The responsibility for Kirigakure's military action lies with Haruto Saito!
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refute Danzo's statement. He knew that Haruto Saito bore the primary responsibility for this situation. He had slain Hattori Ryuno and had been secretly maneuvering in the Land of Whirlpools, provoking a strong reaction from Kirigakure.
That being said—
It didn't mean Haruto Saito was wrong.
If not Haruto, then what about White Fang? If White Fang had an opportunity to kill Hattori Ryuno in the Land of Whirlpools, would he have let it pass?
Absolutely not!
Having overwhelming strength is not a mistake!
"Haruto Saito possesses a resurrection ability similar to the Reanimation Jutsu!" Danzo continued. "As a result, those he has slain—Hattori Ryuno and Jūzō—have become his puppets, completely under his control. This makes assassination nearly impossible! Even if the Mizukage himself were to act, eliminating Haruto Saito would be extremely difficult. This is likely the primary reason Kirigakure has mobilized its forces!"
"Hmm," Hiruzen Sarutobi responded with a nasal sound.
Danzo's analysis was not incorrect. The sudden military action from Kirigakure was most likely due to this very concern.
Kirigakure could no longer rely on single assassins to take revenge on Haruto Saito. And with Haruto controlling the two formidable warriors, Hattori Ryuno and Jūzō, while remaining hidden in the Land of Whirlpools, Kirigakure had no alternative but to launch a military campaign!
"Haruto Saito holds billions in cash. He could have taken his time to plan, yet he acted so aggressively—" Danzo was speaking when—
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared in front of the desk, cutting off Danzo's words.
It was none other than Haruto Saito, looking slightly travel-worn!
He had returned!
After departing at dusk the previous day and making a brief stop to escort Minato Namikaze and Kagaya, he had rushed back to Konoha. Thanks to his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique, the journey had taken him almost no time at all.
"Yo! Everyone's here," Haruto Saito glanced around the office, looking at White Fang and the cold-eyed Danzo before respectfully bowing to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Teacher, I'm back."
"You received the intelligence from the Land of Water?" Sarutobi asked directly.
"Yes, I got it yesterday," Haruto replied.
"Hmph!" Danzo scoffed and snapped, "This is all your doing!"
"Hey, hey, Lord Danzo, why are you so angry? What did I even do? I just got back, and you're already glaring at me like that. Are you going through menopause? Relax, take a deep breath, maybe talk less," Haruto said, smirking at Danzo.
"You little brat! Who are you calling—"
"Enough! Stop arguing!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up abruptly. "Since Haruto Saito is back, let's take this to the conference room!"
Not long after, in the Second Conference Room of the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi had convened a special high-level meeting. The attendees included himself, Hokage Advisor Danzo, Advisors Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Shikaku Akimichi, as well as two others: the ANBU Captain, White Fang, and Haruto Saito.
The meeting's topic was how Konoha should respond to Kirigakure's sudden military action.
Konoha had six major military corps: the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Vanguard, and Defense Corps. Among them, the Defense Corps had over 3,000 ninja, making it the largest force. The Vanguard Corps, on the other hand, had just over 1,000 and included specialized units like the Hyuga Clan's reconnaissance force, which was fully incorporated into the Vanguard during wartime.
Currently, two of Konoha's corps were engaged in battles within the Land of Rain—the Second and Third Corps. Meanwhile, the First Corps was stationed at the Fire-Rain border, maintaining a forward base to support the ongoing war.
That meant only two corps could be mobilized for immediate action: the Fourth Corps, which was of average strength, and the specialized Vanguard Corps.
The Defense Corps could not be moved—they were Konoha's last line of defense.
At present, Kirigakure had only sent a single elite corps—their First Corps—into the Land of Whirlpools. If Konoha wanted to match them head-on, they would have to send both the Fourth Corps and the Vanguard Corps.
But warfare wasn't that simple. If it was just about numbers, then the outcome would already be decided.
Konoha's biggest issue was that deploying the Fourth and Vanguard Corps would leave the Fire Country's interior completely unguarded.
The Land of Fire was vast. If rogue ninja infiltrated and started assembling forces within its territory, Konoha could find itself unable to respond. Unless, of course, they mobilized the Defense Corps or recalled portions of the First Corps from the front lines.
But that would stretch Konoha thin.
And what if Kirigakure sent a second corps?
How would Konoha respond then?
In short, Konoha was in a precarious position.
Yet, they could not afford to abandon the strategic buffer that was the Land of Whirlpools. If Kirigakure took full control of it, they wouldn't even need espionage. They could simply march straight through.
If, a year from now, Kirigakure had fully occupied the Land of Whirlpools and the Shinobi World War was still ongoing, Kirigakure would have the ability to mass troops on the Fire-Whirlpool border and invade the Land of Fire directly.
The meeting took a turn when Danzo seized an opportunity to direct blame toward Haruto Saito.
"Haruto Saito must take responsibility for this!" Danzo slammed his hand on the table, his voice full of indignation. "He disrupted the regional balance and provoked Kirigakure's wrath, which directly led to their military action!"
"And?" Haruto tilted his head and looked at Danzo. Before anyone else could agree or disagree, he continued, "Since you believe it's my responsibility, I should take charge of fixing it, right? What do you suggest I do?"
"Hand over the three billion ryō you have in cash to fund Konoha's war effort!" Danzo demanded outright.
"You think that's going to happen?" Haruto glanced at Danzo with a relaxed expression. "Lord Danzo, are you obsessed with money? Honestly, I'm willing to take responsibility for Kirigakure's attack, but if you think I'm just going to hand over my money—dream on."
"Heh!" Danzo sneered, eyes sharp. "If you won't hand over the money, then how exactly do you plan to take responsibility? Can you even afford to?"
"I personally will take action to stop Kirigakure's invasion of the Land of Whirlpools."
"You? Personally?"
"Yes."
"Ridiculous! How do you plan to stop them? With that handful of subordinates?"
"My forces may be small, but protecting the Land of Whirlpools is a task my teacher gave me. It is also Lady Mito's dying wish. I will do everything in my power. And besides, I may have only a few subordinates, but Konoha has an army, doesn't it?"
"You said you would handle it!"
"That's right." Haruto stood up. "I will issue a formal war commission to Konoha as a private contractor. I will hire Konoha's Fourth Corps to deploy to the Land of Whirlpools for this mission. And you haven't forgotten, have you? Konoha still owes me seven billion ryō."