The short old man with a red nose looked at the intelligence report in his hand and gazed southwest.
"Lord Tsuchikage, should we send troops to support the Sand Ninja?"
The Jonin squad leader quietly asked Onoki.
The reason the Sand Ninja's offensive was so strong was due to the significant support from the Iwa Ninja.
Now that the Sand Ninja had suffered a major defeat, their strategy needed adjustment.
"No need!"
Onoki shook his head.
He knew that relying on the Sand Ninja was pointless. No matter how many resources were invested, they couldn't possibly breach Kikyo Mountain, guarded by a 'Sage'.
Even though Kikyo Mountain no longer had a fortress, it made no difference.
"Supplies... provide them as agreed!"
Onoki added one last sentence.
Even if the Sand Ninja were defeated, they needed to hold back the southwestern ninja army.
Otherwise, facing Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze was already challenging enough for the Iwa Ninja. Adding this newly emerged 'Sage' would make invading the Land of Fire impossible, and they would be lucky not to be counterattacked.
"Should we halt our offensive?"
The Jonin squad leader was concerned about another matter.
They were currently attacking Konoha, and if Konoha had free hands, they needed to be cautious.
"Don't worry, Konoha won't have the resources to support them!"
A glint of wisdom flashed in Onoki's eyes.
Nobody wanted to see Konoha emerge unscathed from the Great Ninja War, so naturally, some would step in to share the burden for the Iwa Ninja.
Kumogakure, Raikage's Office! "Those sand-playing guys were defeated by a brat, truly incompetent!"
A strong young man with dark skin and light yellow hair mocked the Sand Ninja.
Bang! A similarly looking but more robust elder with long yellow hair and a beard punched him, sending him crashing into the wall, unable to be pried off.
The Third Raikage, retracting his fist, scolded,
"A, didn't you see that the Uchiha brat first used explosive tags to heavily damage the Sand Ninja army, then used 'Sage Mode' to defeat Rasa and Pakura?"
His son's reckless nature, only seeing the Sand Ninja's defeat, left the Third Raikage displeased.
"Dad, it's just Sage Mode. If you take action, you can definitely defeat him. The Sand Ninja lost because they're too weak!"
A, the future Fourth Raikage, struggled to climb out of the wall.
Everyone was used to their way of communication.
Didn't you notice the commotion? The ninjas secretly protecting them acted as if they hadn't heard a thing.
"Uchiha Takashi, whether in strategy or strength, is formidable. He will undoubtedly become a hindrance to our Kumogakure. We need to gather all possible information on him."
The last man in the room spoke up.
"Leave it to you, Dodai!"
The Third Raikage nodded, entrusting the task to his most trusted confidant.
Dodai!
He was essentially Kumogakure's equivalent of 'Granny Chiyo', a pillar of support, similar to the 'Gengetsu' of Kirigakure.
From these comparisons, you can see how Konoha truly must have committed countless sins to produce someone like Danzo, a 'Crouching Dragon'.
Simply invincible! Clearly adept at internal conflict, inept at external warfare, yet still the leader of the 'Martial Faction'.
"Lord Raikage, should we withdraw the troops at the border?"
Dodai had come not only to deliver the intelligence from the Battle of Kikyo Mountain but also to ask if they should retreat.
He felt it was best to stop now since they hadn't engaged yet and suffered no losses.
"No, I will head to the front lines immediately and launch a direct attack!"
The Third Raikage decisively ordered.
He understood that now wasn't the best time to attack.
But if they didn't act, the Iwa Ninja would soon retreat, allowing Konoha to survive the Great Ninja War.
Weakening Konoha! It was a tacit agreement among the four great ninja villages.
Why should you occupy the most fertile land in the ninja world? If they didn't weaken you, once you grew stronger, it would be their turn to be weakened.
On whether Konoha should be weakened or they themselves, the four great ninja villages had a unified goal.
Therefore, in every Great Ninja War, Konoha would be besieged by the major ninja villages, not because they did something wrong.
But because their potential was too great, yet their strength wasn't strong enough.
In the ninja world, weakness is the original sin, not evil.
"Yes!"
Dodai received the order and withdrew. Following the Raikage's command, the Cloud Village army, which had been stationed at the border of the Land of the Moon, crossed the boundary and advanced towards the Land of Fire.
As for the Land of the Moon and the Land of Hot Water, which lay between the two great nations, both the Cloud and Leaf shinobi treated them as if they didn't exist.
Fighting on your territory is a sign of respect.
The existence of small countries like yours is merely to serve as buffers and battlefields; now is the time for you to fulfill that role.
This also explains why the Akatsuki was born in the Land of Rain.
The great nations truly disregard others.
In the Mist Village, shrouded in fog, there was only one command issued from the Mizukage's office.
"Move!"
Led by the Hōzuki clan, known for their Ice Release, the secretly assembled Mist shinobi headed straight for the southeastern border of the Land of Fire.
Before this, the Mist shinobi had been continuously harassing the Land of Fire.
However, those were just small-scale attacks by individuals or clans; this time, it was the Mist Village making a move.
So, just after defeating the Sand Ninja, the Leaf Village had no time to catch their breath before facing an even more severe situation.
At the moment, the Cloud and Mist shinobi had just launched their attacks, and the Leaf Village had not yet received detailed intelligence, so they were still in a celebratory mood.
After defeating the Sand Ninja who had reached their doorstep, how could they not celebrate?
However, the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was silent.
The Konoha F4 were having a small meeting here.
Small matters are discussed in large meetings, while major issues are discussed in small ones.
Almost all of Konoha's significant decisions are made in such small meetings.
Mount Kikyo had turned into ruins.
Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado naturally couldn't stay there eating sand, so they quickly returned.
It was definitely not because they felt unsafe staying near the unpredictable and powerful Uchiha kid.
"Now that the Sand Ninja's attack has been repelled, shall we discuss our next steps?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said after taking a satisfying puff of his pipe.
Recently, Konoha had been in a precarious situation, and he hadn't been able to sleep well or relax. Now, he finally felt like "the sky has cleared, the rain has stopped, and I'm back on track."
Danzo quickly interjected, "Hiruzen, what's there to discuss? Just let that Uchiha kid, Uchiha Takashi, lead the shinobi army to counterattack the Land of Wind!"
He was a typical "militant," always ready to strike hard when the advantage was theirs.
Whether it would work or not, or if there were any issues, he never considered.
His approach was all about "combat."
"No, the Sand Ninja army is still strong. If something unexpected happens during a counterattack, it could be dangerous!" Homura Mitokado expressed his concern.
The situation had only just stabilized; Danzo shouldn't risk losing it all.
Even with the "sage" of the southwest shinobi army present, making the Sand Ninja unbeatable, if their army dispersed and engaged in guerrilla tactics, even the strongest forces would be ineffective.
The most crucial point was that Mount Kikyo was gone! Without someone stationed there, aren't you afraid of the Sand Ninja launching a surprise attack?
Understanding the implication of these words, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, thinking this suggestion made a lot of sense.
As for Koharu Utatane, she was even more direct.
"Konoha's resources have already been depleted by half, and rebuilding Mount Kikyo will consume even more. Let's wait until our resources are abundant again."
She was almost pointing at Danzo's nose and scolding him.
Without logistics, what kind of battle are you fighting? It's no wonder she was angry; the Root's consumption of funds had created a significant deficit, which was manageable during peacetime, but in wartime, lacking so many resources was problematic.
"Then let's postpone the counterattack on the Land of Wind for now."
Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi had this intention, he wanted to hear everyone's opinions before making a decision.
He didn't want to take the blame!
That was his biggest flaw.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Danzo to create the Root to take the fall.
This way, not attacking the Land of Wind was the suggestion of the advisory elders, not his sole decision as Hokage.
"However, even if we don't attack the Land of Wind, shouldn't we at least drive the Sand Ninja out of the Land of Fire?" Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted the topic, stating the main reason for this small meeting.
Yes, he could delay the attack on the Land of Wind, but he would never allow the Sand Ninja to continue occupying the southwestern region of the Land of Fire.
Konoha's military expenses were funded by the Daimyo, and the reason for the funding was for Konoha to protect the Land of Fire. Now, with the Land of Wind occupying so much territory... would they still receive funding?
As soon as this topic was brought up, the office became lively.
(End of Chapter)