The Third Hokage's former student, Jiraiya, was always an enigma.
Leaving behind his own disciple, Nawaki, to raise three war orphans in the Land of Rain was a train of thought few could follow. And now, even as the conflict between Konoha and the Sand Village raged on, Jiraiya showed no signs of returning.
"It wouldn't be surprising if that idiot makes a 'three-year appointment' with those kids," Shinki mused. "If this war ends and Jiraiya hasn't come back, it'll be downright comical."
Tsunade gritted her teeth at the thought. "When he does come back, he's going to regret it."
Shinki shrugged. "Alright, then I'll handle Minato's summoning beast. As for Nawaki, I'll leave it to Jiraiya. The toads of Myoboku Mountain are reliable enough."
With Jiraiya's intervention, Nawaki's summoning beast would likely be settled without much trouble. If Jiraiya managed to land Nawaki a contract with Bunta or one of his brothers, all would be well.
But if Jiraiya had Nawaki start from scratch, like raising a tadpole into a toad, things could go south quickly. Nawaki might complain, and Tsunade would undoubtedly "educate" Jiraiya with her fists.
---
Meanwhile, in the Sand Village, Chiyo's mood was anything but calm.
Sitting in her study, she stared at the intelligence scroll in her hands, her brow deeply furrowed. Over the past few days, a string of bad news had pushed her patience to its limits.
First came reports of Konoha ninja infiltrating the Wind Country, wreaking havoc on the villages and, worse, targeting oases—the lifeline of the desert nation.
Destroying an oasis wasn't just an act of war. It was a deliberate, cruel attack on the very survival of the Wind Country.
The oases in the north had been damaged but were repairable. However, the destruction stretched far south, where restoration was impossible.
Adding to Chiyo's frustration was the report identifying the culprit: Konoha's Hyuga Shinki.
To eliminate these intruders, the Third Kazekage had dispatched a formidable force, even leading the team personally. Yet, instead of crushing the invaders, the enemy had slipped into the Bear Country.
Then came the revelation that the leaders of the Konoha squad were none other than Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Hamura, two of Konoha's elders.
Chiyo was livid. If anyone else had been in charge, she would have unleashed a storm of curses. But since it was the Kazekage himself, she could only grit her teeth and seethe internally.
And then came the *final* blow: Shinki wasn't just involved—he was responsible for destroying multiple oases, and he'd somehow captured *Pakura,* one of Sand Village's brightest stars and a wielder of the Shakuton Kekkei Genkai.
"Lord Kazekage, what *are* you doing?" Chiyo muttered, pressing her temples in frustration. "Three key targets, and you didn't catch *any* of them?"
To make matters worse, the pursuit into the Bear Country had drawn reinforcements from Konoha. Both sides were now heavily concentrated there, and the Bear Country was descending into chaos. The prospect of a *third battlefield* loomed large.
---
The situation in the Bear Country wasn't the only disaster. A separate team from Sand Village returned with alarming news.
They had been ambushed by an enemy force composed entirely of puppets. Worse, the puppets were self-operating and capable of exploding. This new development was unnerving for the Sand Village, renowned for its puppeteers.
To make matters even more devastating, Pakura had been captured during the attack.
The culprit was obvious: Hyuga Shinki.
Chiyo had kept information about Shinki's autonomous puppets a closely guarded secret, fearing it would shatter the confidence of the Sand Village's puppeteers. If they learned Konoha had developed puppets that didn't require a controller, morale would plummet.
Even Chiyo herself found it difficult to process. Autonomous puppets seemed impossible, yet Shinki had somehow made them a reality.
This development posed a significant threat. If Shinki unleashed these puppets on the battlefield, the Sand Village's forces would undoubtedly be crushed.
---
As Chiyo set the scroll aside, her fatigue was palpable. Each new piece of bad news added to the mountain of pressure weighing her down.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
"Elder Chiyo, is this the latest report from Lord Kazekage?"
The speaker was a young man standing at her side: Rasa, a rising star in the Sand Village. Around Shinki's age, he was a genius with the Magnetic Release and a disciple of the Third Kazekage.
"Yes," Chiyo sighed, rubbing her temples. "Lord Kazekage has chased the Konoha infiltrators all the way to the Bear Country. Konoha has sent reinforcements to rescue their elders."
Rasa frowned, quickly piecing things together.
"So the Kazekage wants to draw more forces from the front line?"
Chiyo nodded reluctantly. The Third Kazekage intended to deliver a decisive blow to Konoha's reinforcements and permanently eliminate the two Konoha elders in the Bear Country.
But this strategy came at a cost.
Drawing additional forces would weaken the Sand Village's position on the River Country front—a critical region in the ongoing war.
Chiyo was caught in a dilemma. She wanted to support the Kazekage and end the lives of the troublesome Konoha elders, but she couldn't risk depleting their already strained forces.
The Sand Village was the weakest of the Five Great Nations, both economically and militarily. Their prolonged campaign in the Rain Country had already drained significant resources.
"We can't afford to weaken the River Country front," Chiyo muttered. "But if we fail to act, those two will escape. Konoha's reinforcements might even turn the Bear Country into a third battlefield."
Rasa stood silent, understanding the gravity of the situation.
The Sand Village's options were limited, and the future looked increasingly grim.
>>>>>
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