Konoha Counterattacks

If Nawaki had known what the leaders of the various countries were thinking, he would have laughed at how much they were overthinking things. Although he had long prepared for the Third Shinobi World War, all his preparations had focused on strengthening Konoha's hard power and refining tactical details. He had no intention of changing the grand strategy and had merely planned to follow the course of events.

He knew that, given Konoha's current strength, it would inevitably become the common target of every nation. Yet those nations would never truly unite, so rather than exhaust himself making useless arrangements, it was better to let events follow their natural course. That would actually give him a surer grasp of the situation.

Thus, the reactions of the various nations were exactly what Nawaki had hoped for. Although the hundred thousand Shinobi Army that had invaded West Forest had been wiped out, that did not mean Konoha had defeated Sunagakure. Sunagakure still had fifty thousand elite troops within its borders, as well as a complete air force held in reserve, and would not readily admit defeat to Konoha.

Most of the hundred thousand troops Sunagakure had dispatched this time were young shinobi cultivated over the past decade or so through vast expenditures of resources, with civilians and orphans making up more than half. Most of the true elites who had experienced the Second Shinobi World War had remained at Sunagakure's headquarters. Only a small number had joined this surprise attack as the upper echelon's backbone. These people were all in their prime, with even the weakest possessing chunin-level strength, and they had much richer combat experience. They were Sunagakure's true pillars. Naturally, the more than sixty thousand Sand Ninja captured by Konoha were equally important to Sunagakure, for they represented the village's