Tsunade led the troops to reinforce Jiraiya's forces. Nearly two months had passed. Although many battles broke out during this time, they were mostly skirmishes and harassment. The anticipated large-scale war had yet to erupt.
In the dense forest somewhere in the Land of Rain, the ninjas of Konoha had set up a simple camp. The never-ending drizzle made the roads in the forest extremely muddy. The ninja uniforms of the Konoha ninjas, who had been fighting on the front lines for an extended period, were dirty and, in some cases, tattered. These were signs of the battles they had endured.
Inside a tent, under dim lighting, Tsunade and several others sat around a table. "What exactly are these guys planning?" Tsunade asked, her hands resting on the wooden table in front of her, a solemn look in her eyes.
She had come to reinforce the troops after receiving word from Jiraiya that the other two major ninja villages could no longer remain idle. However, over the past two months, despite several direct confrontations, the other ninja villages seemed to lack the intent to engage in a full-scale war.
Given the resources and foundations of their respective countries, supporting a large-scale ninja war for an extended period would undoubtedly be a heavy burden. The longer this stalemate continued, the more advantageous it would be for Konoha. After all, a prolonged conflict was something the Land of Fire could endure better than most.
This was Tsunade's main concern. The commanders of the other ninja villages were not foolish enough to engage in a war of attrition with Konoha. So, what was the purpose behind the recent minimal engagements on the battlefield? In a war sparked by an imbalance of interests among multiple parties, no side would retreat easily without suffering a significant blow.
The opponents were members of the five major ninja countries, and the war was about more than just interests; it was also about prestige. In the First Ninja War, for example, the second Mizukage of the Land of Water and the second Tsuchikage of the Land of Earth died together because neither wanted to lose to the other.
"We can't drag this out, or something will happen," Sakumo said. Although there hadn't been many casualties, the mental exhaustion was taking its toll. Fighting in a foreign country for a long time without a fixed place to stay was unbearable, even for ninjas, especially in a country like the Land of Rain, where it rained all year round.
"Yes, but we can't act rashly," Jiraiya nodded, then looked at the black-haired man beside him and asked, "How is the intelligence department? Have you found any valuable information?"
The black-haired man was Uchiha Kai, the head of the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga clan's Byakugan provided unique advantages in intelligence reconnaissance, so the ninjas from both clans had formed a wartime intelligence department, with Uchiha Kai in charge.
"No," Uchiha Kai shook his head. "The major ninja villages are extremely vigilant, so even with the Byakugan and Sharingan, it's quite difficult to find traces of the enemy's large forces, let alone obtain valuable intelligence."
Tsunade and the others frowned, but they couldn't blame Uchiha Kai. After all, the battlefield was the Land of Rain, a small country that had maintained strict control over outsiders to protect itself even before the Second Ninja War.
This had led to a lack of intelligence about the Land of Rain among the five major ninja countries. Even though intelligence gathering had increased since the start of the Second Ninja War, the process was slow and cumbersome in the midst of ongoing combat.
Although the Land of Rain was a small country, with the presence of ninja troops from several large villages, it was easy to hide. Discovering the enemy's movements was already challenging, and gathering valuable intelligence was even more difficult.
"The only thing we can do now is wait and see," Orochimaru said in his typically hoarse voice. The strength of Konoha's forces in the Land of Rain was formidable, surpassing that of the other ninja villages.
The five most powerful ninjas—Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, and Uchiha Kai—led their respective forces, which included some of the village's top jonin and former Anbu members. This team was filled with elites, except for the three boys who were considered outliers by everyone else.
At the edge of the camp, amidst the dense forest, Minato, Uchiha Yoruki, and Nawaki were grouped together. The reason was simple: no one on the battlefield was willing to entrust their safety to three children.
"Is this what they call a Ninja War?" Nawaki's head popped out from the leaves wet by rain on a giant tree, looking extremely displeased. Since the three of them had arrived on the battlefield, they had been looked down upon by everyone. He understood the reason—it was simply because they were too young. He wanted to showcase his skills on the battlefield, but in the past two months, every small enemy force they encountered was taken care of before he had a chance to fight. This was very different from the war he had imagined.
He grumbled to himself, but the entire dense forest remained silent.
In a tree about ten meters northeast of Nawaki, Minato sat cross-legged quietly. Even so, any movement within a ten-meter radius appeared in his sensor. After gaining the chakra of the Nine-Tails, his sensory abilities had improved rapidly, allowing him to detect things he couldn't before. In front of him, a special kunai was planted vertically.
Hundreds of meters away, at the edge of the dense forest, Minato was actually hiding in a giant tree. The one with Nawaki and the others was merely one of his shadow clones, while his real body was outside. The purpose of leaving the shadow clone was to deal with the Konoha jonin who might come to check on them at any time. Since joining the war, Minato's mind had been highly focused because this situation was very different from the history he knew. Although he didn't have much power yet, history had changed, and he wasn't sure if it was due to his time travel.
With his current abilities, he created three shadow clones—one stayed at home, and the other two were scattered at other edges of the dense forest. The purpose was to prevent sneak attacks from other ninja villages.
As he was concentrating, powerful chakras suddenly entered Minato's sensor range. He raised his eyes and saw that outside the dense forest, thousands of ninjas were gathering toward the forest. Judging by their attire, they were troops from the Rock Village!
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