Chapter 45: The Two Sides Forced Into Battle

Sakumo Hatake furrowed his brow, silently staring at the Third Hokage's order to launch a full-scale attack. Nara Shikayama softly consoled him, saying, "According to the intelligence, things aren't going well on the Hidden Rain Village front either. The Hokage is very anxious. Him entrusting this responsibility to you is a sign of his trust."

Recalling the complaints of the injured soldiers earlier, Sakumo Hatake shook his head and said, "The current problem is whether launching a decisive battle with such low morale will lead to victory or defeat."

Shikayama's expression stiffened. As a smart member of the Nara clan, he had long noticed this issue. But what could he do?

Sakumo Hatake looked at the combat map in front of him, silently polishing the blade of his "White Fang." The Hatake clan's roots were in the Land of Iron; before the Warring States period, the Hatake clan were all samurai, which later evolved into a ninja clan.

Sakumo's thoughts drifted back to his growth in Konoha. From escaping the massacre of his clan to joining Konoha as a war orphan, he was fortunate to meet Tobirama-sama, which allowed him to receive ninja academy education, join the Anbu, rise step by step through battles, and finally become a battlefield commander.

Konoha had given him kindness, and in his heart, he felt a duty and obligation to remain loyal to it. Though a ninja in appearance, he had the soul of a samurai, and had made up his mind to repay Konoha with his life if necessary.

For a samurai, the most important thing was to bear and fulfill responsibilities; death was just one way of doing so. Failing to complete one's responsibilities was worse than death.

Sakumo closed his eyes, adjusting his state of mind, and said lightly, "No more thinking, Shikayama. We'll launch the total offensive at dawn tomorrow. I will lead the front, ready to die."

Shikayama looked at Sakumo with a complex gaze, sighed heavily, then turned to arrange the attack plan.

Main camp of the Sand Ninjas.

Chiyo, Ebizo, and a pair of young Sand Ninja Jonin were discussing the battle reports in a relaxed atmosphere. "Hii, Ku, you both handled the Konoha counter-offensive very well last time." Chiyo looked lovingly at the young couple, her son and daughter-in-law, who were also the parents of "Scorpion."

Ku had beautiful long black hair and a gentle demeanor. Hii had striking red hair and a handsome, sunny look, much resembling their son, Scorpion. Both were geniuses of the new generation of Sand ninja puppet masters and had performed outstandingly in this war.

Ebizo also looked at them tenderly; they were his juniors and the future pride of the Sand ninja. This war against Konoha had gone more smoothly than anticipated.

"But we must not let our guard down. This is the most intense moment of the battlefield, and we must be vigilant of Konoha's counterattacks," Ebizo added cautiously. He had not let the short-lived victory cloud his judgment and always took Konoha seriously.

"Well, Konoha's ninjas aren't all that impressive. They're far inferior to their storied reputation," Ku said nonchalantly. Chiyo and Ebizo exchanged glances, a trace of doubt flashing in their eyes. "Konoha's ninjas have indeed declined significantly compared to the previous ninja war, and their combat strength doesn't match up with the reports from the Anbu," they thought to themselves, attributing this issue to the complacency brought by Konoha's prosperity.

Chiyo smiled at the confident look of her son. With her protection, there should be no surprises. The brief moment of warmth was interrupted when a dust-covered, blood-stained Sand Anbu knocked on the camp gate.

Chiyo received the order book and began reading it carefully, while Ebizo questioned the Anbu messenger. "What's going on? Wasn't Konoha's hunting unit stationed at the border? Which unit ambushed you?"

The Anbu's face showed fear as he recounted his harrowing and unfortunate encounter. "It wasn't the Uchiha unit led by the 'Konoha Devil,' but a strange three-person Konoha team. The leader was a young, blond Konoha ninja with extraordinary instantaneous movement techniques. They annihilated Intelligence Squads Two and Three; only Yezo and I made it back from Squad One."

Ebizo's eyes narrowed, filled with alarm. "To annihilate nearly three squads? Amazing... Just when Konoha shows signs of decay, another remarkable genius emerges."

"Give me detailed descriptions and combat methods of this Konoha team," Ebizo demanded.

The Anbu, still bowed, said, "They are between 12 and 15 years old. The main attacker is the blond Konoha ninja who uses a strange instantaneous movement technique to approach, attacks with a large number of explosive tags, and then instantly retreats."

Seeing Ebizo's puzzled expression, he hurriedly added, "His instantaneous movement technique is so advanced that we couldn't even see his afterimage. The red-haired Konoha female ninja with him seems to have a wide-range sensory ability, allowing them to find us no matter how we hid."

Ebizo waved his hand to let the Anbu go and rest while he pondered. "An instantaneous movement technique where even the afterimage can't be seen... Could it be that the Flying Thunder God Technique has reappeared in the ninja world? The red-haired sensory ninja should be an Uzumaki orphan who took refuge in Konoha. What a troublesome combination. And using large amounts of explosive tags... Konoha's ninjas sure are extravagant."

Ebizo thought about countermeasures. Such a talented team needed to be eliminated timely! Before he could make a decision to hunt them down, his thoughts were interrupted by Chiyo slamming the table.

Chiyo held up the order from the Kazekage, her face grim. "The daimyo has pressured the Third Kazekage to achieve results quickly. If this drags on, the Land of Wind's tax revenues won't be able to support it."

Ebizo's face also darkened. Clearly, it wasn't just Konoha that was decaying; their homeland wasn't faring much better either. He could only sigh inwardly, feeling it impossible to govern the Land of Wind well with these leeches around.

"If we delay any longer, we could achieve victory without a fight based on the current battlefield situation," he thought. "But if we must, let's follow the orders and plan the operation."

After considering for a moment, he instructed, "Order the remaining five intelligence squads, including Rasa and Pakura, to hunt down that Konoha team with all their might."

With the great battle approaching, each precious Jonin had to be allocated to decisive battles, leaving no one to deal with Minato and his team. So, let Sand's geniuses confront Konoha's geniuses!

"Let's hope we can eliminate these new Konoha ninjas... Sigh."

In the original timeline, the Land of Wind was severely controlled by the daimyo. During Rasa's tenure, the daimyo further reduced the funding of Sunagakure, forcing him to spend a lot of time panning for gold in the desert to keep Sunagakure's economy from collapsing.

Under different external pressures, both Konoha and Sunagakure's forces rapidly organized. A forced major battle was about to erupt!