The Next Move

The Land of Wind, the Border Camp of Sunagakure.

In contrast to the relaxed atmosphere at the Konoha Camp, the Sunagakure was truly gloomy and desolate. Even after three days, the atmosphere in the Camp had not improved much.

Occasionally, one can hear sobbing coming from outside a passing tent, presumably from a loved one or close friend who died in the previous battle.

The Medical Camp is still overcrowded. Sunagakure's medical level is not as good as Konoha's, and this First Shinobi World War has resulted in heavy casualties. All the Medical Ninja have been busy for three days, but it is still a drop in the bucket.

They can only treat the seriously injured first; those with minor injuries can only be treated with ordinary medical methods and rely on the ninjas' strong physique to recover slowly.

Fortunately, the patrolling ninjas were all former border guards; otherwise, given the current condition of those who escaped, they probably wouldn't have even been able to react if Konoha had launched a surprise attack.

Inside the Central Army Tent, the Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizo, and Kazama, the Border Troops Commander, sat together.

Everyone remained silent; the atmosphere inside the tent was extremely heavy.

Kazama silence, Kazama, the Border Troops Commander, broke the silence. "Lord Kazekage, Elders, we've just received the latest statistics. A total of 1,185 people were evacuated from the Land of Rivers. Compared to pre-war figures, we suffered a total loss of 854 people in this battle, including 32 Jonin. Of course, some of these may have been captured by Konoha; those are also counted in the losses."

Although they had already made some predictions, the Fourth Kazekage, Chiyo, and Ebizo were still shocked when they first heard the number, and their faces became even more gloomy.

The defeat was truly devastating. After this First Shinobi World War, Sunagakure was almost powerless to fight Konoha again in the short term. If Konoha launched a major offensive at this time, with only its border troops, losing cities and territory would be inevitable.

"Is there any movement from Konoha?" Rasa asked Kazama, voicing his most pressing concern.

"According to the ninja's Scout, they are just cleaning up the battlefield and have not made any other moves. The front-line camp is still in the same position, neither moving forward nor retreating!" Kazama said, revealing a hint of ease in his voice as he spoke of the intelligence he had gathered.

"Clean up the battlefield? They're really cautious." Rasa curled his lip in disdain. He really hoped that Jiraiya could go crazy and send people directly to the Land of Wind. With the advantage of timing and location, the Sunagakure Ninja might be able to turn the tide. However, Jiraiya did not do so.

He didn't even move his Camp forward, clearly indicating that he wouldn't fight Sunagakure in the desert. This reassured Rasa, who didn't have to worry about Konoha attacking the Land of Wind, but it also disappointed him, as there was no chance of turning the tide.

"Lord Kazekage, we must first replenish the troops at the front. We are far too few men, and most of them are wounded. We cannot even provide the most basic defense."

Kazama reminded Kazekage that there were fewer than 700 truly usable men in the Camp now. Originally, because of the existence of the frontline Camp, their Border Troops were just an empty shell, as the elite personnel had been transferred to the frontline Camp.

Now they have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defense again. To be honest, with the current number of people, they can't even carry out basic surveillance along this long border, let alone defense.

Rasa also looked troubled. Where Sunagakure any extra troops? Should they reduce the number of ninjas in the village who were carrying out normal missions? That would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

"Let's redeploy troops from the Eastern Front. Mist Village hasn't made any moves lately, so the defensive pressure there is much less. We can send some people back, and at the same time, have each clan in the village squeeze out some more men. Gathering 500 men shouldn't be a problem. Once the wounded in the Camp have recovered, the defense will be fine."

Chiyo offered advice directly, and under the current circumstances, she would bear the corresponding responsibility for doing so. If anything went wrong because of her advice in the future, she would be primarily responsible.

Chiyo did this to alleviate the pressure on the Kazekage. Now that the front lines have been defeated, the Fourth Kazekage's prestige has undoubtedly suffered a severe blow, and the opposition in the village will be stirring again. She really doesn't want to see Sunagakure fall into any more internal strife at this time.

Rasa naturally understood Chiyo's good intentions. First, Ebizo lost his position as elder because he protected Ebizo's position, and now Chiyo was doing the same thing.

This made him value the position of Kazekage even more. No matter what, he could not lose the position of Kazekage. This was not only a responsibility to the village, but also because of the sacrifices made by the two elders for it. It was too heavy a burden.

While Sunagakure was still fretting over the lack of troops at the front, Konoha, deep in the Land of Fire, also received battle reports from the front lines.

In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his three Advisor were together. The atmosphere inside was lively, and even Shimura Danzō usually had a gloomy face, showed a rare smile at this moment.

All of this was due to a battle report on the table—a report of the battle Jiraiya from Southern Front.

Hiruzen Sarutobi on his pipe, his inhalation rate noticeably faster than usual. His eyes were squinted into slits, clearly indicating he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Danzo no longer found Hiruzen Sarutobi's smoke offensive; he simply waved his hand, creating a breeze that blew open the window on the wall. He stood calmly in place, pondering what benefits this battle report could bring him.

He's taking over as Commander of the western front tomorrow. Now that the southern front has achieved a great victory, we need to consider whether the village can allocate more supplies and personnel to the western front.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura made no attempt to hide their joy, especially Utatane Koharu, who had just returned from a visit to the Daimyo's Mansion, bringing the village 200 million ryo in war funds. Now, hearing this good news, it was truly a double blessing.

"That's great! Jiraiya won such a great victory, the threat from Sunagakure has been greatly reduced, and the pressure on the village has been alleviated a lot."

Koharu Utatane beamed with joy. This battle had truly given Konoha a much-needed respite. Not only had it crippled Sunagakure, but it had also severely deterred the villains. In particular, the death of the Jinchuriki, the Tailed Beast, would surely make the surrounding small, wavering nations much more obedient once the news spread.

"We won the battle, but what's our next strategy towards Sunagakure? Should we take this opportunity to attack their territory, or maintain the status quo? I noticed Jiraiya hasn't moved his Camp; he's probably waiting for further instructions from the village."

These words were spoken by Mitokado Homura, who was in charge of all the allocation of supplies during the war. This issue was also the most important topic going forward, as it concerned the distribution of resources in the village, and he could not afford to be careless.

"Naturally, we must intensify our attack, strike while the iron is hot, and finish him off. If we don't completely crush Sunagakure's forces now, once he recovers, it will be Konoha's problem again. Don't forget, Sunagakure has already set a precedent." Danzo, true to his reputation as a staunch advocate of war, immediately started shouting for battle.

Danzo's words were truly tempting, especially since they had been tricked by Sunagakure last time, which had diminished Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's influence on issues concerning Sunagakure. At this moment, they didn't refute Danzo, but simply looked at the Hokage to see if he had any thoughts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed their gazes, and after taking two leisurely puffs on his pipe, he slowly said, "Have Jiraiya retreat 30 kilometers from the Camp!"

"What!"

This time, it wasn't just Danzo who Danzo; even Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were baffled. Not only were they not attacking, but they were also retreating. Could this be another tactic of feigning weakness to deceive the enemy?

"Hiruzen, you can't be that weak, can you? The war has gone on like this, and you don't just kill Sunagakure with one blow, do you expect them to reconcile with you?!"

Danzo, and his words were utterly blunt, almost as if he were pointing his finger at Hiruzen Sarutobi and berating him for being weak and incompetent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, remained calm and composed, seemingly having everything under control. He tapped his pipe on the table to shake off the remaining ash, then placed the pipe steadily on the table before beginning his explanation.

"First of all, our decision not to attack does not mean we have given up the war;"

Furthermore, we do not have any particular ambition to occupy the land and resources of the Land of Wind. In addition, once we enter the Land of Wind, we will not have the advantage of favorable weather or terrain, and the casualties in a battle would be very high.

Finally, here's some intelligence that we just received recently.

With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a scroll from a drawer, handed it to the three Advisor, and gestured for them to read it before speaking.

Danzo didn't stand on ceremony, snatching the scroll and eagerly opening it. He wanted to see what kind of information could make Hiruzen Sarutobi make such a weak decision. Beside him, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also gathered around, looking at the scroll together.

The information in the scroll was quite simple: the intelligence ninja had discovered by chance that about a month ago, the Cloud Village had sent out a force of 100 men. Because they were worried that this force was aimed at the Northern Camp of the Konoha, the intelligence ninja paid special attention to the movement of this force.

It was discovered that this force had never returned after boarding a ship in a coastal city of the Land of Lightning. Half a month later, intelligence ninjas spotted the force's movements in the waters Land of Waves. They were continuing south, seemingly heading towards the Land of Wind.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged bewildered glances, unable to understand what the Raikage was up to. Was he sending troops from so far away to attack Sunagakure? And with such a small force, it didn't seem like he was going to.

Could it be that he's really built up his brain from his muscles, making him do things on a whim?

"I heard in previous battle reports that traces of Cloud Ninja were discovered within the Land of Wind!"

Danzo up to his Danzo; Root, and his sensitivity to intelligence was unmatched by ordinary people. He immediately thought of the Cloud Ninja that the Southern Front had mentioned in their previous report.

"That's right. According to intelligence analysis, the Cloud Village group is definitely going to deal with the Sunagakure. Judging by the time, they should be here by now. There's no need for us to clash with the Sunagakure at this point; that would only benefit the Cloud Village."

"It would be better if we retreated a bit, letting Sunagakure know we weren't interested in them. That way, when Cloud Ninja invades, they can focus on dealing with Cloud Ninja without worry."

How can this plan be described? It's a perfectly open and aboveboard scheme. Everything is done in accordance with the situation, without losing a single soldier. It's simply watching the Sunagakure and Cloud Village up openly and honestly.

Danzo glanced at the Hokage discreetly. He hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to have such a hidden skill. It seemed that Root's intelligence coverage was still lacking. Such important information, and they had no Root at all. It was truly a dereliction of duty.

"If that's the case, I have no objection."

Danzo put down the scroll in his hand and approved of the Hokage's decision. With such a good show, Konoha should naturally watch from the sidelines and wait for Sunagakure and Cloud Village to finish their battle before deciding whether to step in and beat the fleeing enemy or to decide on the next strategy based on the situation.

"Now, regarding Jiraiya's report on the allocation of personnel and supplies needed at the front lines, En, do you have any questions?"

Before Mitokado Homura could speak, Danzo directly voiced his objection.

"No, I've seen that Resupply list too. It's utter nonsense. If every front demands supplies like they do, Konoha's entire fortune will be emptied! As the frontline commander, you can't just think about the front lines; you also need to consider the village's situation."

Danzo spoke with such righteous indignation that if he hadn't said what he followed, everyone would have actually believed him.

"Furthermore, the strategy against Sunagakure has changed. There's no need to deploy so many ninjas to the Southern Front. Instead, we could consider recalling some personnel for rest, while sending others to the Western Front, which is even more short of manpower and supplies than the Southern Front."

Upon hearing this Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both turned their gazes to Danzo, wanting to see just how thick-skinned he was, as he spoke with unparalleled fluency in trying to gain an advantage for himself.

However, the two couldn't help but sigh that Danzo's timing was impeccable, and his reasons were quite valid. Considering the current situation in Konoha, it was indeed necessary to prioritize Resupply the Western Front.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless, but as the Commander, he couldn't really say anything about Danzo. He simply looked at Mitokado Homura and asked for his opinion.

"Konoha has plenty of supplies, but as Danzo said, the situation in Sunagakure has stabilized, and their numbers and Resupply do need to be reduced. I think we should replenish them to half of what they listed."

Mitokado Homura considered the situation on Jiraiya's side and gave his assessment, but he didn't mention anything about the problems on the Western Front.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in agreement, and then said to Danzo, "Your supplies will be fully replenished, but don't worry about personnel. Just pick more people from Root and send them over!"

Danzo his head and obeyed, but no one saw the trace of resentment in his eyes. This Hiruzen was becoming increasingly wary of him, still controlling his manpower even at a time like this. Fortunately, he didn't expect to get many people from him; as long as the supplies were arranged, he had achieved his goal.

"Koharu, draft a list of 100 people who have stayed at the Southern Camp the longest. Have them escort this seriously wounded soldier back to Konoha. They'll be on leave this time," Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed calmly.

"Yes!"

"Oh right, let's include Taichi Matsushita too. That kid has done a great job again, taking down a Tailed Beast all by himself. Although he has the ability to counter it, his combat power is top-tier even in the entire Hidden Leaf Konoha. I can't hold back his promotion any longer. Now that he's back, let's promote him to Jonin!"

The Hokage's seemingly casual instruction drew puzzled glances from Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, while Danzo wore a barely perceptible smile.

Are they holding back people from promotions? I heard the excuse they gave before was insufficient missions, but now they're starting to worry, so they're using that as an excuse to bring people back from the front lines. They really have a thick skin!