Inside the Hokage Office in Konoha.
"Lord Hokage, we have emergency intelligence." An Anbu ninja suddenly materialized in the room.
"Has something happened on the three battlefields?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, immediately setting his pipe down on the desk. He remained in a state of constant vigilance regarding the ongoing war.
"No, this report concerns Kirigakure," the Anbu ninja replied.
"The Hidden Mist?" Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly. "Hand it over."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." The Anbu handed a letter to Hiruzen.
"You may leave," Hiruzen said with a wave of his hand, and the Anbu ninja promptly vanished from the office.
"Kirigakure..." Hiruzen muttered, a sense of foreboding settled in his chest.
Because Kirigakure was surrounded by the sea, Konoha's understanding of their movements was limited; gathering intelligence on them was significantly more difficult than on any other village. With three of the Great Ninja Villages already invading the Land of Fire, any movement from the Mist suggested they intended to take a share of the spoils.
Hiruzen opened the letter and scanned its contents. As he read, his face grew increasingly grim. His suspicions were confirmed, and the situation was far more urgent than he had anticipated. Kirigakure had dispatched a vanguard of approximately one thousand troops toward the Land of Fire, and they were already on the verge of crossing the border.
Due to the isolated nature of the Hidden Mist, the flow of information was incredibly slow. By the time this intelligence reached him, Hiruzen knew the confrontation was imminent. The battle with Kirigakure would likely take place right at the border of the Land of Fire.
Reinforcements had to be dispatched immediately. If those Mist ninja were allowed to march straight in, the resulting destruction to the Land of Fire would be catastrophic. The country was filled with towns and villages that would be caught in the crossfire of open war.
"What is the best course of action?" Hiruzen pondered. After a moment of deliberation, he made his decision. He would redeploy ninja from the three existing battlefields to provide support. Those veterans would be far more effective in such a high-stakes environment. As for the three original battlefields, Konoha would continue to send fresh batches of volunteers to fill the gaps.
This was a cycle Konoha had maintained since the beginning. Regardless of whether Konoha was winning, ninja casualties were a common occurrence. One could often see grieving ninja or their heartbroken families, mourning those who had fallen in this Great Shinobi World War. They had sacrificed themselves for Konoha and for the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen quickly penned three letters. He intended to send one to each of the three battlefields, ordering them to immediately organize detachments to head for the border and intercept the Kirigakure invasion.
Simultaneously, Hiruzen arranged for more Konoha ninja to move toward the three battlefields. While the Mist's offensive was dangerous, he could not afford to let the other three fronts collapse. Any failure there would be a death blow to Konoha.
Konoha was now effectively fighting against four of the Great Ninja Villages. Since the founding of the hidden villages, such a situation was unprecedented. If Konoha made even a single mistake, the Land of Fire was finished.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was trembling with fear at this turn of events, leaving him no choice but to support Konoha with everything he had, whether in terms of finances or supplies. The Land of Fire and Konoha were interdependent; if Konoha were crushed, the Daimyo would exist in name only, likely to be executed by the ninja of the other great nations as they carved up the Land of Fire.
Thus, whatever Konoha requested, the Daimyo granted, all for the sake of victory in this war.
At the Mount Kikyo battlefield.
Jiraiya received the intelligence regarding Kirigakure along with Hiruzen's orders. He quickly summoned the Jonin of the front.
"I've received word from Konoha concerning Kirigakure," Jiraiya said, his expression solemn.
Watching Jiraiya's face, the Konoha ninja felt their hearts sink. As it stood, three of the Great Ninja Villages were already attacking Konoha; Kirigakure was the only one that had remained sidelined until now.
In truth, neither Konoha nor the other villages had given much thought to the Hidden Mist. They were an extremely closed-off society, largely self-sufficient. They had even devolved into the state known as the Bloody Mist Village, where promotion was earned through the cold-blooded slaughter of one's peers.
When the Hidden Mist had participated in the previous Chunin Exams, it had struck Konoha and the other villages as quite bizarre. Since when had the Mist become so open-minded? However, after the exams concluded, the Mist had reverted to its usual isolation, and the other four villages had once again ignored them.
Jiraiya then broke the news of the Mist's invasion. The Konoha ninja present were visibly shocked. The fact that Kirigakure was actually invading the Land of Fire was something none of them had anticipated. One village against fourit was unheard of.
"Is it just my team?" Shikaku Nara asked. They couldn't possibly withdraw everyone from this battlefield to deal with the Mist. If their numbers were too small, facing a massive force of Mist ninja would be an impossible task.
"Don't worry. Ninja from the other two battlefields will also be leading support units, and they are people you know," Jiraiya said, a small smile finally breaking through his serious demeanor.
"People we know?" The Konoha ninja were momentarily stunned. Given that they knew almost everyone on the other fronts, Jiraiya's statement was a bit broad.
"They are people who set out from this very battlefield," Jiraiya reminded them.
"Could it be..." Shikaku Nara's mind turned to those who had previously served on this front.
"Perhaps some of you have guessed it," Jiraiya said. "Minato Namikaze and his team will lead the support from the Iwa front, while Tianyuan will lead the troops from the Kumo front."
"Minato... and Tianyuan," the ninja realized.
"Understood, Lord Jiraiya. I will gather the troops and set out immediately," Shikaku Nara said.
A short while later, a large contingent left the battlefield. They would cut across the Land of Fire to halt the Kirigakure invasion.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).