The arrival of Iwagakure's three thousand-strong shinobi force in the Land of Waves had caused quite a stir, and they hadn't even tried to conceal it. Konoha received the intelligence within days, and Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two nearly choked with rage.
"What is Ōnoki trying to do?"
Crushing his delicate pipe bowl once again, Hiruzen Sarutobi wished he could storm into Iwagakure and burn Ōnoki to ashes.
The Eastern Front was already a mess because Kumogakure had joined the fighting. Now Iwagakure had sent troops as well, and three thousand shinobi at that. Kitsuchi and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki seemed to be leading them.
One was the Tsuchikage's Son, the other a Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and they had a full three thousand shinobi with them. Iwagakure was clearly serious.
"Hiashi, what do we do now? Should we send Might Duy over?"
Mitokado Homura's face had gone pale. They had to send reinforcements to the Eastern Front, or it would never hold.
Kirigakure shinobi weren't suited to fighting deep inland. There were few rivers there, and the air held far less moisture than the sea. Using Water Release Ninjutsu would take a heavy toll.
Iwagakure, on the other hand, excelled at fighting on land, and this time they had sent three thousand shinobi.
There was no way they could fight them!
"I'll talk to Duy later."
It took a while for Hiruzen Sarutobi to calm himself. He knew their only option was to send Might Duy. Otherwise, if the Eastern Front collapsed completely—or the entire force was wiped out—the whole war would spiral out of control, and he wouldn't be able to carry out his plans. They would lose everything.
"And there's definitely something going on with the Senju, too. Iwagakure has the largest shinobi force, but it still couldn't easily