Hidden Leaf Camp · Command tent
For several days, things had been unusually quiet on the Hidden Cloud front.
There were no large-scale offensives, no surprise attacks, and even harassment by small units had dwindled considerably.
Only the scouts on the front lines continued probing each other, occasionally exchanging blows before pulling back, as though maintaining some unspoken understanding.
It felt strange, like the calm before a storm, like two enormous beasts staring at each other in the darkness, each waiting for the other to expose a weakness.
Inside the command tent, Jiraiya stood before the map, his brow furrowed.
His right arm was still wrapped in bandages, but he could move it now.
Several captains sat on either side. Tianyi leaned in a corner with his eyes closed, resting, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee as though calculating something.
"Given Hidden Cloud's situation, we should have a decisive battle on our hands once the A-B Combo recovers." Jiraiya traced a finger across the map, from Hidden Cloud's position to the Leaf Village's defensive line.
"But they've been holding back all this time. I don't know what they're planning."
Nara Roku rose and walked over to the map. He pointed at the area where Tianyi had fought the Third Raikage.
"They haven't made any significant moves since their battle with Hyuga Tianyi.
We can't keep waiting like this. We need to start probing them on a larger scale. Tianyi, you'll-"
Before he could finish.
A piercing birdcall rang out from outside the tent, shrill and urgent, shattering the camp's silence.
It was the Black Hawk, sent only in the most urgent circumstances. Everyone in the tent paled.
Jiraiya spun around and lifted the entrance flap. A pitch-black messenger bird perched on the flagpole outside, a roll of red paper