Iwagakure's Surprise Attack

The ceasefire agreement between Konoha and Sunagakure quickly spread throughout the Shinobi World. At first, everyone felt that Sunagakure was being far too pathetic to accept such harsh terms. But on second thought, given Sunagakure's current situation, if they did not surrender, they might not even be able to keep their remaining territory. With that, everyone accepted it.

Although Konoha had not expended much strength this time, the outcome was still barely acceptable to the other nations. It was far better than having the entire Land of Wind swallowed by Konoha.

Iwagakure was the most dissatisfied with this development. They had already secretly completed all preparations, and the Shinobi Army assigned to the surprise attack had quietly left the village and headed for the battlefield. Then, at this very moment, they suddenly learned that the two nations had reached a ceasefire!

According to their original plan, Sunagakure was supposed to hold back Konoha's main force. Faced with fighting on two fronts, Konoha would surely concentrate its full strength on eliminating the relatively weaker Land of Wind. Meanwhile, Iwagakure would deploy a small force, focusing on defense and gradually dragging out the battle. Given enough time, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water surely would not stand by and watch the Land of Wind be completely destroyed, and would send troops to besiege Konoha. Once those two nations had been dragged into the conflict, Iwagakure's pressure would lessen considerably. Then, whether to attack or defend could be decided according to the situation. They would be free to advance or retreat.

This plan was not particularly brilliant, but it was reliable. It could fail, but it would never end in a disastrous defeat. It was obvious that it had been devised by that sly old fox, Ōnoki.

But just as