Underground Laboratory, Strange White Snake Corpse

Inside the Hokage Office in Konoha!

After Tsunade, Shikaku, Fugaku, and Hiashi had discussed matters for a long time, they ultimately decided to follow Hiashi's suggestion and launch an offensive against Iwagakure first.

With the plan settled, Tsunade immediately gave the order to begin the operation.

This time, Tsunade did not merely send a few elite powerhouses to intimidate them as she had with Sunagakure. She knew that would not be enough.

Iwagakure was nothing like Sunagakure. Tsunade knew this was a tough bone to crack.

But no matter how hard it was, she would crush it completely this time.

This operation would be led jointly by Fugaku and Hiashi, who would lead an army of ten thousand shinobi to the border of the Land of Fire.

Tsunade's orders were for them to occupy the Land of Stone upon reaching the border, then temporarily station themselves there and await further instructions.

Before long, countless shinobi throughout Konoha received their orders and began assembling.

Near dusk, Fugaku and Hiashi set out with nearly ten thousand shinobi.

To be safe, Tsunade assigned Guy to Fugaku and Hiashi as their vanguard.

Although Guy was now extremely powerful, he did not possess outstanding leadership skills. He could manage a few squads, but commanding hundreds of people would already be somewhat difficult for him, let alone nearly ten thousand.

In truth, if she had not been concerned about Kirigakure, Tsunade's original plan had been to have Kakashi partner with Guy to lead these shinobi.

But plans could never keep up with changes. With Kakashi absent, she could only have Fugaku and Hiashi take his place. As clan heads, they might not possess top-tier combat strength, but they had exceptional leadership abilities.

Leading ten thousand shinobi was not particularly difficult for them.

At a desolate