiple communications between the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Cloud Village agreed to end the standoff and war with the Hidden Leaf Village at the border, which had lasted for more than two years, and took the initiative to send a peace negotiation team to the Hidden Leaf Village to discuss and sign a peace treaty.
In order to suppress the noise generated by the long-term war in the village, to deter the unstable Uchiha clan, and to express his sincerity in negotiating peace, he proposed peace talks to Kumogakure. After the border was temporarily calmed, he recalled about half of the border combat troops in batches.
These manpower would have been sufficient to defend a few key strongholds, but the concern was that the Yunren barbarians might launch a major attack.
If troops are redeployed to the border now, it will directly escalate the conflict and provoke the Cloud Village to launch an attack. If troops are not gathered to go to the border, and if the peace talks fail, the main force of the Cloud Village will still be near the border. Once they attack, the border troops will be wiped out, and large areas of the Land of Fire will be lost.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If only Minato Namikaze were still here, he could have taken the lead in this matter. His Flying Thunder God Technique was incredibly useful for mobile support.
At this moment, the long silence was broken. Mitokado Homura couldn't help but speak up: "We must make a decision quickly. Koharu and I have discussed this with the Cloud Ninja several times, but their attitude remains very firm. They demand that Hyuga Hiashi be handed over. They only have two days left to give us their final answer. The situation is extremely urgent!"
Danzo Shimura's face was grim, his remaining eye filled with coldness: "The Cloud Ninja have forgotten how they trembled before the First Hokage. Konoha cannot back down. Hiruzen, conscript troops. This time, we must teach them a lesson, preferably crippling or even annihilating them in one fell swoop."
It must be said that although Danzo was of low character and did many bad things, he never disappointed in terms of stubbornness and toughness.
Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, reached a tacit understanding, and said, "After so many years of continuous warfare, Konoha no longer has enough reserve forces. Before, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they thought that a complete truce could be reached, and the withdrawn troops had been disbanded. Now that they have to be reassembled, it is difficult for them to adjust their mentality in a short time."
"Moreover, once war breaks out, the border troops will definitely suffer heavy losses. To repel the Cloud Ninja's main force's attack, we must further recruit ninjas, but Konoha currently has few ordinary ninjas left. As for the various clans, besides the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, the only ninjas they can still recruit are..."
Although Mitokado Homura didn't say it aloud, everyone present knew that currently only a few clans in Konoha hadn't suffered too much loss and could still squeeze out enough troops.
However, even if they repelled the patient attack, their families would essentially become extinct, just like the Senju clan.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes twitched. He put down his pipe and said in a heavy tone, "Given Konoha's current situation, we can no longer afford war. If we continue the war with Kumogakure, other ninja villages will likely seize the opportunity to attack."
Before Danzo could speak, Koharu Utatane chimed in, "Besides the issue of troop strength, Konoha's logistics are also running out. The continuous wars over the years have basically depleted Konoha's material reserves. Without sufficient supplies, even if we conscript troops to fight, the casualties will likely be very high."
Danzo Shimura slammed his cane down hard, making the floor vibrate. "The Akimichi, Nara, and Aburame clans all have reserve members. As for supplies, let these clans squeeze in and provide them themselves. The Cloud Village has been severely weakened by the battles of the past few years. If we can cripple the Cloud Village in one fell swoop this time, the other ninja villages probably won't dare to make a move."
In fact, he was also thinking about squeezing more manpower and resources out of these powerful clans to wipe out the Cloud Ninja in one fell swoop.
Of course, it would be best to achieve this under one's own command, so that the merits of the battle could force the weak Hiruzen to step down.
Then, under his brilliant leadership, Konoha wiped out the other ninja villages, completely unifying the ninja world. His prestige surpassed that of the First and Second Hokage. Then, in front of the Second Hokage's tombstone, he said to Hiruzen, "I am the one most suitable to be Hokage. Hiruzen, you are too weak..."
Before he could even begin to imagine more wonderful things, Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded him, saying, "Danzo, you're too radical. Have you considered the consequences of continuing this war? Konoha can't withstand another siege!"
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu immediately followed up on Hiruzen Sarutobi's words and began to persuade Shimura Danzo, firmly stating that the war could not continue. They said, "It's okay if you have a brain fart, but don't take the brains of the entire village with you!"
Danzo, unable to withstand the combined barrage of words, was left with a throbbing pain in his chest. He could only bitterly utter, "Hiruzen, you're too weak," before slamming the door and leaving.
After Shimura Danzo left, the atmosphere in the room instantly became much more harmonious. The main theme had been set, and the remaining issue was the method.
They quickly agreed that they would take turns going to the Hyuga clan to put pressure on them, and then Hiruzen Sarutobi would personally visit the Hyuga clan to talk to them and let the light of the Will of Fire shine more on the Hyuga clan.
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