"How is the village's defense in other areas?"
Rain pattered softly. Watching the curtain of rain grow heavier, Chiba rubbed his aching temples. From last night until now—one night and one full day—he had not slept a wink. Combined with the intense workload of late, even though he regularly underwent inhuman training and possessed stamina and energy far beyond ordinary people, he was starting to feel overwhelmed. His head throbbed.
"Because additional personnel have been assigned to protect the envoys from both sides, our already strained manpower has become even tighter. The areas of the village's defenses we can no longer cover have doubled. We have even removed half of the hidden sentries. Aside from relatively important locations, many areas are now operating without guard posts. Most areas have adopted mobile patrols, with the Defense Force handling the specific assignments. However, by giving up defense of most unimportant areas, personnel deployment has become much simpler. It cannot make up for the manpower shortage, but efficiency has improved considerably."
At this, the Anbu Ninja holding an umbrella beside Chiba hurriedly suppressed his excited thoughts and gave a detailed report on the village's current defenses.
"What about their mindset? The Defense Force and the intelligence department—are there any psychological concerns?"
Chiba asked again.
"Because of the news about the Forbidden Jutsu Chamber being robbed, quite a few personnel have indeed been affected. However, most people remain fairly calm. There is no likelihood of unrest or panic."
The Anbu Ninja answered truthfully.
"Is that so... Even with the news sealed off, it still spread uncontrollably..."
Chiba murmured thoughtfully.
"Yes! We are currently considering the possibility of spies within the ninja ranks, or perhaps someone leaking the intelligence."
Hearing Chiba's murmur, the Anbu Ninja hurriedly replied.
Previously, both Lord Fourth Hokage and Lord Chiba