The Land of Swamps bordered the Land of Demons, and both countries lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
Whether intentional or not, the direction they had chosen for the Shrine Maiden's temporary retreat was south—toward the Land of Wind.
However, the moment those words were spoken, they met with fierce opposition.
"Absolutely not!"
Tessa, a Sunagakure jonin, rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
What a joke. Most of Sunagakure's elite were currently gathered on the Land of Rivers front, locked in a stalemate with Konoha. Only a handful of powerful figures such as Ebizo and Rasa remained in the village, along with a little over a thousand ordinary shinobi.
If the Ghost Army and Moryo were allowed into the Land of Wind, and they failed to deal with them, enemies of that level would be a disaster for Sunagakure. It might even affect the battle on the front lines.
After all, with their home on fire, the Kazekage and the others could not possibly continue fighting Konoha with peace of mind. If the situation in the rear became too severe and Konoha took the opportunity to pressure them, they might even be forced to make peace with Konoha in order to return as soon as possible for disaster relief.
At the thought of such consequences, Tessa shuddered. He even suspected this was Konoha's scheme to cut off the firewood from beneath the cauldron.
"The Land of Earth is equally close. Why not go there instead?"
he demanded coldly.
This attempt to shift the disaster immediately drew furious glares from Iwagakure's side.
"What did you say?"
Hikō glared at Tessa, looking ready to attack at the slightest disagreement.
At that moment, Nara Shikaku smiled faintly and stopped the two sides from drawing swords against each other.
He