Strategy

Message Hawks flew in and out of Konoha Camp, bringing back report after report. Intelligence officers compiled them and passed them to the Command Department.

"The situation isn't looking good," Elder Shinsuke said. "Our shinobi scattered across the Land of Rain are being hunted by the Land of Wind and Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain is taking advantage of our troubles.

"Many squads have sent requests for help."

"The Land of Wind and Land of Earth hold the advantage right now, so the Land of Rain will naturally avoid confronting them," Fugaku said. "That makes Konoha, which appears weaker, its main target. By weakening Konoha, the Land of Rain can also help those two nations advance into the Land of Fire sooner.

"It wants to shift the center of the battlefield into the Land of Fire and reduce its own losses. What we need to do now is stabilize Konoha's position in the Land of Rain.

"The Wind-Earth Allied Forces have plenty of internal conflicts themselves. Shared interests are the only thing holding them together. Once they see no chance of breaking into the Land of Fire, I doubt it will take long for them to fall apart."

"Fugaku is right. As the main battlefield, the Land of Rain has reason to hate the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth," Orochimaru said. "But the Rain shinobi are too few.

"Even if they declare all-out war, they can't overcome the other three nations. Right now, the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain are all targeting Konoha. Our best option is to defeat them one at a time.

"Once we get through this crisis, we can start with the Rain shinobi. Hanzō's main goal is to end