A New Plan

Shikaku's speech greatly advanced the meeting's progress.

With his bold conjectures, quick wit, clear theories, and eloquent speech, he silenced a group of determined Jonin, forcefully crushing the voices of the doubters with logic and unifying everyone's tone to the same level.

At this point, Sakumo, who was chairing the meeting, added another significant factor.

"Black Tail Mountain and the front-line camp maintain secure communication daily. According to Makita's letter, the area surrounding Black Tail Mountain has been unstable recently; to be precise, there have been frequent unusual movements. Many unfamiliar figures have appeared in nearby villages, but they do not seem to be from the Land of Wind, nor are they natives of the Land of Rain."

"Makita investigated several times without any results, but just in case, he still reported the matter."

Sakumo's words made everyone's expressions become much more serious.

This news is more worrying than Shikaku's purely logical deduction.

However, this also shows how Sakumo. If he had released the news before the meeting, it might have caused a stir, but it would have gone unnoticed. Now that everyone is speculating about how the Sand Ninja will conquer Black Tail Mountain, releasing the news is like setting off an Explosive Tag.

This news sent shockwaves through the Jonin. Before, it was just logical speculation, but now, combined with the information released by Sakumo, they felt a real threat. If something really happened to Black Tail Mountain, needless to say, they wouldn't have the face to return to the village, and dying on the battlefield would be the best outcome.

"What exactly is the Sand Village's confidence about?"

"Could it be Jinchuriki? We haven't heard from the One-Tail Jinchuriki Jinchuriki ages. We don't even know if the previous one is alive or dead."

"Hiss! If he really is Jinchuriki... then it's hard to say."

Jinchuriki are not invincible. No matter how strong the Tailed Beast are, they are still controlled by various ninja villages, and one vessel after another is used to control them.

For truly top-tier fighters, Jinchuriki are only somewhat troublesome. As long as they master Fuinjutsu specifically developed for Tailed Beast, or possess Kekkei Genkai or Secret Technique that can suppress Tailed Beast.

The greatest value of Jinchuriki lies in unleashing devastating attacks on the battlefield. The more enemies there are, the greater the destruction Jinchuriki can cause. A single Tailed Beast Bomb can obliterate a mountain; the wide-range destructive power of Tailed Beast is virtually unmatched.

"If the Sand Ninja really dares to send the One-Tail Jinchuriki into the battlefield, Black Tail Mountain probably won't be able to hold out."

Tsunade frowned as well.

"Although we also Jinchuriki..." Jiraiya shook his head, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Kushina's identity was not a secret to the Jonin. Everyone present knew that Kushina was far from mature enough, and the Nine-Tails was the strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts. Otherwise, when the First distributed the Tailed Beast, he would not have left only the Nine-Tails for his own village.

It is precisely because of the Nine-Tails' immense power that it is exceptionally difficult to control. Even someone as talented as Kushina, with the added advantage of her bloodline, can only control a portion of the Nine-Tails' power to this day, and she needs to recuperate for several days after using it.

In other words, one must have companions by their side to unleash the power of the Nine-Tails; otherwise, once the invincibility period ends, they will become easy prey, at the mercy of others.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade.

Sakumo began calling out names, and unsurprisingly, it was the Sannin. Currently, apart from Sakumo himself, the Sannin are the strongest in the front-line camp, and they even form a squad.

"The three of you take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to Black Tail Mountain to provide support."

The mission was as expected, the only surprise being that it involved bringing along the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Kushina's strength is still a bit lacking, it would be troublesome to take her along." Tsunade's words were very straightforward; her fiery temper made her unaccustomed to being a nanny and taking care of a child.

Orochimaru remained silent, Jiraiya. Although Kushina and Minato were on the same team, their current strength was indeed insufficient, and bringing them along would only distract them.

"Take them with you. I'm sending you to be my babysitters. Protect Kushina and make sure she uses the Nine-Tails in battle as much as possible. Compared to the slow and steady training on weekdays, the progress on the battlefield is the fastest," Sakumo said, giving Tsunade no room to refuse.

Tsunade furrowed, but she couldn't bring herself to be tough in front of Sakumo. Sakumo, who seemed to have a gentle smile, was more intimidating to her than her lecherous teacher.

"I say... could this be a trap set by the Sand Village ninja to lure us into supporting Black Tail Mountain, but their real target is our main camp?"

A Jonin suddenly spoke up.

"It's possible, but unlikely. Even if the three of us leave the front-line camp, Senior Sakumo is still here. It's too difficult to defeat the camp head-on!"

Orochimaru shook his head, his cold voice possessing a persuasive magic, and the title of Konoha's White Fang also had the power to calm people's hearts.

The matter was quickly settled. The Sannin would lead the team, and in addition to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, a group of elites would also be selected to support Black Tail Mountain. Regardless of whether the Sand Ninja would attack Black Tail Mountain, as long as the food supplies could be protected, it wouldn't matter if more people were stationed there.

"This is exhausting!"

Putting down her pen, Katsuki stood up and stretched, her bones cracking as she did so; sitting for so long had made her stiff.

Inside the tent, everyone was stretching their muscles and finally finished compiling the list of the fallen, along with the appropriate compensation and follow-up arrangements. It had taken them most of the day, and by the time darkness fell, the tent was still brightly lit.

"Uzumaki Katsuki, Lord Sakumo is looking for you."

A head wearing Forehead Protector suddenly plunged into the tent and shouted.

All eyes turned to them.

"Uncle Willow, I'm leaving now."

Katsuki greeted them and then hurriedly left, departing with the person who had come; the single light quickly disappeared into the distance in the camp.

At the same time, Nawaki and Otome, who were staying in their respective tents, were also approached, and many other Chunin with considerable strength were also summoned.

Night had fallen, and the sky over the Land of Rain was filled with thick, inky clouds and endless rain. The moon and stars were nowhere to be seen, but the Konoha camp nestled against the mountain was ablaze with thousands of lights, like a galaxy on earth.

Dozens of people stood together in the training field, the flickering Kakkō reddening their cheeks, and their long shadows constantly dancing.

Katsuki stood in the first row. The nine CDs here were Chunin, Genin, Otome and Nawaki. There were no weaklings here; they were all skilled fighters, and most of them came from various clans. With so many people gathered together, apart from the sound of breathing and the wind and rain outside, there was no other noise.