Land of Frost — Konoha's Main Tent
The moment they entered the Land of Frost, Jiraiya had already dispatched numerous reconnaissance squads to gather intelligence on the region's current state. Within hours, the information had been compiled and spread out before him, neat and thorough.
The Land of Frost bordered both the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields, with only the sea separating it from the Land of Lightning. Sparsely populated and lacking any significant military power of its own, it was fated to become a battlefield every time war erupted between the great nations.
In truth, this country was little more than a buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
Inside the main command tent, Jiraiya—the overall commander of Konoha's forces on the Frost front—had summoned every jōnin in the division to discuss their strategy against the approaching Kumogakure army.
Besides Jiraiya, those present included Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Uchiha Shisui, Hyūga Hizashi, and Aburame Shiro, among others.
At the center of the tent stood a large sand table depicting the terrain of the Land of Frost. Flags of two colors marked the positions of the Konoha and Kumogakure forces.
"Everyone," Jiraiya began, pointing toward the northern markers, "according to our latest reports, the Kumogakure army arrived in the Land of Frost last night—about fifty kilometers from our current position."
"Official statements from Kumogakure confirm that their commander this time is none other than the Raikage himself, accompanied by his personal guards."
No one in the tent looked surprised.
The geography of the Shinobi World meant that the great nations of Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth each occupied a corner of the continent. In one-on-one wars, they rarely had to worry about attacks from behind. Because of this, the Kage of these lands often led their armies personally.
The Land of Fire, however, lay at the very heart of the continent—surrounded on all sides, with no natural defenses. In every Great Ninja War, Konoha faced two, three, sometimes even four fronts at once. Thus, the Hokage could never afford to leave the village unguarded.
Even so, Konoha's strength was formidable. Blessed with rich resources and strong training traditions, the village had produced an endless line of prodigies: the White Fang, the Legendary Sannin, and the Yellow Flash—heroes who had stood against the combined might of the other great nations.
The saying "a land blessed with talent and spirit" truly applied to Konoha.
And that, too, was part of the problem.
Because once the wars ended and peace returned, no one could predict what kind of genius might rise from the Land of Fire again. That fear alone was enough to make the other nations restless.
As one of the recurring battlegrounds between Konoha and Kumogakure, the Land of Frost was well known to most of the veterans present—even to those who had never set foot here before.
"The Eight-Tails isn't with them?" Hyūga Hizashi asked, studying the terrain map intently.
"That's exactly what worries me," Jiraiya replied, his brow furrowing. "If the Eight-Tails joins the battle, things will get very difficult."
Five years ago, during the height of the Third Great Ninja War, both the Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki had been deployed together.
If Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash—hadn't faced the A and B duo alone back then, Konoha might have been dragged into a prolonged stalemate with Kumogakure.
Now, with the Raikage personally taking the field again, there was no reason to think Killer B would stay behind.
The A-B duo still fought side by side.
But the Yellow Flash was gone.
Jiraiya slapped his chest and gave a booming laugh. "Don't worry! Even if those two are here, I'm still around, aren't I?"
The heavy atmosphere lifted slightly, smiles spreading across the faces of the gathered jōnin.
Typical Jiraiya—turning tension into confidence with a single line.
Kakashi glanced at him quietly, a spark of respect in his eye. As Konoha's strongest active shinobi—second only to the Third Hokage himself—Jiraiya had every right to speak that way.
"How large is their force?" Aburame Shiro asked, his calm tone cutting through the hum of conversation.
Jiraiya's expression hardened. "Six thousand."
A murmur rippled through the tent.
Six thousand shinobi—half of Kumogakure's total strength.
Thanks to the Third Raikage's legendary last stand against ten thousand Iwagakure ninja years ago, the Hidden Cloud had managed to preserve a sizable core of battle-ready troops. Konoha's intelligence division estimated that Kumogakure maintained about fifteen thousand active shinobi in total.
Meanwhile, Konoha—though boasting over twenty thousand—had to defend multiple fronts. Forces were already stationed along the borders with Iwagakure and other nations, leaving only a fraction available for the Frost campaign.
On paper, Konoha had the advantage in numbers, but in actual combat, the difference between the five great villages was rarely that simple.
Fortunately, the other nations were far from united. Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand could be separated by an ocean and still find reasons to fight each other.
Wars between the great villages were as much about distrust as they were about land.
Even Sunagakure, desperate for peace, had once sacrificed Pakura—the Hero of the Sand—to secure a fragile truce.
And Iwagakure and Kirigakure had both lost their own Kage in duels that left neither side standing.
In such chaos, it was little wonder Konoha had endured through every Great Ninja War.
"Six thousand…" Uchiha Shisui muttered, his brows knitting together.
Kakashi, meanwhile, pointed to a blue ribbon of paper marking a river on the sand table. "What about this river?" he asked.
Shisui glanced at him. "That's the Naka River."
"A major river formed in the mountains between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind," he explained. "It flows through the Land of Rain, then the Land of Fire, and finally into the Land of Frost before reaching the sea."
"The Naka River in Konoha is just one of its tributaries," Jiraiya added, continuing the explanation. "Because it gives life to so many lands along its course, people call it the Mother River."
"Is the water level high this time of year?" Kakashi asked, his tone casual but his eyes sharp.
"It's moderate," Jiraiya replied, scratching his head, unsure where Kakashi was going with this. "The local government maintains it pretty well—allocates funds every year to manage the flow. Why?"
"I want to take a look," Kakashi said, still gazing at the blue line representing the river.
If the flow was strong enough… the war might already be half decided.
"Go ahead," Jiraiya said after a moment's thought. "Take a few people with you."
The section Kakashi pointed to lay along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Frost. Jiraiya wasn't particularly worried—Kakashi could handle himself.
"Might Guy, let's move."
Without another word, Kakashi turned and strode out of the tent.
"Oh yeah! The flames of youth won't allow my rival to go alone!" Guy declared, immediately following him.
"Wait for me, Kakashi-senpai! I'm coming too!" Shisui called, hurrying after them.
Jiraiya chuckled softly, stroking his chin. "Ah, to be young again."
Then his expression hardened once more as he turned back to the others.
"Alright, let's continue. Tonight, we strike first. I'm planning a night raid against the Kumogakure camp."
Even without Kakashi and the others, Jiraiya's voice carried the unshakable confidence of a veteran warrior.
A night raid didn't require their full strength—and this one would be no exception.
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