Nawaki and Mikoto turned to look at him simultaneously.
"Danzō isn't an idiot." Ryo's voice wasn't loud, but it cut cleanly through the rain. "Konoha's advantage has already been worn down. If we continue to divide our forces while being harassed and drained by Suna and Ame, we won't last until reinforcements arrive from the homeland. The front line in the Land of Rain will collapse completely."
He tilted his head slightly. Beneath the hood, the hard line of his jaw clenched tight, as if biting down on something invisible. "There's only one path left. A decisive battle. Concentrate our strength, end it in one strike. Defeat or cripple either Suna or Hanzō here in the Land of Rain. Render one of them incapable of fighting back, and break their alliance."
He paused, voice turning certain. "Danzō can't sit still anymore. He needs a victory, a big enough one to prove himself and silence the accusations of mismanagement within the village. That decisive battle, it's coming soon."
His gaze swept over Nawaki's exhausted face and empty ninja pouch, before settling on Mikoto's Sharingan eyes, still glowing faintly red in the dim rain. "It all depends on when that old man throws all his chips on the table."
Maybe after that battle, this war will finally end.
Nawaki's heart clenched.
A decisive battle?
That meant something even more massive, an even more terrifying meat grinder. He swallowed hard. The cold of the rain seemed to seep into his bones.
Mikoto silently gripped the chipped kunai in her hand. Her knuckles turned pale from the force. She could feel the weight in Ryo's gaze. It was a silent push, urging her to grow stronger before the decisive battle.
Ryo said nothing more. He simply lifted his chin slightly toward the muddy road ahead. "Let's go."
The cold command snapped like an invisible whip. The supply team immediately quickened their pace, pushing forward through the mud.
Mikoto took a deep breath of the wet air, thick with the taste of iron and moisture, then silently followed Ryo's steady stride.
Nawaki looked at the two walking side by side, then glanced at the muddy, blood-soaked cloth wrapped around his own arm. He spat a mouthful of mud and limped forward on his injured leg.
Almost at the same time Ryo's squad was trudging through the muddy transport route, deep within Konoha's central command tent in the Land of Rain, the atmosphere was suffocating, like the dead calm before a storm.
In the center of the tent, a large military map stained with rain and dirt lay stretched across a long wooden table. The area marked "Land of Rain" was densely pinned with flags indicating enemy and friendly positions. Black represented Ame-nin, gray for Suna, green for Konoha.
Suna and Ame's flags interlocked like the fangs of two serpents, pressing in from the northwest and northeast, forming a strangling noose.
Several major supply routes were crossed out with thick red marks, signifying they had either been cut or were critically endangered.
Under the dim oil lamp, several faces appeared sharp and tense under shadows. Jonin advisors in vests and elite jonin squad leaders from various clans stood around the map. Among them were Nara Shikaku and Aburame Shirō, both leading their clans' units on the front lines. Everyone wore tight expressions, their faces clouded with anxiety.
"Danzō-sama, this is the emergency report just received from Outpost Three." A Root shinobi appeared behind Danzō like a ghost, voice low and cold. He handed over a scroll stained with mud and blood. "Last night, they were ambushed by a joint assault from Suna demolition squads and Ame's corpse puppeteer troops. The outer defenses were breached, over half of the garrison was lost, and a third of the supply depot destroyed. Remaining forces are holding the inner perimeter, requesting immediate reinforcements and supplies."
Danzō didn't turn around. He only extended a withered, calloused hand and took the bloodstained scroll. A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as he slowly ran his fingers over the drying blood.
"The seventh batch of medical supplies from the Land of Rivers was intercepted at the Ghost Sorrow Ravine," another advisor added hoarsely, pointing with a trembling finger at a key mountain pass on the map. "If this continues, the entire region will…"
Before he could finish, a burly Akimichi jonin with a scar across his face slammed his fist on the table, shaking the oil lamp. "Damn it! Again?! Our supply lines are nothing but sieves! Our brothers are bleeding out on the front lines, and they don't even have bandages to wrap their wounds! Food pills are being rationed! How the hell are we supposed to fight like this?!"
His temple pulsed with fury, his voice barely contained.
"Suna and Ame are getting better at coordinating." Nara Shikashin's voice remained calm as always, though there was weariness and weight behind it. "They've clearly shifted tactics. No more direct confrontations. Instead, they operate in small teams, infiltrating from multiple points, constantly hitting our logistics and rear positions. Our forces are stuck holding outposts and fortresses. We don't have enough mobile units. We're being run ragged and can't pin down their main forces."
Aburame Shirō adjusted his sunglasses. The oil lamp's light gleamed on the lenses. "Intel from my insects confirms it. Elite Wind Release squads from Suna and Ame's corpse puppeteers are now operating together. Like maggots in the bone, striking from nowhere. And they seem to know our troop movements and formations all too well."
His words carried a deeper meaning. The tent fell into a heavier silence. A traitor? Or infiltration?
Only the crackle of the oil lamp and heavy breathing echoed inside. The air was thick with a despair as real as fog, weighing down everyone's chest.
At that moment, Danzō finally lifted his head. His wrinkled face showed no emotion, like weathered stone. His hawk-like eyes slowly swept over every face around the table, each one twisted in anger or tension.
His skeletal fingers suddenly pressed down on the map, right on the center of Konoha's core control area. The force was so great his knuckles turned white.
"Enough."
A hoarse, low voice burst like muffled thunder into everyone's ears.
"This endless attrition…"
He slowly pulled back his hand.
"…must end."
The tent fell into a deathly silence. Everyone, even the furious jonin, held their breath and turned to Danzō's face of iron.
They knew. The commander infamous for his ruthless methods had finally made the decision. One that would determine the lives of thousands.
The weight of an impending storm crushed all previous anger and despair.
Danzō spoke slowly, each word heavy as stone.
"Send word. Recall Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Kamiyama Ryo from their missions immediately."
"Prepare for decisive battle."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)