dtnovels Chapter 499 Excuses
Chapter 499 Excuses
Konoha New District, Hokage's Office.
A faint smell of tobacco filled the air, and the Third Hokage couldn't be more satisfied with his new office in the new district.
The spacious interior features bright floor-to-ceiling windows, offering views of both the distant ecological park and the bustling commercial street.
A constant stream of people came and went, and the Third Hokage liked to use a telescope to... well, no, to observe the lives of the people of Konoha.
As the village leader, this was what he should do.
What the third generation liked most was the office equipment. The air conditioner and refrigerator went without saying, but the air purification equipment in the room was practically tailor-made for him.
And this large desk has a button on it; he just presses it and someone brings him a new tobacco pouch—it's incredibly convenient.
If Biwa Lake hadn't prevented him from staying, he would have even considered living here.
Cough, he's not hiding from his wife!
But at this moment, his face was full of seriousness.
He had already read the top-secret proposal regarding the operation to eliminate Madara Uchiha, submitted by Nishikawa Tetsu, at least three times.
With each repetition, his eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.
"Che ah..."
The Third Hokage put down the scroll, took the pipe out of his mouth, tapped it in the ashtray, and let out a heavy, long sigh.
"I know how much of a threat Madara Uchiha is, and I understand that eliminating him while he is weak is the best opportunity. But..."
The Third Hokage pointed to the last row of names, which could be described as an all-star team in Konoha, his tone filled with helplessness and headache.
"Look at who's in this list?"
"Minato Namikaze, leader of the Jonin team, and the person in charge of the project concerning the shared destiny of the ninja world. Sakumo Hatake, Captain-Commander of the Anbu. Fugaku Uchiha, Captain of the Police Department. Orochimaru, Director of the Science Research Institute."
"Plus you, the vice minister of finance who controls Konoha's purse strings, and Jiraiya who just returned to the village... oh, he's fine."
The Third Hokage rubbed his throbbing temples.
"If all of you were to disappear from Konoha at the same time, it wouldn't immediately bring the village to a standstill, but the operation of all the core departments would definitely be greatly affected! Especially Minato, who is now in charge of the community project, and envoys from various villages come to the Jonin class every few days looking for him."
The Third Hokage stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked at the commercial street in the distance.
"Moreover, the new center of Konoha is now home to ambassadors and spies from the four nations of Lightning, Water, Wind, and Earth. If you, Konoha's top combatants and high-ranking officials, were to vanish into thin air at the same time, what do you think those envoys from other villages would think?"
"They will definitely be gripped by panic and suspicion. They will think that Konoha is secretly plotting something, preparing to launch some conspiracy, or simply trying to break the agreement and attack them."
"The plan concerning the shared destiny of the entire ninja world has only just begun. The villages have only recently put aside their differences and cannot afford any further disruptions."
"But Hokage, we can..." Nishikawa Tetsu was about to speak when he was interrupted by the Third Hokage.
"What can we do? Can we tell them we're going to attack Uchiha Madara?"
The Third Hokage sneered: "Do you think they'll believe that? A person who's been dead for so many years suddenly says he's still alive, and that Konoha is going to mobilize so many of the village's top fighters to deal with an old man? To them, that's a lie even more outrageous than you not liking money."
Nishikawa Tetsu touched his nose, feeling a little embarrassed. He didn't think he liked money that much. It was mainly because research was too expensive, and it had nothing to do with him.
Indeed, the fact that Madara Uchiha is still alive is something that even he himself probably wouldn't believe if he hadn't read the original work, let alone those outsiders who were already wary of Konoha.
"But, Lord Hokage."
Nishikawa Tetsuya's relaxed expression vanished, replaced by a serious look.
"Facing that man, that legendary Asura of the ninja world, even if he is now old and frail, we can never be too prepared."
"Only with sufficient firepower can we ensure that casualties are minimized."
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.
Reason told him that, as Hokage, he could not risk paralyzing the village and triggering a diplomatic crisis by approving such a crazy plan.
But emotionally, having experienced countless wars and sacrifices, he knew better than anyone how hard-won the current peace was.
How terrible it is to leave behind a powerful hidden danger that could explode at any time.
That's Madara Uchiha!
That man who once stood shoulder to shoulder with the First Hokage, whose mere name could terrify other nations.
If we fail to eliminate him completely this time, and he finds an opportunity to regain his strength and implement the Eye of the Moon Plan, then all the prosperity that Konoha has built up, and even the entire ninja world, will be reduced to nothing.
Silence fell over the office.
a long time.
"That's enough."
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a long breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He sat back down in his chair, picked up the brush on the table, and heavily signed his name on the top-secret proposal, affixing the Hokage's personal seal.
"I approve this proposal."
Seeing that the Third Hokage had finally relented, Nishikawa Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, I have two conditions."
The Third Hokage raised two fingers, staring sharply at Nishikawa Tetsu.
"First, you must be absolutely prepared before you set off. Any potential risks that could expose your intentions or lead to mission failure must be eliminated in advance. Konoha cannot afford the loss of these high-end combatants."
"Secondly, you must come up with a perfect excuse, one that will not only prevent the envoys from the other four great ninja villages from panicking, but will also make them feel that it is perfectly reasonable, in order to cover up the true purpose of your large-scale departure from the village."
"No problem, Hokage-sama. Leave the excuse to me. I guarantee they won't be able to find any fault with it!" Nishikawa Tetsu confidently patted his chest.
"Oh? What good idea do you have?" The Third Hokage asked curiously.
Nishikawa Tetsu's eyes darted around, and he immediately thought of one.
"Isn't that simple? Take us, the high-ranking officials of Konoha, for example. In order to better implement the plan of a community of shared destiny for the ninja world, we have decided to form a high-level international delegation for infrastructure and technology exchange to conduct an in-depth inspection of several key engineering projects around the Land of Fire for half a month."
Nishikawa Tetsuya found the excuse increasingly perfect: "Think about it, Minato is the overall person in charge, so it's only natural for him to go and inspect. I'm in charge of the money, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to go and calculate the costs, right? Dean Orochimaru is the core of the technology team, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to go and solve the technical problems. And as a security guard, it's even more only natural for Fugaku-senpai to lead this elite team from the Heian Company to ensure the safety of the inspection team!"
"As for Sakumo-senpai, well, they don't usually see him anyway."
"And no one cares about Jiraiya-sensei."
This "nobody cares" doesn't mean nobody cares, but rather that everyone knows Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, likes to travel around and appear out of nowhere, so naturally nobody pays special attention to his whereabouts.
After listening to Nishikawa Tetsu's nonsensical yet logical official explanation, the Third Hokage couldn't help but twitch his lips.
That kid, he's got a real knack for lying.
However, although this excuse is crude, it can at least fool people for a while, and it can even serve as an opportunity to demonstrate to other villages the importance that the Konoha leadership attaches to the plan of a shared destiny for the ninja world.
"Alright, that excuse is out of the question. But the team's configuration is indeed top-notch, just as you said. I've approved all the equipment and supplies you requested."
The Third Hokage sighed.
Seeing that the Third Hokage seemed to be in a good mood, Nishikawa Tetsuya seized the opportunity and decided to push his luck.
"Lord Hokage, since you have approved this luxurious inspection team, in order to ensure everyone's absolute safety during the 'inspection' process, I request to add one more person."
"Who?" The Third Hokage looked at him warily.