Chapter 120 High-Level Meeting

Chapter 120 High-Level Meeting (Part 1) (2/10)

The Third Hokage put down the report and fell into a long silence.

Outside the window, the streets of Konoha remained quiet, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys and children playing. But beneath this tranquil surface, he seemed to hear the distant sound of war drums.

A ten-year-old child, based solely on publicly available information and his own observations, saw through the impending storm so clearly.

A brilliant strategist?

The Third Hokage pondered this word in his heart.

Do not!

More accurately, he is a born top strategist!

Strategists are honed on the battlefield, in intelligence gathering, and in countless life-or-death battles.

That is the crystallization of experience, an instinct etched into one's bones after countless decisions, countless failures, and countless reviews.

But even the most talented person needs this process.

Even the legendary First Generation Lord, who pacified the chaotic world, grew up through countless battles.

Even a wise man like the Second Hokage, who laid the foundation for Konoha's various systems, was honed through repeated crises.

The two previous Hokage also suffered losses, were tricked, betrayed, and schemed against in the process, which is how they gradually grew.

Talent can make you learn faster and understand more deeply, but it cannot bypass experience itself.

But what about this child?

He had not experienced major wars, had not participated in high-level decision-making, and had not been exposed to core intelligence that was difficult for ordinary people to access.

All he had were public information that anyone could see, such as news in newspapers, gossip over tea, snippets of information about border frictions, and even just everyday things that anyone could see.

But it was these fragmented public contents, which were even mixed with a lot of false information, that he pieced together, dissected, and deduced bit by bit, and managed to peel back the underlying logic beneath the surface of the ninja world, and see through the political demands and action logic hidden beneath the surface of the leaders of various countries and ninja villages.

Even before the first spark of this great war sweeping the ninja world was ignited, its trajectory, its scale, and even the choices that each faction might make at any given moment had been accurately predicted.

This is beyond what the word "genius" can describe.

This is an almost terrifying, innate, absolute insight into the current situation, people's hearts, and war.

A born strategist!

A born top strategist!

These two words echoed repeatedly in the Third Hokage's mind. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and returned it to the report in his hand, his eyes sweeping over the last line of text.

The Land of Fire and Konoha will inevitably face an initial siege from two major ninja villages, and may even eventually escalate into a four-front war.

He was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"Someone come here."

"exist."

"Notify the three advisor elders to come see me immediately!"

"yes!"

Inside the Hokage Building's conference room, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, the cigarette in his hand flickering.

Opposite him, three chairs were occupied by Konoha's three advisors and elders: Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo.

"Hiruzen, why did you call us here so urgently?" Koharu Utatane spoke first.

The Third Hokage did not answer directly, but nodded to the ANBU member standing at the door. The ANBU member understood and placed three identical documents on the table in front of the three advisors.

"Here's a document; please take a look."

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses, his gaze falling on the cover, and read out the name: "Shinichi Higashino?"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, also picked up the documents, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Danzo Shimura glanced at the name on the cover, let out a cold snort, and instead of opening it immediately, he looked up and stared directly at the Third Hokage, saying, "Shinichi Higashino? What valuable stuff can a ten-year-old write? Hiruzen, you called us here so hastily just to see some kid's nonsensical writing?"

"I told you long ago, you've been too lenient with this kid. Letting him participate in cooking competitions, letting him draw comics, causing such a commotion in the village, making a huge fuss. A ninja, instead of focusing on his missions and improving his skills, he's always messing around with these underhanded methods! And you, instead of stopping him, you just indulge him!"

The Third Hokage did not respond, but simply took a drag of his cigarette.

The office fell silent for a moment, with only the faint sound of burning tobacco.

Neither Mitokado Hōyō nor Utatane Koharu responded; they simply opened the documents silently and began reading.

At first, both of them had calm expressions. Just as Danzo said, even if Shinichi was indeed a genius, what weight could the analysis of a ten-year-old child carry?

But soon, Koharu's fingers, which were turning the pages, paused. Her brows furrowed slightly, her gaze lingered on the paper for longer and longer, and she turned the pages more and more slowly.

Mitokado Yan's reaction was more restrained, but he noticeably increased the frequency of pushing up his glasses, his eyes fixed intently on the documents in his hands.

Danzo Shimura noticed all of this. He looked at Koharu Utatane and then at Homura Mitokado. The expressions on his two old partners' faces were solemn, something he hadn't seen in a long time.

It was an expression of being stunned by something.

Danzo Shimura frowned, snorted, and finally reached for the document on the table, turning to the first page.

An Analysis of the Inevitability and Timing of the Sunagakure Village's War Against Konoha

Danzo Shimura's lips still held that mocking smile, but after a while, the smile froze slightly.

Then, without realizing it, his page-turning slowed down, and his brows gradually furrowed.

After a long while, Koharu was the first to raise her head. She gently placed the file back on the table, turned her gaze to the Third Hokage, and looked at him with deep shock.

"Hiruzen, did Shinichi really write this?"

The Third Hokage nodded.

"Did you show him the staff's intelligence analysis? Or did you give him access to some internal documents?" Koharu Tsurugi pressed, her tone incredulous. "How could they possibly write these things without sufficient intelligence support?"

The Third Hokage shook his head: "No, all the information he had access to was publicly available; it was written by the child himself."

"Moreover, you should also know that even the staff officers may not write as thoroughly as this child."

Xiaochun, who had just switched dorm rooms, fell silent.

Mitokado Yan also put down the documents, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples. His movements were slow, as if he needed some time to digest what he had just read.

"You figured that out yourself?"

A moment later, Mitokado Homura exclaimed in astonishment, "Hiruzen, this kid is a genius strategist?"

"What kind of genius strategist?"

A cold voice interrupted his astonishment.