Lightning Strike on Tang Country

On the very day the military council ended, Nawaki ordered the entire army to break camp and disperse into the key fortified towns that the Land of Hot Water had lent them.

To further mislead the Land of Hot Water, Nawaki did not immediately launch a surprise attack after the army moved in. Instead, he sent two diplomatic missions to the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water respectively, attempting to persuade their upper echelons to join Konoha in attacking the Land of Lightning. Meanwhile, the entire army remained within the Land of Hot Water.

After receiving Konoha's envoys, the Land of Hot Water's upper echelons indeed grew suspicious of Konoha's ninja remaining in their country. In their view, the Land of Frost had yet to agree to grant passage, and negotiations would take time. Besides, Konoha's ninja were unsuited to the icy, snow-covered environment of the Land of Frost, so it was perfectly normal for them to remain in the Land of Hot Water for the time being.

The negotiations unexpectedly dragged on for more than half a month without reaching a conclusion. The upper echelons of both the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Water readily agreed to Konoha's request for passage, but when it came to joining forces against the Land of Lightning, they came up with every possible excuse to evade the matter. The leaders of both countries were slick old foxes who thoroughly understood the art of deflection, leaving Konoha's envoys utterly exasperated by their formidable arguments.

The upper echelons of the various Shinobi World nations, who had been following the war closely, secretly mocked Konoha upon hearing that its envoys had hit a wall. They only thought that although Skywalker was clever, he lacked experience in dealing with people. Trying