War Begins

"Commanders, the scouting teams sent to investigate the Jashin Cult strongholds have suffered heavy losses!"

After Sasuke and Gaara made their moves one after another, the news swiftly reached the Konoha-Sunagakure Joint Command Headquarters.

Ebizo's expression turned solemn as he calmly asked, "How severe are the losses?"

"Konoha lost one-quarter of its forces, while Sunagakure lost one-third."

"One-third?"

Even someone as battle-hardened as Ebizo nearly sprang out of his chair upon hearing that.

Sunagakure was unlike Konoha, which possessed numerous secret-technique clans capable of training sensory shinobi, such as the Aburame Clan and the Inuzuka Clan.

Not to mention the Hyuga Clan, which specialized in reconnaissance. Nearly every Hyuga member with shinobi talent who could awaken the Byakugan was a qualified scouting shinobi.

Therefore, Konoha was not particularly lacking in scouting shinobi.

Sunagakure, on the other hand, had few Kekkei Genkai clans to begin with, and secret-technique clans were equally scarce. Training sensory shinobi depended entirely on whether individual shinobi possessed the talent for it.

Losing one-third in a single blow—how could Ebizo not be alarmed?

Jiraiya also grew serious. "What happened?"

After all, those scouting squads had not been made up entirely of reconnaissance personnel.

Each squad usually had only one scouting shinobi. The other two were combat-oriented shinobi responsible for protecting the sensory shinobi while they gathered intelligence.

Normally, based on the strength the Jashin Cult had displayed before, it should not have caused such shocking casualties.

Faced with questions from Ebizo and Jiraiya, the highest commanders of their respective shinobi villages, Nara Touya naturally did not conceal anything.

"All areas under the Jashin Cult's control are shrouded in a special fog. The ecosystem inside is completely different from the outside world."

"Not only do the Inuzuka Clan's ninja hounds lose their sense of direction, but even the