Fugaku arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
He had brought only a few hundred shinobi.
According to the Third Generation's instructions,
he only needed to remain stationed there.
If the Land of Rain fell completely, he would step forward to negotiate with Sunagakure.
Sunagakure could take the Land of Rain's wealth.
But it had to vacate this buffer zone between the two great nations.
The Land of Rain had to be allowed to rebuild.
If Sunagakure continued advancing toward Konoha,
Fugaku would lead his shinobi to stop them.
That was the full extent of Fugaku's assignment under the Third Generation's original plan.
But after Fugaku arrived, he spent just two days resting in place and assessing the shinobi's actual abilities.
Then, when the Land of Rain blindly attacked them yet again, he issued an order that no one could understand.
"Follow me! We're fighting back!!"
The shinobi all looked utterly bewildered.
They even wondered whether they had misheard him.
What did he mean, fight back?
"What did Clan Leader Fugaku say?"
"Didn't you hear? Clan Leader Fugaku said to follow him and fight back!"
"Uh..."
"We're fighting back with just a hundred-odd shinobi?"
They were supposed to be the defenders.
There were barely any troops stationed here to begin with.
Most of Konoha's forces were concentrated on the Iwagakure and Kumogakure fronts.
Konoha had very few troops facing Sunagakure and Kirigakure.
There were barely enough to hold their positions.
Even though their opponent was the Land of Rain, not one of the great nations,
a hundred-odd shinobi still seemed far too few.
And if they attacked the Land of Rain too, they would effectively be squeezing it between themselves and Sunagakure.
Once the Land of Rain fell,
they would come face-to-face with