All-Out Offensive! Push the Front Forward!

Meanwhile, at Konoha's frontline camp.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood before the map stand, his pipe rolling between the index and middle fingers of his right hand. Dozens of new markings had appeared on the situation map spread across the table. Since a few nights ago, Hidden Rain Village forces deep within their controlled territory had begun moving on a large scale. Communications from more than a dozen strongholds had been cut off simultaneously, and two companies rotating back from the front had vanished on the outskirts of Hidden Rain Village territory.

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe against the edge of the table, then turned to look at Jiraiya.

"Hatake Sakumo is still inside Hidden Rain Village territory. Judging by Hidden Rain Village's current strength on the main battlefield, their operation should have succeeded. That means they must be fleeing now. Dead or alive, there is already a problem with Hidden Rain Village's entire defensive line. Without sufficient strategic supplies, we can drag them down simply by stalling. At a time like this, all we need to do is contract our front."

Jiraiya drew a line upward across the situation map with his finger. It began in the depths of Hidden Rain Village territory and ended at the western outskirts of Konoha-controlled land, exactly matching the main direction in which Bai Ye and the other had escaped.

"It isn't that far from Hidden Rain Village's interior to the outskirts of Konoha-controlled territory." Jiraiya's finger lightly traced that line, as though measuring both distance and time. "Hidden Rain Village's forces are beginning to pull back. Hatake has made a massive hole in their interior, one big enough that Hanzo has no choice but to pull his fist back from outside. But if they do that, gaps will open in their frontline sectors. If we advance along the western front now, Hidden Sand Village's positions will be caught between us and Hidden Rain Village. We won't even need to fight—they'll withdraw on their own."

The Third Hokage did not respond. He set his pipe down, picked up a red pencil from the situation map, and drew a line across the northernmost part of the map. It was not an advance line, but a line of containment. The northern front was Orochimaru's defensive line, guarding against Hidden Stone Village pressing down from the north. If the western front advanced, where would the troops come from? They would have to be transferred from the north. If half the northern forces were pulled away, Hidden Stone Village would break through overnight and press down from the north. At that point, Konoha's three-front war would collapse in an instant, and the Land of Rain battlefield would go from a stalemate to a rout.

Jiraiya understood the meaning of the line the Third Hokage had drawn, but he remained where he was.

"If we advance from the west, Hidden Sand Village will retreat, and Hidden Stone Village will retreat as well. Hatake has caused such a huge disturbance in Hidden Rain Village's interior that Hanzo won't have the hands free to deal with us for at least several months. If we use this window of time to transfer the main force from the northern front to the western front, first take Hidden Sand Village's forward positions, then turn north before Hidden Stone Village can react..."

"What if Hidden Stone Village reacts faster than we do?" The Third Hokage's voice was quiet, but his tone carried an unquestionable judgment. "How many men does Orochimaru have on the northern front? You know better than I do. Konoha only has so many troops in the Land of Rain. The harder we push in the west, the weaker the north becomes. What if Hanzo does not leave that opening? What if he is moving his forces not to contract his lines, but to launch a fierce flanking attack once Konoha's main force has all been committed to the western front?"

Jiraiya fell silent. The Third Hokage was right—the risk was too great. The disturbance Hatake Sakumo had caused in Hidden Rain Village's interior was indeed enormous, enough to make Hanzo temporarily pull back his troops. But how long was "temporarily"? Ten days? Half a month? Too much intelligence was still unclear. The Third Hokage could not gamble all of Konoha's forces on an uncertain opportunity.

Jiraiya understood his teacher. The Third Hokage was not afraid of war. He was weighing the lives of several thousand Konoha shinobi. The life of one jonin was valuable, but on the scales of war, it could not outweigh the lives of hundreds of chunin and thousands of genin.

"I still think we should fight." Jiraiya turned toward the entrance. When he reached the curtain, he stopped without looking back. "Hatake fought his way out of Hidden Rain Village's interior with intelligence and his disciple, and their fate is still unknown. Outside, thousands of Konoha shinobi are waiting for a chance to turn the tide."

He lifted the curtain. "Hesitation in the face of a decision only brings disaster."

Then he walked out.

The Third Hokage stood motionless before the map stand. The pipe on the table had long gone cold. Outside the tent, Jiraiya's voice rang out as he gathered his adjutants and squad leaders, arranged battle plans, and deployed troops. The Third Hokage did not go out to stop him, because the name written as the supreme commander of Konoha's frontline battlefield in the Land of Rain was Jiraiya's. In wartime, the supreme commander held authority equal to the Hokage's, and replacing a commander on the eve of battle... was a grave battlefield taboo.

The combat meeting Jiraiya convened for all officers of squad leader rank and above lasted less than five minutes.

Jiraiya made the decision Konoha's frontline supreme commander needed to make: on the western front, in the direction of Hidden Sand Village, launch an all-out offensive. Pull every movable troop from the northern defensive sector and commit them to the west. He believed Orochimaru could withstand the pressure while he himself pushed across the entire front, taking the Hidden Rain Village line and bringing Hatake Sakumo and the other back.

"If the Third Hokage asks..."

"Don't worry about it. If he asks, tell him to come find me."

Jiraiya spread out the situation map. His finger began tracing the line that extended from Hidden Rain Village's interior to the outskirts of Konoha-controlled territory, then continued westward from there, drawing six arrows in a row. Each arrow represented a unit, each with a clear route of advance, speed of advance, and combat objective.

"First Unit takes the river valley and drives straight into the flank of Hidden Rain Village's forward positions. Second Unit crosses the northeastern ridgeline, circles around behind their strongholds, and cuts off their retreat. Third Unit advances with me through the center. Fourth and Fifth Units cover the left and right flanks respectively. Sixth Unit remains in the rear as the general reserve."

Jiraiya raised his head.

"In twelve hours, I want to see Konoha's flags flying above Hidden Rain Village's strongholds."

When word that multiple units were departing from their respective sectors reached Orochimaru's northern front, Orochimaru was standing before the map stand at the northern command post. In front of him lay the urgent dispatch Jiraiya had sent, with four words scrawled across it in an extremely messy hand—All-Out Western Offensive.

Orochimaru stared at those words for several seconds, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. His finger tapped twice against the map stand, on the weakest point of the northern defensive sector.

"Transfer thirty percent of the northern front's forces west. Fill the gaps in the defensive sector with traps and feints. Ignore Hidden Stone Village. They won't dare press this way."

If Orochimaru's northern front was broken through by Hidden Stone Village's army after it diverted forces to bolster the western front, Konoha might face a complete rout across the Land of Rain battlefield. But he gambled that Hidden Stone Village would not move. Hidden Rain Village's interior had been pierced through, and Hidden Sand Village's western defensive line was crumbling. Two of Konoha's three fronts were turning in its favor. Hidden Stone Village's line was left with only one isolated northern front. Orochimaru turned himself into the stone plugging a break in a flood embankment, using his own back to hold Konoha's most vulnerable line.

Tsunade's medical unit was the last to receive the order for the all-out offensive. She slammed a roll of bandages onto the table so hard that half the medical unit heard it.

"That white-haired lunatic!"

On the way to the western front, Tsunade personally walked at the very head of the column. It was not because she cared about Hatake Sakumo... What she cared about more was that brat crouching outside the medical unit's tent, cleaning instruments until every one gleamed and arranging every crate of medicine in perfect order. If they could advance faster, he should have a better chance of making it out of Hidden Rain Village's interior alive.