Xing Ran's guess was only one possibility among many. Subjectively, he still hoped for peace, so he would have more time to consider his own problems. However, passively accepting things had never been his style. Since the enemy might make further moves, Xing Ran, as a Medical Ninja, needed to make more preparations as soon as possible. Replenishing medicine was the priority.
In his previous life, he had watched the anime from a god's-eye view, yet Xing Ran did not have much information about the history of this period. Normally, the war should have gradually drained the Land of Lightning until the scale of local conflicts kept shrinking, eventually leading to peace talks.
This had always been Xing Ran's view of the Third Shinobi World War, and what he had always hoped for. But the reason Murphy's Law was so cursed was that things often developed in the direction one least wanted to see.
Two-Tails Yugito had already arrived at the frontline command post within the Land of Hot Water. Looking at the Konoha camp defense map submitted this time, a queenly, arrogant sneer appeared on her lips. Although it had not been mentioned during the earlier meeting, she knew that once the operation began, there would only be one chance to inflict severe losses on Konoha. After that, Konoha would certainly guard closely against Cloud Ninja attacks and might even launch a counteroffensive against them.
But those were matters for later. As long as she succeeded in one stroke, Konoha would have little strength left to counterattack. And if she failed, there would be nothing left to consider. She would certainly be replaced, and the matter would become the concern of whoever came after her.
"You have done very well this time. I will truthfully report your achievements to Lord Raiden. Go rest." Yugito was delighted inside, but she did not lose any of her superior's authority. Even toward subordinates who had just earned merit, her words remained exceedingly flat.
After dismissing the three jōnin who had led the teams, Yugito began considering troop deployments based on the intelligence already available. Through this raid, the building layouts of the three Konoha camps had proven almost identical. Combined with past experience and intelligence, it was basically certain that Konoha's camp planning style had not changed much. Having confirmed the locations of the armory and intelligence liaison office, they more or less understood the layouts of the other camps as well. Then, as long as elites were arranged to eliminate the intelligence liaison department at the very start, they could delay Konoha's response. Without real-time access to firsthand intelligence, the enemy's reinforcements would not act as decisively. This time gap could be exploited—either by besieging points to strike reinforcements or by defeating them one by one.
The Land of Hot Water lay northeast of the Land of Fire. With its beautiful environment, pleasant scenery, abundant hot spring resources, and long, narrow coastline, it was an excellent place for leisure and vacations.
But with the outbreak of war, small countries had always become battlegrounds in the tug-of-war between great powers. The Land of Rain was like this, and the Land of Hot Water was no better.
The Land of Hot Water had its own ninja village, Yugakure. In later generations, it would be called the "village that forgot war." After the great war ended, Yugakure, once known as a "fighting ninja village," gradually withered away. Although the war had not yet completely ended, this village that forgot war already seemed to be showing signs of it.
Because the ninja village itself was not very strong, and most of its ninja—including its leader—had little enthusiasm for war, the Land of Hot Water had been reduced to less than half its territory, including the Daimyo's Mansion, the capital.
If not for the Land of Fire having no desire to seize land, and the Land of Lightning's occupied territory in the Land of Hot Water bordering the Land of Fire, the two countries would not have held each other in check through local wars for various reasons of dragging the other down. Otherwise, the Land of Hot Water would likely have already been destroyed.
Still, even if the two great powers were fighting on its territory, the Land of Hot Water could tell good from bad. Whether in purpose or conduct, the Land of Fire had always acted from a position beneficial to the Land of Hot Water, so it was extremely friendly toward the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire was now laying the groundwork to draw the Land of Hot Water into its alliance in the future. In Konoha's upper ranks, this was preparation for establishing a buffer zone after the war. But to Xing Ran, it was simply the best nearby supply source.
Although the Land of Hot Water could not openly provide nearby support to Konoha, the shops in its cities still had to stay open and do business. The Cloud Ninja were invaders and even had trouble entering the city, while Konoha maintained friendly diplomatic relations. Xing Ran had no issue entering the city to buy things, and bulk purchases came with discounts.
It had to be said that when one side's supply lines ran into trouble, that was not always the sole reason a battle was decided. External factors were also very important. Just through the resources Konoha secretly obtained in the Land of Hot Water, it could accelerate the trend of one side rising as the other declined. It was understandable that the Land of Lightning could not achieve victory.
Xing Ran's group took a slight detour, but he was fast enough that it only took him less than half a day to reach the major border town closest to both the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire.
Wenton Town had originally been a major tourist destination, mainly receiving visitors from the Land of Fire. Though it had become somewhat bleak because of the war, since it had not been directly affected, people's lives remained fairly stable.
Many shops along the streets had closed, but quite a few remained in business. Overall, aside from the heavily devastated tourism industry, the markets for food and medicine were actually doing much better than before.
As Xing Ran walked through the market streets, the merchants in the shops all wore ingratiating smiles when they saw the Konoha Headband hanging around his neck.
Ninja lords from Konoha were often major customers with considerable spending power. They were also politically conscientious and would not engage in plunder, making them the best suckers—no, trading partners.
Xing Ran had mainly come this time to purchase medicine. Of course, having made the rare trip to the Land of Hot Water, enjoying the hot springs was essential as well.
He had arrived here with Might Guy and the others that morning. This time, Might Guy's Squad had been urgently assigned to transport a batch of supplies back to the camp that had just been destroyed. After Xing Ran explained that he needed to purchase some medicine, he left on his own. Might Guy even reminded Xing Ran to keep the receipt. It was hard to imagine Might Guy could be so attentive.
Medicine could be reimbursed by the village, though there was a limit. He could not buy too much or anything too expensive. Might Guy could not fully explain the exact requirements, but Xing Ran figured it certainly would not all be reimbursed. He did not mind; at most, he would have to gamble a few more rounds.
Besides that, Xing Ran knew about the shop before him, Wenton Grand Pharmacy. This pharmacy had countless ties to Konoha. It could not be considered a spy operation, but it was absolutely a trustworthy partner.
The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. The moment he saw Xing Ran's Konoha Headband, he knew what to do. The medicine prices were almost no different from those inside Konoha. Xing Ran took out a list he had prepared long ago and handed it to the shopkeeper to arrange. Paying the full amount at once was impossible; there were many precious medicinal ingredients on the list, and the shopkeeper needed time to retrieve them from the warehouse. Xing Ran handed over a deposit of fifty thousand ryō, and then it was time to find a casino.
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