Chapter 96 Konoha's Response

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade was praising Naruto's ability to do things when an urgent document was delivered to the Hokage's office. Tsunade opened the urgent document, quickly read the contents on it, and showed a very serious expression on her face. She said to Shizune beside her: "Hold a meeting immediately. There are important matters that need to be discussed. It may be related to the survival of the Land of Fire. They need to rush to the meeting room as quickly as possible." Shizune knew Tsunade's character and left the Hokage's office in a cloud of dust. Tsunade said to Naruto: "Let's go to the meeting room first."

Along the way, Tsunade had a serious expression, which was not common. Naruto followed behind him and hurried to the meeting room. Due to the urgency of the matter, Konoha's important officials and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire soon gathered in Konoha's meeting room. Tsunade stood up with the urgent document in her hand and said, "The Land of Earth got the news from somewhere and asked us to hand over the Black Thunder who assassinated the Hokage. Otherwise, they will launch a war and attack our Land of Fire." The Daimyo was a little surprised and said, "Assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Earth! Our Konoha's Black Thunder! How come I never knew about this?"

Tsunade looked at Danzo and said, "I'm afraid you have to ask Danzo about this matter." Danzo still looked calm and said, "The mission to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Earth is indeed related to me. At that time, the Land of Earth had already planned to attack our Konoha. If we didn't strike first, I'm afraid the Land of Earth would have attacked us long ago. Many of the actions of the Hokage seem too naive. Besides, Black Thunder is not my man. He is an Anbu directly under the Hokage."

Daimyo said: "In that case, we did do this. In order to avoid a war between the two countries, we still have to give up our personal interests. I think we should hand over this black thunderbolt. The safety of the Fire Nation is more important."

Naruto was not surprised by the Daimyo's statement, but what he did not expect was that Danzo actually stood up and said, "The Daimyo's approach is too weak. The Land of Earth has no evidence to prove that we did it. If we hand over the Black Thunderbolt, it would be tantamount to directly admitting that we did it, which would be more likely to cause a war. Even if a war breaks out, we at Konoha are strong enough to deal with it."

Tsunade then said: "Moreover, this Black Thunderbolt is a talented ninja of our Konoha. He can be said to be the best of the new generation of Konoha ninjas. Most importantly, he has a very special identity in our Konoha. He is the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and the commander-in-chief of the Anbu directly under the Hokage. We Konoha will never hand him over." When the Daimyo heard about the commander-in-chief of the Anbu, he suddenly noticed Naruto next to Tsunade. Naruto's eyes flashed, and the Daimyo was startled. He leaned back in his chair and said: "In this case, it is indeed inappropriate to hand over Black Thunderbolt. Let's discuss how to deal with it."

Tsunade said, "I think we should negotiate with the Land of Earth first and try to resolve the issue peacefully. I believe they also know that war is not good for both sides." Danzo said, "Hokage's approach will put Konoha in crisis. If the negotiations fail and the other side attacks, we cannot be unprepared. We should mobilize Konoha's ninjas in the shortest possible time and put the entire Land of Fire on a war footing." Tsunade said, "If we want the negotiations to be as successful as possible, both sides should have a certain degree of trust. Entering a war footing will not be conducive to the negotiations between the two sides."

The daimyo watched the two arguing and was at a loss for a moment. Naruto stood up and said, "Grandma Tsunade, this matter may not be resolved by simple negotiations. The assassination of the daimyo is not something that can be decided by the Tsuchikage alone. Even if the Tsuchikage does not want to attack Konoha, he has no choice but to take action." Although Tsunade was very strong-willed, she had to seriously consider Naruto's words at this moment. After hearing what Naruto said, Shikaku nodded and said, "I'm afraid it's really like what Naruto said. The Land of Earth is asking us for people without any evidence. This is not the style of the Tsuchikage. Negotiations may not be effective, but we can't give up negotiations."

Shikaku is one of the smartest people in Konoha. After hearing what he said, Tsunade closed her eyes and thought for a while and said, "If that's the case, then Konoha should immediately enter a state of war readiness, and on the other hand, we should negotiate with Lord Tsuchikage as soon as possible." The Daimyo also said, "This is the only way for now." Danzo and the others had no objections, and Tsunade said, "If that's the case, then today's meeting ends here."

Naruto and Tsunade left the meeting room together. Before they reached the Hokage's office, Tsunade had already issued orders on the way, and the entire Konoha was quickly mobilized. Whether it was the Anbu, Konoha's jonin, chunin, or even genin and civilians, they were all busy at this moment, and Danzo's people were not idle at all. Konoha, which had not experienced a war for a long time, entered an unprecedented tense atmosphere.

After arranging the affairs of the Anbu, Naruto came to the Hokage's office to report to Tsunade. Tsunade said: "Naruto, I feel relieved to have you help me deal with the affairs of the Anbu. I would like to ask what your plans are for this incident."

Naruto said: "I have already arranged the affairs of the Anbu, but for the next period of time, I think the affairs of the Anbu will have to be handed over to you again."

Tsunade was shocked and said, "You are not going to tell me that you want to escape at this moment." Naruto waved his hand and said, "I am not going to escape, but I want to practice new ninjutsu so that I can have enough strength to deal with this crisis."

Tsunade said: "You are already very powerful. I am afraid that even I am no match for you. Without you, the Anbu would probably be at a disadvantage."

Naruto said, "Although I assassinated the Daimyo in the Land of Earth before, I was almost killed. The Tsuchikage - Ohnoki's ninjutsu is too terrible. It is a bloodline elimination that exceeds the bloodline limit and ignores all defenses. I currently have no way to deal with his ninjutsu, so I must develop new ninjutsu. As for my vacancy, you can recall Master Jiraiya. With him around, nothing will go wrong in the short term."

Tsunade nodded. She had indeed planned to recall Jiraiya. She was also very clear about Ohnoki's ninjutsu. It was indeed very difficult to deal with. Even if Konoha really went to war with Iwagakure, Ohnoki would not appear at the beginning. In this case, it should still be in time. With Tsunade's consent, Naruto prepared a lot of food and prepared to go to Myoboku Mountain. He didn't want to eat the insect feast made by Shima Sage again.

This time, I must learn the immortal arts and come back after I have made a qualitative leap in my strength. Ohnoki, I must make you look at me with new eyes.

(End of this chapter)