Yes, the Hokage!

After scribbling and drawing for a while, he frowned, put down his pen, and sighed, "Although I am very reluctant, I must make some preparations for war now."

……

Soon, Fenglan arrived at the house where Tsunade was staying, carrying a bottle of alcohol.

As soon as he entered, he frowned at the pungent smell of alcohol. But when he saw Tsunade lying on the sofa with her bare shoulders drinking, he immediately felt a strong sense of approval for Shizune's ban on alcohol.

"Oh, you brought new sake?" Tsunade waved with a grin. "Perfect timing, perfect timing, I just finished my sake here."

She took the bottle from Feng Lan and gulped it down, but despite her drunken appearance, her eyes became increasingly clear and sharp.

"Boom!"

Tsunade slammed the bottle onto the coffee table and let out a burp: "As the saying goes, 'If someone is being overly helpful for no reason, they're either up to no good or a thief...'"

Feng Lan: "...Teacher, before you say that, please realize that you are living in my house and have made it look like a pigsty."

"Hiccup, don't worry about the details." Tsunade said nonchalantly. "Let me guess... you're here today to recruit me?"

You guessed right, but only half right.

Feng Lan shook his head. It seemed that Tsunade had indeed stopped paying much attention to the village and the ninja world since World War II, and hadn't even realized that the Fourth Shinobi World War was highly likely.

"Hmm, what else?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"Besides asking you to stay, I also want you to summon Lord Jiraiya back," Fenglan said earnestly.

"Haha, you're quite the schemer, aren't you?" Tsunade slapped her thigh and laughed, her huge breasts trembling with the action. "You used Jiraiya's connections to pull me back to treat that guy, and now you're trying to use my connections to pull Jiraiya back, plus Orochimaru, whom you schemed to become a rogue ninja... You little rascal, you really have the Sannin all under your thumb."

She abruptly stopped laughing: "Then, what's the reason for calling Jiraiya back? It can't be to support his disciple Minato in seizing power from his teacher, can it?"

"Because war is highly likely to break out." Feng Lan explained his analysis and concluded, "Once the Hidden Cloud Village fires the first shot, the other villages will follow suit. In the worst-case scenario, the Hidden Leaf Village might be fighting four against one."

"So that's how it is... No wonder the old man wanted to settle things peacefully."

Upon hearing about the war, Tsunade abandoned her usual carefree demeanor. After a moment of contemplation, she comforted Feng Lan, saying, "You don't need to be too pessimistic. As you said, the Ninja World War is essentially a struggle for resources. Although Kushina can't appear on the front lines, she can still serve as a final deterrent. After all, it's a consensus that the Nine-Tails is the strongest tailed beast."

"Even if a real war breaks out, as long as Konoha still holds the Nine-Tails, the other four villages won't dare to push it to the point of mutual destruction. At most, they'll split up and fight localized wars. And they're not a united front either; most likely, as the fighting goes on, they'll start fighting amongst themselves."

Having participated in the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade provided Fenglan with many ideas after learning about his situation: "In addition, the Third Shinobi World War has just ended, and the losses of each village are considerable. Therefore, considering all the circumstances, they will definitely not be willing to start a war. Onoki from Iwagakure, who is in better condition, has a similar personality to the teacher and will definitely not intervene until the later stages of the war."

"Even if the Fourth Raikage is as you say, a reckless brute who will attack without regard for anything, he is still the head of a village and cannot continue to act willfully indefinitely. As long as we are tough enough in the early stages of the war and prevent the other side from gaining an advantage, and Iwagakure cannot find a suitable entry point, then Kumogakure will withdraw its troops within three months at most. When other villages see that there is no benefit to be gained, they will naturally not be willing to take the huge risk of turning against Konoha."

After thinking it over carefully, Feng Lan realized that Tsunade's words made a lot of sense; in that case, large-scale wars would be quite difficult to break out.

“But Kumogakure still has the perfect Jinchuriki, Killer Bee.” He pondered for a moment, “If that guy goes all out with his Tailed Beast Ball, it will be difficult to gain an advantage on the front lines.”

The best solution he could think of was to organize Minato and Obito to cut off the back row and try to take down Killer Bee first. But are perfect Jinchuriki so easy to kill? Killer Bee would probably be a Kage after he fully transforms into the Eight-Tails.

"Ha, you bunch of brats, you get so impulsive and hot-blooded that you don't care about anything. Now you know how to worry?" Tsunade's words were sarcastic, but her eyes were full of laughter.

“It’s not just about getting carried away with passion, it’s also a matter of principle. Even if we know that the Fourth Shinobi World War is bound to break out, Minato and I will still protect this person,” Feng Lan said without hesitation.

“Yes, after all, what kind of young person wouldn’t be hot-blooded?” Tsunade chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Maybe I’m getting old too, that I actually have the same thoughts as the old man, thinking that if I had handed over that Hyuga branch family during the day, there wouldn’t have been so much trouble.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Lan's eyelids twitched, but then Tsunade gave him a wistful look: "But seeing you all... is like seeing ourselves back then..."

"Alright, I'll make an exception this time and stay to help you out. I'll also help you resolve Jiraiya's matter while I'm at it."

Tsunade waved her finger, reverting to her drunken state: "But remember to serve me good wine and food during this time."

Chapter 54 Talking Between Husband and Wife

When Shuimen pushed open the door, the house was dimly lit, with only the wall lamp in the living room casting a dim yellow light.

Kushina sat on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her pregnant belly, her face filled with barely concealed worry. Hearing the door open, she jerked her head up, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"Minato? Why are you back so early?"

In her mind, with such a big event happening today, Minato, as the Hokage, would most likely hold a high-level meeting overnight and probably wouldn't be back all night.

"I came back after settling things with the Hyuga branch family." Minato closed the door and quickly walked over to embrace his wife.

Kushina hugged Minato, feeling the reassuring presence of her husband, but still worriedly asked, "Isn't there anything else to deal with? Although I don't know much about this, what if Kumogakure really attacks..."

“Feng Lan took on all that work for me.” Minato smiled. “He said that calming you down and helping you have a smooth delivery was not only the Hokage’s task, but also my task as your husband, so he sent me back.”

“Feng Lan…” Kushina said with a grateful expression, “I really have to thank him.”

To be honest, she didn't really like Feng Lan. Admittedly, he was impeccable as a friend, but... he always instilled some strange ideas in Minato. Kushina liked the sunny and cheerful Minato, so she had some issues with Feng Lan, who often instilled dark ideas in Minato.

But she really wants to thank the other party for what happened tonight.

"I thought I'd have to wait until dawn alone tonight..." No matter how strong and resolute a woman is, she is vulnerable in front of her lover.

"I'm sorry." Minato tightened his grip on his wife's arm. "I made you worry."

"Who's worried about you?" Kushina retorted stubbornly, but rubbed her cheek against his chest. "I just think those Cloud Village people are awful. If I weren't here right now... I would definitely rush up and beat them to a pulp!"

Minato didn't expose her; he simply patted her back gently.

“The speech was a great success,” he whispered to his wife. “The villagers were very supportive.”

“I saw it all,” Kushina murmured. “Minato, you were so amazing, so cool. I know what happened afterward. You saved that young man from the Hyuga clan and you even stood up to the Third Hokage. He… sigh…”

She couldn't help but sigh. To be fair, the Third Hokage had been very good to Kushina, and she respected the old man greatly, but she never expected something like this to happen.

Minato was somewhat embarrassed. He wanted to say that it wasn't just him, but Fenglan who had helped him save people, and that many things were thanks to his planning. However, he also knew that his wife had some prejudice against her friends and probably didn't want to hear this.

"How did you know what happened next?" Finally, he stroked Kushina's beautiful red hair and decided to change the subject.

"I... I was worried about you..." Kushina buried her head awkwardly in Minato's chest. "I asked the little guys who were protecting me to try to find out some information. That kid named Itachi went over there. When he came back, although his report was very brief, the excitement in his tone was impossible to hide."

Although she deeply respected the Third Hokage, she firmly stood by her husband: "You did the right thing. If we can't even protect the people who protect the village, what hope is there for this village?"

"I will definitely protect the village and everyone, and I will protect you..."

Just when the atmosphere was very warm and ambiguous...

"Gurgle!"

The water gate's belly made an untimely noise.

Kushina's face immediately darkened: "Did you skip lunch again?"

"Well, Fenglan did prepare some for me, but I was still a little nervous before the speech," Shuimen said awkwardly, scratching his face. "I didn't eat much."

"I knew you'd do this." Kushina sighed, picked up a rice ball wrapped in cloth from the coffee table; it was still warm. "Eat up. Fenglan had Obito bring this back. That guy may always be faking a smile, but he prepares decent meals for the kids."

Minato took the rice ball, took a bite, and his eyes welled up with tears.

"Kushina..."

"Ok?"

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me." Kushina leaned back into his arms. "You're my husband. If I don't take care of you, who will? But Fenglan... please thank him for me."

“You should tell him yourself,” Minato chuckled.

"No way! If he feeds Naruto some weird stuff, he'll turn bad too." Kushina turned her head away haughtily.

“I used to think some of Fenglan’s theories were nonsense, but now…” Minato sighed, “Sigh!”

Kushina could understand her husband. Compared to the Third Hokage's inconsistency, Danzo's cruelty and darkness, and the two-faced nature of the Hyuga clan elders, Fenglan's smiling face was not unacceptable.

So people are always compromises. She suddenly felt that it was fortunate that Feng Lan was by Shui Men's side, otherwise, with her husband's personality, how could he deal with those old foxes?

……

The high-level meeting was held as scheduled early the next morning.

Compared to its usual appearance, the old man with bandages was gone, replaced by a young girl with a somewhat nervous expression.

"Judging from the Third Hokage's expression, it seems that old man Danzo hasn't been caught after all?" Feng Lan smiled and took a sip of tea.

"Feng Lan, how dare you laugh?" Mitomon Yan shook his head and sighed, "Because of your and Minato's impulsiveness, Konoha is going to be in big trouble!"

He launched into a long explanation, the content of which was exactly the same as Feng Lan's analysis yesterday. This was enough to show that Feng Lan's essence was no different from these old guys. They always considered the most pessimistic and worst-case scenario. And it was precisely because of their personality that all sorts of messy dreams of friendship were illusory. Only the benefits in hand were real.

If Feng Lan hadn't had a long talk with Tsunade last night, he really wouldn't have been able to refute Mitokado Homura's theory today. Unfortunately, he had already heard Tsunade's analysis last night and found it very reasonable.

"Easy, easy." Feng Lan calmly put down her teacup and slowly explained Tsunade's theory.

"Tsunade taught you to say these things, didn't she?" No one knows a disciple better than his teacher, and the Third Hokage knew exactly what was going on as soon as he heard it.

“That’s right.” Feng Lan began to throw out her chips. “Moreover, the teacher promised to stay and help Minato and me. In addition, she is willing to help call Jiraiya back to help with this war.”

"Are Tsunade and Jiraiya willing to come back...?" The Third Hokage looked at Feng Lan with complicated emotions again. His two disciples had left without looking back after World War II, no matter how much he tried to persuade them to stay.

"Even if Tsunade and Jiraiya were willing to return to Konoha, this war..."

Koharu wanted to say more, but was stopped by the Third Generation: "What's done is done, now is not the time to assign blame."

Instead of wasting time arguing, it would be better to prepare for war, since both sides share the same goal: to protect Konoha.

Since the other party had conceded, Feng Lan did not press further and made no mention of the Third Hokage's mistakes. Instead, he said directly, "That old man Danzo knows too much of Konoha's secret information. This escape was obviously premeditated. He's probably heading towards Kumogakure, right?"

His words were undoubtedly an attempt to separate Danzo from the Konoha F4 and convict him separately, but the Third Hokage shook his head: "No, according to intelligence, Danzo's destination is... Sunagakure."

"Sunagakure?"

Feng Lan glanced at the map and immediately had a plan in mind. However, he couldn't say it himself, so he could only continue to ask, "The Third Hokage is most familiar with Danzo. Can you analyze his goal and reasons for fleeing?"

(A map is included; if you don't see it, it may still be under review.)

"His target is not Sunagakure, but Amegakure."

As expected of Danzo's old friend, the Third Hokage made the same deduction as Feng Lan: "Danzo is the kind of person who would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. Although he, as a high-ranking official who betrayed the village, is highly valued for his intelligence, he will never be trusted. After all, if you can betray your own village, what chance do you have of our village, which joined us later?"

"Besides, he has participated in wars and has some hatred towards the other four major countries. It is certain that if Danzo escapes to one of the other four major countries, they will take him in, but once they have emptied his intelligence, they will discard him and abandon him. It is impossible for him to sit in a high position there."

"In the worst-case scenario, there is a possibility that the other party will torture him to extract information and then kill him directly."

"But Amegakure is different. He has some connections with Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, and the elite Root members he brings with him are a considerable force in Amegakure. Hanzo would easily accept him."

The Third Hokage looked at Minato and Fenglan: "You two may not know, but Hanzo of the Salamander was the man who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world during the Second Shinobi World War. He was the one who bestowed upon your teacher the title of one of the Legendary Sannin."

"At present, Hanzo's strength is definitely among the top in the ninja world, so even the five great nations are unwilling to directly offend Amegakure. He can get good protection there and then slowly plan to make a comeback and take revenge on us."

"So that's how it is..." Although Feng Lan had already guessed this based on her familiarity with the plot, she still adopted a thoughtful posture. "If that's the case..."

Even the Third Hokage didn't interrupt him while he was thinking. Although they had different stances, the Konoha F3 respected and trusted Feng Lan's wisdom.