Pushing Forward Proactively

While Kumogakure was preparing to attack, Konoha couldn't just sit idly by. The two sides had a history of grudges from many years ago, and two Kage had even died during their last peace talks.

With Konoha's stance so firm, Cloud has no chance of suppressing its anger. If a fight really breaks out, it's best to prepare early.

"Here are maps of the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost. Keep them safe."

In the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage handed over various intelligence gathered during the Shinobi World War to Shuichi, continuing, "The Land of Hot Springs is mostly plains with no strategically important locations, so it's highly likely that the Hidden Cloud will descend along the Land of Frost. If we want to defend our borders, we can only push our patrol lines forward..."

Shuichi quietly looked at the Scroll in his hand. The Land of Lightning was at a very high altitude. Starting from the border between the Kingdom of Yu and the Kingdom of Shimo, the terrain began to become more complex, roughly like a stepped ascent.

After discussion among the Konoha think tank, everyone felt that it was unlikely that the enemy would come by sea. At most, they would gain a small advantage in the early stages, but the Land of Fire could easily block their retreat by land and trap them on their home turf.

Therefore, it is estimated that Cloud will operate in the Land of Land of Hot Springs, just like in the Third Shinobi War World War, and wander along the northeastern border of the Land of Fire looking for a breakthrough. In that case, if Konoha wants to take the initiative, it will have no choice but to cross the Land of Hot Springs and enter the Land of Frost to gather intelligence.

"The borders between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost are both mountainous, with only two relatively close canyon entrances and exits," the Third Hokage said in a deep voice. "According to the latest intelligence, the Land of Lightning has not engaged in large-scale mobilization of war resources. If they were to take action, they should send an elite squad. In that case, I'll leave the front lines to you."

"Don't worry!" Shuichi smiled confidently. "I think the war will end soon, unless they're too overconfident and want to die."

Sarutobi Hiruzen with emotion. Although he hadn't seen Shuichi go all out for a long time, he could still vaguely sense the powerful chakra emanating from that body.

I've reached the age where I'm declining, and he should have surpassed me by now, right? "Don't be too ruthless. Try your best to reach a peace agreement as the ultimate goal, but of course, don't hold back if there's danger."

"I know what I'm doing..."

After leaving the Hokage's Office, Shuichi went straight home to pack his equipment. In addition to the usual items, he would also bring a new weapon to test out if he had the chance.

Opening the storage compartment, he quickly found a small pistol with an ultra-short barrel of less than 10 centimeters and a large caliber of nearly 1 centimeter, looking like a child's toy.

It is equipped with five bullets similar to those used in sniper rifles, with a sharp muzzle, a slender and streamlined shape, and a metallic sheen.

Shuichi his Wind Release and Lightning Release Chakra, infusing them into the bullet, causing its light to shift. This bullet was made of Chakra Metal, and each shot cost hundreds of thousands of ryo. So, after using it, he might have to undertake a glorious mission... to retrieve the bullet.

"It seems I've gone too far. Breaking through the Lightning Release Chakra Armor will be a piece of cake. I'm just afraid I might accidentally kill the Raikage!" Shuichi thought to himself.

He felt he should hold back and give his opponent a few chances to perform; otherwise, those lurking in the shadows might become even more wary of him.

After tidying up his ninja tools, and seeing that it was time to gather, Shuichi locked the door and went straight through the garden. There were several people waiting for him in front of the Villa gate. This number... everyone had arrived.

"I'm sorry, I prepared some things specifically for you," Shuichi said politely.

Beside him were Kakashi, Mokui, Hizashi Hyuga, Shisui, and Aburame Shihei, plus himself, making it an incredibly powerful super team.

Konoha's idea was similar to that of Kumogakure: to send elite troops forward for patrols, giving them enough depth to advance or retreat as needed. The higher-ups had already anticipated that the belligerent Cloud Ninja wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

"Set off!"

On the border of the Land of Hot Springs, fertile soil and forests are sparse. Not far ahead, one can see a series of high mountains, in which a sudden depression and crack appears, with a winding path leading out through the middle, where no sunlight can be seen.

As the breeze blew, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the woods. Soon, six dark figures rushed out one after another. The distance of several kilometers seemed to be very close to them. It seemed that they had reached the vicinity of the valley in just a few leaps.

Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan to observe the narrow passage ahead. His Dojutsu was almost on par with Hyuga Hiashi. "No ambush. Captain Shuichi, should we go straight through? Even the fastest of the other squads won't arrive for another two hours."

This conflict with Cloud was ultimately caused by the Hyuga Clan. Now that the village is willing to sacrifice itself to stand up for them with a tough stance, they will inevitably mobilize the entire clan to cooperate once war breaks out.

Therefore, all the elite squads participating in the war were equipped with high-level gear, with each squad having a Hyuga ninja for reconnaissance. You, the Land of Lightning, covet the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, huh? This time, we'll give you a taste of your own medicine...

"Everyone's in good shape. Speed is of the essence, let's go!" Shuichi at his team members and didn't hesitate any longer. They might just run into enemies from Cloud.

"Brush..."

The entire squad instantly split into smaller groups and charged into the canyon in a standard formation. The echoing footsteps were initially clear, but soon fell silent again.

As they traveled, Shuichi constantly observed the surrounding terrain. He stopped the group in a rocky, rugged place, took out a blank talisman from his body, and immediately inscribed the Flying Thunder God Spell Formula on it. He then found a dark and hidden crevice in the rock and stuck it there.

He also took out a small piece of Shukaku Meat, threaded it through with Senbon, and inserted it into the corner of the talisman. Although he was confident that he could handle any number of enemies, he didn't want anything to happen to his companions, so he set up several teleportation points to arrange an escape route. Now he could finally relax and have some fun.

He had already solved the time-limited problem of the Flying Thunder God Spell Formula. Shuichi's Magnet Release was learned from Shukaku, and their chakra could sense each other, although the distance was not far.

So after leaving the canyon, he repeated the same maneuver in several places. This way, even if he charged directly into the Cloud's encirclement, he could still fly away with everyone.

"We arrived relatively early, so let's scout this area first." Shuichi spread out a strategic map and gestured, "Cloud is more familiar with the terrain of the Land of Frost than we are, so everyone should get used to it beforehand to avoid being at a disadvantage in battle..."

After taking into account the reconnaissance capabilities and coverage area, he divided the team into three groups, with each group maintaining a distance of about 1 kilometer from the next group for patrol.

Shisui was accompanied by himself, Kakashi by Hizashi, and Mokui and Aburame Shihei by themselves. They used the Ink Bird as a reference coordinate and for communication, so that they could quickly gather together once they spotted the enemy.

"Disperse!"

Half a day passed slowly. Konoha was the one that took the initiative to express its opinion, and it certainly had more time to prepare than Cloud.

The distance between the two villages and the border of Tangshuang is unusually close. According to the calculations within the villages, it is normal for them to encounter Cloud within a few days.

If more than half a month has passed without seeing them, then the other side is likely plotting something, such as taking the risk of sailing around to the Land of Fire to launch a surprise attack. In that case, it would be best for our elite vanguard to retreat to the Land of Hot Springs for defense.

But no one expected the Cloud to be so volatile; in just half a day, Hizashi, with the widest scouting range, was the first to spot the enemy...