The Land of Fire, Konoha Village!
Inside the Hokage Building, First Conference Room!
An hour ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi received intelligence about Kirigakure dispatching its Third Legion to the Land of Whirlpools. Because of this, he convened an emergency high-level expanded meeting to discuss how to respond to Kirigakure's move.
If Kirigakure had not dispatched a second legion to the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha wouldn't have to worry much. Haruto Saito had made a military pledge, and his money-burning assassination tactics had proven effective!
However, the sudden deployment of Kirigakure's Third Legion was beyond the scope of Haruto's military pledge.
Konoha did not have enough troops to deal with this unexpected situation.
But that didn't mean Konoha was completely without options.
Because in this Second Shinobi World War, Konoha had yet to deploy its most terrifying core power—
The very people attending this expanded high-level meeting!
The patriarchs of the three major clans of Konoha—Hyuga, Uchiha, and Nara—along with the heads of the Inuzuka, Nakayama, and Aburame clans, and more than twenty other key decision-makers of Konoha!
Konoha had the highest number of elite shinobi in the ninja world!
People like Uchiha Tokugawa and Hyuga Raiyo hadn't fought publicly for years. Their strength was unfathomable. Especially Uchiha Tokugawa—rumors about his Mangekyō Sharingan had been circulating for years.
So, if Konoha went all out, sending just a few individuals to annihilate an entire enemy legion wouldn't be difficult!
However, unless Konoha was on the verge of destruction, it wouldn't break the 'rules' by making such a move.
Other villages also had their own powerhouses.
The dimly lit conference room carried an icy atmosphere.
"I believe that leaving this matter entirely to Haruto Saito is not out of the question," Danzo Shimura predictably suggested a plan that would set up Haruto for failure. "No special measures are needed—Haruto just needs to keep burning money and post new assassination missions in the black market. What he did to Kirigakure's First Legion, he can do to their Third Legion as well…"
"That's not feasible!" Koharu Utatane immediately refuted. "I've calculated Haruto's expenses over the past four to five months. Between village construction, weapon production, personnel costs, and other expenses, he has spent at least 1.5 billion ryo… and that's a conservative estimate! There are probably other expenditures I haven't accounted for. So—"
"Isn't he still very wealthy?" Danzo interjected.
"Yes, he's still rich! But if he continues to spend at this rate, he might deplete all his cash reserves within the year… His rapid development is entirely based on his ability to pour money into it. Once he runs out of funds, his village won't just stagnate—it will collapse…"
Koharu understood better than anyone how fast Haruto was burning through money!
Every Konoha shinobi who completed a mission and received a commission had to pay taxes to the Commerce Department. As its head, Koharu knew full well that Haruto had already paid a staggering 600 million ryo in commissions just for hiring Konoha's covert operatives and ANBU for personal missions.
For example, hiring them to 'transport talent'—that was considered Haruto's personal request!
Haruto and Konoha kept their financial dealings meticulously clear.
"The Kirigakure Third Legion has around 2,300 shinobi, including over 200 jonin and more than 50 elite jonin…" Akimichi Torifune analyzed. "With such a configuration, if we launch a decapitation operation, success and failure are both possible. Our losses would be significant as well…"
"The Uchiha Clan is willing to fight," Uchiha Tokugawa declared.
He was ignored!
Everyone knew that unless absolutely necessary, the Uchiha Clan would not be allowed to leave Konoha! But no one could deny that if the Uchiha were unleashed, they could utterly crush Kirigakure's Third Legion.
After all, Kirigakure only had one top-tier shinobi clan—the Hozuki Clan! Meanwhile, Konoha had two: the Uchiha and the Hyuga!
The room was filled with various voices offering different opinions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his fingers against the table, remaining silent. He was listening to everyone's thoughts and assessing their attitudes to determine the best course of action.
The meeting lasted three hours.
In the end, Hiruzen accepted Danzo's final proposal—
Reinforcements for Haruto Saito!
He decided to send Haruto a special elite task force, with a strict limit of no more than 100 shinobi. Every single one of them would be at least jonin-level in strength!
Moreover, these shinobi would not be drawn from Konoha's existing legions or police forces.
They would be selected from Konoha's major clans!
This included the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans, among others. Each major clan would provide personnel—larger clans contributing five to six shinobi, mid-sized clans three to four, and smaller clans one or two.
The lowest-ranked member would be a jonin, while the highest rank would have no upper limit!
Hiruzen gave each clan one day to submit their selected personnel list for his approval.
And he decided that the leader of this special task force would be White Fang!
Because he was concerned that no one else could command this unit—not even Haruto!
No one knew what kind of individuals the major clans would send. They could include clan heirs, elders, or key figures. Furthermore, Konoha's internal rivalries—especially the ongoing tension between the Uchiha and Hyuga—had to be considered.
Thus, White Fang was the best choice for leadership!
As the commander of the ANBU for years, his authority was undeniable!
...
Shortly after the high-level expanded meeting concluded—
Hokage's Office.
"Hiruzen, have you considered that once this special force is deployed to the Land of Whirlpools, the location of Haruto's secret village will be fully exposed to Konoha's clans? The secrecy will be completely compromised, and the risk of exposure will rise dramatically…" Koharu Utatane frowned.
Hiruzen stood by the window, gazing outside in silence.
"Exposure is inevitable," Danzo interjected, supporting his own plan. "The ANBU and covert ops units going in and out of Furuta Village already know… It's not really a secret anymore."
"That's different!" Koharu retorted sharply. "ANBU and covert ops follow strict discipline. A temporary task force like this cannot compare."
"Unless we choose not to reinforce Haruto," Hiruzen said, still looking out the window. "If we send reinforcements, more people will inevitably learn about Furuta Village and Haruto's connection to it. We have no spare legions left. We can only assemble personnel this way… I've already sent White Fang to inform Haruto. The decision is his to make."
"What if he refuses?" Koharu asked.
"If he refuses…" Hiruzen repeated, pausing momentarily before sighing deeply. "Then, for now, he'll have to face two Kirigakure legions alone!"