"The front lines are under pressure. According to the latest intelligence, both Iwa and the Mist Village are making moves to enter the war."
At the Jonin Meeting convened at the Hokage Building, Nara Shikaji, who was presiding over the meeting, said, "Iwa seems to have formed an alliance with Sand Shinobi. According to information sent back by spies, Iwagakure Jonin have recently appeared in Sunagakure and met with Chiyo. Their target should be the Cloud Shinobi."
None of the Jonin present spoke.
Shimura Danzō sat to the Hokage's left, his single eye narrowed and his expression blank.
Most of the intelligence Nara Shikaji had mentioned had been uncovered by Root spies. As for even more detailed information, he had handled it firsthand.
"The Cloud Shinobi are finished." Nara Shikaji's earth-shattering statement drew the eyes of all the Jonin present.
"Compared to Sand Shinobi, fighting on their home ground, and Iwa, which has prepared for a long time, the Cloud Shinobi, who came from afar, are showing increasingly obvious signs of exhaustion. The Cloud Shinobi's Raikage believed that Sunagakure had lost its Kazekage, leaving the village leaderless and without anyone capable of resisting him. So, he wanted to lead an elite force, along with the Jinchuriki, and smash through Sunagakure in a lightning assault to force its surrender. But their objective of launching a surprise attack on Sunagakure failed. Instead, Rasa and Pakura led Sand Shinobi in stopping them at the border of the Wind Country, preventing them from advancing even a single step. By this stage, both sides' losses have unknowingly grown severe, and neither can back down. At a time like this, the entry of any outside force will bring enormous changes to the deadlocked situation. It will ultimately affect which of the two Shinobi villages emerges victorious.