The ninja world had been unsettled for weeks. The narrative surrounding the Third Kazekage's disappearance and Konoha's alleged role in it had spread through every corner of the network.
The accusation had taken root in the way these things did when the audience had no particular reason to be skeptical and every emotional reason to believe.
The surface of things had gone quiet in the particular way that preceded something large, a brief, stillness beneath the commotion, like the calm before a storm.
Then, half a month after the meeting, the Sand Village sealed its gates on a moonless night.
A large number of Sand Village soldiers assembled and began marching toward the borders of the Land of Wind under cover of darkness.
Each battalion commander and squad leader had already been clearly assigned their duties and were leading their troops along pre-planned routes toward the battlefield.
The sudden appearance of these combat formations immediately alarmed the villagers of Sunagakure, as well as the merchants from outside who happened to be present.
They had no idea what was happening, they only saw a large number of Sand Village ninja lining up, then disappearing like a tide through the village gates into the night.
Before this moment, the Sand Village had shown not the slightest outward sign of preparing for war. The village elders had issued no announcements. Everything had happened too suddenly.
In a courtyard within the village, the three-person command unit led by the newly appointed battlefield leader stood watching the large formation assembled before them.
Among the gathered force, many of the faces were young. But every Sand Village ninja present had resolute eyes, eyes that carried a sense of mission and unwavering determination.
These Sand Village ninja had received their battle notification only a day in advance and had been hastily preparing since. They were completely unaware of the decisions made by the village's senior officials.
This had been intentional, to prevent any information about the attack on Konoha from leaking outward, including the current state of affairs within the Land of Wind.
The village would not remain sealed for long, only about a week.
After the great war with Konoha formally began, a certain degree of ongoing closure would be maintained. After all, this was the opening of a new round of Great Ninja War, and the Sand Village could not afford to completely lower its guard.
The closure applied specifically to trade cooperation activities, and scrutiny of all outsiders would become significantly stricter, but the pharmaceutical income stream would not be interrupted. Ensuring that the money-making operation continued functioning was a priority that could not be sacrificed.
"Investigation team, analysis team, first defense unit, medical team, logistics and resource units..." In the courtyard, Shimizu was efficiently issuing orders and making assignments to each squad leader, his voice steady and practiced.
Looking out across the assembled force, the most noticeable change compared to the previous Great Ninja War's army composition was the significantly increased number of Medical Ninja and logistics personnel embedded throughout the formation.
This provided a degree of reassurance for the Sand Village army that the last war had never had.
When he finished, Shimizu looked toward Yuji.
"Yuji, do you have anything to add?"
"Nothing." Yuji shook his head and changed back into his battle ninja uniform.
He felt the atmosphere that the war was bringing with it, and his expression became solemn.
It had to be said, although the Sand Village lacked the kind of inherited generational will that Konoha possessed, the loyalty of most of its ninja to the village was still clearly felt.
Even though the village had gone through a series of internal upheavals and civil conflicts in recent years, when the moment came, these Sand ninja, regardless of age, would step forward without hesitation, willing to die to protect what the village represented.
That spirit was still very moving to witness.
As the lowest-ranking Sand ninja in the formation, they were unaware of the senior officials' full arrangements and preparations for the war. They only understood that the village needed this from them, and they were willing to give it.
Furthermore, the Sand Village's economy had risen sharply in the short term, and many of these Sand ninja had felt this directly in their own lives.
The village was gradually improving, and to protect this hard-won progress, they had chosen to trust their leadership. The glory of the collective. That point was even more moving than the willingness to fight.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Yuji and Sasori had been late participants whose experience had been confined to relatively minor situations.
They had not stood on absolutely crucial large-scale battlefields, and they had not been military leaders. The situation now was different.
He and Sasori were part of this army, not the overall commanders, but genuine authorities within it, though not the first to exercise command. And to everyone around them, they were still teenagers.
But in the Hidden Sand Village, not one of the assembled ninja doubted either of them. The eyes looking at them were full of trust.
"Move out!" Shimizu ordered.
The vast Hidden Sand Village army left through the gates and began its march toward the Land of Rivers, which bordered the Land of Fire.
No matter which segment of the route they were covering, the arrangement was always to march at night. During the day, they would find concealed positions to slow their pace or rest, doing everything possible to avoid contact with the outside world, preventing exposure or any leak of information.
This was a detailed plan that had to be executed perfectly, without the slightest carelessness.
Because upon closer inspection, the gap between the Sand Village and Konoha in terms of combat power was an undeniable fact.
Therefore, to achieve victory on the battlefield, one had to seize every possible opportunity, gain every available advantage, and work to narrow that gap by every means available.
Even for a transmigrator with many advantages, intelligence and careful preparation were the foundation everything else rested on.
"We've made a deal with the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers using medicinal resources. On the surface, we're only borrowing their country's terrain and environment, different from the Land of Wind, to conduct a military exercise for training new recruits.
The Land of Rivers doesn't fully understand the real situation. Konoha's frontline defenses in the Land of Fire, particularly in the areas bordering the Land of Rivers, have absolutely not deployed large numbers of troops or set up excessive defensive arrangements there.
They would never have imagined that our soldiers would launch an attack on them through the Land of Rivers."
The large formation of Sand Village soldiers maintained their columns as they advanced through the night. Yuji spoke to Shimizu while moving, his voice low and steady.
"Therefore, as long as we cut into the Land of Fire's territory, the first blow we strike must make Konoha feel the pain."
Shimizu looked at the young man's face beside him and felt something he hadn't expected, a sense of nostalgia.
Even though Yuji was functioning as a commander here, the reality was that this army's true brain was him. That quality of quick, vivid thinking had revealed itself again, just as it had years ago when Shimizu had watched him operate in small squads with Arai and Sasori.
Even then, Yuji had occasionally given him a feeling of unusual sharpness, a cunning that went beyond what his age suggested. It was too familiar a feeling now.
Konoha would never have predicted that the Sand Village could use the Land of Rivers as an approach vector into the Land of Fire.
Under normal circumstances, no country would permit another nation's military force to enter its territory, even under the framing of borrowed ground for exercises, that would be inviting a wolf through the door.
But circumstances could be adjusted. If an arrangement didn't work, it simply meant the incentive offered hadn't been sufficient.
The pharmaceutical resources had been sufficient. The Land of Rivers was benefiting from the trade relationship with Sunagakure and did not fully understand what it was enabling.
If actual war had already broken out and been publicly declared, the Land of Rivers would have refused absolutely and would likely have notified Konoha immediately.
But the war hadn't been declared yet. The Sand Village was moving behind the cover of the Land of Rivers' political neutrality, using medicinal resources as the mechanism for a strategic arrangement that would have been impossible otherwise.
This was enough to demonstrate, in the current era of the ninja world, exactly how valuable the Sand Village's pharmaceutical industry had become.
At this point in time, the medicines were no longer simply an export commodity for outside consumption. Countries and villages across the ninja world, from nobility down to common people, depended on them.
It was they who were approaching the Sand Village seeking cooperation, not the other way around.
"Once we enter the Land of Rivers, let everyone rest in the designated area first, recuperate, and then we set off again. Our sudden change in location will make the Land of Rivers uneasy. We cannot allow them to notify Konoha in advance.
From this point forward, the speed of our march and our attack must be fast."
Yuji continued without pause.
"After entering the Land of Fire, our attack must be divided into three separate fronts rather than a single thrust. Our tactics must be diverse so we can adapt at any time and avoid being immediately detected by the enemy.
One portion of our forces will remain to hold Konoha's border strongholds, after establishing position, they will immediately set up extensive trap networks.
A portion of our elite units will push deep into the Land of Fire's interior to create sustained obstacles for the enemy."
He kept his voice steady and unhurried.
"The main force will function as a decoy. From there, we dispatch a detachment to conduct ambushes along the route Konoha will use to send reinforcements, this portion operates as guerrilla warfare, dispersed squad model, not concentrated formation.
Finally, taking advantage of the fact that the battle has only just begun and Konoha is still disoriented about the full scope of what's happening, send a separate unit circling around to the rear of Konoha's main base, looking for an opportunity to strike at the village itself."
Another pause.
"Also, don't forget to send intelligence to the Hidden Cloud Village. Let them get involved."
"If my prediction is correct, once the battle begins, the Hidden Cloud Village's first target may not actually be Konoha but us.
However, if Konoha's defenses prove to be weak, the Hidden Cloud Village will not miss the opportunity to trample on Konoha while it's exposed. They will change their target and temporarily set aside their attack on us to pursue the more attractive opening."
Shimizu exhaled slowly.
He was looking at someone who had been, only a few years ago, a newcomer under his supervision. A student he had been mentoring on the front lines against Iwagakure.
Time had moved, and the arrangement between them had reversed itself in a way that he found he had no discomfort with whatsoever.
He was simply amazed.
He nodded seriously, and kept moving.