In the center of the camp's sprawling tents, there stands an isolated square tent.
It was a meeting place in the temporary patrol base specifically used by the internal personnel to organize data and report on their work. If there was anything important that needed to be reported, it was also in this place. Sato Hideaka followed the three ninjas to the ninja guards' meeting room.
"This area, and the defense line here, must be the focus of our defense... and this area too. Our troops must maintain contact with the ninjas led by Lord Jiraiya on the border of the Land of Fields, and keep in touch every half day in case the situation changes..."
Sato Hideaka opened the tent flap, he saw more than thirty people standing inside. Among them were several people Sato Hideaka recognized, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, and other key figures in the village.
At this moment, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was standing in the middle of the tent, holding a wooden stick resembling a pointer. He was gesturing back and forth on a map measuring one meter by one and a half meters, observing the personnel deployment and a series of tasks...
Upon seeing Sato Hideaka pull back the curtain and enter the tent from the outside, Sarutobi Shinnosuke stopped speaking, nodded, and said, "Ao, you've been working on the border of the Land of Grass for a month. Is there any special intelligence you need to report?"
Seeing that Sarutobi Shinnosuke shifted his attention, all thirty-odd people in the tent turned their gazes toward Sato Hideaka.
Seeing everyone's gaze turn towards him, Sato Hideaka showed no embarrassment, nodded calmly, and said, "Recently, the Iwagakure forces have been frequently bypassing the Land of Grass and harassing our borders. The Land of Grass's intelligence reporting has slowed down, mainly because the Iwagakure Ninja are operating more frequently and deploying increasingly elite ninjas. I think we must increase our investment in border ninja forces..."
"Yes, indeed. The Third Hokage has received information that Iwagakure and Kumogakure have simultaneously increased the frequency and intensity of their attacks on our border. This time, we will station six thousand ninjas on the border of the Land of Grass and six thousand ninjas on the border of the Land of Fields to prevent sneak attacks from Iwagakure Ninja!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing Sato Hideaka Sarutobi Shinnosuke's words, Sato Hideyuki's blue pupils beneath his Monkey Mask constricted. A full twelve thousand ninjas—more than a third of Konoha's current military strength—what had happened to warrant such a large-scale mobilization of ninjas to the border?
This matter is probably not as simple as it seems...
Sarutobi Shinnosuke exchanged a few pleasantries with Hideaka, waved his hand, and continued pointing at the map, resuming the work of assigning tasks. The food, clothing, and supplies for six thousand people, as well as their overall coordination, were complex matters. The thirty-odd people in the tent were the leaders managing these six thousand-plus people...
"The First and Second Battalions will be stationed on the main battlefield to prevent Iwagakure directly breaking through the Land of Grass and entering our defense lines; the Third Battalion will be stationed in the east to contact Lord Jiraiya's team and be ready to provide support at any time... The Fifth Battalion will be stationed in the southwest to prevent Iwagakure Ninja from crossing the Land of Rain and attacking our flanks; the Sixth Battalion will exchange information and guard the headquarters!"
"Alright, the details of this mission have been explained to everyone. If you have any questions, please ask. This matter concerns the safety of the Land of Fire's border, and even the safety of the entire Land of Fire. We must not make any mistakes in command...!"
The group exchanged glances and shook their heads, indicating they had no questions. Under Sarutobi Shinnosuke's direction, the meeting had clearly explained the mission details. The ninjas gradually dispersed and began to organize their work.
"What on earth happened? Why would so many troops be mobilized to the north...?"
After everyone had gradually dispersed, Sato Hideaka frowned and asked Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke raised an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with Nara Shikaku beside him, and then asked with interest, "Why are so many people being deployed to the northern defense line? Ao, what do you think is the reason for our troop movement this time?"
"Is it the western or Eastern Defense Line? It should be the Western Defense Line, right? Could it be that Sunagakure is about to go to war with Konoha...?"
Sato Hideaka pondered for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes and said in disbelief.
Nara Shikaku's usually calm and expressionless face twitched slightly upon hearing Sato Hideaka's words, while Sarutobi Shinnosuke's mouth dropped open in disbelief as he stammered, "Ao, you, you... you, how did you know?"
"The simultaneous deployment of 6,000 troops to the borders of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, with the same number of defenders, indicates that the information we have received suggests that neither of these two countries has launched an attack. Therefore, there are two possibilities: one is that these two great powers have signed an alliance to launch a simultaneous attack on our Land of Fire; the other is that they do not have a clear intention to launch a large-scale invasion, but rather that other defensive lines have encountered problems, and the deployment of troops here is a form of deterrence and defense..."
"However, the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning are both vast countries with large populations, and are two of the Five Great Nations powers. If they really signed an alliance to jointly invade our Land of Fire, they probably wouldn't have only sent 12,000 troops to guard the border between the two countries. There is no doubt that there is a problem with other defenses!"
Sato Hideaka gently shook his head and analyzed the situation seriously.
After listening, Sarutobi Shinnosuke asked with some doubt, "Then why don't you think it was the Eastern Defense Line, the Kirigakure of the Land of Water that launched the attack? Why are you so sure that the Western Defense Line of the Sunagakure Land of Wind has encountered a problem?"
Upon hearing Sarutobi Shinnosuke's question, Sato Hideaka became even more certain of his judgment, chuckled lightly, and decisively laid out his entire analysis:
" The Land of Water is an island nation. If the ninjas of Land of Water (Kirigakure) want to invade our Land of Fire, they must use the islands of the now-defunct Land of Land of Whirlpools as a springboard. This would create a long battlefront, making supplies difficult to obtain. They won't easily get involved in a war unless they have an absolute chance of victory. They will only wait for the various countries on the continent to be embroiled in conflict before taking the opportunity to land and fight..."
The Land of Water is very similar to Britain in the previous life. Its remote location makes its internal environment relatively stable, which is very suitable for recuperation. However, because of its remote location, it is difficult for it to join a war on the continent. It can only wait for an opportunity to influence the countries of the continent from overseas.
Most importantly, according to the timeline, we should be very close to the start of the Third Shinobi World War. The Third Shinobi World Third Shinobi World War was started by Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, followed by the participation of various major powers, which eventually led to Konoha in the Land of Fire being surrounded by enemies on all sides!
A wry smile appeared on Sarutobi Shinnosuke's lips as he said with some admiration, "You really are only eight years old? You seem almost as cunning as the shrewd Shikaku...!"
"Cough, cough, cough cough..."
Nara Shikaku clenched his right fist and placed it near his mouth, coughing twice before saying, "This isn't cunning, but analysis—a conclusion drawn from rigorous logical reasoning. Ao's analysis of the situation between the major powers, and the details therein, is indeed quite good..."
Sato Hideaka, the transmigrator, remained unfazed by Nara Shikaku's praise. His analysis was largely based on conclusions drawn from online analyses of the Naruto world by netizens from his previous life, far inferior to the cunning Nara Shikaku. However, since he was the only one in this world who knew the course of history, he could accept the praise without hesitation...
Those with thick skin are invincible!
But what exactly happened on the Western Front? Could it really be the Third Kazekage...?
Beneath the Monkey Mask, Sato Hideaka raised an eyebrow and asked Sarutobi Shinnosuke with a questioning tone, "What exactly happened on the Western Front that necessitates the mobilization of such a large number of troops across all fronts?"
"War may be unavoidable. The Third Kazekage Kazekage Sunagakure, has disappeared without a trace. And the most troublesome thing now is that a lot of rumors are spreading within the Land of Wind and Sunagakure itself. They believe that our Konoha ninja killed their Kazekage."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke sighed, his tone somewhat grave.
War is always associated with death. No one likes war, but no one can escape it!
"In my recollection, it seems that due to the disasters of recent years, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind has reduced the financial budget for Sunagakure. However, the Third Kazekage has been waging war this year, increasing the number of active ninjas and engaging in military competition with Konoha. The village's internal finances have fallen into a deficit. Is it possible that this is a conspiracy by Sunagakure to divert attention from internal conflicts?"
This " Naruto " is a world, not the kind of hot-blooded plot depicted in anime. Every action a nation takes has a reason. The Sunagakure the Land of Wind urgently needs an external war to reduce the number of ninjas and decrease internal conflicts. This is the most important reason why the Sunagakure of the Land of Wind still insists on waging war despite knowing that it is no match for the enemy.
All these signs led Sato Hideaka to suspect that this was a conspiracy by the Sunagakure leadership to divert attention from internal conflicts!
Sarutobi Shinnosuke shook his head, saying somewhat strangely, "No, this shouldn't be a conspiracy by Sunagakure. The fact that the Third Kazekage's disappearance is related to Konoha isn't unfounded. A Konoha Anbu unit once appeared in the Land of Wind, and many people in the Land of Wind saw this unit. However, not long after this unit disappeared, the Third Kazekage vanished!"
"But what's strange is that the Third Hokage never sent Anbu units to the Land of Wind. This means that those Anbu units that entered the Land of Wind were likely imposters, and the Third Kazekage's disappearance is probably related to this unit. Our biggest suspect is Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, because the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth are only a few countries apart, but..."
Sato Hideaka narrowed his eyes slightly, but the Land of Wind is even more barren than the Land of Earth!
If it wasn't about invading the Land of Wind, then the target was the Land of Fire...
Did Sasori of the Red Sands conspire with the Land of Earth? (To be continued.)