The fleet docked, and after a long journey, the medical staff of the Frontline Support Battalion finally arrived safely in the Jingu Forest region. But the struggle between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind over this mission was far from over!
First, on Konoha's side.
With help from the local garrison and conscripted laborers, construction of the Field Hospital had officially begun on the 11th of this month!
On the map, this location and Kikyo Castle lay at the southern and northern ends of the Kamou Basin, respectively, perfectly guarding the gap midway along the southwest-to-northeast stretch of the Koya Mountains.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen to build the Forward Base here not only because of its commanding position overlooking the entire basin, but also because the two fortresses at the basin's northern and southern ends could support each other, ensuring the safety of logistical transport around the Kamou Basin to the greatest extent possible.
After all, among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, whose strengths were roughly comparable, a swift victory was nearly impossible once an all-out conflict broke out.
As the two sides wore down each other's fighting strength, highly mobile units like shinobi were naturally adept at flanking maneuvers and disrupting supply lines behind enemy lines.
In other words, once the fighting bogged down, both sides would be more inclined to bypass heavily fortified front lines and strike non-military facilities within enemy territory than to stake everything on a decisive frontal battle.
...As everyone knew, war was a matter of money.
By destroying supply routes and lines of communication, an army's frontline consumption could multiply. Thus, in the post-mythic era, most decisive battles in shinobi wars broke out only after one side's national treasury could no longer afford to maintain its forces.
Seen from this angle,