Night Raid

"What if they don't follow us?"

Jiraiya's eyes darted about uncertainly at that.

"Pfft—"

"Not follow us?"

"How could they possibly not follow us?"

"Right now, Konoha is a juicy piece of meat in their eyes. As long as we take one step back, they'll take two, three, or even more steps forward..."

"Besides, even if they don't follow us, we can strike back!"

"As long as the pace of the war remains in our hands, the Raikage's surprise-attack tactics will be rendered useless. We can fight however we want!"

Mokume Kotō spoke with certainty, successfully giving Jiraiya a bit more confidence.

Clap!

"Good, we'll do as you say! Let those crafty Cloud Ninja have a taste of the power of Mount Myoboku's Toad Sage."

Jiraiya rubbed his fists together, looking ready for a major fight.

Meanwhile!

By a pool of water in the distance, the Raikage was leading a group of men as they rested.

"Lord Raikage, the results of last night's battle have been tallied!"

"Speak..."

"Yes!"

"Fifty-six Jonin and two hundred nineteen Chunin took part in last night's raid on Konoha under Lord Raikage's command! Of those, seven Jonin were killed and eleven were severely wounded. Among the Chunin, twenty-six were killed and nineteen were severely wounded! Our remaining usable forces consist of thirty-eight Jonin and one hundred seventy-four Chunin!"

"Mm—I understand. Have all the wounded been sent back to the medical camp to recover?"

The Raikage sat by the pool with his back to the messenger, trying to keep his tone level.

Hearing that, his subordinate respectfully replied, "People have already been sent to escort them back to the medical camp. Some lightly injured Jonin will also return with the escort teams. Our fighting strength won't decline too much!"

"Under Lord Raikage's leadership, we will