It was night; when Senju Mori walked out of the laboratory, the sun's afterglow had long been swallowed by the deep darkness.
As time passed, the lights in Konoha Village gradually went out, and countless villagers and Ninja fell asleep in the tranquil moonlit night.
However, an Anbu was already waiting outside.
Seeing Senju Mori appear, he quickly stepped forward to salute and handed over a scroll.
"Hokage-sama, urgent intelligence has arrived from the direction of the Land of Water."
Senju Mori reached out and took the scroll, feeling slightly surprised.
The Hidden Mist Ninja Clans had only recently sent confirmation regarding the transaction, so it was highly unusual that they would urgently dispatch someone with a new message scroll in such a short time.
But when he opened the scroll and read it, his expression instantly became serious, and he commanded without hesitation: "Immediately summon Hyuga Sogo, Senju Touka, Nara Shikatsune, and Hiruzen Sarutobi—the four Advisors—to the Hokage Building for discussion. Simultaneously, gather all Jonin and Chunin within the Village. The Village is to immediately enter Level One combat readiness."
"Understood!"
The Anbu did not have the authority to read the intelligence scroll himself, but from Hokage-sama's expression, he immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
His figure flashed instantly, turning into a shadow that merged into the darkness, rushing to various parts of the Village to relay the orders.
Soon, the entire vast Konoha Village was thrown into commotion.
Lights flickered on one after another. Countless Ninja were startled awake from their sleep, quickly and expertly donning their gear, checking their necessary supplies, and equipping their weapons and tools.
They either silently converged onto the streets around their residences or quickly leaped and dashed across the rooftops, rushing to assemble in the central plaza in front of the Hokage Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other three, having been woken up by the Anbu in the middle of the night, also acted swiftly and arrived at the Hokage Building shortly after.
The Hokage Office was brightly lit.
The intelligence scroll that Senju Mori had just received was being passed around among the four Advisors.
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After each Advisor finished reading the information on the scroll, their expressions changed subtly and uncontrollably.
The scroll stated that the Third Mizukage was secretly mobilizing troops within the Village. However, due to his distrust of the Village's Ninja Clans, Senju Mori's "friends" had only just received the news before the operation began.
According to the elder of the Hozuki Clan responsible for relaying the intelligence, the Hidden Mist might be planning a surprise attack on Konoha.
In fact, a secret letter was also included in the scroll, which Senju Mori had already pulled out and stored separately. The letter mentioned that the latest transaction was temporarily canceled.
Their major Ninja Clans would try their best to buy time, hoping Senju Mori would quickly withdraw the traded supplies so they wouldn't be discovered by the Hidden Mist forces under the Third Mizukage.
It was noteworthy that when Senju Mori saw the urgent wording in the secret letter, even his originally serious expression couldn't help but become somewhat strange.
Hidden Mist forces were clearly about to attack Konoha, yet the major Ninja Clans within the Hidden Mist Village seemed even more anxious than him, the Konoha Hokage.
This was quite an interesting situation.
After the intelligence scroll had been passed around to all the Advisors, Senju Mori looked around and asked, "What are your thoughts on this intelligence report?"
Nara Shikatsune spoke first: "Hokage-sama, I believe the credibility of this intelligence is extremely high."
The head of the Nara Clan had changed greatly over the past five years. Besides finally joining the ranks of fathers, he had also gained access to a large amount of Konoha's confidential intelligence.
Not only did he appear more composed now, but judging from his clothes and demeanor, he subtly exuded a sense of nobility.
It should be noted that in the trade with the Land of Water, the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio was jointly responsible for the medical supply trade share.
Even though the Village took a large portion of the final profits, the three clans could still be said to have made a fortune.
He continued his analysis: "The speculation within the report is also very reasonable. Hidden Mist Village is isolated overseas, far away from all the other countries. The only possible reason for secretly mobilizing troops is to launch a surprise attack against our Konoha."
"I believe we should take immediate action and absolutely not allow the Hidden Mist's conspiracy to succeed."
Senju Touka's voice immediately followed, her slightly hoarse tone carrying an undisguised urgency: "I also believe we should immediately dispatch troops for rescue!"
Five years had passed. This family elder, who had been active since the time of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was still devoted to the clan and the Village, but she was increasingly showing signs of age.
"The Village has no organized border defense forces on the eastern frontier. The Uzumaki Clan of the Land of Whirlpools is Konoha's only barrier in the east. If the Uzu no Kuni is breached by the Hidden Mist, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Hyuga Sogo leaned on his wooden staff, nodding heavily, his aged face full of solemnity.
Compared to Senju Touka, who was only beginning to show signs of age, Hyuga Sogo was truly old now.
His originally pure white pupils had become increasingly cloudy, and the sturdy wooden cane was now inseparable from him. Having been woken up in the middle of the night, he had rushed over almost forcing himself to stay alert.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not say much, merely using a determined gaze and the brief word "Concur" to express his stance.
The opinions of the five were highly unified, leaving nothing worth further discussion.
Senju Mori suddenly stood up, his figure appearing exceptionally tall in the light, and delivered the final decision.
"The Uzu no Kuni is a critical barrier for the Village, and the Uzumaki Clan is Konoha's only ally. We must immediately dispatch troops for their rescue."
"I have already ordered the gathering of all Jonin and Chunin within the Village. The preliminary decision is to form an elite Ninja force of two thousand, which I will personally lead into action, immediately heading to the eastern border of the Land of Fire."
"We will confront the Hidden Mist and rescue the Uzu no Kuni!"
Subsequently, Senju Mori looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting nearby.
"Hiruzen, you will serve as the deputy commander and accompany me."
"As you command."
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stood up and responded, his movements swift, his voice steady and powerful.
Looking at his resolute face, Senju Mori felt a deep sense of appreciation.
He had to admit, this former rival was truly useful.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was born five years before Konoha was founded, making him exactly thirty-one this year—the prime golden age of a Ninja's life, when he was in his most vigorous and physically peak condition.
Judging by strength alone, in any other Great Ninja Village, Hiruzen would absolutely be the undisputed Village Kage.
During this period, while the new generation of Ninja had not fully matured, it was the time when Konoha most needed him to shine.
As long as he was not sitting in the position of Hokage, and his will was not worn down by the limitations of vision and the trivial political affairs brought by that power...
Hiruzen Sarutobi's existence was Konoha Village's most crucial high-end fighting force besides Senju Mori himself; he could even be described as the sharpest sword in Senju Mori's hand.