Maki was almost out of the room when Jun spoke. She hadn't expected any of the names on that list to be familiar. When Jun spoke up, she looked back. The Hokage's eyes drifted from Jun to his counselors, "Is it possible? How much more do we know about this man?"<br/><br/>"Nothing but what's on that roster." The woman said before Tashi began to speak. When he finished, the man in the glasses said, "Maruta is the word they use for the subjects in their experiments."<br/><br/>The Hokage shrugged, "It makes no difference. Unless you can capture this Shiro, we don't have any proof of his true motives. Your Daimyo claims-" He gestured to the scroll Maki brought, "-that he had Sunagakure weapons, Suna techniques, Suna poisons. At this point... our only option is war."<br/><br/>"It is a good thing, Hiruzen." Danzo said with a smile, "Sunagakure has a young Kazekage- he had not yet even learned to throw a shuriken when the last war ended. They call him Iron Sand Isamu, but I am told that he's never fought a battle- never even killed a man. Let us seize the initiative."<br/><br/>"Very well." The Hokage said, letting out a drag from his pipe, "We will set out as soon as possible. Whether Suna has had a hand in this incident or are merely tools, they will be readying themselves for war. We will strike first. Tell your Daimyo that I will lead a division to support Tanigakure, but that we will<em>not</em>pass through the western border between the Land of Rivers and Wind. Those mountains, manned by even a handful of fuuton elementalists, would be a deathtrap. Instead, another force led by Sakumo will attack Suna and a third will remain here at Konoha commanded by Danzo. That is all the information your Daimyo can expect from us at this time."<br/><br/>"Lord Hokage..." The white-haired man began to ask, turning his head and eying the older man suspiciously, "May I ask how will I attack Sunagakure if we cannot pass through the mountains?"<br/><br/>Danzo saved him the breath, "Through Amegakure."<br/><br/>The hidden rain village had nothing to do with this, yet they were being dragged into war nonetheless- just like Suna and Konoha. If Tashi had considered telling the Daimyo about the possibility that this was all one big set-up... well, he knew Mitsuo well enough that the old diehard wouldn't hear any of it.<br/><br/>What was worse, Amegakure and Suna were enemies for a time in the last war. It was more than likely that they had allies in other countries, just as Tani had an ally in Konoha. No doubt this had not eluded the Hokage, who had opted to keep a third of his forces at home... "Maki." The Hokage said, "This scroll says you are in our service until we have the information we require. You will begin immediately. Your companions are free to stay in the village for however long they require. Please." He offered his hand out for her to sit back down, while looking sternly at Jun and Tashi. This would not be a meeting that they were privy too.<br/><br/>The white-haired man followed the two Tani nin out, leaving Maki in there alone with all the Konoha bigwigs, "I am Sakumo Hatake." The man said, smiling with a bow, "I wish we could have met under different circumstances. All this talk of war and boogeymen stalking in the shadows. Would you like some help finding your wolf? This is a big village, I know... I know all the forests around here but still sometimes I get lost." Sakumo laughed.