Newly promoted Jonin, Uchiha Toshirou, was getting ready to set out. After returning to Konoha to rest for two days, he had to leave the village again and head back to the ruthless battlefield.
"Uchiha Toshirou! The Hokage wants to see you!"
Just as he locked his door and stepped outside, a figure wearing a mask and a large cloak suddenly appeared in front of Toshirou.
"I understand!"
After delivering the message, the member of the Hokage's Anbu unit vanished without saying anything more.
"Tsk! Just got promoted to Jonin and already there's something for me to do."
Although he complained, Toshirou still walked towards the Hokage's office. After all, if he wanted to get by in Konoha, he couldn't ignore the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, what can I do for you?"
After waiting for a while at the Hokage's office, Toshirou was once again face to face with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At this point, the Third Hokage was just over fifty years old, still in his prime, and full of energy—nothing like the kindly old man with age spots he would later become.
"Being on the front lines, you must be well aware of the situation between Konoha and the Land of Earth. What are your thoughts?"
Hiruzen didn't immediately explain why he had summoned Toshirou but instead asked for his opinion on the front line.
"Opinion? I have no opinion!"
As a mere expendable pawn in Konoha's eyes, thrown onto the battlefield by the higher-ups, his days consisted of nothing but fighting and killing. He didn't have the time to consider such matters.
"The situation isn't great, especially since the Cloud Ninja joined the fray. The situation on the front line has become increasingly dire."
Under Hiruzen's gaze, even if he had no thoughts, he had to come up with something, so he repeated the general opinion.
Though his words were vague, they were indeed truthful. Konoha was in a precarious situation. Putting aside Iwagakure, Onoki had launched an attack on Konoha after witnessing Sunagakure's previous victories, believing that Iwa Ninja were stronger than the Sand Ninja.
However, with Konoha's further mobilization and the increased effort from various ninja clans, Konoha managed to stem the tide of the Iwa Ninja's aggressive attacks despite being surrounded.
But with the Cloud Ninja joining the battle, it was akin to the last straw breaking the camel's back. Not to mention the Land of Water in the east, which seemed eager to take the opportunity to shred a piece from Konoha.
All of these factors left the Third Hokage sleepless and feeling increasingly overwhelmed.
"Yes, the situation on the front lines is becoming more strenuous. We have to consider using some special methods to try and end the war."
As he spoke, he produced a scroll. As soon as he glanced at it, Toshirou's expression turned serious. He would never have guessed that his first mission as a Jonin would be the Kannabi Bridge mission.
In small-scale use, it's fine, but on the scale of the Ninja World War, they won't matter much. Supplies and weaponry are still needed, and that's where logistics come in.
Fortunately, his task wasn't to destroy the Kannabi Bridge directly but to distract the Iwa Ninja.
"In order to end the war as soon as possible, not just you but also the Konoha ninja on the entire Grass Country front will go into action to ensure the success of this mission."
For this mission to disrupt the Iwa Ninja's logistics, Konoha was going all-in, aiming to cut off the Iwa Ninja's supply line in one fell swoop, forcing Onoki to admit defeat.
"Yes! I'll complete this mission and contribute to peace!"
"To better facilitate your distraction efforts, I want you and your team to infiltrate the Land of Earth, disrupt their logistics, and assassinate their key personnel. Do whatever it takes to attract as many Iwa Ninja as possible."
Seeing Toshirou's compliance, the Third did not express much but stated his expectations for Toshirou and his team.
"As expected, it's not that simple!"
Merely distracting some Iwa Ninja would have been an easy task for them, but infiltrating the Land of Earth and causing chaos would raise the difficulty significantly. If mishandled, they could all be lost in the Land of Earth.
However, this mission was clearly not one he could refuse!
"In that case, I hope to receive some support from the village!"
Since refusal wasn't an option, Toshirou didn't dwell on it and instead made his request, hoping for some assistance from the village. Without it, he wasn't confident in getting his team out of the Land of Earth successfully.
He also believed that as long as his request was reasonable, the other party wouldn't refuse.
"What do you need? Tell me..."
The Third Hokage simply raised an eyebrow and asked, knowing that any helpful requests wouldn't be turned down—as long as they were reasonable. For Konoha, nothing was more important than this mission at the moment.
"I hope for..."
Seeing the Third Hokage somewhat agreeable, Toshirou quickly made his request, confident it would be granted.
"Is that so? Acceptable."
Hearing Toshirou's request, the Third Hokage only frowned slightly before agreeing. The request was reasonable and would aid the mission, even though it would cost more. Still, it was worth it.
"But Toshirou! I hope you understand the importance of this mission. You should be aware of the village's current situation..."
Afraid that Toshirou might slack off after receiving resources, the Third Hokage reminded him of the mission's importance before he could leave. From Toshirou's past mission records, it was evident that he sometimes applied "flexibility" to the missions. There were always some "flaws" in the completion, and if it weren't for his Uchiha status, it wouldn't have been so easily overlooked. Danzo, in particular, was highly dissatisfied.
"Rest assured! Ending the war is also the Uchiha's wish!"