Fire Country, Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Office.
The four leaders—Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane—had gathered once again for an emergency meeting.
Who was the subject this time?
No one specific.
If a meeting was needed, the four of them would convene regardless.
Konoha had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Hidden Mist.
The lesson had been written in blood—the losers had no words to defend themselves.
More than 10,000 Konoha shinobi had perished in this disastrous battle.
The news had already reached the ears of the village's highest authorities.
The battle plan had been devised by the Third Hokage himself. He had consulted Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, all of whom had supported his strategy.
And the result?
Their forces had walked straight into the Mist's trap, suffering catastrophic losses.
A complete and utter failure.
The Mist had played them like fools and walked away victorious.
Hiruzen had envisioned a swift, surprise attack—a decisive strike that would cripple the Mist forces and secure a victory for Konoha.
But what had unfolded instead was a disaster beyond his worst fears.
Not only had they failed to seize victory, but they had also led thousands of Konoha's finest to their deaths.
This was Konoha's first major defeat since the war had begun.
And it was a humiliating one.
Hiruzen's dream of being remembered as the greatest Hokage in history had crumbled before his eyes.
No Hokage had ever suffered such a devastating loss while in power.
The war's first major casualty had been Iwagakure.
Now, Konoha was the second to fall.
Neither Kumogakure nor Sunagakure, who had withdrawn from the war early, had suffered such brutal losses.
More than 10,000 shinobi—gone.
This time, Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu had no scapegoats to shift the blame onto.
As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had to set an example and take responsibility.
This time, he could not push the burden onto Danzo, as he often did.
"You three, as Hokage, I bear the primary responsibility for Konoha's defeat.
I won't run from it.
This was my mistake."
Hiruzen had been arrogant.
He had been overconfident.
He had believed that victory would be as simple as he had imagined.
Reality had struck him down.
His ambitions of being the greatest Hokage had shattered in an instant.
"Third, this isn't solely your fault. We were part of the decision-making process as well."
"Yes, Third, you don't need to shoulder all of the blame."
Homura and Koharu, as always, tried to smooth things over.
Danzo, however, remained silent.
He had spotted something crucial.
"Third, now isn't the time for self-pity. There's still news from the frontlines.
The Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki clans refused to participate in this mission.
Because of that, over 5,000 shinobi were preserved, along with another 6,000 who managed to retreat.
We still have over 10,000 shinobi on the frontlines."
Hiruzen exhaled, feeling a weight lift from his chest.
He silently thanked the heavens that Kushina Uzumaki and the others had not been involved in this operation.
Had they joined the mission, Konoha's casualties would have been even greater.
The frontlines would have been completely wiped out, and the Mist would have been free to march straight into the Fire Country.
By then, any reinforcements sent from the village would have been far too late.
Just thinking about it sent a shiver down Hiruzen's spine.
Danzo narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly:
"Third, are you seriously feeling relief right now?
Are you ignoring the fact that the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki clans defied your orders?"
"Danzo, don't pour salt on the wound right now.
This was our failure, a failure of leadership.
If those remaining forces had participated in the battle, Konoha's losses would have been total.
Is that what you wanted?"
"You—!"
For once, Danzo was speechless.
Hiruzen was right.
"Do you understand how many people have died because of our arrogance and misguided strategies?!"
Hiruzen's voice was sharp and firm.
As if he were somehow in the right.
Even though he had been the one who led them to this disaster.
But this defeat had forced Hiruzen to reflect.
The arrogance, the overconfidence—it had all been stripped away.
For the first time, he truly saw this as a failure of their leadership.
At the same time, Hiruzen couldn't help but mourn for the Sarutobi clan.
Of the 3,000 Sarutobi clan members who had been sent to the frontlines, only 500 had returned.
His trusted commander, Sarutobi Yaomaru, had lost a leg.
Damn it.
If only more shinobi from other clans had perished instead.
The Sarutobi clan should never have deployed so many of its own.
Past victories had blinded them.
Their consistent success had led them to believe they were untouchable.
That illusion had now been shattered.
But Hiruzen had made up his mind.
He would take responsibility.
The first step? Removing the Sarutobi clan from the chain of command.
Effective immediately, Uzumaki Kushina would take command of Konoha's remaining forces.
The "Red-Hot Habanero," as she was feared throughout the shinobi world, was already respected and admired by Konoha's troops.
Moreover, her refusal to take part in the failed operation had only solidified her reputation.
Sarutobi Yaomaru could no longer be trusted to lead.
Kushina was the only choice.
Fire Country, Frontlines.
Orders had arrived from the village.
Uzumaki Kushina was now the supreme commander of Konoha's military forces.
After three days of rest, the injured had begun to recover.
It was time to plan their next move.
Inside the command tent, only Kushina and Kurama stood.
The fact that Kurama was allowed in her tent left others in awe.
After all, he was the man who had conquered the infamous "Red-Hot Habanero" Uzumaki Kushina.
His presence was enough to command respect.
Even though few had seen him fight, those who had witnessed it firsthand knew just how dangerous he was.
In the tent, Kushina looked troubled.
"Kurama, the Nine-Tails inside me keeps stirring… there won't be any problems, will there?"
"Why? Wouldn't it be more interesting if there were?"
"Ugh, don't say that!"
Kushina pouted, twirling a strand of her long red hair between her fingers.
She looked oddly playful despite the grim situation.
"Don't worry," Kurama assured her, smirking. "The seal will hold. There's no risk."
"Hehe, that's good. Thanks."
"So, what's next?" Kushina asked.
Kurama raised an eyebrow.
"Simple.
We end this war."
Just then, Minato Namikaze entered.
"Kushina-sama, we have a problem. Someone's missing."
"Who?"
"Might Dai."
Might Dai?
Kushina had never heard the name before.
Kurama, however, was all too familiar.
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