Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the letter in front of him with a troubled expression.
The joint request for a peace agreement and a Chunin joint exam from the Four Great Hidden Villages, plus Salamander Hanzo's cosignature, was sent to Konoha.
The words were so sincere, and the longing for peace seemed to spill from between the lines, extremely earnest.
But the problem is...
This seems like a huge issue!
"What's wrong, Hiruzen..."
Aomi chuckled as he looked at the documents in his hand, and softly said, "Striving for peace, isn't this a good thing?"
Tsunade, on the side, glanced surprisingly at Aomi's ever-gentle smile, shook her head, and thought to herself:
"The old man and Aomi, they really are friends across ages. He doesn't even call him Uncle Hiruzen anymore, just straight up his name..."
But even as Tsunade looked at Aomi's familiar smile, she still felt somewhat displeased inside.
She was thinking, once Aomi reaches adulthood, she would have to find a way to remove that old man's Chakra from his body...
Otherwise, it just feels strange!
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly: "Teacher, your progress is really fast. Aomi used to call me Uncle Hiruzen, but now not even a 'Uncle,' sigh..."
But he dared not say anything, only managed a wry smile, "Peace, I'm afraid, will not happen..."
"Indeed, how could it?"
Aomi shook his head, slowly saying, "Using the Chunin Exams and the peace agreement as an excuse to probe the village's strength, this move is an open scheme."
"If we refuse, we'll become the only village in the Ninja World that rejects peace, causing great controversy both inside and outside the village."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
This was his thought too, in the current Ninja World, peace agreements are not just scraps of paper.
Even during the First Ninja World War, the peace treaty between the Hidden Cloud and Konoha was broken by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, resulting in both Senju Tobirama and the Second Raikage's deaths; it wasn't a breach of the treaty, just force majeure.
So, in a situation where all the powerful villages in the Ninja World are expressing peace, Konoha really can't refuse.
"However, this method can only be used once..."
Aomi played with the reply letter in his hand:
"When they break the treaty, the Ninja's morale will reach its peak, and as a retaliation for their betrayal, Konoha using somewhat less gentle military tactics, I think, is justified, right?"
"My opinion is, to prevent them from acting in Konoha, we should only allow them to send two teams and the Jonin leading them to participate, and also invite the daimyo from various countries to watch."
Aomi was calculating in his mind, still thinking about when he could take the chance to contact the daimyo from various countries...
After all, the intelligence of the Twelve Guardian Ninja from each country is unclear, and hastily contacting them carries the risk of mistakes.
But if they come to Konoha, everything would be different, and there would be much more room to maneuver.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, seeing Aomi's confident demeanor, felt much more at ease inside.
He had understood Aomi's meaning.
By "not-too-gentle means," it probably meant the teacher was ready to go all out!
Considering Aomi's natural tone when he just mentioned Hiruzen, along with Root's recent big experiments and expansion efforts, Sarutobi Hiruzen even looked forward to the upcoming war.
Being a hardlined and rising Hokage might be difficult for Sarutobi Hiruzen, but as a general under Senju Tobirama's command, he still had that courage and responsibility.
After shedding the unbearable burdens and responsibilities, once Sarutobi Hiruzen moved freely, though not a "brilliant commander," he was at least a "competent general".
"Aomi, if we accept the peace agreement, how should the village respond?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered:
"Perhaps we could have a few talented Chunin pretend to be Genin, which could strongly intimidate the other side, showcasing Konoha's prosperous talent."
In the original timeline, Sarutobi Hiruzen did exactly that.
Kakashi, who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six, was still sent to the Chunin Exams as one of Konoha's representatives.
Aomi waved his hand, softly saying:
"For this war, I'm confident, so we don't need to seem strong to the enemy, instead we should appear eager to show strength, stirring up their greed."
"Disguising Chunin as Genin, I'd say is possible, but we should do the opposite instead, finding a few seasoned Chunin who have been through the wringer, but don't look so young to go..."
Tsunade nodded in agreement:
"We can also have our Konoha Chunin mock the Genin from other Hidden Villages. Those proud little brats won't stand it, accusing Konoha of using Chunin as substitutes, and then we can suitably show embarrassment."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked unexpectedly at Tsunade.
You have a strategy too?
Truly, like ink at hand, ah no, being close to vermillion makes one red!
"Good idea, Tsunade-sensei, we can also utilize the Nine-tails in Kushina's body..."
Aomi squinted, slowly saying: "If the Nine-tail's Chakra suddenly leaks, causing a certain level of destruction, the ninjas from other villages will realize we can't use the Tailed Beast Power, further firming their confidence in invading."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned; did Aomi-sensei even plan this far?
Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated a bit, saying:
"Aomi, won't this overly boost the enemy's morale? If they don't see the village geniuses, and the Nine-tails can't impact the war, I'm afraid they'll unite against Konoha."