Chapter 24- Preparations

Minato Namikaze POV

'Hasn't there been enough bloodshed already?' He thought morosely as he signed off the compensation funds for all the shinobi who've died in the skirmishes thus far.

Well, not all of them considering that many of them were orphans who had no family. But still…

'Paying compensation for so many shinobi is definitely going to a put a dent on our treasury.' He thought.

After all, it had been his own idea to start paying compensation to the deceased shinobi's family so that they can still support themselves without their primary breadwinner.

And as far as he knew, Konoha was the only place in the entire elemental nations who gave financial support to the kin of a fallen shinobi.

However, never in his wildest imagination had he expected that Konoha would be in the precipice of war so soon after the conclusion of the 3rd Shinobi War.

Up until this point, the casualties were still within acceptable limits. But once the war truly starts and the deaths started to pile up, will Konoha's treasury be able to withstand such a burden…

Just another thing for him to worry about.

He faced one of his advisors that he had summoned to his office for the duration of this war and asked. "Hurizen-san, has the Daimyo replied to our petition?"

The retired Hokage, who had been looking over a map on the side, raised his head to look at him and shook his head. "The Daimyo's demand remains the same. He wants to meet Ren-kun and see if the boy is really as the rumours say."

"Sending Ren outside Konoha is dangerous right now." He said, and it was only half truth. The other half was that he just didn't want to send to boy to that cesspit of debauchery and corruption where everyone would want to exploit or manipulate him for their own purposes.

Furthermore, there was the concern that the Daimyo might try to recruit Ren to his side, or failing that, resort to assassination.

After all, the balance of power between the Daimyo and a hidden village is a delicate thing. Kept in check by the vast amount of wealth, allies, soldiers, personal shinobi, samurai and the monks under a Daimyo's service.

Had the 1st Hokage wanted, then he could've easily removed the Daimyo from his position and assumed control over the entire Land of Fire. But he didn't because that's just not who he was. And now Konoha has someone of that caliber once again. A guillotine blade that could come down on their head the instant the stepped out of line.

"I don't think the Daimyo cares about Ren like that." Hiruzen-san said, puffing on his pipe. "I don't think he really believes that Ren is a shinobi of Hashirama's caliber. More likely than not,

this is just another tactic for him to withhold support and assert dominance in our relationship, showing us who holds the reins."

"Shortsighted fool." Fugaku scoffed from the side, working on his own increased paperwork now that he had become an Advisor on top of his duties as the head of Konoha police and the leader of Uchiha clan.

He knew that choosing Fugaku as one of his Advisors had been a controversial decision. But aside from being a trusted friend, Fugaku was also the leader of the strongest clan in Konoha.

A clan that has become even stronger thanks to their squad of Elite Jounin and Jounin equipped with Hashirama cells and Ren's Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.

Already, reports have started to trickle in from the border, attesting to the remarkable abilities of these Uchiha Shinobi. Even Jiraiya-Sensei had penned glowing praises about their prowess, along with a warning to keep the Uchiha clan close to him, lest they feel slighted and do something foolish.

Not that he needed anyone to tell him that. After all, Fugaku has become a certified S-class shinobi ever since he integrated the Hashirama cells in his body. Plus there were Ren and Ringo Ameyuri as well. That's three S-class shinobi in one clan.

Keeping all this in mind, he had easily disregarded Danzo's 'subtle' advice to keep the Uchiha at bay and not let them get too much power.

Instead, he had embraced them wholeheartedly. And now they were his most loyal supports and were winning the war for him. Almost singlehandedly, if some of the reports were to be believed.

"I would agree with Fugaku-san." Shikaku, his third Advisor said while leaning back on his chair. "The Daimyo is aware of our dependence on his support and aims to gain an advantage in our relationship by withholding it. I can't fault him for looking out for his kingdom, but in doing so, he risks alienating Konoha, and that might prove to be a more costly in the long run."

He held back a sigh. Dealing with Daimyo and the other nobles in Land of Fire was always exhausting, and it became even more taxing with the imminent threat of another war.

Each and every single one of the was offering him trivial amounts of money and demanding that he send his shinobi to protect their lands from the enemy, despite many of them having private armies of their own.

Not to mention that the demands that some of them posed made his blood boil. One of nobles 'requested' ten kunoichis to serve as his bedwarmers in exchange for monetary support. Another had asked for Tsunade's hand in marriage in exchange for providing them with food supplies for the duration of this war.

One of the ladies had even been bold enough to ask him to sleep with her. He had rejected of course, considering that he was married and the woman was over 70 years old.

He wondered if any of these nobles grasped the fact that he could effortlessly slaughter their entire families in a single night if he so desired. Or have someone else do it for him with a single order.

And sometimes, when he had to deal with too much of their nonsense, he thought about doing just that. But then rationality prevailed and he recognised that these nobles were merely the lesser evil. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Any news from Kiri?"

"Aside from the assassination of their village leader, and them blaming us for that, no." Shikaku said and he held back another sigh.

And hadn't that been a punch to the gut. To learn that the 3rd Mizukage had been assassinated. And that Kiri now blamed Konoha for that assassination.

If there was any hope of Kiri staying out of this upcoming war, then that hope was throughly shattered now. Now their only major ally was Suna. And Suna would only remain their ally for as long as it served their interests.

He was brought out of his thoughts with a polite knock on the door.

"Come in." He said, not raising his head from the paperwork.

"Hokage-sama. Danzo-sama is here to see you." His secretary said and he gestured for her to send the man in.

He still suspected that Danzo was the one who leaked info about Ren to the entire world. But despite thorough investigations into Danzo and his Root, they found conclusive evidence. Either Danzo hid his tracks too well, or was truly innocent. He didn't know which.

And considering how useful Danzo had been in proving critical intel on other villages, he reluctantly allowed the man to continue operating. However, he remained vigilant and would act decisively if Danzo ever crossed a line.

"Hokage-sama." Danzo said with a brief tilt of his head as he entered the room. "I bring important news."

"Say it then."

Danzo tilted his head toward Fugaku and Shikaku, not speaking up and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"They're my trusted advisors. Anything you have to say, can be said in front of them."

Danzo's lips pursed at that. He knew that Danzo wanted one of the Advisor's seat for himself and wasn't happy with Fugaku getting that seat. But he'd already made his decision on this subject and won't change it.

"I'll not repeat myself Danzo." He said when the old man still didn't speak.

Danzo didn't seem pleased by that but he nodded nonetheless. "Both Iwa and Kumo have called back their shinobi from short and mid length missions. My agents have also gathered proof of them buying and storing weapons in large quantities."

He closed his eyes at the news and let out a disappointed sigh.

So it was finally about to start.

Ever since the news about Ren's abilities were leaked out, he knew that there was a large chance that they might have to go to war. But a part, a naive part of him had still held hope that it'll not come to this.

That they'll be able to talk with each other and come to a consensus of sort. But it seems like all his hopes were for naught.

If those two villages are preparing their armies then the war was already at their doorstep. And he couldn't afford to hesitate anymore.

He opened his eyes and glanced at Danzo. "How many shinobi are they planning to send to war?"

"Not many. Approximately 4000 for Iwa and 6000 for Kumo. I think they're reluctant to engage in an all-out war until they've verified Ren's true capabilities," stated Danzo, though the quirk of his lips said otherwise.

After all, the 3rd shinobi war only just ended. So despite their assertion of having around 20,000 or more shinobi, he was aware that a significant portion of that were merely Genins— who would only serve as cannon fodder if they were send to the battlefield.

That said, Konoha's own situation wasn't much better either. They might have a lot of S-class shinobi these days but their Jounin were lacking in numbers.

Just another reason to keep Ren out of war. Even if the boy was becoming more and more of a monster with each passing day and could hold his own against other S-class shinobi with ease.

But that didn't mean he would risk the boy being ambushed and vaporised by Onoki. The boy was powerful but he lacked experience.

"What about Kiri. How is the situation unfolding there?" He asked.

"A mess." Danzo said with a disdainful scoff. "The clans and the more powerful shinobi are fighting amongst themselves for the chance to become the next Mizukage."

"Any idea about the candidates who might become the Mizukage?" He asked.

"There's Fuguki Suikazan, one of the most powerful seven swordsman. He has the support of two other swordsmen, an elite shinobi group cultivated by him over the years, and a few minor clans. Aside from that, the Hozuki, Terumi and Kaguya clans are powerful and have their own worthy candidates."

"Would any of them be willing to work with Konoha if they became the Mizukage."

"No." Danzo said without a moment's delay. "All of them are hardliners who would declare war on Konoha as soon as they come to power. And given the current climate in Kiri, if they don't take such a stance, then they'll not remain Mizukage for long."

…well, there went his hope of placating Kiri to at least remain out of the war.

"I propose that we assemble a team to assassinate their Mizukage candidates." Danzo said.

He sighed inwardly, having already expected Danzo to come up with such a radical plan.

"That would alienate Kiri from us and earn us their undying enmity." Hiruzen-san pointed out.

"Kiri already plans to go to war with us." Danzo retorted. "There's no point in hesitating now. We should act and act fast while they're still unprepared. Once a Mizukage is appointed, it'll be too late."

He gave this matter some thought and nodded to Danzo. "I'll consider this matter carefully. Please, don't let me hold you anymore. I'm sure you have more pressing matters to attend to."

Danzo nodded and left the room.

Once it was just the four of them, he turned to Shikaku. "What do you think?"

"About the plan to decapitate Kiri's leadership?"

"Yes."

Shikaku adopted a thoughtful expression and remained like that for a long moment before he finally answered. "It's feasible. And despite the risks, if we go all out then there's a high chance of success. But I'm more worried about the aftermath."

"If we attack Kiri without any prior warning, then not only will be we attacking a major village without any war declarations, which might put a stain on our reputation. We would also be implicitly acknowledging our involvement in the Mizukage's assassination." Hiruzen-san said.

"They already believe that we assassinated their Mizukage." Fugaku pointed out.

"Yes. But there's a big difference between believing something and having solid acknowledgement of it." Shikaku pointed out with a sigh. "Troublesome."

He thought on this for a long moment as well before he asked his advisors. "Is there any chance that we can delay or stop the upcoming war."

All his advisors shook their heads.

"I know it's a hard reality to deal with Minato." Hiruzen-san "But I think it's past time you accept that this war is inevitable."

"Hiruzen-san is right." Fugaku said with a comforting look. "You mst stop thinking of the other villages as potential allies and start seeing them as enemies."

He looked to Shikaku to see if he had anything to say but the lazy bastard simply shrugged, as if indicating that the ultimate decision rested with him.

He closed his eyes and took another deep sigh.

And put himself back into the mindset of wartime leader.

"Fugaku, Shikaku, I need you to go to Kusa and Taki. If a war is indeed about to break out then we need their support as allies, or at the very least, their neutrality."

Both his advisors nodded in acknowledgement and he turned to the 3rd Hokage. "Hiruzen-san. I need you to travel to Suna.Assess the atmosphere in their village, gauge the sentiments of the common shinobi. While it's unlikely they'll fight alongside us, it's imperative they, at the very least, remain neutral."

Konoha could face 3 major shinobi villages on its own. He knew that because that's exactly what Konoha did in the 3rd shinobi war. But having to face all 4 of them together would force him to pull out all the stops. A scenario he genuinely wished to avoid.

Hiruzen-san nodded, and he directed his attention to where his Anbu captain was concealed. "Hawk, assemble your team and notify all clan leaders and council members to gather for a meeting at 5 pm."

With that he got up from his seat and used Hiraishin to return back to his home.

His advisors were wise and knew what they needed to do. And as for himself, he needed to write a speech for the citizens of Konoha. They needed to know about the upcoming war.

"Minato." His wife said once she noticed his presence. "You're home early today. What happened?"

Ignoring her question, he moved forward and pulled her into a hug, feeling her soft curves in his embrace. They lingered in that moment for a while before parting.

His wife gave him a concerned look and gently held his face. "Minato. What happened?"

"Kumo and Iwa have started preparing their armies." He said and let out another heavy sigh. "War is inevitable now."

"I see." Kushina said with an understanding nod. "What do you need of me?"

"For now? Nothing. But, it is very likely that both Kumo and Iwa will use their Jinchuriki during the war. I…"

His wife put a finger on his lips, shushing him.

"I understand Minato. I know my duty." Kushina told him, a determined look on her face.

He sighed "Rin Nohara…"

"She's not prepared right now." Kushina said.

"I know. But we do not know how long this war might last. It could end in a year or go on for a decade. I won't send her to the battlefield anytime soon. But it'll be best if she starts preparing as well."

Kushina nodded. "I'll increase her training. Anything else?"

"No. Just… go and spend some time with Naruko. We might not get the chance to do so later." He said.

Kushina nodded and turned to leave before she paused. "Oh, Minato."

"Yes?"

"If I go to the battlefield, then I want Mikoto to be the one to take care of Naruko."

"Okay. I'll go and talk with Fugaku about this."

Kushina nodded and left.

He then went to his room to start writing the speech before he remembered something.Creating a Shadow Clone to handle the task, he left his residence and appeared in a secluded training area. He then took out a special kunai (not his) and poured his chakra in it before tossing it to the ground.

A moment later, Ren stood on the ground, that kunai in his hand as his eyes darted around for any threat.

"It's just me." He assured the boy who nodded and got up from his crouching position.

"Did you want something Minato-san?" Ren asked.

"Your idea to enhance the power of Uchiha clansmen was a rather creative and daring one." He said. "I plan to reward you with another S-class mission payment for that."

"Just doing my duty." Ren said with a shrug.

"Yes. But your action almost doubled the number of Elite Jounins that Konoha has. It would be remiss of me to not repay you for that."

Ren nodded. "Very well then. But I don't think you'd call me for just this. What do you really want Minato-san?"

He smiled at the boy's perceptiveness. "You're right. I wanted to ask if you have any other ideas to increase Konoha's power?"

If it was any other child, then he wouldn't ask them for advice. But this was Ren Uchiha. A young boy who had already added an S-class Kunoichi and multiple Elite Jounins to Konoha's roster.

And that was just him putting it lighty.

It was highly possible that some of the Elite Jounins who received Ren's Magekyo Sharingan eyes and Hashirama cells have also reached the power of a low S-class shinobi.

It would be foolish of him not to seek the boy's input for similar ideas. Not when the war was all but inevitable.

Ren wore a pensive expression upon hearing his words, staying silent for a long moment before he lifted his gaze and uttered a straightforward sentence.

"Let me talk to the Tailed Beasts."

—————

AN: Unlike the Daimyos in Naruto anime, the Daimyo in this world are not helpless, only relying on the Hidden Villages' benevolence to keep their seat.

I mean, the entire idea is rather stupid when you think about it. Shinobi are not charitable people. And if Daimyos were really weak then the hidden villages would've already turned them into their puppets.

So, in this fanfic, I'm trying to keep things a little realistic. The Daimyos don't have a force as powerful as a Hidden Village. But they do have decently powerful forces of their own, along with a large amount of wealth and powerful allies to call upon.

So yeah, a Daimyo's and his village's relationship is a little more complicated in this story, rather than the Daimyos being non entities who can be ignored at whim.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter.

8 advanced chapters in Patreon.

My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1

Have a nice day