None of the three brought up their encounter with Jiraiya again afterward.
He was an enemy, after all.
There was little point discussing it. Knowing that information was enough.
Because they had taken a slight detour... they entered the Land of Grass a little later.
But this mission had no specific deadline or requirements. They only needed to intercept and kill people from Konoha.
So it made little difference.
As a strategic buffer between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, the Land of Grass had likewise suffered the ravages of war. But Kusagakure could not compare to Amegakure... Amegakure at least had Hanzō, while Kusagakure was a "small shinobi village" through and through, with neither the ability nor the resources to resist or defend itself against those two great nations.
But one thing Kusagakure had done more wisely than Amegakure was... simply closing off its village.
It stayed out of the war.
You could cause trouble on its territory, as long as you left the village and civilians alone.
For a small shinobi village in this Shinobi World War, that was already a rare display of intelligence.
Kusagakure posed no threat to Amegakure either, so Amegakure had greatly reduced security along its border with the Land of Grass. This made the three's passage from the Land of Rain into the Land of Grass even easier, without any difficulty.
"The Land of Grass is in a rather unusual situation... because of its geographical location."
"That is how small nations are, surviving between larger powers... This place holds a certain importance to both the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. It is territory outside their borders where they can keep the war from reaching their own soil... So even someone as ambitious as Hanzō would not dare make a move against the Land of Grass lightly... If he did, Konoha and Iwagakure would immediately attack him from both sides."
"Even for the Land of Rain, the very existence of the Land of Grass... indirectly eases quite a bit of the pressure on them."
Once they entered the Land of Grass, the gloom and rain of the past several days finally cleared away.
The sun shone brightly, and the weather felt mild and pleasant... Even their moods improved along with it.
Arai and the other two sat on a patch of grass. He took out a map and pointed at it. "We cannot enter the Land of Fire... So for this mission, we can only look for an opportunity to strike within the Land of Grass. After the enemy's supply squads enter the Land of Grass, they will follow this route to where they are fighting Iwagakure... This is the only area where we can strike."
He circled a small spot on the map with his fingertip. "This place is some distance from Konoha's border and far from the battlefield. It is right in the middle of this route. That way, once we engage, whether the mission succeeds or fails... we can ensure their reinforcements will not arrive immediately. Even if the enemy flees, we will have time to pursue them. If we cannot kill every last one, we can still retreat safely."
"We will reach the ambush site ahead of them, familiarize ourselves with the surroundings, and set traps and mechanisms... Even if we spot our targets, do not attack immediately. Check their composition first. The fighting between Konoha and Iwagakure is intense right now, and supply squads like these generally make a trip every two or three days... We are not looking for a quick battle. We want to sever this supply route completely and deal a heavy blow to Konoha's rear."
As Arai spoke, he looked at Sasori. "In other words... this mission is not simply about killing the enemy. Even if we kill one squad, there will be a second and a third... What we need to do is... kill everyone who takes this route over a certain period, leaving no clues if possible, and force Konoha to find a new supply route. On a battlefield like this, finding a safe route through an unfamiliar foreign country takes a considerable amount of effort and manpower... That is the most effective way to strike."
"If that is the case..."
Yubi picked up where he left off. "We cannot stay at any one point along the route for too long. Konoha's people are not stupid. If their supply squads suddenly disappear, they will certainly realize the enemy has discovered their route... They might send people to investigate or strengthen the squads that follow."
"So... we need to withdraw before they react."
Arai gave Yubi an approving look. "On the battlefield, every supply route is a lifeline carrying blood to the front... Konoha is already stretched thin on manpower. Once the route is exposed, they will not want to sacrifice more fighting strength for nothing, so they will most likely abandon it outright..."
"Looking at it that way, we can take out two of their squads at most."
Yubi thought for a moment, then said, "Provided... those squads are not too strong."
Although he had fought people from Root, Yubi had little experience fighting Konoha overall... It was still difficult for him to gauge the caliber of Konoha ninja.
He might be familiar with Konoha, but facing it in reality was another matter.
Still, even with only three of them, Yubi's claim that they could kill two Konoha squads was not a matter of confidence. It was because... that was the current situation on the battlefield. Squads transporting supplies like these generally were not very strong. They belonged to logistics, with no strict standards.
They would be at the chunin level, and might even include genin.
All of that was possible...
Besides, by this point in the war, Konoha's fighting strength had been nearly exhausted. They had even fewer elites to spare for missions like this. Any useful crack troops should have been sent to the front.
Their side, meanwhile, had Arai, an elite jōnin.
Against chunin and genin, an elite jōnin was simply an overwhelming force.
The gap was too great.
Even among jonin, some were stronger than others... let alone opponents who were not even in the same league.
Arai might not be the sort of ninja who could wipe out a force of dozens alone like Minato Namikaze, but he was still the Kazekage's personal guard. He had the ability that position demanded.
"Understood?"
After discussing a few more battle plans, Arai asked the two of them.
"Understood."
Only Yubi answered him.
"Let's go."
Arai did not mind and nodded.
Then the three headed straight toward the area where their targets would appear.
The Land of Grass was even smaller than the Land of Rain. Because Konoha and Iwagakure were fighting, ninja from several other villages had appeared within its borders alongside those from Iwagakure and Konoha. Yubi and the other two even spotted a few from Kirigakure, but they neither exposed themselves nor fought any of these people.
They had come for their mission.
Those people had traveled to the Land of Grass for nothing more than gathering all sorts of battlefield intelligence... to ensure their villages received immediate updates on the fighting.
Although quite a few ninja from a mix of affiliations were active within the Land of Grass, overall, it was not as chaotic as the Land of Rain... So they still traveled quickly.
Once they arrived, they settled deep within the dense expanse of forest.
They quickly began setting traps... and waited for their prey to take the bait.