Tomorrow

Konoha Year 44, spring.

Perhaps because of the war, spring in the Land of Wind was especially hot this year, and... rainfall was also far below the average for spring in previous years, leaving the countless Sand Ninja who had prepared to collect and store water extremely disappointed.

Of course, as the war developed, the shinobi world had already descended into chaos. Wandering children, corpses, infants, and people numb to life could be seen everywhere.

And as the primary battlefield, the Land of Wind had suffered the most devastating disaster.

The Five Great Ninja Villages were contending with one another here. Countless Ninja had gathered, and the sounds of rumbling, explosions, and wailing had never ceased. The smaller Ninja Villages under them had also joined this terrifying war sweeping across the entire shinobi world.

In just over a year... several small Ninja Villages and countries had been destroyed, producing countless wandering Ninja, orphans, and citizens who had lost their countries.

One had to understand... that once a war reached this point—

Anyone who appeared before them, whether a Ninja or not, as long as they were not a companion from the same village, would be purged by the Ninja for the sake of the village's safety and secrecy.

This was...

The safest and most reliable method.

Rasa had no idea... Nearly half a year had passed, yet what had happened to Chiyo and Ebizo? Why had no news come from them after all this time? Could it be... that his appearance had changed the plot, making it impossible for the two of them to return to the village and retire in comfort?

But now...

With the war having reached this point, unless the Shinobi God and his best friend appeared, no one could stop the Great Shinobi War anymore.

The Five Great Ninja Villages had entered the conflict. Kumogakure had taken on three opponents at once, with a single village declaring war on Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konohagakure. Iwagakure had ultimately been forced to withdraw most of its Ninja stationed on the battlefield near the Sand Ninja to deal with Kumogakure's frenzied assault, while also... provoking Konoha a little. As for Konoha... they had already fought four opponents at once. Going up against three now was practically a piece of cake!

The only problem was... the village had been forced to launch another campaign of early Ninja graduations.

As for Kirigakure... there was nothing much to say. Their main forces had come straight over, declaring war on Kumogakure and Konoha, while also... harassing Sunagakure from beyond the border. They had done nothing else.

As for Sunagakure... merely holding their ground was already putting tremendous pressure on the village, let alone declaring war on other Ninja Villages.

Therefore, this time... Sunagakure would have to temporarily abstain from the amateur lumberjacking activities of the Four Great Ninja Villages apart from Konoha.

As former allies... Kumogakure had shown no regard for their past loyalty. They had launched a surprise attack on the Land of Wind at the beginning, then declared war on the other two countries. Adding Kirigakure, which had joined in for no reason, they had truly taken Konoha's place from back then, fighting four opponents at once~

But...

They still remained completely unflustered!

Even under pressure from three major Ninja Villages, they still had not spared Sunagakure, this impoverished backwater.

The offensive was gradually intensifying, forcing Rasa to suspend his alchemy project and formally devote himself to dealing with the war. Anyone who could still move had to go to the battlefield.

After all, as the fighting expanded, the number of Ninja sent as reinforcements had begun to fall behind the number of Ninja being lost.

Even puppets were not enough.

Therefore, Rasa had no choice but to cruelly set aside... his money-spending work and make every Ninja devote all their attention to the war.

Besides... six months had given him enough time to spend money and draw quite a few useful things.

Although he could not influence the Great Shinobi War, as long as he could... pacify the war with Kumogakure, that would be enough.

As Rasa entered the temporary medical tent.

The crude medical tent was packed with wounded patients. Most of them could not even lie on beds and could only lean against something or sit directly on the ground.

Sunagakure's most famous medical Ninja was the aged Chiyo. As for the others... there was a serious lack of successors, and he could do nothing about it. Just think of the future: if something happened to him, a boy of only around a dozen years would become the Fifth Kazekage. That alone showed how dire Sunagakure's situation was.

The quality of its Ninja was low, its medical techniques were incomplete, its education was inadequate, and it lacked money, people, and resources.

These were the problems Sunagakure faced now.

"Lord Rasa!"

The Sand Ninja in the medical tent saw him enter and respectfully greeted him, immediately making the entire tent lively. As for those who could not greet him... there was nothing to be done. One could hardly expect people to suddenly regain consciousness just to say hello~

As the war developed, he... Rasa had stopped the Kumogakure Ninja at the border time and time again, protecting Sunagakure's defensive line.

It could be said... this war was also the moment when Rasa, the future Fourth Kazekage, would make his name~

After taking a quick look around and comforting the somewhat dispirited Sand Ninja, he also saw Kana carefully tending to them.

Her Medical Ninjutsu was now... sufficient to deal with the current patients. As for those on the verge of death, clinging to their last breath... with Sunagakure's current medical technology, even Chiyo personally intervening probably could not save them!

It wasn't as though every Ninja Village could produce a top-tier medical Ninja like Tsunade!

Rasa did not disturb the work inside. After making a round, he turned and left.

Looking at the darkening night beyond the curtain, he sighed inwardly and murmured, "The war should end."

As soon as he finished speaking...

"Whoosh~"

A Sand Ninja suddenly appeared, dropped to one knee, and respectfully said, "Lord Rasa, Lord Moomu has arrived."

Meanwhile.

Far away, another group of Sand Ninja—

"Here, and here..." Chiyo pointed at the map spread open before them, her expression stern. "We should avoid these areas as much as possible. If the Konoha Ninja, Stone Ninja, or Mist Ninja scouts discover us, we'll be in trouble."

It could be said... with the Land of Wind serving as the battlefield, scouts from other Ninja Villages were everywhere. It was not easy for them to travel deep into the Kumogakure rear.

If they were discovered by Ninja from another village at a time like this, there was no need to say more... they would definitely start fighting immediately. After all... it was wartime. What else could they do if they suddenly encountered Ninja from another village?

Not fight?

What if the other side attacked first?!

Along the way, they had encountered Ninja from other villages to varying degrees, but they had not lingered in battle, instead retreating directly toward the Kumogakure rear.

"We must avoid clashing with the other Ninja Villages and reduce the pressure on Sunagakure."

After saying this, she pointed to a path on the map.

"Based on our investigations during this time, Kumogakure's logistics forces will use this path to transport supplies while avoiding the borders of all the villages and countries. Therefore, we must swiftly eliminate Kumogakure's logistics forces here."

That way... the Kumogakure frontline...

As long as their supplies could not keep up, the forces at the front would inevitably be affected. And when that happened... the other Ninja Villages certainly would not let Kumogakure off the hook!

The corners of Chiyo's lips lifted slightly, carrying a hint of cold laughter.

"Hmph! Taking on four opponents at once? It seems the Third Raikage has grown senile. No wonder he's already preparing to retire so early."

It could be said... Kumogakure's overconfidence had given Sunagakure an opportunity... an opportunity to win!

"Then, Sis... when should we make our move?" Ebizo pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "We've been out for nearly half a year. Although we've been pretending to be Ninja from other villages and harassing Kumogakure's operations, the pressure on Rasa's side must be considerable as well."

However, just as he finished speaking...

"Tomorrow!"

Chiyo narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone resolute.

"We'll make our move tomorrow!"

Winter had passed, spring had arrived, and making their move tomorrow... the timing was perfect!