"You're injured, and your energy is a bit depleted. Eating some hot roast meat will help you recover faster," Takuya said, his voice calm yet commanding.
"Eat up! When you're with Takuya, there's never a shortage of roasted meat!" Nawaki added with a grin, trying to reassure the others as he himself took a large bite.
Seeing Nawaki and Minato start eating, the other Konoha shinobi—who had been silently drooling at the sight of the roasted boar—couldn't hold back any longer. They eagerly grabbed the meat and began devouring it.
"Hissss... It's so hot, but so good!"
Watching the injured shinobi juggle between blowing on the hot meat and hastily stuffing it into their mouths, Takuya couldn't help but chuckle. The scene was almost comical.
"Should we move out?" one of the shinobi asked after everyone had eaten their fill. All eyes turned to Takuya, who was sitting by the fire.
After the battle they had just endured, Takuya had become their anchor. In situations like this, his orders were the ones they would all follow without question.
"Let's wait for news," Takuya replied, tossing a couple of still-damp sticks into the fire and fanning away the resulting smoke. "We need to wait for news from the front lines. If the Sand Village army makes a move, we'll retreat."
In theory, their mission was complete. But Takuya wanted to stay and see what happened at the front lines. The Sand Village's actions had been strange—their vanguard had been decimated, leaving only a handful of survivors. Yet, the main force had remained silent.
It seemed as though the Sand Village had sent just a few hundred troops to stir things up, to muddy the waters. But the main force was nowhere to be seen. Logically, the Sand Village should have taken this opportunity to strike Konoha from behind, but they hadn't. They had only sent a small contingent to cause trouble, which didn't make sense.
Takuya couldn't believe that Chiyo, the old strategist of the Sand Village, would pass up such a good opportunity to strike a blow against Konoha. The fact that the main force hadn't shown itself meant that they were likely up to something else—perhaps some kind of scheme.
Whatever Chiyo's plan was, as long as the Sand Village's main force didn't attack, Takuya and his team could stay put and rest, waiting for orders and news from the higher-ups.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, the battle between Konoha and the Rain Village was intensifying. The difference in overall strength between the two villages was becoming more apparent as the battle dragged on. Apart from Hanzo, the Rain Village was steadily losing ground.
At the same time, the Sand Village's army was quietly making its way toward Konoha's camp. No one expected Chiyo and her brother, Ebizō, to take the risk of launching a surprise attack on Konoha's camp. Their plan was to catch Konoha off guard while most of their forces were engaged with the Rain Village on the front lines.
Orochimaru didn't expect it. Danzo didn't expect it. Not even Takuya had anticipated such a move. After all, in the original timeline, the Sand Village had never attempted something like this.
"Sister, the defense forces in Konoha's camp are still formidable," Ebizō said, having gathered information with his Anbu team. The intelligence they had collected showed that the Konoha camp was not as underdefended as they had hoped.
"I know," Chiyo responded with a cold smile. "But that's exactly why Danzo feels secure. I'm certain he wouldn't expect us to bypass the front lines and attack their camp directly."
The defense forces in the Konoha camp were still substantial. But Chiyo was confident that, with most of Konoha's main force occupied on the front lines, the camp's defenses would be thinner than usual.
Chiyo believed that this battle would end in victory for the Sand Village, catching Danzo completely off guard.
"Have the troops ready," Chiyo ordered, planning to strike at around 3 AM—an hour when even shinobi would be at their most vulnerable, tired, and drowsy. She was certain that a surprise attack at this hour would throw the Konoha camp into chaos.
As the battle on the front lines raged on, the Konoha camp remained busy, with reports and updates constantly coming in. Danzo, who had been stationed at the camp as the overall commander, had been running around nonstop, managing the situation.
"Danzo-sama, the rear defense line has come under attack from the Sand Village. The number of attackers is significant, but their exact number is still unknown."
"Understood," Danzo nodded slightly. "Orochimaru will handle it. I trust him."
"Has the third batch of supplies reached the front lines?"
"No word yet."
So, Chiyo, you finally made your move, huh?
Danzo looked over the map with a smirk—something rarely seen on his usually stern face. If anyone had seen it, they would have been shocked to see their stern, rigid leader actually smiling.
The battle between Konoha and the Rain Village, and the subsequent attack by the Sand Village, were all within Danzo's expectations. Like Takuya, he was waiting for news from the front lines.
As the night wore on, the camp, which had been bustling with activity, gradually quieted down. More and more shinobi returned to their tents to rest. Even Danzo, having finished his duties for the night, decided to catch some sleep in the command center.
He wasn't about to stand around waiting like an idiot for news from the front lines.
The time had come.
Chiyo and Ebizō exchanged a glance, nodding to each other. Chiyo raised her hand, giving the signal.
The shinobi following them quickly relayed the command.
"Yawn..."
One of the sensory ninjas tasked with monitoring the area around the camp let out a big yawn, struggling to stay awake. Keeping his senses extended for long periods, watching for any disturbances around the camp, was exhausting work.
No sensor ninja could keep it up for too long.
Fortunately, the camp's security had held up so far. Since the war had begun, there hadn't been a single instance of an enemy attacking the camp.
"Just one more sweep."
Glancing at the time, the sensor ninja knew his shift was almost over. He decided to do one last check before his replacement arrived, so he could finally get some rest.
Using the village's sensor amplification device, the ninja quickly scanned the area around the camp. Everything seemed normal.
Just as he was about to wrap up his shift, he suddenly detected multiple unfamiliar chakra signatures in the forest not far from the camp.
"???"
A flood of unfamiliar chakra signatures appearing out of nowhere? He thought for a moment that his senses were off, or that the sensor device was malfunctioning.
No. Something was wrong. This wasn't a mistake—it was an enemy attack!
Panic gripped him as he screamed out, "Enemy attack!!!"
The shout was like a stone thrown into a calm pond, causing ripples to spread throughout the camp.
The shinobi on night watch immediately sprang into action, firing off a signal flare without waiting to confirm the report.
"Boom!!!"
The bright flare exploded above the camp, waking up countless shinobi who had been sound asleep.
"Attack!!!"
Since they had already been discovered, Chiyo gave the order to charge.
She hadn't expected Konoha to be completely unprepared, but she also hadn't anticipated an easy victory. A direct assault was inevitable.
Like a swarm of ants, the Sand Village shinobi surged toward Konoha's camp.
"Enemy attack! The Sand Village is attacking!!"
The entire camp erupted into chaos as the shinobi, shaken from their sleep, rushed out of their tents, ready to fight.
"What's going on?"
Danzo's eyes snapped open, his mood instantly sour as he realized he'd barely closed his eyes before being woken up by the commotion.
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