Arrival at the camp

The Third Division immediately headed toward the other battlefields. Along the way, Senju Toka received a letter delivered by a ninja hawk. She skimmed it and told the others, "The First and Second Divisions have finished fighting. The main force of Kumogakure Ninja was stopped and forced to retreat."

Everyone was delighted to hear this. With that, Kumogakure Ninja Village's surprise attack had failed completely. But before they could celebrate for long, Senju Toka dampened their spirits.

"Don't celebrate too soon. The Kumogakure Ninja haven't gone back to the Land of Lightning," Senju Toka said with a frown. "Most of the towns along their invasion route have been occupied by the Land of Lightning's Samurai Legion. They're using those towns as bases to establish defensive lines. The Second Hokage wanted to launch a surprise attack, but the First and Second Divisions suffered heavy losses. With the Land of Lightning's Samurai already there, he had no choice but to rest and regroup."

"Does that mean we're heading into a prolonged war?" Danzo asked.

"Exactly," Senju Toka said. "There's no need to rush now, since neither Kumogakure nor our side intends to attack immediately, but we should still join the main force as soon as possible."

The Third Division set off again. Sticking to the main roads would have made the journey take far too long, but ninja were different from samurai. Their organization allowed them to move through terrain that large armies could not traverse. After taking several difficult shortcuts, the Third Division reached the area where the other divisions were stationed.

"I see them. They're over there." Hyuga Qi pointed out the main force's location to Senju Toka.

As Senju Toka led the Third Division closer, she saw that a Medical Camp had already been established. This would serve as