Just as the Five Kage led the forty-thousand-strong Allied Shinobi Forces into an encounter with Madara Uchiha in the desert of the Land of Wind, vast formations of White Zetsu suddenly appeared outside Konoha.
Inside the command center in Konoha.
"Report! Sensor Division Team 7 has detected enemies—more than four thousand!"
"Report! Sensor Division Team 3 has detected enemies—more than three thousand!"
"Report! Sensor Division Team 10..."
Before long, warnings from the Sensor Division poured into the central command like snowflakes.
"Thirty thousand?"
Shikaku Nara, the chief strategist of the Allied Shinobi Forces in this campaign, made a quick calculation and tallied the total number of enemies appearing around Konoha.
Elder Chiyo, Sunagakure's advisor, said, "We've fallen into their trap!"
"Yes!"
Shikaku Nara nodded grimly.
Akatsuki had instantly transferred tens of thousands of shinobi from the Land of Wind to the Land of Fire, thousands of miles away. This tactic, which utterly defied all conventional understanding of shinobi warfare, left everyone stunned.
Ao, Kirigakure's liaison officer, gritted his teeth. "How could they possibly accomplish something like this?"
In a Ninja World where even individual space-time ninjutsu was exceedingly rare, this mass long-distance transfer through space-time ninjutsu was simply unimaginable to Ao!
Shikaku Nara swiftly composed himself. "There's no point dwelling on that now. We must deploy immediately and defend Konoha!"
With that, Shikaku Nara turned to Inoichi Yamanaka, who wore an ultra-long-range communications device on his head. "Inoichi, notify the Five Kage. Have the main army return to assist us at once!"
Without wasting any words, Inoichi Yamanaka immediately transmitted the situation here to the Allied Shinobi Forces in the Land of Wind.
After relaying the urgent report to the front, Shikaku Nara addressed everyone in the command center. "The enemy deliberately avoided our main force, which means they aren't