Once the village's spies relayed word from the Cloud Ninja that the Third Raikage had recovered, even the normally carefree Jiraiya rarely smiled anymore.
An air of impending crisis crept through the camp. Everyone knew the decisive battle was about to begin.
Night.
The camp's Command Center.
All the Jonin were gathered in the camp's Command Center, apart from those out on missions and Tsunade, who was in the infirmary.
No one but Chihane and Tsunade knew what had happened that day after Jiraiya left.
Since that day, Tsunade had gone nowhere but her tent and the infirmary. Wherever Chihane went, she was nowhere to be seen, and this meeting was no exception.
Jiraiya sat at the head of the table, his expression grave. Chihane and Shikaku Nara sat on either side of him, while the other Jonin took their respective seats.
After Jiraiya called the meeting to order, Shikaku Nara was the first to rise from his seat.
He walked straight to the map opposite Jiraiya and began reviewing every battle they had fought recently.
He covered who had led each side in every battle, how many losses each side had inflicted on the other, and so on. Finally, Jiraiya stepped in to give the concluding assessment.
Once that review was finished, Jiraiya began outlining their next battle plan, his expression solemn.
"According to our intelligence, the Third Raikage has fully recovered. Knowing that old bastard, there's no way he'll accept his last defeat. He'll definitely launch an attack on us within the next few days."
"So, after discussing it with Jonin Shikaku, I've decided we'll take the initiative this time. We'll make his camp the battlefield and catch him off guard."
"In this battle, Chihane will handle the Third Raikage, while I'll take on their Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue