Konoha in Isolation

The war between Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village has entered its twentieth day.

To prevent the situation from deteriorating further, the Fourth Mizukage Genji over a thousand Hidden Mist Village reinforcements to the front lines to confront Iwagakure.

The presence of the Mizukage on the battlefield naturally inspired the Kirigakure Ninja, who launched a counterattack with overwhelming momentum, displaying a spirit of 'a desperate army is bound to win'.

As the attackers, can Iwagakure, with its advantage, avoid this onslaught?

Under the command of Tsuchikage Ōnoki, the air force was immediately mobilized as the vanguard to bombard the area and suppress the arrogance of the Kirigakure Ninja.

As the number of Kirigakure Ninja increased, the Iwagakure Village's air force also expanded from the original two hundred to five hundred.

This group includes both newly recruited Black Market mercenaries who have signed formal employment contracts with Iwagakure, and native Iwagakure ninjas who have completed basic flight training and been incorporated into the air force.

This ninja battlefield, where two Five Kage personally led the charge to the front lines, was a terrifying meat grinder.

The battlefield spanned tens of kilometers, leveling a major city in a Land of Water, more than a dozen small and medium-sized towns, along with the surrounding mountains and forests.

Fortunately, the civilians of the Land of Water in the combat zone were relocated at the beginning of the war; otherwise, this battle might have resulted in the annihilation of millions of civilians from the Land of Water in the blink of an eye, dying in the aftermath of the ninja battle.

The earthquake created by the combined Earth Release techniques of the Iwagakure Ninja and the Hidden Mist Village unleashed by the combined Water Release of the Kirigakure ninja was like a primal collision between two natural disasters.

Faced with such destructive power on a cataclysmic scale, even a weak ninja would be crushed to pieces by the aftershocks, let alone Ordinary People who cannot control Chakra; they would only die a more miserable death, leaving no trace.

The unrestrained fighting between Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village also shocked the ninjas from other countries who were observing the situation.

Even the Jinchūriki of both sides were dispatched to the front lines, unleashing the power of their Tailed Beasts to confront each other head-on.

Faced with a clash of forces of this magnitude, words seem pale and powerless.

--Konoha, Hokage Building.

Hiruzen summoned two advisors, along with the heads of the major Konoha ninja clans and a group of Konoha Jonin members, to hold a meeting in a large conference room.

The intense clash between Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village truly exceeded Konoha's initial expectations.

They did not expect that in the blink of an eye, the two sides would engage in an extremely fierce and large-scale battle.

Judging from the results, the Iwagakure side, playing away from home, had the upper hand in this battle, with the Fourth Mizukage Genji repeated defeats on the battlefield.

Despite personally going to the battlefield, he still couldn't reverse the decline of the Hidden Mist Village.

This was not unexpected by Konoha. According to their speculation, the Land of Night and Iwagakure had likely completed intelligence sharing before the war, which resulted in Iwagakure obtaining most of Hidden Mist Village's confidential information and thus formulating countermeasures.

Without the ability to bring in external forces to intervene, Hidden Mist Village is facing Iwagakure alone, and it is inevitable that they will be at a disadvantage in the battle.

In this situation, avoiding large-scale battles is actually the right strategy.

It was only because the speed of Iwagakure's attack was too fast that it didn't give Hidden Mist Village any time to react, constantly forcing them to engage in battle, which led to that intense battle.

Facing the Hidden Mist Village, the Iwagakure is like having a third eye.

However, although this is a battle between Iwagakure and Hidden Mist Village, it doesn't mean it won't affect other countries.

There are no small matters between major powers. Once two major powers go to war, it is never just a matter between the two countries.

If handled poorly, it could become the trigger for a new round of the Shinobi World War.

Not to mention, other forces had already become involved in the war.

The Land of Night, Hidden Cloud Village.

Neither side was directly involved, but everyone knew they were engaged in an extremely tense military standoff.

Moreover, setting aside the battlefield in the Land of Water, the villages of Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Rain Village are also sitting on a powder keg, just one step away from lighting the fuse of war.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Of the Five Great Nations, four are either already involved in conflict or about to be.

The Land of Night, possessing military strength comparable to that of major powers, also did not stand idly by, but instead sided with Iwagakure and supported Iwagakure in launching the war.

At the heart of this storm, Konoha was surprisingly peaceful and prosperous, leaving Konoha isolated in a corner.

"... This is the Lord Hokage's strategic plan for the current situation of the village and the country. Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

Sitting next to Hiruzen, Jonin Commander Shikamon Nara finished recounting the Hokage's various plans and decisions from his prepared remarks. He then looked at the Konoha clan leader and Jonin members present, indicating that they could now offer their suggestions.

The clan leaders and Jonin their heads or remained silent, clearly feeling that Hiruzen's arrangements were perfectly in place and that they didn't need to add anything further.

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic, which is a procurement plan for new military equipment."

Shikamon spoke again, his voice calm and even.

He paused for a moment before speaking:

"Regarding the flying ninja tools displayed by Iwagakure during their military operations in the Land of Water, according to intelligence provided by the Anbu, these flying ninja tools were most likely manufactured by the Land of Night and provided to Iwagakure for use. Judging from the role these ninja tools played on the battlefield in the Land of Water, they possess considerable strategic and tactical capabilities."

Therefore, purchasing these flying ninja tools from the Land of Night can greatly enhance Konoha's military strength, making it a very valuable endeavor.

This was less of an agenda item and more of a formal announcement, informing everyone present of the Hokage's official decision.

After saying this, Shikamon looked directly at the crowd in front of him.

"Next, we will select a representative to travel to the Land of Night to negotiate the purchase of this new type of ninja tool. I wonder who would be willing to go as envoy?"

As soon as he finished speaking, many people in the conference room unconsciously turned their gazes to Kiyoharu Hyuga Clan.

Not long ago, the former head of the Hyuga Clan stepped down, and this new head Kiyoharu, became the new head of the clan with an overwhelming majority of votes passed unanimously within the clan.

Although the opponent's strength is among the strongest in the Hyuga Clan, such a powerful individual is not unique in the Hyuga Clan Konoha.

The reason he has such an overwhelming advantage is probably because his personal charisma is too outstanding.

"Since no one else is willing, I'll go myself, Lord Hokage."

Kiyoharu stood up from his chair, glanced briefly at the impassive Hiruzen, and took the initiative to accept this important task.

It's better to be straightforward than to be directly named later.

This can be considered an unspoken dialogue between the Hyuga Clan and the Hokage.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Kiyoharu."

Hiruzen finally spoke, nodding solemnly and entrusting the entire military procurement task to the Hyuga Clan.

Before the meeting ended, Hiruzen added one more sentence:

"By the way, Clan Chief Kiyoharu, please come to my office later. I'll give you a list of Ninjutsu transactions, which you can take with you to the Land of Night for negotiations."

Money alone may not be of much interest to the Land of Night, but by catering to their desires, one can always find a way to break through Land of Night trade defenses.

In short, Hiruzen is determined to obtain this flying ninja tool!