aircannonsinc Chapter 170 Nations, Game of Strategy
Chapter 170 Nations, Game of Strategy
Chapter 170 Nations, Game of Strategy
Konoha, Hokage's office.
Having settled the internal affairs of the village, the next, more important issue is how to handle the relationship with Sunagakure.
"Let them come. We've already lost the battle, so why should we be afraid of them? They should be the ones worrying now. Iwagakure has been eyeing them for a long time. Now that they've lost so many men, aren't they afraid Iwagakure will take advantage of their misfortune?"
Danzo was quite disdainful. Although he disliked Jiraiya, he had to admit that Jiraiya had done a really good job this time. After this battle, it would be difficult for Sunagakure to recover on the southern front.
"That being said, there's no guarantee that Sunagakure won't resort to desperate measures. They have a long tradition of doing so; didn't they launch the first attack on Konoha during World War II to divert attention from internal conflicts?"
Mitokado also expressed his concerns. Indeed, individual will often differs from collective will.
Just as almost everyone hates and opposes war, when the scale is expanded to a village or a country, war is often a necessity.
It could be for personal gain, to divert internal conflicts, or more likely simply a matter of the likes and dislikes of the people within the organization.
The scene fell silent for a moment.
Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi broke the silence, "Strengthen our defenses first. Sunagakure will definitely send envoys. They still have quite a few prisoners in our hands. We'll see what demands they make then!"
Danzo's eyes flashed with excitement, like a wolf eyeing its prey, ready to bite off a chunk of flesh.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were much more restrained, less blatantly greedy, but still eager to try. In the end, Konoha won the battle, and the victors should enjoy the fruits of victory.
On the same day, Sunagakure also received news of the defeat at the front. Unlike Miyo, who was completely unaware of the war beforehand, the Sunagakure leadership was fully aware of the cause of the war.
That's why they found it so incomprehensible that a war they thought they could win had ended in defeat.
According to the reports from the ninjas who escaped, they had fallen into Konoha's trap and been lured into an ambush. Konoha reinforcements arrived, which led to their encirclement and defeat.
The Sunagakure leadership naturally couldn't just believe the one-sided accounts of these defeated soldiers, so a large number of intelligence personnel were dispatched, especially spies planted within Konoha, who were also required to find out the details of the battle as soon as possible.
Regardless of the process, the outcome of the war was certain: Sunagakure lost all its strongholds in the Land of Rivers and was driven back to the Land of Wind. Furthermore, over a hundred ninja were captured in this battle, including the frontline commander—Shamon.
"Tell me your thoughts, what should we do next?" The Third Kazekage sat at the head of the table, looking down at all the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure. His eyes seemed to hold a sandstorm, and his aura was imposing.
Everyone present remained silent. They had all just received the news and were still processing it, so they didn't really have any good ideas.
An eerie silence fell over the room until Chiyo, who was sitting in the first seat on the right, finally spoke.
"Regardless, we haven't officially declared war on Konoha yet, so there's still room for maneuver. Let's send envoys first to exchange the ninjas captured by Konoha!"
With Chiyo leading the way, the issue of prisoners of war was immediately discussed on the field.
"Can this be exchanged back? If it were me, I definitely wouldn't exchange it. Wouldn't that be aiding the enemy?"
"If they don't change it, we'll fight them!"
"What are we going to fight with? We've lost half our men on the defense line, and now we have to figure out where to bring in replacements."
"Let's team up with Iwagakure and attack Konoha together. I don't believe they won't give it to us!"
Suddenly, all sorts of ideas popped up, and the meeting room became like a bustling marketplace, filled with constant buzzing.
A loud thud echoed as the noisy conference room fell silent, and everyone turned to look at the Third Kazekage seated at the head of the table.
"This is a meeting, not your own home where you can say whatever you want. Don't you have any manners?!" Feng Ying was clearly angry. What kind of time is this to be fighting for power and arguing endlessly over a little bit of a voice?
He turned to Chiyo on his right: "Elder, what are your thoughts?"
Chiyo slowly picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of tea, and put it back on the table before calmly saying, "An envoy must be sent. Otherwise, who will be willing to work hard in the future? If people's hearts are scattered, what kind of Sunagakure will there be?"
As for the conditions—ransom, a mission from the Land of Rivers, or, if all else fails, agreeing to stop stationing troops in the Land of Rivers, as long as the people are returned first—any of these are acceptable!
"Absurd!" An elder slammed his fist on the table, his eyes blazing as if spitting fire. "We fought so hard to win over the Land of Rivers, how can we just give it up like that!"
Chiyo looked at the elder with an expression of utter disbelief, not even bothering to open her mouth again.
It was Ebizo, sitting to her left, who spoke up to explain, "Let's rescue them first. We can take back what we promised to give them later. Besides, whether Konoha will even have time to deal with the affairs of the Land of Rivers at that time is another matter!"
The elder who had just spoken fell silent. He realized that his heart was too kind and could not compare to the cunning of these political players. He should just focus on fighting!
Seeing that no one had raised any further objections, the Third Kazekage made his decision: "Then this matter is settled. Elder Chiyo, we'll trouble you to handle this task. The village is giving you full authority to represent us. You can make your judgment based on the actual situation. As long as you bring everyone back, the village will accept all the results!"
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent. Even though they knew the Third Kazekage was putting on a show, the fact that he could speak so frankly made everyone willing to serve him!
"Since Lord Kazekage has said so, then this old woman will make the trip and bring back all the children from Sunagakure!" Chiyo immediately declared, promising to set off as soon as possible to complete the mission.
"Now that we've finished discussing the prisoners, let's continue our discussion on the village's next steps."
"Let's replenish the ninjas on the border first. Even if we can't reach the original scale, we can't let it be like this, with such a large border area and not even 1,500 people."
"First, draw some personnel back from the Earth Defense Line and the Rain Defense Line."
"No, Iwagakure has been making a lot of moves lately. If we transfer more personnel from there, we won't have enough troops there if they suddenly attack us."
"Let's transfer people from the village. Let the major families send some more people to gather 500 men to go first. Once those prisoners return, the number of troops stationed on the border will be about right."
This is the main purpose of this meeting: how to replenish troops when there is a shortage of personnel on the northern border and other defense lines cannot be mobilized.
It's time for all the major families in the village to contribute. You've taken up so many of the village's resources and enjoyed so many benefits all this time, just for this moment of your contribution.
The heads of the various families present, facing the intense gazes of the other high-ranking members, knew that this was a responsibility they could not escape.
The first clan leader nodded in agreement to send out ninjas.
Then came the second, and the third.
Under the prevailing trend, all the families soon agreed to the arrangement.
With the two most important issues resolved, the remaining issues remain uncertain for the time being. We can only make further arrangements once the specific investigation results are received.
Thus, the meeting came and went hastily, but the situation facing Sunagakure became increasingly dire. Not to mention the immense pressure from Konoha, other fronts were unlikely to remain stable for long after this battle.
Those attending the meeting were all intelligent people from Sunagakure, and they all naturally understood that now it was up to the Third Kazekage to decide what to do next.
In today's ninja world, all nations have deployed troops to their borders. Everyone is on guard against each other, and the slightest disturbance makes everyone tense.
I'm afraid someone might launch a surprise attack without warning, causing me to suffer heavy losses.
Naturally, in a large-scale war like the conflict between Sunagakure and Konoha, other countries received specific intelligence a day or two later than Sunagakure and Konoha.
After reading the intelligence report, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, immediately ordered additional troops to be sent towards the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.
On the one hand, strengthen vigilance against Konoha.
On the other hand, we need to see if there is any profit to be made in the direction of the Land of Winds.
It's important to understand that compared to the Land of Wind, although it's mostly desert, the oases there offer relatively pleasant environments. The Land of Earth, however, is largely barren rocky terrain with rugged walls, making it far less suitable for human habitation.
This is why the Land of Earth always attacks the Land of Wind in every war. There's no other way; life in the Land of Earth is simply too harsh.
Almost simultaneously, a burst of boisterous laughter erupted from the Raikage's office in Kumogakure.
"Those sand rats from Sunagakure are truly a bunch of trash. They outnumbered us and still got killed!" The Third Hokage, A, said to Carlo, who was standing beside him, while holding up a large dumbbell. "Do you think we should send someone infiltrate and see if we can gain any advantage?"
Carlo was speechless. Traveling from the Land of Lightning to the Land of Wind by land would require passing through at least five countries, and by sea, it would require breaking through the maritime blockade of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. No matter how you looked at it, it was a troublesome and unprofitable undertaking.
She really didn't know what the Raikage was thinking. Did he just make this decision on a whim?
After a lengthy explanation, Kaloi finally managed to dispel the Raikage's unrealistic idea. However, in the end, the Raikage still ordered an additional 500 ninja troops to be added to the border defense forces of the Land of Fire.
They were also taken aback by Konoha's fighting strength and had to take certain precautions.
Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, far away in the Land of Water, the Third Mizukage was implementing his Blood Mist Village policy to strengthen his power, completely ignoring the trivial matters of Sunagakure.
They've simply increased the intensity of sea patrols. Although Konoha won't actively provoke Kirigakure, it's better to be safe than sorry. Necessary precautions are still necessary.
While news arrived from all directions along the border of the Land of Fire that the opposing ninja village had reinforced its forces, Jiraiya and Shikaku Nara were conducting tactical simulations on a new sand table.
Not long ago, the village's commendation document was delivered to Jiraiya. Everyone in the camp, even the ninjas in charge of logistics, received corresponding rewards, but Jiraiya himself was not praised.
Jiraiya was well aware of the trickery involved; it was simply a way of putting him, the frontline commander, in a difficult position.
But he didn't regret it. The opportunity was once in a lifetime. If he had reported it to the village, given Jiraiya's understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the matter would most likely have fallen through.
Looking at the intelligence report in his hand, Jiraiya couldn't help but jokingly say to Shikaku, "I bet the village is already complaining about us, saying that our actions have increased the pressure on all the defense lines."
Shikaku was speechless upon hearing this, but upon closer reflection, it was indeed possible. The fact that Jiraiya's name was not included in this commendation made him feel that the village's higher-ups had acted in a poorly considered manner.
Regardless, the war was won, and even to appease the people and boost morale at the front, this shouldn't be done. Is it really because Jiraiya is a disciple of the Third Hokage that there's no need to worry?
And those two Jonin advisors who were sent over, it's obvious that they don't even trust the higher-ups at the front, that's why they sent these two people to monitor them!
At that moment, an intelligence ninja quickly entered the tent, interrupting Jiraiya and Shikaku's thoughts.
"Lord Jiraiya, the ninjas patrolling the front lines have spotted someone claiming to be a messenger from Sunagakure and requesting to come to the village to meet the Hokage."
Jiraiya and Shikaku exchanged a glance and immediately understood what the other meant: They arrived really fast!
"How many people are there, and who is the leader?"
"There are four people in total, and the leader is Chiyo from Sunagakure!"
"It's that old hag! She's really bold to send an envoy to Konoha!" Jiraiya muttered to himself. Influenced by Tsunade, he didn't have a good impression of Chiyo.
"My lord, what should we do? Should we see her?" Shikaku asked Jiraiya about the arrangements. They needed to handle this formal mission with caution.
"What's the point of seeing her? We can't kill her anyway." Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively, then said to the reporting ninja, "Send men to follow them and escort them to Konoha. Don't let them out of your sight during that time."
"Yes!" The intelligence ninja accepted the order and left.
"They must have come for those prisoners, but I wonder what decision the village will make!" Shikaku said with some worry.
"What else can we do? We went through so much trouble to capture them, we can't just release them without giving them any benefits, can we? There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Jiraiya didn't seem to care. "We should focus on studying the defenses of the Land of Rivers."
Chiyo looked at the several Konoha ninjas surrounding her, who were tense and full of hostility. Four Chunin were considered an elite squad.
If she weren't an envoy, she would have poisoned those four long ago. None of these border ninjas these days have hands unstained with the blood of Sand Ninja.
Chiyo suppressed her murderous intent and waited to be allowed to leave.
Not long after, another group of Konoha ninjas arrived with orders from headquarters to allow passage and escort the messenger to Konoha.
Thus, a Konoha team, ostensibly for escort but actually for surveillance, accompanied Chiyo and the others towards Konoha.
Just as they were about to arrive in Konoha, a communication eagle that had flown from the Land of Wind finally caught up with the group and delivered some of the latest intelligence to Chiyo.
They retrieved the letter tied to the communication eagle's leg, deciphered its contents, and discovered the true course of the previous war, its causes and consequences, and the reactions of various countries during that period.
After reading the letter, Chiyo casually waved her hand, and the complete letter was instantly cut into fine powder by the wind blade. This shows that Chiyo is not only good at puppetry, but also at wind release.
Matsushita Taichi is quite an interesting kid. It seems that Konoha has produced another powerful medical ninja after Tsunade.
Thinking about it, Chiyo frowned. It seemed that among the bounties posted on the underground black market some time ago, there was also a person named Matsushita Taichi. It seemed that he was also a restless person, which made him an even greater threat to Sunagakure.
Considering the reactions of other countries to Konoha, Chiyo's brow unfurrowed. It seemed this mission would be easier than she had imagined.